Come and See

John 1:35-42 Again the next day John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. And Jesus turned and saw them following, and said to them, “What do you seek?” They said to Him, “Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are You staying?” He said to them, “Come, and you will see.” So they came and saw where He was staying; and they stayed with Him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. One of the two who heard John speak and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He found first his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which translated means Christ). He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).

This last Sunday, our church was honored and privileged to have our Association’s CEO and Mission Lead Willie Nolte preach a Sermon on our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Explaining that ministry is about making a difference in people’s lives, because reaching people is God’s Plan “A” and there is no Plan “B”. There was an old Sitcom that ran for eleven seasons from 1982 to 1993, named “Cheers”, that had an opening theme song with the line: “You wanna go where everybody knows your name.” Every one of us desires to be known. God created us this way; to be somebody noticed and cared for. And noticed when we are not there. In a scene of Steven Spielberg’s 1993 American epic drama “Schindler’s List”, the movie was filmed entirely in black and white, except for one little girl wearing a red coat in one scene. In a movie that documented people being devalued, this was a message that every individual person is created by God and has ultimate values of life and liberty as a person. John the Baptist, who was the voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Make straight the way of the Lord”, proclaimed a message of “quit messing around, turn from sin in repentance, and pointed to the Lamb of God – Christ.   

In the opening passage above, John identifies Jesus as the promised Messiah of God and his disciples pursued Him, but it is Jesus that initiates the contact with them by asking: “What are you looking for?” You would be hard pressed to find somebody who doesn’t think that Jesus is somebody important. But is there a certain level of knowledge needed to follow Jesus?  Jesus says; Come (from right where you are), and you will see, for yourself. How do you get there? Come and see. Jesus initiates and invites, then His followers use the Master’s example to initiate and invite others. Andrew found Simon Peter and said: Come and see.

John 1:43-51 The next day He purposed to go into Galilee, and He found Philip. And Jesus said to him, “Follow Me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Nathanael said to him, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” Nathanael answered Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” And He said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

Jesus found and called Philip, who sought and found Nathanael under the fig tree (a common Israel place of prayer) and told him to “come and see” Jesus, the prophesied Christ. Apologetics are necessary and important in defending the faith and giving a reason for what we believe and why we believe it, but it is just as important to initiate and invite people to come and see the Lord for themselves. When we are asked hard biblical questions, it is right to say that we don’t know the answer when we don't (that's true with hard non-biblical questions too), but then tell them what we do know and say: “Come and see”. Invite them to discover Jesus.

As individuals - who we are, where we’re from, what we think and believe - Jesus knows us. Jesus saw Simon and said: You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas” – the Rock, because the Lord knew Peter and what was going to happen in his life. Jesus saw Nathanael and said: “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” The words “I saw you” means “I know you”, because Nathanael was communing with God under that fig tree in prayer and God hears all and knows all. Jesus was saying to Nathanael: “I know you and know that you are seeking God; here I am and I have great things for you to see!” The omniscience of God translates to a personal relationship based in love and value. When Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these.”, it means for us also, that we are known by Him, precious to God, and He has more for us to accomplish here. When we are in Heaven, we are done and not before. This side of glory there is ministry and more to do, along with growing into the likeness of the Lord. Jesus initiates, invites and illuminates. Believe and let Jesus lead. As disciples (Students and Followers) of Jesus, we can and need to initiate, invite people we know to come and see.

In Christ, Brian