[Sunday, October 5, 2025] A True Israelite | John 1:43-51
Sermon by Rev. Jinkook (Danny) Sohn (Hope of Heaven Baptist Chuch)
2025. 10. 5. 주일예배 설교- 요한복음 강해 5
본문: 요한복음 1:43-51
제목: 참으로 이스라엘 사람이라
설교자: 손진국 목사 (하늘소망교회)
Tomorrow is Chuseok, one of our homeland's biggest holidays. When you live abroad, however, it can feel a bit more regretful and lonely. In your heart, it's a holiday, but your actual surroundings don't reflect that, and you miss your family back in Korea. Today, I hope we can worship together in church and share the warm spirit of Chuseok with one another. With that heart, let's greet the person next to us - "It's good to see you." "Welcome."
Today's sermon title is "A True Israelite." This is what Jesus said to Nathanael when his friend Philip brought him to the Lord. In verse 47, we see: [Verse 47] When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.” Jesus's words, "Here truly is an Israelite," are the highest praise for him. As I meditated on this passage, I realized that the term "a true Israelite" does not refer to the country of Israel in the Middle East. The word "Israel" is the new name God gave to Jacob after he wrestled with God at the Jabbok River and won. It means "he struggles with God and overcomes," which ultimately signifies that "Jacob broke his own pride and came to rely on God." It means "a person who truly relies on God," "a person transformed by God," "a true person of God." I was very challenged by this phrase, "a true Israelite."
There is a story about a grandfather and grandmother from the countryside who visited their son's home in New York City. They went to a Korean supermarket in New York, bought a product called "Pure Sesame Oil," and found that it was fake. So, when they returned to their country home in Korea, they thought, 'If we press our own real sesame oil and sell it, it will sell well.' They pressed the oil, bottled it, and named it "Real Pure Sesame Oil" and sent it over. What do you think happened? It didn't sell well. Some people who bought and tried it even said that the grandparents' real pure sesame oil was the fake one. It was unfair, but they couldn't prove that theirs was genuine. Why? Because the people had long been accustomed to the fake. The fake had defeated the real.
Could our life of faith be like this? Are we becoming so accustomed to the fake that we are losing the genuine? How can we know if we are genuine? It happens when Jesus Himself testifies for us, just as in today's passage. "You are a true Israelite." "You are a true believer in God." "You are a true Christian." This one word from the Lord becomes the proof that overcomes the fake.
Today, by examining why Jesus praised Nathanael, saying, "Here truly is an Israelite," I pray that we all, like Nathanael, may receive the Lord's praise and acknowledgment as "true Israelites," "true people of God."
1. Nathanael had an open mind and a yearning heart.
The name Nathanael means 'God has given' or 'gift of God.' He was from Cana in Galilee, and as we see in today's passage, he came to meet Jesus through his friend, Philip. Here's a bible quiz for you. Was this Nathanael one of Jesus's 12 disciples? Or not? The answer is Yes. Among Jesus's 12 disciples is Bartholomew, which is not a first name but means "son of Tolmai." His real name was Nathanael. 'Bar' means 'son of.' Jesus called Peter 'Simon Bar-Jonah' because Simon's (Peter's) father was Jonah (John).
When his friend Philip came and told him that he had found the Messiah, the one Moses and the prophets wrote about, and that it was Jesus of Nazareth, what was Nathanael's reaction? [Verse 46] “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” said Philip. The phrase, "Can anything good come from Nazareth?" is his way of saying, 'That's absurd. It's not possible.'
Reading this part, one might think Nathanael was prejudiced. But in fact, this shows us that Nathanael had read and meditated much on the Law and the Prophets, which was the Bible of his day. Nathanael's statement shows that he knew the prophecies in the scriptures about the Messiah's birth. [Micah 5:2] “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” Therefore, because he knew that the Messiah had to be born in Bethlehem, he showed a skeptical reaction when Philip said he had found the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth. Nevertheless, when Philip said, "Come and see," he followed him to where Jesus was. Why did he go? Was it because he couldn't refuse his friend's request? Even though it didn't align with what he thought, he followed Philip with an open mind. Here, we can also see the earnest desire he had to wait for and meet the Messiah. That's right. As Nathanael meditated on the scriptures, he had an open mind toward the Messiah who was continually promised in the Old Testament and an earnest desire to meet Him. Seeing his open and earnest heart for the Messiah, the Lord praised Nathanael as a true Israelite.
In his youth, Augustine lived a dissolute life, but deep in his heart, he was searching for God. God saw the earnestness in his heart and met him. This led him to eventually make this confession: "Our hearts are restless until they find their rest in You" (Confessions).
My beloved brothers and sisters, what kind of person is God looking for today? He looks for a person who earnestly seeks the Lord. A person who longs to meet the Lord. What about us? Are we the people God is looking for?
When I see our reality, where our open hearts and earnestness for the Lord are growing cold, I feel the words of Isaiah becoming our reality. [Isaiah 29:13] The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught.” If our hearts have grown distant from the Lord, the one thing we must remember at this time is the fact that the Lord alone is the way. The Lord alone is the unchanging truth, and the Lord alone is the life. What does this mean? It means we are beings who cannot live without the Lord. Today, God is searching for His people who have a broken spirit, who confess from their hearts, "I cannot live a single moment without the Lord," and who have an earnest thirst. I bless you all in the name of the Lord to become true people of God who worship in spirit and truth with an open heart and earnest thirst for the Lord, meeting the living Lord every day.
[Application] Am I living my faith out of simple habit? Is there an earnestness and an open heart for the Lord within me that cries, "I cannot live a single moment without the Lord"?
2. Nathanael was the same on the inside and the outside.
When Jesus first met Nathanael and called him a true Israelite, He added one more thing. What did He say? At the end of verse 47, He says, "in whom there is no deceit." [Verse 47] When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.” Here, we see the divinity of the Lord, who sees right into the heart of Nathanael, whom He is meeting for the first time.
Deceit is when the outside and the inside are different. It is when one's words and actions differ according to one's own benefit, using trickery to deceive others. But the Lord says that within Nathanael, there was no such deceit. When people know someone else is watching them, their behavior changes. Their tone of voice changes. Their facial expression changes. But Nathanael was not like that. It means he was always consistent, whether people were watching or not. How is that possible? It is because he acknowledged that God was always with him. That is why Nathanael, under the fig tree where no one was watching, quietly meditated on the Word of God and had a time of deep fellowship with God.
Think about our daily lives. What am I really doing when no one is watching? Even in a situation where no one sees me, am I conscious of God who is watching me?
There is a story about a wise abbot in an old monastery. Among his many disciples, he particularly loved one boy. But in the eyes of others, this boy was unremarkable and not particularly intelligent. The other disciples were very unhappy with the abbot's special affection for this boy. So they asked the abbot to tell them the reason why he cherished that young monk so specially. The abbot gathered all the monks and said he would tell them the reason if they solved the following problem. He gave each monk a small bird and told them to go to a place where no one could see and kill the bird by sunset. As evening fell, the disciples began to gather one by one, and a pile of dead birds formed in the monastery courtyard. But the boy whom the abbot specially loved did not return. A long while later, when the sun had almost completely set, the boy came running, out of breath and drenched in sweat. In his hand, the small bird was still alive. The boy said this: "Abbot, you told us to kill the bird in a place where no one could see. But no matter how quiet and secluded a place I looked for, God was always watching. So I could not kill the bird."
[Psalm 139:7-8] Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
This is how David introduces God to his son Solomon. [1 Chronicles 28:9] “And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever.”
What kind of faith do you and I have? I hope this is the faith we have: God clearly sees and knows everything that happens in every moment of my life and everything that arises in my soul. I pray that you will all become believers who seek with all your heart the God who examines our hearts and knows all our thoughts, who trust Him completely, and who do all things for the glory of God, wherever you are and whatever you do. When we do so, I believe we, like Nathanael, will become true Israelites, true people of God, who are the same on the inside and the outside and are pleasing to God's heart.
[Application] Is there anything in my life where what I believe and how I actually live are different? What is the reason for this discrepancy between my faith and my life?
3. Nathanael immediately confessed what he realized.
When Jesus told Nathanael that he was a true Israelite in whom there was no deceit, Nathanael asked Jesus, "How do you know me?" What did Jesus say then? In verse 48, He says that before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you. [Verse 48] “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.” Jesus says He saw Nathanael when he was under the fig tree. What does this mean? Does it mean that Jesus happened to pass by and see him under the fig tree? If so, Nathanael would not have been so surprised. Being under the fig tree is not simply about a place and a situation. In Jewish tradition, being under a fig tree was a place for meditating on the Law and praying in longing for God. In other words, Jesus recognized that his being under the fig tree meant he was a person with a thirsty soul seeking truth, meditating on the Word, and praying with an earnest heart to find God. Jesus saw Nathanael's heart, and He was now answering his earnest prayer.
Through the fact that Jesus knew his heart, knew his private secrets, and had been paying attention to him, Nathanael realized that Jesus was the Messiah. What was the first thing Nathanael did upon this realization? [Verse 49] Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.” Nathanael confessed what he had realized to the Jesus standing before him: "You are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel." This confession is a declaration that Jesus is God and the Messiah anointed as King. To Nathanael who confessed his faith like this, the Lord gives an amazing word of blessing. [Verse 50] Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.” He gives the blessing, "You will see greater things than that." What is it? It is in verse 51. [Verse 51] He then added, “Very truly I tell you, you will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on’ the Son of Man.” He says they will see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man. This is the story of the ladder that Jacob saw in his dream while sleeping in the field at Bethel in Genesis. But Jesus is speaking of the blessing of realizing that He is that ladder, the mediator who connects heaven and earth.
There is a truly amazing power in confession. Confession creates a reality. A confession of love creates a richer feeling of love. When we constantly confess the unseen God with our mouths, our sense of God's reality becomes richer. When the Lord came to this earth and healed the sick, He did not just heal them; He asked them. "What do you want?" "Do you want to get well?" In response to the Lord's question, when they confessed their faith, saying, "Yes, Lord. I want to be healed," or "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean," miracles happened—the blind saw, and lepers were healed.
To Peter, who confessed his faith, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God," Jesus said, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah." And then, [Matthew 16:18-19] And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. He promises to build His body, the church, on that confession, to overcome the powers of hell, and He grants the amazing authority that whatever is bound or loosed on earth will be bound or loosed in heaven.
God loves confession. However, due to the influence of Confucianism, we are not accustomed to confessing love. Before I believed in Jesus, I had never verbally said "I love you" to my parents or siblings. But after becoming a Christian, when I called my father and said, "Dad, I love you," my father just cleared his throat. My mother-in-law often uses the expression "I love you." One day, after hearing my mother-in-law say "I love you" to me, my father looked at her with surprised eyes and later said to me, "Your mother-in-law is a bit strange." In a Confucian culture, we were taught and raised as if not expressing things was a virtue. But one thing we must remember is that the way we love God and our neighbors must be God's way, not our familiar ways, our customs, or our habits. When we go to the mountains, it's natural for us to see a stone cairn, add a few more stones, and pray with our hands together. When we buy a new car, it's common to tie a dried pollack in a cloth and hang it in the trunk. When starting a new business, we've lived as if it's natural to bow before a pig's head, and when moving, to choose an auspicious day. And when it came to love, the expression of affection was to lower your head and not speak. If someone asked, "Do you love me?" responding with, "Why do you ask such a thing?" was the expression of love.
When people are told to believe in Jesus, they say they have believed in their hearts, but when asked to confess with their mouths, they say they can't because it's too embarrassing. But now, that must change. We must change to God's way. We must serve the Lord in God's way and love in God's way. God wants us to confess our love with our mouths. He wants us to profess our faith with our mouths. [Matthew 10:32] “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven.” [Romans 10:10] For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. [Romans 10:13] for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” God's way is to confess. Let's confess our faith. Please repeat after me. "The Lord is the Son of the living God." "The Lord is the master and king of my life." "I love the Lord." To the person next to you, "I love you."
I pray that you and I, like Nathanael, will confess our love and faith for the Lord daily, receive the Lord's praise as true Israelites, and become believers who are the joy of the Lord.
[Application] Do I clearly confess my love and faith to God? What love and grace have I received from the Lord that I can confess with my mouth today?
To summarize the message: God is still looking for true disciples like Nathanael today. I bless you all in the name of the Lord to become true Israelites, faithful people of God who possess the authority of heaven—who seek the Lord with an open heart and earnestness for God, whose faith and life are always consistent without deceit, and who daily confess your love and faith for the Lord with your mouths.
하늘소망교회(담임 손진국 목사)는 뉴질랜드 오클랜드 북부 실버데일에 세워진 한인교회로 '하나님의 마음으로 사람을 살리는 교회'입니다.
Hope of Heaven Baptist Church (Senior Pastor: Rev. Jinkook Sohn) is a Korean church established in Silverdale, Auckland, New Zealand. It is a church that saves people with the heart of God.