Under the Fig Tree
Jesus comes to cover you with His righteousness
In many churches tomorrow morning, the Gospel lesson will be John 1:43-51.
Watch for the Law and the Gospel as you hear the text and the sermon.
The Law is the perfect will of God, the low fruit of righteousness required for us to enter the kingdom of God, to which none of us measures up. The Law shows us our sin, our inability to live righteously. and our need for God’s help.
The Gospel is that help, given in Christ, Who dies and rises for us, covering sinners like you and me with His perfect righteousness. We apprehend Christ’s gifts of forgiveness and righteousness through the faith the Holy Spirit gives us through God’s Word and the sacraments of Holy Baptism and Holy Communion.
I’m particularly interested in how the Law and the Gospel are seen in Jesus’ encounter with Nathanael.
Jesus says He first sighted Nathanael under a fig tree.
In other words, Jesus sees Nathanael, lost in sin under the kind of tree the ancient rabbis said the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was, the tree the fruit of which Adam and Eve were not to eat. From a fig tree, we know from Genesis, Adam and Eve quickly fashioned clothing to hide the nakedness of which, because of their sin, they became ashamed. Before sin entered the picture, they weren’t ashamed of their nakedness, remember.
Jesus is telling Nathanael, “I see you naked in your sin. But, as your Savior, I am unashamed to be your God, to give you My forgiveness, and to cover you with My righteousness.” Jesus is unashamed to cover sinners like us with His righteousness and give all who trust in His grace everlasting life with God. No matter our sins.
In one fell swoop, Jesus delivers the Law and the Gospel to Nathanael and Nathanael, a man who, as my friend Pastor Bradley Joseph Hales says has “no filter,” no guile, no deceit, confesses the saving faith that Jesus’ Word has just given to him: “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”
Jesus comes to you now and says, “Come out from under the shade of sin and the shadow of death. I am here to cover you in My Grace and righteousness so that you can live forever in the pure light of My righteousness.”
That’s good news and you can trust that it is FOR YOU.
Worship at a church near you tomorrow. Confess your sins and receive the absolution from Christ. Receive God’s Word and the blessed sacrament. Then go home rejoicing, knowing that by faith in Christ, that you belong to God forever.