Sermon Tone Analysis

March 1, 1998

RMCC SMW

John 1.35-51

 

                    AWhat Do You Want?  Come and See.@

The passage before us describes one of the earliest scenes in the ministry of Jesus.

Here we see the crossing of the boundary between Old and New Testament.

Here we see the great divided in redemptive history with the passing of John=s disciples to Jesus.

If John the Baptist represents the culmination of the OT in pointing to Jesus, now we find John=s disciples leaving him for another -- for the one whom John was sent to point out -- Jesus the Christ.

God will be doing a new thing in the midst of Israel.

Through his Son Jesus, he will gather to himself a new community, a new people of God, with whom he will make a new covenant.

Now we should also not forget that these disciples were not just any disciples.

They would become the apostles -- those men whom God would specially choose to be eyewitnesses to the Person and Work of Jesus Christ.

Upon their testimony would come to rest the New Testament.

Upon their eyewitness testimony would rest all that we know about this Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ of God.       

*Let**=**s read then and learn.

[John 1.35-51]*

\\ For our purposes today, I would like to focus your attention on the way in which Jesus called his disciples.

Four key ideas present themselves to us:

*/1] JESUS/**/=/**/ METHOD: THE WEB OF RELATIONSHIPS; /*

*/2] JESUS/**/=/**/ INVITATION: /**/A/**/COME AND SEE./**/@/**/ /*

*/3] JESUS/**/=/**/ OFFERED HOPE: A NEW NAME; /*

*/AND FINALLY, /*

*/4] JESUS/**/=/**/ PROMISE: TO MEET GOD./*

1.      Jesus= Method: Web of Relationships, v.35-36, 41, 45

Did you ever notice how amazingly Aordinary@ was the method in which the disciples were introduced to Jesus?

Look at v.35

*35 **The next day John was there again with two of his disciples.

**36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, **A**Look, the Lamb of God!**@** *

* *

Again,

* *

*41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, **A**We have found the Messiah**@** (that is, the Christ).

42 And he brought him to Jesus.*

* *

And again,

* *

*45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, **A**We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote**C**Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.**@*

\\ What is method here?

Isn=t it simply that one disciple tells another?

And notice this: What is the relationship between them all?

Isn=t it that the disciples invite others to Jesus along the /lines of relationships? / Andrew and the other disciple, are students of John.

And it is at the suggestion of John, their teacher, that they follow after Christ.

Simon Peter follows Jesus at the encouragement of his brother, Andrew.

Nathaniel follows Jesus at the invitation of his friend, Philip.

There is another common thread in all of this?  Can you find it?

It is that Andrew, Peter, Philip and Nathaniel are all from the same town.

There is strong likelihood they knew of one another.

Those who have studied the evangelism of the early church have noted this phenomenon in Scripture -- evangelism largely was conducted not with strangers but along what scholars call /A//one//=//s web of relationships.//@/

No less amazingly, so common is this method that 90 percent of those who come to have an active walk with God in his church come by way of a known relation: friend or family.

\\ A few years back, research was conducted on why people come to Christ and become active in the Body of Christ.

Over 14,000 people have been asked the question: "What or who was responsible for your coming to Christ and your Church?

The results were amazing:

1.

Some said a SPECIAL NEED brought them                           *1-2%*

2.  Some responded they just WALKED IN                                 *2-3%*

3.  Others listed the PASTOR                                                       *5-6%*

4.  Some indicated they were VISITED                                        *1-2%*

5.  Others mentioned the SUNDAY SCHOOL                             *4-5%*

6.

A few listed an EVANGELISTIC CRUSADE                      *2** - 1%*

7.  Some recalled a SPECIAL CHURCH PROGRAM                 *2-3% *

8.  Most cited a FRIEND or RELATIVE                                 *75-90%*

as the reason they are now in Christ and active in His Church.

So what is the point?

Simply this: God typically calls people to Christ through the honest, open, and winsome invitation of his disciples to those in their web of relationships.

Students, friends, neighbors, co-workers, and family.

What ought that mean for your witness?

So often we think that we have to be mini-Billy Grahams if we are to bring people to Christ when the primary way God does use is through our simply invitation to others.

\\ *Apply:* Have you someone in your own web of relationships (family, friend, coworker) whom you can invite to ACome and See@?  Plan now to invite someone to worship with you at church.

Easter service is always a good opportunity.

2]      Jesus= Invitation: Come and See., v.37-39, 46

If that was the method of the early church, let=s look now at Jesus= invitation.

Look at v.37ff.

*37 When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus.

38 Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, **A**What do you want?**@** **They said, **A**Rabbi**@** (which means Teacher), **A**where are you staying?**@** ** **39 **A**Come,**@** he replied, **A**and you will see.**@**

**So they went and saw where he was staying, and spent that day with him.

It was about the tenth hour.

*

 

On hearing John the Baptist=s witness, two of his disciples took off and began to follow Jesus.

Jesus detected someone was following him and so turned and asked: *A**What do you want?**@* Oh, what a question.

On the surface it fits the simple narrative.

But we know that as the gospel unfolds, the simple question *A**What do you want?**@* will take on eternal dimensions -- *A**What do you /really/ want?**@*

The disciples answer Jesus by asking a simple question: AWhere are you staying?@

They want to spend time with him where he lives.

\\ And notice Jesus= answer: *A**Come and see.**@*

Do you find Jesus questions provoking?

Intriguing?

He doesn=t launch into a two-hour monologue right then.

Oh, he would do plenty of teaching.

But the first thing he does is invites them home.

He entices them home: ACome and see.@

Jesus will take aim at the heart, he will challenge them /what do you really want/, but the first thing he does is invites them home to spend time with them.

He is in not no hurry to save.

Rather, he says: ACome and see.@

I was thinking about this the other day and contrasting Jesus= manner with the Ablitzkrieg@ mentality of 20th century populist evangelicalism.

How many programs have come and gone --Phone everyone up in the USA ask them ten leading questions and get them to sign on the dotted line and chalk it up AA zillion decisions.@

Of course, the next year, the name of the program changes, the questions come through the mail, and another zillion are said to make decisions.

I remember many years ago a friend who stands outside the evangelical realm wonder aloud: /A>//I found it.//=//

Jesus is an it and we find him.

Hmmmm.//@/

\\ How different it all is to the simple: AWhat do you want?@  Come and see.@

Notice that Philip imitates Jesus= approach.

In v.45 we see Philip seek out his friend Nathaniel.

He tells him he and others have found what they=ve been looking for.

Jesus of Nazareth.

Well, Nathaniel responses quite negatively and says: ACan anything good come from there?@

And instead of getting upset, or discouraged, or jumping to Jesus= defense, how does Philip respond?  --With three simple words: ACome and see.@