The text this morning is from the Gospel of John, the 1st chapter, especially starting at verse 47:
Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” 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.” Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 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.”Thus far the text.
Dear friends in Christ,
When I was in high school, and this is something you may not know about me yet, I was a major choir geek. A major choir geek. By the time I reached my senior year of high school, I was regularly performing in three choirs, one of which was an a capella group that I helped to found, another was the show choir, where I did my dancing and singing pop songs, and the other was the chamber choir, where I got to sing with 80 talented other people in 4-part or better harmony, and was also part of a couple of rated performance groups, singing for judges. I was a major choir geek. In some ways, I still wish I was…
Anyway, I tell you that to tell you this. Our high school choir applied to and was accepted by Walt Disney World to go down and perform in one of their regular choir show series. We did a couple performances at the different parks, and it was awesome! In some ways, it was like we were treated like rock stars. We not only got free and discounted passes to the park, but we got an amazingly special tour.
If you’ve ever been to Disney World or Disney Land, or really any theme park, you should realize that there is much more going on behind the scenes than you will ever see. Ever. When our choir went down, we were treated to such a Behind the Scenes tour. We were taken backstage, to the much-rumored land of costuming and effects. We saw a guy in a Mickey outfit walking around without his head. We saw the area where they put the fireworks up for each night. We saw the giant warehouse where they kept the parade floats. We got to see costumes for all the Disney characters laying on the ground or up on their hooks. We saw behind the façade of the different nations like Mexico, China, Norway Germany. We saw more than the average person ever would, ever wanted to, ever realized was there.
You see, for places like Disney or Six Flags, there is much more going on behind the scenes than you would ever think. There is an entire community supporting the experience you, as the consumer, are having. Thousands of employees and volunteers are usually employed to make sure that what you see is what you get, the experience is always amazing, and that the experience is the same for everyone.
In some ways, it’s like that in the text today. We have the calling of some of Jesus’ first disciples, Phillip and Nathaniel. Now, from our perspective, we’d want to look at the text, especially where Jesus says, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these,” and think to ourselves, “Look at all the cool things Jesus is telling us we’re gonna see!”
And yes, this is true. Nathaniel certainly saw some amazing things: healings, miracles, walking on water, turning water to wine, raising people from the dead. And lest you think we are left out, look at all the amazing things we see and hear and experience: we too have seen the Lord’s baptized little ones and the heavens opened and the Holy Spirit descending and the Father speaking claiming us as His own. We have heard from God’s own mouth that the Lord of all creation has come down to die for us on a cross. We see Jesus’ literal body and blood before us today when we come to commune. We receive this, we eat His flesh and drink His blood. We see amazing things when we are in the presence of Jesus.
But this text isn’t all about us. It’s not about what we get to see; rather, it’s about what Christ sees.
You see, Christ here has seen Nathaniel even before Nathaniel heard of Christ. Christ sees all things. Christ even knows who Nathaniel is: a true Israelite who has no deceit in him. Very interesting stuff here. Christ is able to know all, see all, perceive all. I really kind of feel that this is bad news for us. Nathaniel, he had hope in the coming Messiah, he had hope that Israel would be redeemed. Jesus saw this. What does He see in you? What does Jesus see you doing? What does Jesus perceive you thinking? What does Jesus hear you saying?
We confess often to the Lord in this very church that we have sinned in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. But have you really thought about that? We think of the big things: theft, lying, stealing, murder. Maybe we confess the angry thing we said to our kids this morning before we left the house. Maybe we confess the hurtful statement we shot at our wife when she left something undone in the house she promised to do.
But do we remember to confess the things that happen in our lives behind the scenes? Do we remember to confess the ugly thoughts when something here in the church wasn’t done the way we wanted it to be done? Do we remember to confess the nasty response we had when we were surprised at someone’s reaction?
This is not to say that when we confess our sins that God only forgives those sins that we remember. Far from it! When we confess our sins, God, who is faithful and just, forgives our sins and cleanses us from all unrighteousness! Christ’s true body and blood were broken and shed for you for the forgiveness of all your sins! Please don’t hear me saying that God only forgives what you remember. If this were true, and it’s not, then we would be dependent on our works, our own ability to remember, rather than Christ’s all-encompassing, powerful, all-atoning death and resurrection.
No, what I am saying is that we as Christians, we should be doing better, shouldn’t we? Shouldn’t we have improved beyond where we are? We are Christians after all! We are baptized into Christ’s death and raised into His life; shouldn’t we then be living a more God-pleasing life? Shouldn’t we be trying harder? Shouldn’t we be doing this or that?
We have so much that goes on behind the scenes, behind the façade that we put out there for everyone. Like the nation of Germany at the Epcot Center, the only Germany that’s really there is the façade. It’s only the front. But, when you go behind the scenes, it’s all being held up by supports. There’s no substance. Like a Hollywood film set, there’s nothing beyond the front. And we are the same way, aren’t we?
Look at us. We have dressed ourselves so nicely this morning for worship. We have put on our best face. We know we should be less and less sinful, we know we should commit less and less sin, we know that we should be more quick to forgive others, we know we should more quick to confess our own sins. But, we don’t want anyone to suspect things aren’t going so well at home. We don’t want anyone to see our secret sins. We don’t want anyone to know what goes on in front of the computer screen. We don’t want anyone to see our darting eyes. We don’t want anyone to see our vanity. We don’t want anyone to see that we’re sinful. We don’t want…
But it doesn’t matter what we want. It doesn’t matter at all. For Jesus sees everything. It’s true. It’s not something that I often think about, because I delude myself just as much as you do. I believe that my sins are seen only by me, and I forget that my Lord and Savior Himself sees all.
Jesus would not look at my sinful self and say, “Behold, Lewis, a true Christian in whom there is no deceit.” No, God sees that side of me, and He says, “Lewis, behold, you are a sinner, full of sin, and are guilty of breaking the Law of God and breaking the spirit of your neighbor.” And He says the same thing to you.
But Jesus doesn’t ever, ever leave it there. Instead, He says, “You are a sinner, and a sinner indeed, but you are a sinner for whom I have died. I have taken all your sins to myself. I have taken all your sorrow and grief. I have taken all your pain and suffering. I have taken all your sin and I have been crucified for it. I have redeemed you. You continue to have sin, but you are no longer counted among the sinners, you are counted with the saints of God. You are counted as redeemed, forgiven, righteous, holy, innocent. I, Jesus Christ, am guilty of your sin. I, Jesus Christ, have been judged and have been held accountable for all your sin. I, Jesus Christ, have been stricken, smitten, and afflicted. I, Jesus Christ, have been the unrighteous one, I have been the unholy one, I am the guilty one, and I do this all for you.”
Jesus has taken all of our sin! Jesus has died on the cross of Calvary so that we would be forgiven! Jesus looks into our sin-filled lives. And if we did not know the story of Jesus Christ, this would give us pause, this would scare us. But we have been baptized; we are Christ’s redeemed ones! Therefore, when Christ looks into our lives, we know that He is not doing it in order to condemn us, but He is doing it in order to find out all the areas that He will take from us and redeem.
Like an exterminator, coming into a cockroach-infested house, Jesus doesn’t just look at the carpet and the front of the cabinets. Jesus knows that sin, like a cockroach, runs at any light that shines on it. No, Jesus opens the drawers, ripping them off their supports, He flings wide the doors of our heart, and His light bathes the house of our sinful bodies and He sprays it down, killing the nasty, crawling infestation. Jesus Christ sprays us down with the waters of baptism, He sprays it down by His Holy Spirit, not killing cockroaches, but killing sin and taking it to Himself. Christ knows that there’s more to us that just how we appear. Christ sees beyond how we make ourselves up and finds what makes us tick. He saves us from our own infestation of sin.
But Jesus doesn’t leave it there. No, Jesus then gives us His true body and true blood to nourish us, to make us whole, to preserve us for His coming, to show us that we are forgiven creatures, forgiven Adams and forgiven Eves, no longer wandering in our own self-made deserts of sin, but at home in the House of His Father. We are in the presence of God’s children here. We are to lift one another up. We don’t hide ourselves from each other, but bare our souls to our brothers and sisters in Christ that they may pray for us and help us in every need.
We are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses who bear witness to Christ for us! We are reminded of Christ when He is spoken into our lives. We are reminded of who Christ is and what He has done for us. We are reminded that we are living together as a community of believers in Christ who have been forgiven, justified, sanctified, and growing together.
Jesus Christ sees all things. He sees beyond the façade, He see behind the scenes, He sees those areas we don’t want anyone to see. But He doesn’t condemn us for them; He forgives us for them. He takes them from us. Have no fear, little flock. Jesus Christ, your great Shepherd, is here, now, in this Church to take care of you. You no longer need to worry, but rejoice in the saving work of Jesus Christ on the cross, a benefit He has freely given to you now and always. Amen.
Now may the peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord! Amen.
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