Sharing Your Faith - John 1:29-51
Gospel of John (2020) • Sermon • Submitted
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©Copyright September 20, 2020 by Rev. Bruce Goettsche
If you talk to most Christians they will tell you they know they are supposed to share their faith with others. If their honesty runs deep enough, they will also tell you that sharing their faith with others scares them. People will give you many reasons why sharing their faith is intimidating
· I don't know what to say.
· I'm afraid they will ask a question I can't answer.
· I am afraid they will point out the inconsistencies of my own life.
To help with this important assignment from the Lord we are going to look at some of the very first witnesses to Jesus. We will see John the Baptist, Andrew, and then Philip. You will find all of these accounts in John chapter 1.
The Witness of John the Baptist
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30 He is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘A man is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.’ 31 I did not recognize him as the Messiah, but I have been baptizing with water so that he might be revealed to Israel.”
32 Then John testified, “I saw the Holy Spirit descending like a dove from heaven and resting upon him. 33 I didn’t know he was the one, but when God sent me to baptize with water, he told me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I saw this happen to Jesus, so I testify that he is the Chosen One of God.”
It is interesting what John says about Jesus. First, he called him the Lamb of God. This points to the reason Jesus came: to give His life as a sacrifice, (or payment), for our sin. He did this because it was the ONLY way we could be rescued; the only way we could find forgiveness and be able to enter into a relationship with God.
Second, he called Jesus “the Messiah and Chosen One”. This is bold speaking. John recognized the deity (or God nature) of Jesus. He recognized Him as the one all of Israel had been waiting for. John says this man will baptize with the Holy Spirit, which means He will provide a way for God to enter into our lives; to be part of His family. This is the real message of the gospel: it is not so much that someday you will get to go to Heaven when you die (which is true); the message is that you can walk with God right now! Your life can be transformed by the power of God living inside of you and working through you.
These truths should be part of any true witness for Christ. We must point to the reason Jesus came (to give His life), Who he was (and had to be, God in a human frame), and What He wants to do for us (bring us into a life-changing relationship with God).
When we look at John as an example of what it means to share our faith, notice what John the Baptist does. First, he testified to his own experience with Jesus. John points to Jesus and says: 1) this is the man I was talking about when I said someone was coming who would baptize with the Holy Spirit. 2) I know this the man because I saw the Spirit descend on him like a dove as God told me it would happen. When it comes to sharing your faith, you can only share what you know. This is true in any testimony. You can't testify to what you don't know from first-hand experience.
I had a wedding once in the church and during the wedding the FBI (I believe) was outside recording license plate numbers. They were investigating someone involved in the wedding for drug involvement. I was called the next week at home. When someone calls and identifies themselves as from a federal law enforcement agency it is a bit unnerving. The agent had all kinds of questions about the amount of money spent on the wedding. I could only testify to what they gave me (and there was nothing extraordinary there). I was really no help at all. You cannot give information you don't have.
This is the thing we must keep in mind: you don't have to answer every question raised or resolve every difficulty presented when talking about Jesus. You share what you know: “this is what happened in my life and this is why I responded to Christ the way I did”. People are generally receptive to our personal story.
William Barclay tells us how the great nineteenth-century agnostic Aldous Huxley was once profoundly moved by the gospel. He had been at a weekend house party in the midst of which, on Sunday morning, most of the guests proposed to go to church. Huxley did not intend to go and instead approached a rather plain man who, nevertheless, was known to have a very simple and radiant faith. He said to the man, “Suppose you don’t go to church today and instead stay home and tell me quite simply what your Christian faith means to you and why you are a Christian.”
The man replied, “Oh, I can’t do that. You could demolish my arguments in a minute; I’m not clever enough to argue with you.”
“I don’t want to argue with you,” Huxley replied. “I just want you to tell me simply what this Christ means to you.” The man then stayed home and told Huxley of his faith. When he had finished, there were tears in the eyes of the brilliant agnostic. He said, “I would give my right hand if only I could believe that.” What touched his heart? It was not arguments. It was a genuine faith expressed by one who knew Jesus and was not ashamed to invite others to come to him.[1]
Second, John kept the focus on Jesus. Even though John shared His story, it was never really about Him. I get the feeling sometimes that some who share their faith really want it to be about them. They go into great detail about how sinful they were (almost like they are "bragging"). Or, they may go into great detail about how wonderful they are now because of Jesus. Our testimony is supposed to point people to Christ and not to us.
Third, John was motivated by the belief that following Christ was the best option for everyone. We see this in the second part of the story.
The following day John was again standing with two of his disciples. 36 As Jesus walked by, John looked at him and declared, “Look! There is the Lamb of God!” 37 When John’s two disciples heard this, they followed Jesus. (1:35-37)
John was not territorial. Trusting the "Lamb of God" was not something John needed to keep hidden for himself. When you share Christ with others, your portion of God's grace is not diminished. It's just the opposite. When we share Christ with a friend or family member there is a unique joy that takes place.
John encouraged HIS disciples to follow Jesus! Why? He cared about his disciples. He wanted what was best for them. So, he pointed them to Jesus. He lost two disciples, but gained two brothers in Christ. That is a great trade.
We are told John the Baptist spoke to two of his disciples. We know one of them was Andrew because that's what we are told. The other is not named. Some suggest the other disciple could have actually been John, the author of the gospel. This would explain how he knew about these encounters. Throughout his gospel John never referred to himself by name. He often referd to himself as "the disciple Jesus loved."
The Example of Andrew
Our second presenter in this Biblical witnessing seminar is Andrew. Andrew became one of the disciples of Jesus but was eclipsed by his brother Simon.
40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of these men who heard what John said and then followed Jesus. 41 Andrew went to find his brother, Simon, and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means “Christ”).
42 Then Andrew brought Simon to meet Jesus. Looking intently at Simon, Jesus said, “Your name is Simon, son of John—but you will be called Cephas” (which means “Peter”).
Isn't it interesting that Andrew is known as "Peter's brother?" Some of you know what that is like. You have lived all your life in the shadow of a sibling. But that didn't stop Andrew. This was good news and he wanted his brother to meet Jesus.
Don't you wonder what Simon Peter thought about Andrew's relationship with John the Baptist? John the Baptist was a little odd.
Peter seems like the kind of guy who may have given his brother grief for his fascination with the mountain man preacher. However, whatever Peter thought about his brother's interest in John the Baptist, did not matter to Andrew. Andrew believed he had found the one every Jew had been waiting for all his life. There was no way he was going to keep this from his brother.
The thing we learn from Andrew is our witness should start at home. It is true, Jesus said "a prophet is without honor in his own hometown." Sometimes the people who know you best dismiss your testimony as “just another phase.” If they feel you are preaching to (or worse, AT) them they think, "Who are you, to preach at me?"
However, no one can recognize a genuine change in someone as well as a member of your own family. We share good things with our family. We can't wait to tell them about a promotion gained, a windfall profit, or the news of a wedding or pregnancy. This news, that you have found the author of life who can make us new, is BETTER news than anything else we can share.
Andrew said to his brother, "We have found the Messiah." Andrew didn’t take long to believe Jesus was the long-awaited redeemer of men. He spoke to his brother honestly and openly. He told him the conclusion he had drawn. That is a great place to start when sharing with another. You can start a conversation with words like, “Can I share with you something that has changed my life?”
James Montgomery Boice wrote,
It is clear that if we are to witness successfully in the circles where we are best known, then we must meet certain conditions. What are they? In the first place, there must be a change in our manner of life, and this must be seen in our willingness to take second place in order that the ones to whom we are witnessing might see Jesus.
If you are sitting in a waiting room somewhere with a packet of tracts in your pocket and a person sits down next to you whom you do not know, you can witness to him and it will hardly cost you anything. That is not difficult. But if you are going to witness effectively to your brother, there must be a change in your life.
Unlike the man on the seat next to you, your brother knows you. He knows whether the thing you are professing has affected you personally. He knows whether you take your turn drying the dishes at home or whether you try to wiggle out of the responsibility. He knows whether you put thought into caring for other members of the family. He knows whether or not you are touchy and anxious above all to defend your own interests. In short, he knows whether the faith you profess is real or ineffectual. He knows whether Christ occupies the highest point in your life or whether you do.[2]
Second, Andrew brought Peter to Jesus. This is such an important point. We cannot bring someone physically to Jesus, but we can bring them to the gospels or the story of Jesus. It is far more productive to bring people to Jesus and invite them to examine His claims and events of his life, than it is to try to argue someone into the Kingdom.
You can also bring people to Jesus by bringing them to church with you. Most people who start coming to a church come because a friend invited them. This is something you do in addition to sharing your own story with Jesus.
Most people who say they don't believe in Jesus have no idea who Jesus really is. They repeat information or draw conclusions about Christ from some of his wacky followers. They tell you they have read the Bible but that may mean they have read a few verses from the Bible. One of the best things we can do is get people to read the gospel accounts. One of the most popular starting points is the Gospel of John. Bring people to Jesus! It is always a good principle.
Philip and Nathanael
Our third presenter is Philip. He does not appear to be a disciple of John the Baptist. We read,
43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Come, follow me.” 44 Philip was from Bethsaida, Andrew and Peter’s hometown.
45 Philip went to look for Nathanael and told him, “We have found the very person Moses and the prophets wrote about! His name is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.”
46 “Nazareth!” exclaimed Nathanael. “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”
“Come and see for yourself,” Philip replied.
47 As they approached, Jesus said, “Now here is a genuine son of Israel—a man of complete integrity.”
48 “How do you know about me?” Nathanael asked.
Jesus replied, “I could see you under the fig tree before Philip found you.”
49 Then Nathanael exclaimed, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God—the King of Israel!”
50 Jesus asked him, “Do you believe this just because I told you I had seen you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this.”
Since Philip was from the hometown of Andrew and Peter (the last time Andrew’s name will come first) he may have heard about Jesus from the brothers. However, it is Jesus Himself who invited Philip to follow.
The first thing we read about Philip is he wanted to tell his friend Nathanael. He wanted his friend to serve with him. Unfortunately, Nathanael had some prejudice to work through. When he heard Jesus was from Nazareth, he immediately dismissed him.
How quickly we dismiss the things of God because they do not fit our stereotype. How quickly we dismiss a person’s conversion because of how stained their past is. Like Nathanael, we bring baggage into our ability to hear God.
Because of Philip’s relationship with Nathanael he challenges his friend to check Jesus out for himself rather than to give in to prejudicial thinking. And Nathanael, trusting his friend, went willingly. There is power in personal testimony and relationship.
And as Nathanael approached, Jesus commented, “Now here is a genuine son of Israel—a man of complete integrity.” Nathanael assumes Jesus is merely flattering him like someone wanting to make a sale or like a teenager hoping to con their parents. Nathanael called his bluff. Jesus then told him he saw him under the fig tree before Philip arrived.
I wonder why that is significant. What was Nathanael doing to led him to the conclude Jesus was the Messiah. Perhaps Nathanael was praying or studying the Scriptures. We will never know. However, the words of Jesus convinced Nathanael Jesus is legitimate. The response of Jesus is in essence, “Hang on, you haven’t seen anything yet!”
CONCLUSIONS
This passage has been an abbreviated seminar on how to share your faith. We will pick this up and build on it as we continue our study of the Gospel of John. But let’s review what we learned.
First, you can’t tell others what you have not experienced yourself. An encounter with Christ changes us. Many religious people try to witness to others but what they are in essence doing is trying to grow their church. They are inviting people to group membership and not to Jesus! Once you have met Christ that experience is so transforming it drives you to share with others. So, here is the question: have you ever come to Jesus personally? Have you checked Him out for yourself? Have you reached that point where you acknowledged Him as the One who died to take away your sin? Are you following Him as his disciple?
Second, witnessing is simply about pointing people to Jesus. You don’t have to answer all the questions. The man born blind was quizzed about his healing. They had all kinds of questions. His answer was simple: “I don’t have the answers to those questions. All I know is this: I was blind and now I see.” Don’t let what you don’t know keep you from sharing what (and WHO you do know.) Encourage people to look at the claims Jesus made about Himself. Challenge them to see the history that surrounds the stories. Encourage them to immerse themselves in the Scriptural accounts. Encourage people to examinee the evidence for themselves.
Finally, you do not need to become a missionary in a foreign country to share your faith. Start with your own family and friends. They are your mission field! These are the people God has brought into your life for you to tell them about Him. Start with your spouse, your kids, your parents, siblings, co-workers, neighbors and so on. Do not assume people understand the gospel. It is better to assume they do not. We all need to hear the message of the gospel again and again. Share it with everyone around you. Even if you find out they are already a Christ-follower – they will be glad to know you are as well.
[1] James Montgomery Boice, The Gospel of John: An Expositional Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2005), 120.
[2] James Montgomery Boice, The Gospel of John: An Expositional Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2005), 119.