Come and See

March madness:

Did you see what happened?

Go and check it.

Context for this passage.

John’s introduction about who Jesus is.

John the Baptist’s testimony about Jesus.

Two of his disciples begin to follow Jesus.

The next day Jesus travels to Galilee and this is where we pick up.

John 1:43–51 ESV

The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, 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 anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward 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 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 him, “Because I said to you, ‘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 heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

Follow Me

Jesus’s call to Philip “Follow Me.”

Philip becomes convinced that Jesus is the Messiah.

How did this process play out?

Where did he hear it from? Andrew and Simon (Peter) had previously followed Jesus.

Clarifying the Gospel’s account of Peter’s call. Was he on the boat? Or was it because of Andrew’s testimony?

Caleb’s crazy lock-in weekend.

“What did you do this weekend?”

“We had an awesome lock in!”

“We went to Winter Jam!”

It appears then, that from Andrew and Peter’s conversion, word about Jesus spread. Jesus comes to Philip and says, “Follow Me.”

Was this the first he had heard of Jesus? I doubt it.

Was this the first conversation that he had with him? Maybe.

Was there more said? Possibly.

Those things are not important. What is important is that Philip becomes convinced that Jesus is the Messiah. Someone that he is going to follow with his life.

As he said later to Nathanael - “the one whom Moses and the prophets wrote about”

He became convinced of this.

This is the essential question you must answer: Who is Jesus?

This is a life changing interaction. This is a paradigm shift.

When you discover something you like, or you meet someone interesting. You don’t leave that interaction and never think about it again.

“That was the best meal I have ever eaten! I don’t think I will ever go again.”

“That was the best date I have ever been on! I don’t think I will ever see them again.”

How much more insane - “Jesus is the Son of God! He took my sin and my shame so that I wouldn’t have to face punishment, but instead might have eternal life! I don’t think this has any impact on my life though.”

You cannot truly encounter Jesus and walk away the same.

People treat Jesus like insurance. I have met with insurance agents. I don’t leave those meetings radically changed. I leave thinking, “man it sure is nice that if something goes wrong, I am covered!”

That is how so many people treat Jesus, “Man it sure is nice that God will forgive me one day for all of this sinning!” NO! You’ve missed it!

Your house has already burned down. Because of your sin, your life is in a desperate state. If you have not responded to what Jesus has done for you, you are sitting in the ruin of what you have done.

Salvation is not insurance. Salvation is you sitting in the midst of a house that has already burned down. That you burned down. You have no way to rebuild, no way to cover and shelter yourself.

But God being rich in mercy because of the great love that he has for us made a way to rescue you from the damage and harm that you have done to yourself. He saved you from the destruction you have caused and the punishment that goes with it and given you new life. He has given you a new dwelling place that you have done nothing to earn or deserve.

Still, too many people treat Jesus like insurance. They would rather live in the midst of their burned down house, in their sin than in the newness of life, in the new dwelling that Christ provides.

If this is how you think about Christ. You need to consider whether you have ever truly encountered Him.

Jesus radically alters and transforms the life of those he meets.

They either repent and follow. (Disciples)

Or they harden and oppose. (Pharisees)

Philip goes to tell his brother.

Something so wonderful and so good must be shared!

We share everything these days. A quick scroll on Facebook and you can see tons of things being shared with the world:

Look at my kids playing sports.

Look at my new haircut.

Look at this food that I just ate.

Look at my dog.

Look at me and how good I look today.

How much more should we share about Jesus!

This is what Philip is saying to Nathanael - “The messiah is Jesus of Nazareth!”

How does Philip respond to this great news???

“Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”

Have you ever been told something that was too good to be true?

Or have you ever shared news that wasn’t believed?

People often perceive that I don’t get sarcasm. The truth is that I don’t want to assume someone is joking when they are being serious.

We see:

That we must first have a relationship with Christ.

That this is a relationship that should transform our lives.

That we should talk to others about what we have seen and heard.

They might respond with skepticism and doubt.

Come and See

“Come and See”

This is the response when someone doubts who Jesus is.

Nathanael goes to see Jesus.

People are often more willing to consider what you say than you’d think.

Particularly if you have a track record with them.

Prayer, Care, Share.

“People don’t care what you know until they know that you care”

Jesus proves to him that he is the Son of God.

“Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!”

How do you know me?

Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.

He realizes this.

“Rabbi you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”

He Responds appropriately.

An encounter with God is not mundane but shocking and life changing.

The process:

Bring people to Jesus.

How do we do this?

Invite them to church. (OK)

Share about what you have seen and heard. (BEST)

Let them see that Jesus is the Son of God.

How do they see this?

Through the evidence that exists in Scripture.

Through the evidence that exists in our lives.

We Pray They will be convicted by this.

What does this look like?

The Holy Spirit convicts people of their sin.

Acts 2:37 ESV

Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

We Pray They will respond appropriately.

What is an appropriate response?

Acts 2:38–39 ESV

And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”

Greater Things

This realization is only the beginning.

Nathanael was amazed by what he saw in that moment. Jesus told him that it was only the beginning.

All of the things they saw through Jesus’s ministry.

The lame walked

The mute spoke

Demons cast out

The dead raised to life.

Jesus, crucified and raised to life!

The ascension

The outpouring of the Holy Spirit

The spread of the Gospel in the world.

They now stand in His presence for all of eternity.

All of the things that await in eternity.

We learn:

Our encounter with Christ is the beginning of a beautiful journey with Him.

We are now his servants, able to participate in the carrying out of his will.

When we walk with Jesus, we will see incredible things.

Like Honey by Hannah Hobbs

Oh, I will see the goodness of the Lord my God And I believe that greater things are yet to come I'll pray until I see it, I know I'm gonna see it

Your word like honey on my lips, like water to my soul Oh, how sweet it is to walk within Your ways Pour it out like a river, You restore and deliver Oh, how sweet it is to walk within Your ways You are faithful again and again

We must be faithful in carrying this out.

I want us to challenge ourselves as we approach easter to take this seriously.

Do you know him?

Gospel

Are you faithfully following him?

Are you sharing your faith with others?

My challenge to us as a church.

Invite others to come and see this Easter.

I am not telling you to neglect working on getting better at sharing your faith.

But I am saying that easter is a time people will come, and I want us to challenge people to come and to see Jesus. Easter’s sermon is one that will be filled with Jesus.

We pray as we go.

We share faithfully.