What You Crave (John 1:35-51)

 Sermon for Milledgeville and Whitestown UMC

What You Crave (John 1:35-51)

 

A stand up comedian said,

I named my kids after their mother's cravings while pregnant with them.

 

Peanuts and Pickles are great. But Tequila is kind of an idiot

 

Last Friday I had a craving for nuts,

so I spent the whole day with my in-laws.

 

John was baptizing at the Jordan River when he saw Jesus walking by. He said to his disciples, “Look! The Lamb of God!” Two of John’s disciples immediately followed Jesus. Jesus turned to notice and asked them, “What do you want?”

 

The Greek is only two words, tis zeteo. We could translate the phrase as “Who seek?” “Why search? Or even “What crave?”

 

I’m a White Castles fan. When I was in college at Rose Hulman, there weren’t any White Castles in Terre Haute. So we’d pile into a car and drive all the way to Indianapolis for a White Castle run. We’d buy bags full of those bite size burgers and bring them back to the dorm and live off them for a weekend. White Castle had a commercial that claimed: It’s what you crave! I realize not everyone is a fan, especially the morning after.

 

What do you crave? What is the driving hunger in your life?

 

San Francisco rock band, The Tubes, released their single What Do You Want From Life?” in 1975.

 

The satirical lyrics criticize the TV consumer society, that Americans had become.

 

What do you want from life
To get cable TV
and watch it every night

There you sit
a lump in your chair
Where do you sleep
and what do you wear…

What do you want from life
a meaningless love affair
with a girl that you met tonight

How can you tell when you're doin' alright
Does your bank account swell
While you're dreaming at night

 

When Jesus turned and asked the two hopeful disciples following him, “What do you want?” they ask, “Where are you staying?” Jesus invited, “Come and See.”

 

Both Jesus’ question “What do you want?” and the disciples’ inquiry are loaded with deeper meaning. What do you want from life? Is it more stuff within which to surround yourself? Is it more luxuries, more entertainment, more family members, more love affairs, more wealth, more security? The two disciples wanted to know where Jesus was staying. They wanted to hang out with the one John told them was the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. They wanted to follow the messiah.

 

The question “Where are you staying” could be read as, “Where are you remaining?” John saw the Spirit remain on Jesus. The One on whom the Spirit remains will baptize with the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, “You cannot bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine and you are the branches. Remain in me, and I will remain in you!” (Jn 15:4-5)

 

In charismatic churches, worshippers are overwhelmed in a mystical experience when filled with the Holy Spirit. They experience ecstasy and speak in tongues. They feel heat, electricity, or a powerful wind. They experience heavenly peace. In Acts 19, Paul came to Ephesus.

 

He found some disciples there ² and said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” They replied, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” ³ So Paul said, “Into what then were you baptized?” “Into John’s baptism,” they replied. ⁴ Paul said, “John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, in Jesus.” ⁵ When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, ⁶ and when Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they began to speak in tongues and to prophesy. (Acts 19:1b-6)

 

When one receives the Holy Spirit, a visible gift is experienced. That spiritual gift generally builds up the Church. Can you imagine meeting Jesus as Andrew did, spending an evening with The Lord? Through the Holy Spirit dwelling in your heart, you can spend time with Jesus. Don’t let it be a one-sided conversation. Listen to your heart. Receive grace in your time together. Be filled with His love.

 

Andrew reacted to his encounter with Jesus by telling his brother Simon about Jesus. I can imagine he was excited as he told Simon, “We have found the messiah!” Andrew brought Simon to Jesus. (Jn 1:42) Who might you bring to Jesus? Who of your friends, relatives, associates and neighbors could you introduce to Jesus?

 

Simon met Jesus and got a new name, Peter. In church history, renaming rituals were, at times, prevalent. When one was baptized after a period of preparation, they were given a Christian name to mark their new identity as disciples of Jesus. Has your relationship with Jesus changed you enough to adopt a new name? Simon was called Peter, the rock. He became chief among Jesus’ chosen. What might your new name be?

Jesus came upon Philip on His journey from Bethany beyond the Jordan to Galilee. He invited Philip, “Follow me.” Philip went and told his friend Nathanael that he had found the One Moses and the prophets wrote about. He means the messiah. Nathanael sounds cynical. He reacts to the news, “What good can come from Nazareth?” Philip invited Nathanael, “Come and See.”

 

Jesus greeted Nathanael as if they’d already met. Nathanael asked, “How do you know me?” Jesus told him that he saw him praying under the fig tree. It should warm our hearts to know that Jesus sees us when we pray and hears every single one.

 

Nathanael reacted in awe, proclaiming Jesus to be the Son of God and King of Israel. In other words, Nathanael confirmed for himself that Jesus is the messiah.

 

The fig tree is symbolic of Jewish hope.

 

The prophet Micah proclaimed,

 

And in future days the Lord’s Temple Mount will be the most important mountain of all;
it will be more prominent than other hills.
People will stream to it.
Many nations will come, saying,
“Come on! Let’s go up to the Lord’s mountain,
to the temple of Jacob’s God,
so he can teach us his ways
and we can live by his laws.”
For instruction will proceed from Zion,
the Lord’s message from Jerusalem.
He will arbitrate between many peoples
and settle disputes between many distant nations.
They will beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nations will not use weapons against other nations,
and they will no longer train for war.
   Each will sit under his own grapevine
or under his own fig tree without any fear.
The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has decreed it. (Micah 4:1-4)

 

Nathanael, beneath the fig tree, reveals his desire for the future age of the messiah, when peace and plenty finally comes to all. “What do you want? What do you seek? What do you desire?”

 

We live with war in the world. We are supporting wars in Israel and Ukraine. We are bombing Houthi terrorist targets in Yemen. We live in fear of escalation toward WW3. “What do you want from life?” “What do you seek?” Do you crave peace?

 

Jesus told the awestruck Nathanael that he would see even greater things as he followed Jesus and his disciples. “You will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” (Jn 1:51)

 

Jesus is referring to Jacob’s vision of a stairway to heaven. In the vision, God promised Jacob to watch over him and bring him back home safely, after he fled his brother Esau’s murderous intentions. God renewed the covenant with Jacob that he made with Abraham and Isaac. Jesus is promising that Nathanael will see the way to heaven. He will discover that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life.

 

After Jesus was crucified, his body lay in a tomb from Friday to Sunday. Early in the morning, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb. She saw the stone rolled away from the entrance. Mary looked inside the tomb and saw two angels, dressed in white, sitting at the head and feet where Jesus had laid. Suddenly, Mary heard a voice. “Woman, why are you weeping?”   

 

Mary presumed it was a gardener. She didn’t recognize Jesus and asked where they’d taken his body. Jesus asked Mary, “Who are you looking for?” Other translations say “Whom do you seek?” But it’s the same two Greek words asked of Andrew and the other disciple in John 1. “What do you want?”

 

By this point in the story, it should be clear what the disciples crave. They crave the abundant life that Jesus came to give. And “what is life?” but to know God through a personal relationship with Jesus. The question turns from what to who. “What do you want?” becomes “Who do you crave?”

 

It’s not White Castle sliders. It’s Jesus, the way of life, the truth of life AND the wellspring of eternal life. 

 

Freddie Mercury is quoted to have said,

 

You can have everything in the world and still be the loneliest man. And that is the most bitter type of loneliness. Success has brought me world idolization and millions of pounds. But it's prevented me from having the one thing we all need: A loving, ongoing relationship. - 1985

 

What do you want? Who do you seek? What we crave at our core is salvation. We were created for a loving relationship with God. Jesus opened the way to heaven. The Holy Spirit, who dwells in you through faith, gives you access to God’s very throne room. Jesus is the way to an ongoing loving relationship that satisfies our souls.

 

What do you want? Who are you looking for? Why do we crave?

 

Let our answer forever be, Jesus!