Here we see the dynamic of witness. Look at what took place. Jesus met Philip and he called him, and Philip followed Jesus. Philip was much like Andrew; he could not keep a secret. When Andrew discovered Jesus, he ran to find his brother and said to him, "Come, Peter. I have found the Messiah." So with the same manner of enthusiasm, Philip went and found his friend Nathanael. He told Nathanael that he was sure that this was the Messiah. But Nathanael was skeptical. He was probably skeptical for several reasons. William Barclay has pointed out that there was nothing in the Old Testament that suggested the Messiah would come from Nazareth (John, Vol. 1, p. 78). As far as Nathanael was concerned, Nazareth was not the kind of place where anything good was likely to be found. There is no doubt that Nazareth was quite an undistinguished place. But Philip did not agree with Nathanael. He merely said, "Come and see." Nathanael, because of Philip's invitation, came and saw.
The Pattern Of Witness
As we have noted, there is a similarity between Philip finding Nathanael and Andrew finding Peter. But there is a major difference. This is the first time in chapter one that testimony to Jesus is met with resistance. Gail O'Day points out that Nathanael's resistance highlights the tension that is inherent in Philip's witness (The New Interpreter's Bible, Vol. 9, p. 532). Philip does not argue with Nathanael. Instead he offers the same invitation to Nathanael that Jesus extends to his first disciples (v. 39b). Philip wants Nathanael to come and see and then to decide for himself whether this human (son of Joseph) from Nazareth is really the Messiah or not.
The words by Jesus in v. 50 are not a rebuke to Nathanael but rather a promise. These words are similar to the words of Jesus in the story of Thomas (John 20:29). Jesus does not criticize Nathanael's skepticism, but suggests that Nathanael is merely at the beginning point of his faith. The main point of this narrative seems to be that Philip was a faithful witness to Jesus regarding Nathanael. Because of Philip's willingness to "pass it on" Nathanael found the one who satisfied his waiting, longing, and seeking heart.
Nathan Williams told of two men who had been business partners for over twenty years met one Sunday morning as they were leaving a restaurant. One of them asked, "Where are you going this morning?" "I'm going to play golf. What about you?" the other replied. The first man responded rather apologetically, "I'm going to church." The other man said, "Why don't you give up that church stuff?" The man asked, "What do you mean?" "Well," said the other, "we have been partners for twenty years. We have worked together, attended board meetings together, and had lunch together, and all of these twenty years you have never talked to me about going to church. You have never invited me to go with you. Obviously, it doesn't mean that much to you."
I am impressed by that story. The logic is irresistible. If Christ is the joy of life and through your contact with him you have new experience of wonder and light, so that the old, gray, monotonous world has given way to a life of joy, peace, power, and love for others, then surely you should long to pass it on to others. Philip made a great discovery. He found the Messiah. He could not keep this discovery to himself. He ran to find his friend Nathanael and brought him to Jesus. He had to pass it on.
Enriching Faith by Sharing It
To share one's faith is to enrich one's faith. I enjoy raising flowers. I have learned it is necessary to plant the right flowers, at the right time, in the right place. In central Florida you have to select the right flowers that can withstand the hot summer sun and the rather dry conditions. One flower that does well in the summer is the zinnia. It thrives in the hot summer and provides a magnificent array of beautiful colors. There is one variety of zinnia that is called "Cut and Come Again." It is well-named. When one flower is cut it seems like three blossoms are ready to take its place. The more you cut and give away, the more you have. That is exactly what happens when you share your faith. The more you give away, the more you have. God has given you this treasure to share. By sharing your faith you enrich your faith.
Methodism began as a lay movement. For John Wesley, preaching and testifying belonged to the whole church. At the beginning of the Wesleyan revival, lay people were utilized to spread the gospel. Wesley felt it was a fatal mistake to leave the task of spreading the gospel to the ordained clergy. Witnessing was the task of the whole church. He felt it was heresy to turn the ministry of the Christian church into a clergy-dominated religion. Across the world, church growth is the greatest where the laity are the most involved. The small group movement, which is lay-centered like early Methodism with its class meetings, is putting vitality, vision, and enthusiasm back into the church.
Leslie Weatherhead, the English pastor and psychologist, told about a young, brilliant doctor he met in London who was making a number of experiments in a laboratory that was attached to the university. He was doing cancer research and his work was supported by some of the most distinguished scientists in London. Weatherhead said he watched him work in a small, ill-ventilated room in the basement of the university. The doctor told Weatherhead that if these experiments turned out as successfully as he had every right to hope they would, then he would have a new way of treating this particular cancer with some hope of recovery. Weatherhead asked him, "What will you then do?" With a glow on his face, with enthusiasm in his voice, and a shining gleam in his eye he exclaimed, "I shall tell the world!"
We have come to worship with great expectations. With a glow on our faces, enthusiasm in our voices, and a shining gleam in our eyes, we too have made a discovery. Jesus Christ is Lord and he is among his people. Christ has come to set the captive free. What then? We leave to tell the world, to share our discovery, and to pass it on.
A Witnessing Faith
In a recent Bible study of the Book of Acts it became clear to me that the underlying purpose for the formation of the church is to be a witness to the Gospel. The key verse is 1:8: "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all of Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth." The following 27 chapters in Acts are the results of that witness. What had started in Jerusalem in the first two chapters, by chapter 28 had spread all the way to Rome, the very center of power and authority. When Peter had completed his great sermon at Pentecost, he made this final statement, "This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses" (Acts 2:32). Our New Testament faith is a witnessing faith. D.T. Niles, the bishop from Sri Lanka, defined our witnessing as "one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread."
The Bible teaches us that the "word became flesh." For the word of God to be communicated, it must become flesh. Phillips Brooks, the New England preacher of a century ago, maintained that "truth is expressed through personality." Personality is the vehicle for conveying God's truth. Our task is to spread the good news of God's story, in the light of our own particular story, with the hope that people will respond in faith.
It is through the lives of real people that we see and hear the story of God's redeeming grace. There was a little girl who had a brief line in a Sunday School Christmas program. All she had to say was, "I am the light of the world." She rehearsed it until she knew it by heart. As the program approached she was confident, but her mother was nervous. When the little girl saw all of the people the night of the program she became nervous and forgot her lines. Her mother, who was seated in the front row, tried to prompt her. Carefully and slowly the mother's lips formed the words, "I am the light of the world." The little girl straightened and with a loud, confident voice announced, "My mother is the light of the world." In a real sense, so are we all.
Commitment To Discipleship
Not only did Philip encounter Jesus that day, but later he was called to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. We are called to be disciples. The word "disciple" denotes a call, a commitment (a response to the call), and a discipline (the assuming of a lifestyle). Dietrich Bonhoeffer in his book The Cost of Discipleship reminds us that discipleship has a cost, a price tag. How could we ever be a disciple or enter discipleship without discipline? Bonhoeffer talks about how we have sought "cheap grace." In our desire for "cheap grace" we want to be a Christian without discipline, have faith without commitment, participate in communion without confession, and experience baptism without repentance. The results are that our Christian witness is weak and ineffective.
Ron Fraser, who until his retirement last year, was the baseball coach at the University of Miami for over twenty years. He won numerous national championships. He had several opportunities to manage in the majors, but he remained at Miami where he maintained an outstanding record. When he was asked the reason why he was so successful as a baseball manager, his answer was simply, "I teach my players the basics." The basics for him were pitching, fielding, and running the bases. His record speaks for itself.
Successful Christian discipleship is getting back to the basics. John Wesley brought renewal to the Church of England in the eighteenth century by getting back to the basics. He established the class meetings, small groups that follow three basics: prayer, Bible study, and witnessing. Every renewal of the church from then until now has come through the same manner. In our text today, Philip is one of the first persons to ever respond to Jesus' call. The first thing he did following his encounter with Jesus was to witness to his friend about his discovery: "Nathanael, come and see. I have found the Messiah. Let me introduce him to you."
Eight-year-old Benny died of AIDS in 1987. CBS made a movie drama about the trauma called Moving Toward the Light. As Benny lies dying in his mother's arms, he asks, "What will it be like?" His mother whispers softly in his ear, "You will see a light, Benny, far away -- a beautiful, shining light at the end of a long tunnel. And your spirit will lift you out of your body and start to travel toward the light. And as you go, a veil will be lifted from your eyes, and suddenly, you will see everything ... but most of all, you will feel a tremendous sense of love." "Will it take long?" Benny asks. "No," his mother answers, "not long at all. Like the twinkling of an eye." Many families have been devastated by AIDS. Amid the darkness and despair an eight-year-old boy and his mother witnessed to the sustaining power of the light of God's presence. They have touched the lives of a multitude of people.
This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him is no darkness at all. -- 1 John 1:5
Go and pass it on.