St. Luke Ev. Lutheran Church of Watertown

Sermon delivered by Pastor Anthony E. Schultz

January 15, 2006 Epiphany 2 series B John 1:43-51


 

The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.” Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” said Philip. When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false.” “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.” Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.” Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You shall see greater things than that.” He then added, “I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”


 

            People of God—rescued from the flaming lake of fire in hell by the innocent blood of the very Lamb of God:


            There has been a lot of talk about the Supreme Court of the United States this week. Talk about the importance of precedent! Do you know about Supreme Court precedent? Do you know about the case of Yick Wo v. Hopkins? It was decided in 1886. Mr. Wo was a Chinese man who owned a laundry in San Francisco. The Supreme Court said the case turned on the 14th Amendment to the Constitution—the equal protection clause. The Court found that equal protection is not confined to citizens of the United States—but to protect all persons without regard to any difference of race or color or nationality! Do you know what that means? It means if you are physically in the country you are entitled to equal protection. That means even if you are an illegal alien—your children can go to school here—and you can go to the hospital ER here—and if you get arrested—they are supposed to do that—“You have the right to remain silent…” thing! Did you know that? Yick Wo!


            Ten years later—1896 the Supreme Court decided Plessy v. Ferguson. That decision upheld a Louisiana law that said equal protection could not abolish the distinction based on color. That meant you could not mush people together on a train—because that would be bad—so they said—for everyone—no matter what color your skin! Different colors—they said—should have their own rail road cars! So it goes with so called earthly justice. So it goes with the highest court in the land—in this sin spoiled world. All that matters—all that counts is the forever forgiveness that we have for Jesus’ sake. All that matters is our Heavenly Father’s Ultimate Supreme Court! Today God’s Word encourages us by the power of the Gospel to:


Follow Jesus!

1. Listen to what Jesus says

2. Watch what Jesus does


            Last week Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist. Jesus was anointed Prophet, Priest and King. Jesus’ public ministry has begun—the final three years of all Jesus came to say and to do to save us from our sins. That—of course—is why Jesus came—to take away our sins. People everywhere—because they have a conscience—are conscious of sin and guilt. About this time every year—people in Saudi Arabia—try to get rid of their sins by chunking rocks at three stone pillars that are supposed to represent the devil. There was such a blind rush to throw these stones—complicated by the fact that a bunch of suit cases had fallen off of trucks or buses—that 345 people were trampled to death. Back in 1990 1,426 people were literally trampled to death! How sad and tragic is that? If only taking our sins away was as simple as picking up rocks and throwing them. But it isn’t! The only way to take away our sin and guilt—is for the ultimate innocent sacrifice of the Son of God—Jesus--our only Rescuer and Redeemer!


            Last Sunday we saw Jesus’ baptism—As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven torn open and the Spirit descend on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well-pleased.” At once the Spirit sent him out into the desert, and he was in the desert 40 days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him. Mark 1:10-12 Today God’s Word says, The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.” Follow Jesus! Would you? If Jesus came along today—and bumped into you at Ace Hardware—and simply said, “Follow me!” Would you? Would you walk away from everything—away from your job—away from your family and friends—away from everything that was familiar and comfortable—to follow this person you hardly knew? Would you? Could you? Yes, you would! Because the one who called you is in fact who he claims to be—the very Son of God. With Jesus’ invitation—comes the ability to do what Jesus asks! Jesus never ever asks us to do anything—without equipping us to do it! How wonderful is that? Only Jesus can make it possible for us to not worry about tomorrow. To be joyful always—to pray continually—to give thanks under all circumstances—to rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again, rejoice. To forgive from the heart—even as God your Heavenly Father has forgiven you!


            Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Peter and Andrew—James and John were what? Fishermen! Next Sunday—with Jesus’ permission the front of the bulletin—the service folder will say, “I will make you fishers of men!” These fishermen were from Bethsaida. Could you find that on a map of Israel? I think we know a little bit about Israel. The children in our Day School—in Miss Olsen and Miss Uhlenbrauch and Mrs. Cloute and Mrs. Ehlke’s rooms can draw maps of Israel. These little people of God know how to draw Israel with the Sea of Galilee at the top—the Jordan River down the middle—the Dead Sea at the bottom. These little people know Jerusalem—in Judea—in the south—to the left of the top of the Dead Sea. These little people know that—with Bethlehem—where baby Jesus was born—below Jerusalem. Bethany—where Mary and Martha and Lazarus lived—just a little below Jerusalem. These little people of God know Capernaum—Jesus headquarters for much of his ministry—near the top of the Sea of Galilee—Cana—where Jesus turned water into wine below that and Nazareth where Jesus grew up below that—and Nain—where Jesus interrupted a widow on the way to the cemetery to bury her son—to wake her son up from the sleep of death. Little people in 1st and 2nd and 3rd grade know this. We will, too, the more we study God’s Word! Bethsaida is by the Sea of Galilee, too—at the very top! Peter and Andrew, James and John Philip and Nathanael—Bartholomew—lived in a place not unlike Wisconsin. A place with a lake and grassy hills and forests and wild flowers! As soon as Jesus found Philip—Philip found his friend Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth!” We have found the Messiah—the Christ—the Promised One!” For that to mean anything—Philip and Nathanael both had to read God’s Word—and come to Synagogue faithfully to hear and discuss God’s Word! Can the same be said of us?


            When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false.” “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.” Before Nathanael was close enough to shake hands—Jesus says—loud enough for Nathanael and anyone nearby—here is a child of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah—not just physically but spiritually. Here is a person who understands the Scriptures—who believes the Word and Gospel promises of God. Here is a child of his Heavenly Father by grace through faith. Here is a true believer! “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus answers with knowledge that only the Son of God could possibly know! Jesus saw Nathanael under the fig tree—almost certainly the place where Nathanael would spend time—pondering the Scriptures and saying his prayers! Humble faithful people in Bible times would make time to do that! Humble faithful people today will do that, too! We will make time to read the Scriptures—time to read God’s Word! You can do that on Sunday morning, too! Read God’s Word—as we study the Revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave to John on the Island of Patmos. To reinforce that—there are devotions on the Internet—on the Wisconsin Synod Web site—on Tuesdays and Thursdays—working through Revelation. My uncle Dean—who actually is literally a rocket scientist—used to print a Bible passage every day he went to work. He would clip it to his visor in his car. Every time he had to stop—in the gridlock on the California Freeway—he would read that passage and memorize it—and where it came from. Then—that day—he would watch for an opportunity to share that Scripture. And when people would say—where did you get that? He could say God’s Word! And they’d say, “It doesn’t say that!” And he could say, “Sure it does! Look it up!” And he’d know where to point them! At that rate—my uncle learned lots and lots of Bible passages and where they came from! You could do that too! And then—the more you read and study and ponder God’s Word—the better your prayers will be—because you will understand God’s unconditional forgiving love better and better. You will spend less and less time thinking about things and stuff and more and more time thinking about heavenly treasures! You will spend more and more time thinking about people and their immortal souls!


            Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.” By grace alone—Nathanael understood who and what Jesus is. Jesus is Rabbi—teacher. That means Jesus teaches and we learn—understand more and more—grow in our understanding of the kingdom of God. When you respect Jesus as your teacher—you want to study and learn. You can do that—by coming to Church Sunday after Sunday and Wednesdays—during Lent and Advent. Send your children to our Day School and then when they are ready for High School—let them continue to have Jesus as their Rabbi—their teacher at Luther Preparatory School and at Lakeside Lutheran High School. Set an example for your children—by studying the Scriptures when you are a parent! Jesus is the King of Israel. That means he rules in our hearts and our family life! The first responsibility of a King is to keep their people safe. Jesus keeps us safe from the devil’s most horrible hurtful attacks!


            Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You shall see greater things than that.” He then added, “I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” Over 111 years ago—the Supreme Court of the United States heard the case of Pollock v. Farmers’ Loan and Trust Company. This was about the time the money our Government was taking in was shrinking. People thought—here’s our big chance to stick it to rich people! You know—rich people? Let’s pass a law that will create an income tax! We will make it 2%! Then poor people will only have to pay a little—but rich people—2% of lots will be lots! We will make them pay! Well, the Supreme Court said an income tax was unconstitutional! So they amended the Constitution! People voted to pass the 16th Amendment so—we can have an income tax! What were they thinking? That’s the way it goes in this world! Jesus said—give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s! We give Jesus our heart, soul, mind and strength. Follow Jesus and one day we will see him face to face in Heaven! Amen!


            To God alone all glory!

        Rev. Anthony E. Schultz