The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, "Follow me." 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." 46 Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see."

47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!" 48 Nathanael said to him, "How do you know me?" Jesus answered him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you." 49 Nathanael answered him, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!" 50 Jesus answered him, "Because I said to you, 'I saw you under the fig tree,' do you believe? You will see greater things than these." 51 And he said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man." John 1:43-51 ESV

We have found him Philip declares, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote…” –Cf. Matthew 5:17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” (ESV) –Cf. Luke 24:27 “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures things concerning himself.” (ESV)

We have found him Philip declares, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote…” –Cf. Romans 1:1-4 “Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures, concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh, and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord.” (ESV)

We have found him Philip declares, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote…” –Cf. Acts 10:43 “To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name." (ESV) –Cf. Acts 13:32-33 “And we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, 33 this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus, as also it is written in the second Psalm, "'You are my Son, today I have begotten you.‘” (ESV)

We have found him All of these texts indicate the importance of understanding Jesus as part of the larger story of scripture –Human sin has disrupted and disordered God’s good creation (Genesis 3) –From the beginning God has promised to put things right (Genesis 12)

We have found him All of these texts indicate the importance of understanding Jesus as part of the larger story of scripture –The biblical story is the story of God’s redemptive activity –God was and continues to be at work to rescue, redeem, restore and recreate the world

We have found him All of these texts indicate the importance of understanding Jesus as part of the larger story of scripture –Jesus is the one in and through whom God fulfills that promise –When Philip says, “We have found him…” he recognizes that Jesus is the long-awaited fulfillment

King of Israel Nathanael’s statement, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” is a recognition of much the same thing –Cf. 2 Samuel 7:11-16; Psalm 2 [Acts 13:33; Hebrews 1:5; 5:5] –Jesus is the Messiah (promised Davidic King) and the ‘servant of YHWH’ who would bring justice to the people and the nations (Isaiah 42:1-9)

The Gospel The ‘good news’ of Jesus is bigger than our individual salvation –It has a ‘cosmic’ (universal) dimension –It demonstrates God’s faithfulness to his promises

The Gospel The ‘good news’ of Jesus is bigger than our individual salvation –Our ‘salvation’ flows out of the gospel, but it is not the whole story –Placing the “Jesus story” into the larger biblical context helps us avoid turning the ‘gospel’ into a personal benefits package (i.e. ‘sin management’)

Follow Me What does it mean to ‘follow’ Jesus? –Do we fit our lives into the gospel or do we try to fit the gospel into our lives? –Do we really live in the reality that Jesus is King of the world or do we think of him as our ‘co-pilot’?

Follow Me What does it mean to ‘follow’ Jesus? –Is Jesus the source of the life we are called to live or a helpful resource in living the life we choose to live? –Is Jesus Lord or do we think we have veto power over his commands to love God and love others?

Follow Me What does it mean to ‘follow’ Jesus? –It is not about following a set of rules –It is about daily living out the “Jesus Creed” To love God To love others –This includes the ‘unloved’ and the ‘unlovable’

What if …? What would the world look like if people lived as if we were free to live however we chose to live? –Think Judges What would the world look like if more people lived as Jesus commanded us to live?