Come & See

Come and See

TJ Girt

John

Welcome

Scripture Reading

John 1:35–51 “The next day, John was standing with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this and followed Jesus. When Jesus turned and noticed them following him, he asked them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?” “Come and you’ll see,” he replied. So they went and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day. It was about four in the afternoon. Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard John and followed him. He first found his own brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated “the Christ”), and he brought Simon to Jesus. When Jesus saw him, he said, “You are Simon, son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which is translated “Peter”). The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. He found Philip and told him, “Follow me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the hometown of Andrew and Peter. …”

Sermon Illustration

• Illustration about Saxon not being able to find the deer after following the blood trail really well

• The disciples we are going to meet today were doing much of the same

• See they were looking for the messiah, they had found the one that would show him to them, however, they were still searching

• Then when that one said hey, there he is, all things opened up, they found him and they were excited

• Saxon followed the blood trail to the one that would feed or satisfy our family

• The disciples found the one that would satisfy us by His blood

Intro to Message

• Our 4 points of the morning are

• The seeking

• The surrender

• The savior

• The salvation

• Now, lets take just a couple of minutes to set our text for the morning

• This is day 3 in our weeklong journey of introducing Jesus’ public ministry

• John had picked a very popular place to baptize and no doubt this was strategic

• John was baptizing on the Jordan just across from Jerico, Jerico would be the second stop on the 3 day journey from Galilee to Jerusalem

• This is a busy time of the year, passover is quickly approaching which means this there is a ton of travel. John is baptizing and preaching at this very spot where the folks would cross the Jordan river and head up to Jeruselum

• While John is baptizing and preaching he is gaining followers

• 5 of the followers or disciples of John we should say, we meet today.

• Their names should be relatively familiar

• it is Andrew, (whom we always see as the one introducing people to Jesus)

• John (unnamed)

• Peter or Simon

• Then Philip and Nathaniel who we know as Barnabas from the other gospels

• Most likely they were all staying together there in Jericho and were mostly likely all friends because they were from the same area of Galilee

The Seeking (John 1:35-39)

John 1:35–39 “The next day, John was standing with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this and followed Jesus. When Jesus turned and noticed them following him, he asked them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?” “Come and you’ll see,” he replied. So they went and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day. It was about four in the afternoon.”

• As we have previously discussed, John is preaching repentance of sins and is baptizing in the one to come

• That one to come as we all know from previous messages is Jesus, The lamb of God whom will take away the sins of the world

• John knows this because he baptized Jesus 40 days ago and witnessed the dove / spirit descend on him

• V35 “The next day, John was standing with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by , he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”

• Take note here, last week when we talked about the day before Jesus he was coming toward him when he declared him the Lamb of God

• This week Jesus is passing him by, the symbolism is substantial here

• As we are seeing a passing of the torch if you will, from the messenger to the message

• as we transition from the who was preparing the way to the one what the way was prepared for

• See from now on… from this moment all focus falls onto Jesus

• and this is exactly what John is saying,

• Hey, there he is, the one I told him about, you should follow him

• this is substantial, almost never would a teacher pass on his students to another teacher, and it the cases it occurred it was due to extreme circumstances

• and this my brothers and sisters was a substantial circumstance

• but what else is substantial is that this almost defies common human tendency

• I mean it is human tendency, and red blooded men and women to want to make a name for ourselves, it is in our nature to want to attach ourselves to an institution, or thing, or place in order to gain recognition

• but here, John is doing the exact opposite of that. He is minimizing himself in order for Jesus to be the center of attention

• See John was willing to give up everything in order to point others to Christ,

• He gave up his influence, his authority, his way of life, all in order to point others to the savior

• What if we did that?

• Well, what if we gave made it our point in life to not only follow Christ, but to point others to him

• With not only our words, but with our actions as well

• Well, I think we would see a lot more of what we see here and V37 says… “The two disciples hear him say this and followed Jesus.

• So, what did Jesus do? When he saw these 2 strangers following him..

• Probably what we would do right? Turn and ask them what do you want?

• Well, what he actually said was, “what are you looking for?”

• Now, I like here how the NKJ, the ESV, and the NASB translate this word as seek.. which is more literal

• So Jesus is asking them, what are you seeking?

• They reply with “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”  and this reply isn't so much about where Jesus is physically staying, but what it is implying

• essentially meaning, we are seeking you, the messiah

• We want to follow you,

• we want to learn from you

• we want to talk with you

• And Jesus, granted them this,  says “Come and you’ll See”

• Oh and I bet they saw, it says “So they went and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day. It was about four in the afternoon.”

• Can you imagine the conversation they must have had

• To have Jesus’ undivided attention for the entire evening

• to be able to ask the messiah all the questions you had been waiting to ask

• to seek, and to finally find

• See they had a glimpse into Jesus, into the savior of the world

• A glimpse that few would ever get

• And this leads us to our second point

The Surrender (John 1:40-42)

John 1:40–42 “Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard John and followed him. He first found his own brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated “the Christ”), and he brought Simon to Jesus. When Jesus saw him, he said, “You are Simon, son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which is translated “Peter”).”

• Here we finally get the names of the 2 disciples, they are

• “Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard John and followed him

• The other we believe to be John the evangelist, there are many reasons why we can deduct that the unnamed disciple is John. Most notably is because John the author never refers to himself by name in this gospel. There are other reasons, but we do not have time for that now

• So what did Andrew do immediately after spending an entire evening with the messiah?

• Well, he surrendered to Him, he became fully convinced that this Jesus of Nazareth is the messiah, the savior of the world

• because had Andrew and John not surrendered to Christ that night

• They would not have done what comes next in v41,

• “He first found his own brother Simon and told him, “

• See if he (Andrew), had not submitted to Christ that night before, he would not have gone back and told his brother about Jesus

• That person was Andrews brother was, the one and only Simon Peter - But we know him here only as Simon

• And Andrew, who must have been on top of the world

• Because he told his brother

• “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated “the Christ”), and he brought Simon to Jesus.

• Andrew was so excited that he had found what he was seeking that he brought Peter to Jesus, so he could see for himself

• So that he could see this messiah

• The one their Torah had been pointing them to in

• Isaiah 9:6 “For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on his shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.”

• Micah 5:2 “Bethlehem Ephrathah, you are small among the clans of Judah; one will come from you to be ruler over Israel for me. His origin is from antiquity, from ancient times.”

• Isaiah 7:14 “Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign: See, the virgin will conceive, have a son, and name him Immanuel.”

• See Andrew now, after spending the evening with Jesus most likely learned that Jesus was

• a Hebrew of the tribe of Judah

• and was born in Bethlehem to a virgin

• That among many other things solidified to Andrew that this was the messiah

• so he took his brother to him

• and..”When Jesus saw him, he said, “You are Simon, son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which is translated “Peter”).”

• the rock

• But what is significant here is the word saw, the greek verb here translated as saw means to look intently, or deeply

• Much like the wrestler and actor the “The Rock” would do..

• Yea, Pun intended

• Seriously though, it is as if Jesus, upon seeing into the very soul of Peter, with all the omniscience and foreknowledge that only God possess

• sees who Peter will become

• See the Peter we know throughout the Gospels is not a rock at all,

• No, Peter is more like shifting sand at this point than a rock

• Always putting his foot in his mouth and managing to say the wrong things

• But, after spending a few years with Jesus, he is molded into that Rock and becomes a monumental figure in the early Church and frankly even until now

• And isn’t that exactly what Jesus can and does do for us

• See when we come to Christ, we don’t have to have it all figured out, we don’t have to be a rock

• No, we don’t become that rock until we have been with Jesus, until we have been molded by him, until we have fully surrendered to Him

• And Jesus, upon adopting us as children of God into his family does not care that we don’t have it all together. He takes us in anyway, tired, weary, and burdened

• He takes us exactly how we are, then he begins to mold us

• And isn’t that so amazing, that our God would do that once we fully surrender to him

• Fully surrender to our Savior

The Savior (John 1:43-49)

John 1:43–49 “The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. He found Philip and told him, “Follow me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the hometown of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the law (and so did the prophets): Jesus the son of Joseph, from Nazareth.” “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Nathanael asked him. “Come and see,” Philip answered. Then Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said about him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.” “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you,” Jesus answered. “Rabbi,” Nathanael replied, “You are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel!””

• The Gospel is exploding!

• See in the first call of disciples, we see those that are seeking to come to faith in Christ

• Essentially, they took the initiative

• Here, we are about to see Jesus taking the initiative

• So the broader point here is that some are seeking and find

• and some are not seeking, yet, due to circumstances, Christ finds them

• Our text says Jesus decided to leave for Galilee

• Why, well because he has a wedding invitation that he must attend in Cana (next week)

• And remember its a 2-3 day walk back up there

• Well, on his way, most likely with Andrew, John, and Peter in tow it says

• He found Philip and told him, “Follow me.”

• And not by force, not by any empty promises did Jesus persuade Phillip, he simply called, and Phillip responded

• And just as we all should do after finding the messiah or Christ

• Philip immediately tells his friend,

• Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the hometown of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the law (and so did the prophets): Jesus the son of Joseph, from Nazareth.”

• And this my friends is essentially Philip using apologetics to point his friend to Christ (remember I love apologetics)

• Philip is saying, the one we have been waiting for, the one that was predicted in what we call the OT. This is him!

• And Philip gives Nathanael Jesus early name, Jesus, the son of Joseph, from Nazareth

• Jesus was a common name so a formal introductions always included the persons first name followed by the son of blank from blank

• Take note of this because soon, after Nathanael scoffs at the fact that he is from Nazareth, and after he meets Jesus for himself

• He will not refer to him as the son of Joseph, no Nathanael will refer to Jesus as the son of someone else..

• But first, why would Nathaneal say,  “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?

• Well a couple of things

• 1 - Nazareth is a neighboring village so there is some rivalry there

• 2 - and probably the main reason is that Nathanael knew his OT or Torah and understood that the messiah is supposed to come from Bethlehem, not Nazareth

• Except we know and soon Nathanael will find out that what, Jesus was born in Bethlehem, as prophesied, only to be raised in Nazareth

• So after this scoff from Nathanael on nothing good coming from Nazareth, Philip mimics what Jesus said back in verse 39

• he said “come and see”

• So Philip takes Nathanael to Jesus

• Then Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said about him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.”

• This knocks Nathanael off kilter just a bit, as it should

• Nathanael responds

• “How do you know me”

• And Jesus answers with the 1 - 2 punch if you will

• He says “Before Philip Called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you… “

• This knocks Nathanael to the proverbial ground,

• See Jesus was able to look directly into his soul, he was able to see that Nathanael is a man that knows his scriptures, and he obeys them, he is man of integrity, not a man of deceit.

• The saying “under a fig tree” is language that illudes to the fact that Nathanael is reader, and that just before he met Jesus he was reading a passage, possibly a passage out of Genesis about a man that was full of deceit, a man that had his name changed after he wrested with God  -

• “Rabbi,” Nathanael replied, “You are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel!””

• Remember just a few minutes ago Philip introduced Jesus to Nathanael using his earthly name, as the son of Joseph, and after only a brief moment with Jesus, Nathanael is declaring him the Son of God!

• The one who started with doubt and scoffing, soon, after having Jesus pierce his heart with truth is not declaring him the son of God

• This leads us to our final point

The Salvation (John 1:50-51)

John 1:50–51 “Jesus responded to him, “Do you believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this.” Then he said, “Truly I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.””

• I can almost imagine as Jesus responds to Nathanael with

• “Do you believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree?

• He looks up and to all who are gathered around him, Andrew, John the Author, Peter, Philip, and now Nathanael

• and says “You will see greater things than this.”

• See the passage that Nathanael was reading “under the fig tree” is Genesis 28:12 “And he (Jacob) dreamed: A stairway was set on the ground with its top reaching the sky, and God’s angels were going up and down on it.”

• See God was standing at the top of that ladder when Jacob dreamed it and when Nathanael read it

• And the angels are using the ladder to get from the earth to God

• But Jesus makes a slight change.. Jesus finishes the statement with  “Truly I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.””

• The son of man is Jesus’ preferred title when referring to himself

• we see it some 82 times in the NT

• Stephen the first martyr even referred to Jesus as the Son of Man when he saw him standing at the right hand of God in Acts 7.

• The son of Man is

• a title of Humanity

• a title of humility

• a title of deity

• The Son of man is a fulfillment of Prophecy

• See the ladder is Jesus, and the only way from here to God, is through Jesus Christ, the Son of Man

Conclusion

• See the 5 disciples that met and followed Jesus, found what they were looking for

• And not only did they drop everything and follow him

• But they also told everyone they knew about him

• As we draw to a close this morning I must ask

• What are you seeking?

• What are you looking for?

• And the same question applies to myself

• Are we seeking after money?

• After happiness?

• That next promotion?

• Authority?

• Are we just looking for a a religious experience?

• Excitement?

• See we are all seeking something… and no matter how much of the things I just listed we have, they will never satisfy

• They will always eventually wear off and leave us wanting or seeking something else

• But Jesus, he invites us to come and see,

• Because Jesus is the only one can fulfill that need,

• The only one that can satisfy what we are looking or longing for

• And when you trust in him as your lord and savior

• You will surely see greater things than this

• Let us Pray!

• As we begin this time of invitation

• If you feel God is pulling at you

• If you want to respond to his calling

• or if you just want to pray with me or one of our deacons

• the time is now

• Thank you