Don't Miss Him
Introduction
Have you heard the story of the time when Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson went on a camping trip? Holmes wakes Watson up in the middle of the night and says, “Watson, look up and tell me what you see.”
Watson says, “I see millions and millions of stars.” Holmes says, “And what does that tell you?” Watson thinks a moment, and responds, “Well, astronomically, it tells me that there are millions of galaxies, and possibly billions of planets. Astrologically, I observe that Saturn is in Leo.”
“Horologically, I deduce that the time is a quarter past three. Theologically, I can see that God is all-powerful and that we are small and insignificant. Meteorologically, I suspect that we will have a beautiful day tomorrow. Why, what does it tell you?” Holmes was quiet for a second, and then said, “Someone has stolen our tent.”
There are times that we miss the most obvious things. Such is the case with Philip in John 14. Gathered in the upper room, Jesus tried to prepare His disciples for His coming death.
The chapter opens with Christ’s wonderful words, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.” In spite of that encouragement, the disciples were still fearful and confused.
In verse 8, Philip speaks from his heart and says, “Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.”
This statement by Philip seems to both surprise and disappoint Jesus. He responds to Philip with a question. He asks, “Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip?”
This is a good question, not just for Philip, but for many other believers as well. Philip reminds us that it is possible to be around the Lord Jesus, and still miss Him altogether.
Philip challenges us to be careful that in our Christian lives, we don’t miss the most important thing - Christ. Look with me at this text, and I want to point out to you three things you should not miss about Jesus. First of all:
I. Don’t Miss The Privilege Of Living With Jesus
It is not that Philip’s request in verse 8 is a bad one. It is just that it doesn’t make sense after Philip had followed Jesus for upwards of three years. 2. Jesus looks at Philip and asks, “Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip?” Philip had seen Him defy the laws of the universe. He was an eyewitness to the miraculous, awe-inspiring work of the Man whose miracles were unexplainable to His critics, and undeniable to their witnesses. Philip had stood on the hillside and listened as Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount. He had been a front-row spectator to the greatest life ever lived. Yet, when Philip opens his mouth in John 14:8, it seems as if much of what he had seen had been lost on him. Philip seemed to have missed what a privilege it had been to walk daily in the presence of Jesus.
If we are not careful, like Philip, we will grow accustomed to Jesus, and we will miss the eternal privilege we have of walking through this life with Him. Notice a couple of things we might miss. We might miss the privilege of:
A. Being Connected to Him
Jesus looked at Philip and asked in verse 9, “Have I been so long time with you…” When He said this, perhaps in His mind, our Lord went back to the day when He first met Philip.
John 1:43 says, “The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me.” Jesus went and found Philip, and personally invited him to become one of his disciples.
Philip had the unique privilege of being one of only 12 men who would spend nearly every day for three years living and working with the Lord Jesus. Philip was privileged to be connected to Jesus as one of the original disciples.
Much like Philip, if you know Christ - if you are one of His followers, you should count it a privilege to be connected to Jesus.
I had the privilege several years ago of participating in a ceremony honoring a young man who had graduated from Officers Candidate School. Having completed his training, he was to become a lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps. When I got to the service, the young man was standing among a group of several Marines. I spoke to them and said, “With this many Marines, there is probably going to be a fight.” One of the Marines quickly spoke up and said, “Yes sir, but it won’t be a long one.” Whenever I think of that story, I think of the slogan the Marine Corps uses in its commercials, “The few, the proud, the Marines.”
You and I must never forget what a privilege it is on the long march of human history to be connected with Jesus Christ. We are the few, the grateful, the Christians. It is an honor and a privilege to be connected to Jesus.
Don’t miss the privilege of being connected to Him, and notice also that we must not miss the privilege of:
B. Being Close to Him
For three years, Philip had walked in the presence of the Son of God. Philip had seen Him with his eyes, heard Him with His ears, and even touched Him with his hands. Large crowds of people followed after Jesus, but Philip had the daily privilege of being close to Jesus. Some of you would say, “Yeah, and if I could only go back and see Jesus and walk with Him as Philip did, I am sure I would be a stronger Christian.”
What you fail to see is that you actually get to be closer to Jesus than even Philip did during our Lord’s ministry on this earth. Jesus lived close to Philip, but Jesus lives in you.
By virtue of the ministry of the Holy Spirit, the resurrected and ascended Jesus actually takes up residence inside the hearts of those who come to Him by faith.
Many centuries ago, Augustine said, “Thou fool, doest thou not know that thou art carrying God with thee?” More recently, Bill Bright, from Campus Crusade for Christ, said, “To be filled with the Holy Spirit is to be filled with Christ…He will be walking around in my body, living His resurrection life in and through me.”
When you wake up in the morning, don’t miss the privilege you have to live each and every moment with Jesus! You are connected to Him through faith, and you are immeasurably close to Him through His indwelling Spirit.
Look further at our Lord’s response to Philip, and notice a second thing you should not miss about the Lord Jesus. Don’t miss the privilege of living with Jesus, and notice also this:
II. Don’t Miss The Priority Of Learning From Jesus
Philip says in verse 8, “Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.” Philip wanted Jesus to reveal the Father. Jesus is taken back by this, because that is exactly what He had done in the years He had spent with them.
Jesus had sought to reveal to these men His deity, and in so doing, point them to the Father from which He came. He answers Philip in verse 9 with the question, “Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip?”
Jesus says, “Philip, you have not been a very good student. You still don’t know what I have been trying to teach you.”
Just as it was for Philip, following Christ today is a constant education. Each day, the Lord Jesus is trying to teach us, and show us truth about Himself.
Notice with me a couple of things we need to remember about the priority of learning from Jesus. First of all:
A. He is the Source of your Education
When Jesus questions Philip in verse 9, He surprised at Philip’s ignorance in spite of the fact that Jesus had been with him for a long time. The indication is that Philip should have learned from Jesus. Jesus was the instructor in Philip’s life.
In much the same way, we learn truth from Him who is the Truth. Ultimately, our spiritual education, if it is to be of any true value, must come from the Lord Jesus Himself.
I encourage you to listen to your Sunday school teacher, and take notes during the preaching in church. It is good to read Christian books, and to go through Bible studies. However, if all you know about Jesus comes to you second hand, you are not getting a full and complete education. There are things that Christ wants to teach you directly through His Spirit! He is the true source of your education!
A pastor friend of mine once had the privilege of sitting next to a very well-known preacher and author at dinner they were both attending. During the meal, my friend said to the famous preacher, “When I get stumped on a particular passage or verse, I go to your books, or to other great writers. When you get stumped, who do you go to?” The well-known preacher looked at my friend and said, “When I get stumped, I ask the Lord.”
In I John 2:27 it says, “But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you…” As you follow the Lord, you can look directly to Him as the source of your spiritual education.
Notice something else we need to remember about the priority of learning from Jesus. Remember not only that He is the source of your education, but remember also that:
B. He is the Subject of your Education
Look carefully at what Jesus said to Philip in verse 9. He said, “Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip?” What Jesus had been trying to teach Philip and the other disciples was the truth about Himself.
Jesus was both the instructor and the curriculum; the professor and the course. He was the truth the disciples were to learn.
The Apostle Paul understood this when he wrote in Philippians 3, “Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord…That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death (3:8a, 10).”
The Christian life is all about knowing Jesus. Your spiritual education involves a deeper, fuller, broader, and richer knowledge of Jesus! Knowing Him should be pursuit of your life!
I’ve met people before who have a lot of knowledge of the Scriptures, but seem to have little knowledge of the Savior. They can tell you the meaning of Daniel’s weeks, the location of the Ark of the Covenant, where Cain’s wife came from, and who the anti-Christ will be.
Yet when you spend time with them, you see little of Jesus in their lives. Sure, they know about Jesus, but they don’t seem to really know Jesus personally, and experientially.
Such was the case with Philip. He had walked with Jesus for three years, and had some knowledge of Him, but he didn’t really know Jesus for who He truly is. Philip had missed the priority of learning from Jesus.
You’ve heard the saying, “It’s not what you know, but who you know.” That is certainly the case when it comes to your spiritual education.
Notice a third truth we draw from this text. Don’t miss the privilege of living with Jesus, and don’t miss the priority of learning from Jesus, and notice finally:
III. Don’t Miss The Peace Of Looking To Jesus
Philip’s request was, “Lord, show us the Father.” To this, Jesus responded, “You’re looking at Him.” Look again at verse 9. Jesus says, “…he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?”
Philip and the other disciples were worried and frightened at the thought of Jesus going away. Their hearts were troubled, though the Lord tried to encourage them.
Had they looked to Jesus with a clear understanding and full faith, they could have had peace in their hearts. They remind us that there is an unmatched peace that comes from looking to Jesus.
Notice a couple of things about the peace that we find when look to Christ. first of all, notice:
A. What He Displays for us
Philip wanted to see God. Jesus said to Him, “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.” Jesus displayed to all who saw Him the character, nature, and essence of God.
Philip wanted to see the Father, but didn’t realize that when Jesus took the little children in His arms, He was displaying the Father. When He broke the bread and fed the multitudes, He was displaying the Father.
When He touched the leper and cleansed his decaying body, He was displaying the Father. When passively and willingly held his hand in place while the soldiers drove the nails, He was displaying the Father.
When He cried out, “It is finished,” and exhaled his final breath. He was displaying the Father. When He took death and hell by the throat, and rose again on the third day, He was displaying the Father.
He is as the writer of Hebrews says, “…the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person…” Jesus is God, and He displays for us the Father.
Years ago, a young college student approached Billy Graham with an irreverent but honest question. He said, “What kind of guy is God?” The simplest answer to that question is Jesus.
When you read the pages of Scripture, and you see the life of Jesus unfolded, you are seeing the very God of the universe revealed in the clearest, starkest, and most profound terms. As S.D. Gordon once said, “Jesus is God spelling Himself out in language that men can understand.”
Notice something else about the peace that comes from looking to Jesus. Notice not only what He displays for us, but notice also further:
B. What He Does for us
Look once again at Philip’s request in verse 8. He says, “Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.” Note that word “sufficeth”. It is translated from a word that literally means “to satisfy.”
Philip spoke for the group, and said, “If you will just show us the Father, that will satisfy us.” The truth is, Philip did not yet realize that seeing and knowing Jesus is enough to satisfy anybody.
When you truly see Jesus for who and what He is, you don’t want or need anything else. He is enough! He is sufficient!
He is Water for the thirsty, Bread for the hungry, Healing for the sick, Strength for the weak, Music for the deaf, Light for the blind, Hope for the despairing, and Peace for the troubled.
Those who need mercy find it in Jesus. Those who need justification find it in Jesus. Those who need atonement find it in Jesus. Those who need resurrection and life find it in Jesus.
If you have Jesus, there is no need to look elsewhere! If I can use Philip’s own word, He “sufficeth.”
Search though I may to meet my needs,
By pursuing this world’s aimless deeds,
Nothing my soul can thrill and fill like Jesus!
The wells of this world are empty and dry,
When compared to His boundless, endless supply,
Nothing my soul can thrill and fill like Jesus!
When all else is silly, foolish, and vain,
When even life’s pleasures seem to me pain,
Nothing my soul can thrill and fill like Jesus!
Philip was looking beyond Him, as if there is anything more significant and substantial than Jesus. Don’t live your life looking past Him! Don’t miss the peace that comes from looking to Jesus!
Conclusion
A couple of months ago Takehia Wheeler was watching the front desk at the new Washington Sports Club, an upscale gym in Washington D.C. That morning a man came into the gym, followed by a group of people, and walked right past the front counter. Mrs. Wheeler said, “Sir, you need to come back.” Though he looked familiar, she asked him for his I.D. She asked the man, “What’s your last name?” He said, “Obama.” She said, “So what’s your first name?” Then she began to laugh, because she realized that she had completely missed the fact that she was harassing the future President of the United States.i
Philip was looking at Jesus, and yet He missed Him. It is possible for you to live your life and completely miss Jesus.
This text challenges us to be careful that we do not miss the privilege we have to live with Jesus in our lives. We must be careful not to miss the priority of learning about Him. And we must not miss the peace that is ours when we look to Him.
He is here, don’t miss Him!
i Kitto, Kris, Who’s that man?: Obama asked for ID at gym, 6/27/08, TheHill.com, accessed 1/17/08, http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/whos-that-man-obama-asked-for-id-at-gym-2008-06-27.html