Jesus Cares For You | John 1:35-51

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As I was saying welcome this morning. As Alex said, my name is Angela and it's such a privilege to be here with you this morning. Last week, Alex shared in our John series that the gospel, this gospel that Jesus extends to us is about the one, the individual people like you and I, and we noticed how Jesus was not swayed by the opinions of others.

Not at all. They could have their opinions, but that did not change who he inherently knew himself to be. As the son of God and his relationship with his father, we held the tension that when we try to follow in the way of Jesus, it's sometimes hard for us to surrender all the things that we want to be and do in order to point to him as the one.

Like John the Baptist. Today I'm excited because in week three we're going to be talking about how Jesus cares, how he demonstrates his care for us. So how does he do that? How does he demonstrate his care for us? He invites you. He knows you intimately and he engages you right where you are. Yeah, he invites you.

He knows you intimately, and he engages you right where you are now. Let me pause there and tell you a little story.

Several years back, I was at my piano. I am an opera singer, and I was at my piano. I was getting ready to sing before an audition in Chicago, and it was one of those days where I was tired. I wasn't really motivated, and so I told myself, just go in there and just get going. You'll feel better. And so I started on my warmups.

Oh. And then I launched into one of my arias,

and it was at that moment that I felt. All of a sudden, this weariness, this exhaustion come over me. I was tired. I was tired of chasing rehearsals and all kinds of coachings and chasing the jobs and perfection because that's what it always seemed like you needed to have in order to be successful. And as I sat there and pondered these feelings, I heard the Lord whisper something to me.

Do you feel fulfilled? And that caught me off guard. And then he asked me, sweetheart, is this all you hoped it would be? And honestly, no. No, it wasn't fulfilling anymore. It wasn't satisfying, it was isolating. It was lonely, and I was exhausted. And then he asked me the kicker of all kicker questions. He said, would you like to give that to me?

And I thought, oh no, I don't wanna give that to you. This is all I've ever known since I was 15. I've been an opera singer. I started training then this is who I've been. I've worked too hard. And then that's still quiet voice again, which you like to give that to me

and I relented. I relented. But before I did, I thought I'd be clever. Have you ever thought you'd be clever with God? And I said if I give you my dream, what will you give me in return? And there was silence. There was silence. A long pause, and then this little nudge in my spirit that said, you're gonna have to trust me.

You're gonna need to trust me. So that day, with much trepidation, I gave Jesus my dream that I had been working on for more than 30 years, and I realized he's such a personal God. He knew what was already in my heart before I even knew it, and he was asking me what? Do you want? Do you wanna follow the way you've been going?

It's perfectly fine. Or would you like to come and see and follow me? Would you like to come and see and follow me? And I think that all of us on some level or another can identify with that. We identify with situations that we didn't find ourselves in. And your situation may not look exactly like mine, but you felt the pain, the uncertainty.

You have felt the tension in life, in dreams not happening like you thought they would, or even having to completely release one and watch it die. Maybe it's something you've nourished and protected and cherished. Perhaps, and I say this with all tenderness, you desired to have children and you weren't able to, your house is still quiet.

Maybe you have been at a job that is incredibly unsatisfying and you have been plotting day after day trying to show up well, but you are tired and you have been hoping. For work that ignites your heart and your passions and your talents. Maybe like me, you've had health issues that have stalled out your dreams and maybe even swept them away.

I want you to know that especially in these things, Jesus meets us there with his care. Especially in these things, he comes and he whispers to you and to me. Come and see, follow me. And today we'll see in our passage that just like us, the disciples, the first disciples, he invited the same way.

Come and see and follow me. So let's begin. Let's look at verse 35, if you will. The next day, John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, look, the lamb of God. When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus turning around. Jesus saw them following and asked, what do you want?

They said, rabbi, which means teacher. Where are you staying? Come, he replied, and you will see. So they went and saw where he was staying and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon.

So these passages that we've read take place over days three and four of the first week of Jesus's public ministry. We meet Andrew and the unnamed disciple, and most scholars believe that unnamed disciple is John's son of Zebedee. The beloved disciple, the one that wrote this book, and so that's how I'll refer to him moving forward.

And all good Jews, Andrew and John were looking for the Messiah. They were disciples of John the Baptist, who is a prophet and itinerant preacher. And compared to the religious leaders of the day, though he was an outlier. He was an outlier because he had no interest in the status quo of religion.

His job, what he saw as important, his calling, if you will, was to call Israel back to the Lord, to repentance and to make way and make room and clear the path for the Messiah. And so John has just said, behold the Lamb of God and Andrew and John. Look up and they start tailing him because John the Baptist has just said basically, Hey guys, the one I've been telling you about this whole entire time, this is him.

Go follow him, not me. And so they start tailing Jesus, and Jesus turns and sees him and he says, what do you want? There's that question again. What do you want? What do you want? And as he continues to ask, what do you want, these disciples re respond in a really unusual way. I think if it was me, I would be like, Hey, what's the keys to life?

Lord? How do we get to heaven? How do we be successful? No, Andrew and John, go, where are you staying? Where are you staying? That's so unusual. What we learn is that scholars actually say that this is them trying to show honor and respect to him. They don't wanna just rush up and overtake him, and instead they're saying, we'd like to meet with you in private and have some discussions.

And Jesus's answer is come. And you will see he invites them. He invites them to come and abide that evening and learn more. So Jesus demonstrates his deep care for the individual by allowing these gentlemen to follow him and inviting them to follow him. And this is very different than how the rabbis of this day did it in Judaism.

It was the student's job to find a teacher. Or his rabbi. And I love how biblical culturalist author and professor Christie McClellan puts it, in the first century world, people chose their rabbi. The lesser reached for the greater. Jesus is highly irregular. When he comes on the scene, he starts doing the, choosing the greater reaches for the lesser and says, come follow me.

The greater reaches for the lesser and says, come follow me. So the first way Jesus demonstrates his care for us is he invites you and that the greater Jesus is reaching for Andrew and John and us, the lesser. Now, Christie McClellan goes on to explain how. Boys were chosen to go into studying the Torah, and what happened was around 12 or 13 boys would be tested maybe for the aptitude of learning scripture.

And so if you did not have great aptitude for learning scripture, you got to learn a vocation. If you did have great aptitude for learning scripture, then you got not just one job, you got two. You got to learn a vocation usually from your father, but you also studied the scripture for hours and hours a day in preparation to choose your rabbi.

And then what they would do is they would listen to all these different rabbis and listen for the different ways that the rabbis would teach. And they would then decide, Hey, is this rabbi? Is he going in the way that I want to follow? And if he was, then you would approach the rabbi and you would say, can I be your follower, your disciple?

And if he said yes, then what he did is he would then baptize you in his name under his yoke. Now the goal was to learn from your rabbi, to learn from your rabbi by following him, by abiding with him, not only to gain knowledge, but also to emulate your rabbi. Because at the end of the day, what you wanted to happen was if somebody came to you to ask you questions, you wanted them to feel like they were actually engaging with your rabbi.

You were that close. So by choosing his own followers, Jesus really upended the culture of the day. And he demonstrated that his kingdom was very different than the earthly kingdom. The world chose the smartest, the brightest, the most beautiful, the most put together. No, Jesus just said, come and you will see come.

So Jesus, the greater reached for Andrew and John the lesser well. Moving on. How else does Jesus demonstrate his care for us? Jesus knows you intimately. He knows you intimately. You are not like the person sitting next to you may. You may love them dearly, but you're different than they are. He knows you intimately.

Let's read. Verse 40. Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard that what John had said and who had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, we have found the Messiah. That is the Christ, and he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, you are Simon, son of John.

You will be called CFUs, which when translated as Peter. Or rock. So the first thing Andrew did was go tell his brother and bring him to Jesus. And this is what's interesting to me, is that Jesus instantly demonstrates his knowledge of who Simon is. Instantly you are Simon's son of John, and then he goes further, which is the exciting part.

He says, not only that, but I'm gonna tell you who you're going to become. Who I'll make you to become. You will be Cephas Peter the Rock. You'll notice that Jesus doesn't just meet people, he knows them. I love how DA Carson talks about it. He says, when Peter is brought to him, Jesus assigns a new name as a declaration of what Peter will become.

This is not so much a merely predictive utterance. As a declaration of what Jesus will make of him. And he goes on to say here in John one, however, the focus is much less on what this name change means for Peter than on the Jesus who knows people thoroughly and not only sees into them, but so calls them that he makes them what he calls them to be.

Isn't that amazing? He so calls them that he makes them. What he calls them to be. I got so excited about this quote, but it was so long, so I decided to paraphrase it for myself. I hope you enjoy it. Jesus knows us thoroughly. He doesn't just see into us. He calls us into becoming who he says we are. Jesus knows us thoroughly.

He doesn't just see into us. He calls us into becoming who he says we are.

So Jesus doesn't just rename Simon. He declares who he is and who he will make him to be. And like Simon Peter, you and I are intimately known. He knows our strengths. He knows our weaknesses, our hangups, our habits. He knows the times that we overcome in victory and fall flat on our face. He knows that one phrase that feels harmless to most, but for me is a piercing reminder of rejection and not enoughness.

So let me tell you another story. Oops. Whoopsie. Here we go. No,

I'm giving all my stuff away. Oh. Anyway, so I was 15 and it was my very first time singing a church, a solo. Mind you and I had chosen my music carefully. I had prayed over it, agonized over it, and found the perfect song. Mind you, it was also on a cassette tape. It was that long ago. And I just love this song.

I love what it spoke about, how it spoke to me. I just knew it was gonna speak to our congregation, and I was so excited to share it. So that Sunday morning, I got up with all my enthusiasm and excitement and. I have to tell you, I had practiced everything regarding that song except for the introduction. I had not practiced the introduction to that song, but I got up there and I just proclaimed why it meant so much to me, and I went on a little too long.

However, when the music started, I sang it beautifully, sang it perfectly. Thank you, Lord. And I ran back to the back of the church at the end of the service where my parents were and my mom and dad. They were like, oh, Angela, that was so beautiful. Your voice is just angelic. You did such a wonderful job.

And then my sweet daddy, who I knew absolutely adored me, he said. Next time, sweetheart, don't speak before you sing,

right next time, sweetheart. Don't speak before you sing. That was painful to me. Have you ever had someone you trusted and felt safe with? Cut you deeply like that and maybe it stayed with you? Influencing your confidence or lack thereof, and the way you see yourself. Had I been older, I think I would've gotten the heartbeat behind what he wanted.

Hey, Ange, prepare what you're gonna say as carefully as you're gonna prepare your music. That was what he meant. But the voice and the filter that I had on that day was, you are a terrible speaker. You should never speak. Only sing right? That's what I heard in my little 15-year-old heart, and sadly, I held onto that for at least three decades.

Wow, three decades. I did not realize that the Lord was inviting me to use my voice in different ways because I kept believing the lie that I was just a terrible speaker, and all I could do was sing opera.

But here's the truth, here's the truth. We don't get to dismiss ourselves like I did that day. The enemy would love for you two. He would absolutely love for you two, but Jesus sees not just me at 15, you at 15 me at

and you here now, but. He's the one that makes us into who we are. He sees us who he's making us to be, and he cares about you. He cares about you. So just like Simon Peter, an ordinary fisherman, he called Peter the rock. He calls to you. Now, some of you may be looking at me and going, okay, that's great, Angela.

But you don't only feel like Jesus does not like you. You think he doesn't love you as well.

You think that he doesn't love you and you think he doesn't like you, and you believe that your past, your not enoughness, your sins, your mess ups, your mistakes, all of that disqualifies you somehow. From being used by God, from serving God, being loved by God, and oh, that's a fallacy. You hesitate to say yes to some of the things he's inviting you into, but again, Jesus knows you.

He cares for you intimately, and he likes you so much. That he took all the punishment for the sins, the mess up, the mistakes for you and me. He took that on the cross so that guess what, we are free. We are free to say yes to whatever he calls us to. Absolutely. So don't dismiss yourself. You don't have that authority.

It is through our imperfect yet surrendered lives that he brings himself glory, but he also accomplishes his redemptive purposes on the earth. And I actually adore how this one story, one of my favorite stories, the voyage of the Dawn Treader. Demonstrates this Lucy pe. If you've not read the book or watched the movie, she is unusually humble and in her humble way, she feels outshined by her older sister Susan, who is noted and admired for her poise and her beauty.

And Lucy struggles with self doubt. And covets what she thinks she lacks in her own sense of self-worth and value. And it's in this very moment, in the middle of insecurity, at the height of it that Oslan speaks to her. Lucy, you wished yourself away. You doubt your value. Don't run from who you are. I love that you wished yourself away.

Wasn't that what I was doing? I can only be an opera singer. I was wishing myself away. Don't run from who you are. This powerful reminder, it shows that God like Oslan, he sees our true worth. Yeah, not in comparison to others, not based on our performance, how well we do in life, but just because of who he makes us and who he calls us to be, and the fact that we are his,

the fact that we are his. So Jesus names you. He calls you, he qualifies you, and he speaks a new name over you. And when he does that, he makes you into exactly who he says you will be. How else does Jesus demonstrate his care for us? He demonstrates his care for you by engaging you right where you are, by engaging you right where you are.

Let's move on to Philip. Verse 43. The next day, Jesus decided to leave for Galilee finding Philip. He said to him, follow me, Philip, like Andrew and Peter were from the town of Beseda.

Now, scholars believe that Philip was an ordinary man with a very practical personality. And so by Jesus coming directly to him, encountering him, and then just simply inviting him, follow me. That aligns with who. Philip is, he's meeting him where he is, but there's another even better example. That's my favorite.

Let's read further, John 45. 1 45. Philip found Nathaniel and told him. We have found the one Moses wrote about in the law and about whom the prophets already wrote. Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of Joseph Nazareth. Can anything good come from there? Nathaniel asked. Come and see. Come and see. Philip says. Now most scholars believe that Nathaniel is actually the Apostle Bartholomew, and I love this scene in scripture.

The reason I love this scene is because it's very familiar to me, and it probably is to you. Have you ever been with a really close friend who just gets you and they're that safe, trusted friend, and they come up to you after a hard day and they're like, okay, gimme the real scoop. How do you really feel?

And you just lay it out there unfiltered. This is what Nathaniel is doing with Philip. He's just laying it out there raw, real unfiltered, and. He's letting us know about his heart. He's saying, I'm skeptical. I'm doubting,

and we see his skepticism and doubt in his question. Can anything good come out of Nazareth? Can anything good come out of Nazareth? Many Jews expected that the Messiah would come from a holy city like Jerusalem or Bethlehem, and that the Messiah would come in power and in might to overthrow their political enemies to put down room, Roman rule, and to bring and establish his kingdom on the earth.

And guess what? Jesus didn't come that way. He did come in power and in might, but he came in the power and might of meekness, of surrender to his father's will of sacrifice.

It's not mine.

Jesus was following an altogether heavenly plan. One that Nathaniel and Philip and frankly, humanity could not understand. So Philip's response is, come and see. Come and see. And maybe you are like Nathaniel, maybe you're skeptical, maybe you're doubting. And if you are, I have great news for you. I have great news for you.

Let's take a look at one of my other favorite quotes from Leslie New began. He is a missionary theologian, he's British. I, how can you not love the guy? Intelligent skepticism is not condemned. For it is the necessary balance which preserves the distinction between genuine faith and foolish credulity. It is part of what it means to walk in the light.

So skepticism is a legitimate starting point. Then he goes further, but it skepticism cannot have the last word or nothing. New will be learned. The skeptic must suspend his skepticism. If he is to have the opportunity to learn. Now, the reason I'm excited about this is because he didn't say, you gotta get rid of all your skepticism and doubt.

That's not what he said. He said, you just have to pause it to hear what the Lord's saying. Just pause it. That's it. And now. On another note, if all of you are going to be sending me emails about the fact that I have misspelled skepticism on the slide, you can hold your emails because again, Leslie New begin is he was a British theologian and the Brits, they do tend to have creative spelling.

I won't go as far to say as it's wrong, but very creative.

So when Nathaniel is able to experience Jesus firsthand, his skepticism gets overwhelmed by the divinity of Jesus. Let's read further. Verse 47. When Jesus saw Nathaniel approaching, he said of him, here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit. How do you know me? Nathaniel asked. Jesus answered, I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.

I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you. So sitting under the fig tree has special weight and meaning here. It's a loaded statement from Jesus in Jewish culture. Sitting under the fig tree was an idiom for peace and security, for feeling secure and not and unafraid, and for also resting in God's provision.

Okay. Rabbis and devout Jews would sit under the shade of the fig tree and study the Torah. They would pray, they would reflect, and it was really a symbol for personal devotion to God. So Jesus answers Nathaniel's skepticism with a glimpse of divine knowledge, a glimpse of divine knowledge, revealing only what God could know.

Displaying his divinity and showing Nathaniel that he is fully seen and fully known. And again, it's the same with us because he knows you intimately. You can be honest about whether you're skeptical or doubting, or you're depressed or you need encouragement. Maybe you struggle with liking to control things like I do, maybe.

You're hoping for a specific outcome, and you've been disappointed before, and so you're not too sure if you can trust the plan of Jesus. But he will meet us right where we are, just like he did. Nathaniel and Nathaniel's response to Jesus is amazing. He says he gives him the highest title. That a Jew could give someone.

You are the son of God. You are the king of Israel, the king of Israel. Let's read verse 50. Jesus said, you believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You'll see greater things than that. He then added very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven open in the angels of God ascending and descending on the son of man. You believe because I told you, I saw you under the fig tree.

This is actually a statement of admiration from Jesus. He's not scolding him in any way. He's actually saying That was all it took for you to believe. Wow, your faith is great. That's what he was saying here. And then he says, you'll see greater things than these. Now I wanna point something out to you.

The first you here that I've underlined, that's a singular you and that's meant for Nathaniel. You will see greater things than these. Now, the second and third, you then he said, very truly, I tell you. We'll see heaven open and the angels of God ascend into descending on the son of man. That is one of those special use.

It's a plural you. It's a holy, y'all right? It's a holy y'all. And so he's not just saying, okay, Nathaniel and Philip and all the other disciples are gonna see this. He's saying that whoever is gonna engage with what he's writing during that time is gonna see this. But he's also saying we are going to see it today.

That includes us. That's why it's so special. And what he's saying here is he's saying to all of us, I. Jesus and the latter, opening heaven and serving as the connection between God and humanity. This is an amazing statement. He's saying, I'm the way, I'm the way right here. It's amazing. So

Jesus still demonstrates his deep care today by inviting you, by knowing you intimately. And engaging you just where you are, just where you are now, I told you at the beginning part of a story, and I'll share the rest of it briefly that day. As I said, I laid down my lifelong career in singing of opera. I had no framework.

There wasn't like a back pocket. Oh, I think I'll do this. I had no idea what was in front of me or what the Lord would invite me into, and I waited a year. To hear on this particular subject, and he was silent. Then we got moved back to Colorado and I waited again. He was silent. And then on my 47th birthday he spoke with incredible clarity.

A friend had invited me to a Christmas tea at her church, and honestly, I didn't really care about the speaker or the tea. I just wanted to see my friend, right? So I went, but when that speaker began walking down the aisle, she was walking on a red carpet. She had sunglasses on, and she was waving and she was holding an Emmy.

How many of people who have won Emmys, right? She was obviously somebody very important and she's walking up like this, and then when she gets up on stage, she says to us with a smile. She goes, now do you mind if I just kick off my shoes? I speak better when I'm barefooted. And that was when the Lord pointed at that woman on stairs and he goes, that.

That is what you will do. You will speak and teach and preach.

And I have to admit, he's been proving it to me ever since he's had to prove it to me. So from that moment forward, it's been a few steps back, a few steps backward, maybe five steps forward, another step back, learning to trust him that he knows better. I began speaking at MOPS groups throughout the city, then teaching here at sisterhood and volunteering, then teaching other people to speak because who knew that opera and speaking had so many overlapping components, right?

And then I got a certificate in spiritual direction, and now I have the sweet privilege of working towards my Master of Divinity at Denver Seminary. I never saw it coming. I never saw it coming. He's so good like that. He can do way more than we can imagine. His purposes are bigger. He calls us into places that we thought we could never go sometimes into places we don't think we can survive.

And he brings himself glory through our very imperfect, surrendered. Yes. So what are some of those next steps we can take with Jesus today? Jesus is inviting you to follow him in his ways instead of your own program. Since he knows you intimately, are you listening to him? What's that next step? Just the next step he's calling you to take.

Are you needing to surrender something or maybe you need to embrace something thing since he meets you where you are. Do you need his comfort, his healing, his truth? Maybe you don't know him, but you would like to learn more. Our prayer team is here to talk with you and pray with you today around the room.