Come And See Jesus

[SLIDE 1] Introduction

If you have your Bible, then please turn to John 1:35-51.

John 1:35–51 ESV

35 The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38 Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” 39 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. 40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). 42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter). 43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 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.” 46 Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” 48 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.” 49 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 50 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.” 51 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.”

Illustration

Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to watch an old movie called the Green Mile which was filmed back in 1999.

After watching the movie, my mind was blown away because it was a good movie, in my opinion.

So, I immediately told my wife, Alison, “Oh you should watch the movie because I think it’s going to make you cry so hard.”

Just for the record, I didn’t cry, but it was an emotional show.

We then watched the movie…guess what...

She did not cry

…But she also acknowledged that it was a really good movie.

You see, when you experience something exciting - whether watching a movie, eating a delicious meal at a restaurant, or exploring a beautiful scene - you can’t help but want to share it with others by telling them to “Come And See” for yourself. (although nowadays many just share their experience on social media.)

This raises the question for us as Christians: Have you ever felt that way about Jesus?

I’m not talking about how wonderful you think OBC is that you want to invite your friends, even though that is a good thing.

I’m talking about your relationship with Jesus.

Does the fact that you know Jesus get you so excited that you just want to tell all your friends?

Context

For today’s message, we meet several characters and their interaction with Jesus.

All these characters have a unique encounter with Jesus.

All these characters vary in age, personality, jobs, social status, and so forth.

When they met Jesus, the Eternal God in flesh, they cannot help but tell others to “Come and See Jesus.”

There is much we can learn about our Lord in this text, but I won’t exhaust all that is to say about Jesus.

But, my the simple message that I want you to see from this passage is to invite you to “Come and See Jesus” and be amazed by who He is.

And there are four lessons that we can draw from this passage about Jesus.

Biblical Theology

Exposition

[SLIDE 2] The first lesson: The Intimacy Of Jesus (vv.35-39)

We recall in the previous passage that John the Baptist was pointing people to Jesus.

As an eyewitness, John testified that Jesus is the Lamb of God and the Son of God

In case you forget, verse 19 to John 2 took place within a span of a week.

Day 1 happened with John The Baptist.

Day 2 occurred with John declaring that Jesus is the Lamb of God and the Son of God.

Day 3 begins in verse 35 as it starts out by saying, “the next day.”

The third day begins with John the Baptist being with two of his disciples.

We later find out in verse 40 that these two disciples were Andrew and someone else.

We do not know for certain who the other disciple is because his name is never mentioned.

Tradition and scholars say that it was the author, the Apostle John, so let’s safely assume that’s the case.

Moreover, John the Baptist did not just have two disciples. He had many dedicated disciples and followers.

Even if John had followers, he did not hesitate to tell people, even his disciples, about Jesus.

John says, “Behold, the Lamb of God.”

John did not care about his popularity.

He did not care if he loses followers - whether on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter (or X?), TikTok just to put it in contemporary terms - so that they can become followers of Jesus.

John was the voice - the messenger - who pointed everyone, not to himself, but to Jesus as the true Light.

After John declared that Jesus as the Lamb of God, two of John’s disciples heard him and followed Jesus in verse 37.

The disciples should have been with John the Baptist when he testified about Christ in verses 29-34.

Therefore, having heard it the second time, they chose to follow Jesus.

However, I don’t think they followed in a sense of fully becoming official disciples of Jesus.

This word, “followed,” can also be understood as “accompanying” Jesus.

They will become permanent disciples of Jesus when He calls them from being fishermen to becoming fishers of men.

For now, they merely had a first exposure to Jesus.

[SLIDE 3] In verses 38-39, we see a dialogue between the two disciples and Jesus.

Jesus turned and saw the two disciples following Him.

And He asked them, “What are you seeking?”

Other translations would say, “What do you want?”

This question is quite vital.

It is because this question gets the disciples to search their motive and desire for following Jesus.

Jesus confronts those who follow him in the beginning and demands that they articulate what they really want in life.

In John 6, we will learn the story of the feeding of five thousands.

Many Jews initially followed Jesus.

But why were they following Him?

What were they seeking?

The reason they followed Jesus was because He can give them food to eat, to satisfy their worldly hunger and wants.

They did not recognize that He is the bread of life that can truly satisfy their deeper spiritual hunger and thirst.

And when they were confronted with the hard teachings of Jesus, they turned back and no longer walked with Him (cf. John 6:66).

Just as Andrew and John were challenged by that heart-searching question, so the readers like us - who want to follow Jesus - are challenged and confronted, “What are you seeking?’

So, what is your motive for wanting to follow Jesus?

Is it because He’s your Lord and Saviour?

Or, do you have an ulterior motive for following Jesus because you think you can get some kind of worldly benefits?

Andrew and John did not really answer Jesus’ question directly. We are not told what they truly want from following Jesus.

They responded with these words, “Rabbi, where are you staying.”

Side note: I want you to notice that John translates from Aramaic into Greek three times in this passage in verses 38, 41, 42.

Rabbi means teacher.

Messiah means Christ.

Cephas means Peter.

While the disciples did not directly answer Jesus’ question (for whatever reason…perhaps feeling a little bit intimidated), they were curious of his accomodation.

[SLIDE 4] So, in verse 39, Jesus does not “rebuke” them for not answering His question.

Here, we get a sense of His intimacy.

Jesus is a friend of sinners who invites you to know Him.

In His compassion and grace, He answers their question with an invitation, “Come and you will see.”

John, however, does not tell us exactly where Jesus was staying.

It simply states that the disciples saw where Jesus was staying and they stayed with him that day.

Now, this word, “staying,” has a deeper meaning in John’s gospel. It can also be translated as “remaining or abiding.”

We are given a picture of the disciples physically “staying” with Jesus, the Rabbi.

Andrew and John must have learned the teachings of Jesus.

They were up close and intimate with Jesus, not learning about Him from a distant.

The Eternal God of the universe came into the world and invites you to “stay” or “remain” with Him.

This word will develop into a spiritual meaning when Jesus talks about abiding (or staying with) in Him in John 15.

Certainly, you can picture yourself spending time with Jesus in his “home” and getting to know Him.

How? By abiding in Him, and letting His words abide in you, and keeping His commandments.

Too often, we listen and hear about Bible stories, the story of Jesus, but we see Jesus from afar.

And I’m pointing you to Jesus, the Lord and Savior.

But, will you just passively stand from afar and let Him walk by you for another (busy) week?

Or will you - like Andrew and John - desire to know more about this Jesus?

Jesus invites you to come up close to Him and examine who He is every day throughout the week.

John records for us that they stayed with Jesus at about the tenth hour.

Now, there are discussions among scholars as to what method John used to calculate the time.

If it were the Jewish method, the tenth hour would have been 4 PM because Jews began their day at 6 AM during sunrise.

If it were the Roman method, the tenth hour would have been 10 AM, beginning the first hour at midnight.

The point is that the tenth hour would have been significant for the Apostle John.

Why is that?

Around 50 years after Jesus ascended back to heaven, John will NEVER forget the hour he first encountered Jesus as he penned down this gospel.

Brothers and sisters, do you remember the time when you first met Jesus?

For some of you, it may have been recent.

For some of you, it may have been around 50 years like John.

I can testify that I have truly encountered Jesus after high school (at the end of 2007).

I can remember vividly the moment I bowed my knees and completely surrendered my life to Jesus as my Lord and Saviour.

As I have done the calculation, I have been a Christian for almost half of my life.

We have considered the first lesson: the intimacy of Jesus.

[SLIDE 5] The Second Lesson: The Impact Of Jesus (vv.40-42)

Now, having spent time with Jesus, Andrew went to his brother, Simon Peter.

And what did Andrew do?

He witnessed to his brother, “We have found the Messiah.”

We have found the King!

We have found the One who can rescue us!

We have found the Anointed One!

We have found the One is the long-awaited Messiah!

Perhaps, this is first instance of someone witnessing to a family member.

Like myself, many of you have family members and relatives who do not know Jesus.

They are some of the most difficult people to reach with the gospel.

Jesus once said, “A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his own family.”

However, Andrew should serve as an encouragement for all of us.

DA Carson said this about Andrew: “[Andrew] thus became the first in a long line of successors who have discovered that the most common and effective Christian testimony is the private witness of friend to friend, brother to brother.”

Not only did Andrew tell his brother about Jesus, he literally brought him to Jesus.

And we learn about a character that we are quite familiar with when we went through the book of Acts.

He is Simon Peter. We know him as the Apostle Peter.

But, right now, he’s known as Simon. His full name is Simon Bar-Jonah…son of Jonah or John.

[SLIDE 6] After Andrew brought Simon Peter to Jesus, Jesus looked at Peter and said to him, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas (which means Peter).

Cephas is the Aramaic word for Rock. We are more familiar with Peter, which is the Greek word for Rock.

But what does this all mean? Why did Jesus give Simon another name?

Jesus gives Simon Peter a nickname that would characterize him in the future.

Peter will become the man that God uses to begin the church in Acts 2 where he would preach the gospel, and thousands of souls would be saved on that day.

Jesus begins with His people where they’re at, but He never wants them to remain as they are. He has the authority and power (i.e. the impact) to change people into what He wants them to be.

That is...becoming more like Jesus.

Desiring to love God and love others more.

Having our minds renewed by the Word of God more.

Growing our holiness by obeying Christ by the power of the Spirit living in us.

That is the “Impact Of Jesus” in our Christian life.

[SLIDE 7] The Third Lesson: The Initiative Of Jesus (vv.43-44)

We have come to the 4th day in this narrative as verse 43 begins with “the next day” again.

And this time, John draws our attention to Jesus.

Jesus goes specifically to Bethsaida of Galilee, the city of Andrew and Peter, to find Philip.

The fact that Jesus approached Philip is rather unique in this story. Why is that?

Nobody pointed Philip to Jesus.

Nobody brought Philip to Jesus.

Philip wasn’t seeking nor looking for Jesus.

Instead, Jesus decided to go to Bethsaida, Galilee. Jesus is the One who took the initiative to reach Philip.

If you know John 1:28, I think Jesus may have been around Bethany, which is south of the Sea of Galilee.

So, Jesus decided to head north to Bethsaida, which is north of the Sea of Galilee.

And He specifically found Philip.

And Jesus commands Philip, “Follow me.”

This is not a suggestion nor an option. It’s an authoritative command by the King of kings and Lord of lords.

Jesus would be the One to intervene his life and effectually call Philip to Himself.

Whether if someone brought you to Jesus, or you came to know Jesus through learning the Bible, or God meets you where you are at…or whoever initiated the contact...

We should remember the words of Jesus: No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.

In other words, a person can come to Jesus only because of God’s sovereign initiative.

Jesus is ultimately the One who calls sinners to Himself.

We love God because He first loved us.

We chose God because He first chose and elected us before the world was created.

So, as believers, we should praise God for the initiative of Jesus, and be humbled by that truth.

Apart from God, we can never come to Him for salvation.

[SLIDE 8] The final lesson is this: The Insight Of Jesus (vv.45-51)

We’re introduced to the last character in this story, Nathanael.

Before I proceed further, I need to talk about Nathanael for a bit.

He’s not mentioned anywhere in the New Testament besides John’s gospel.

He is associated with Jesus and His ministry.

He is one of the twelve Apostles, but his name is never mentioned in the other Gospels when listing the names of the Apostles.

Theologians have suggested that it might be Bartholomew because his name is always linked with Philip.

You’ll find “Philip and Bartholomew” in Matthew 10, Mark 3, and Luke 6 when the Apostles’ names are listed.

After following Jesus, Philip found Nathanael sitting under the fig tree. Both of them were probably friends, not relatives.

What did Philip do? He witnessed to Nathanael.

He did not say, “He is the Messiah, or the Son of God, or the Lamb of God.”

Instead, Philip tells Nathanael that Jesus is the One that Moses and the other prophets in the Old Testament wrote about. He’s Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.

The Old Testament points to Him. And He is the fulfillment of the OT prophesies.

[SLIDE 9] But, after Philip witnessed to Nathanael, he responded with skepticism: “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”

What does he mean by that?

In that culture, Galileans were frequently despised by people from Judea.

Galilee was located on the North of modern Israel, and Judea was located on the South of Israel.

You can think of Galilee as the lower class; and Judea as the middle to upper class.

Based on Nathanael’s attitude, it appears that even fellow Galileans despised Nazareth.

There might have been a rivalry between villages in Galilee.

Nathanael is from Cana of Galilee, and he might not have been fond of Nazareth.

And when Philip told Nathanael about Jesus, he did not say, “Jesus of Bethlehemite”, instead he said, “Jesus of Nazareth.”

If Jesus is truly the Messiah, then he has to and must be from Bethlehem, as prophesied from the Old Testament.

Hence, because of the Messianic prophecy, many people focused on Bethelehm instead of looking from afar.

So, Nathanael’s response to Philip may have been because Nazareth was an insignificant village without any prophetic importance.

Now, Jesus was born in Bethlehem, but he grew up in Nazareth.

However, they did not that about Jesus.

However, Philip does not give up his endeavour in his evangelism. He responds with an invitation to Nathanael, “Come and See.”

Come and find out for yourself.

Don’t just listen to what I have to say about Jesus.

Why don’t you come and examine who this Jesus is if you don’t want to believe me?

Perhaps, our witnessing stops when people reject us and are not interested in listening to us.

But, we can learn from Philip’s example.

When all evangelistic work does not seem successful, we can encourage them by saying,

Can I encourage you to learn more about Jesus by reading the gospel of John?

Can I encourage you to do more research on the Bible?

Would you be interested in studying the Bible together?

[SLIDE 10] So, in verses 47-51, we have a dialogue between Jesus and Nathanael.

Nathanael sees Jesus and approaches him.

Jesus makes his first comment about Nathanael, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!”

Jesus instantly lets Nathanael know that He knew him inside and out.

Jesus has insight into the man.

He knew that Nathanael was a man without deceit. He told it like he saw it.

Now, it does not mean that Nathanael never sinned.

Rather, Jesus acknowledges that he was a man of integrity in contrast to a deceitful man named Jacob in Genesis.

Why I bring up Jacob will be explained later in verse 51.

Nathanael responds naturally to Jesus in verse 48, “How do you know me?”

How come you have that insight about me?

And Jesus responds to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”

Not only did Jesus know his heart, but He knew where he was. Thus, demonstrating that He is the all-knowing God.

Now, we don’t exactly know why Nathanael was under the fig tree.

Perhaps, he needed the shade from the hot weather.

A Bible scholar suggests that Nathanael may have been in prayer under the fig tree.

And Jesus knew that about him.

[SLIDE 11] And Nathanael responds with nothing but submission, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”

Philip was right after all! You are the King of Israel.

You are the Messiah! You are the One that Moses and the Prophets talked about!

There are two things that should comfort us and sober us from Jesus’ interaction with Nathanael.

First, Jesus knows us deeply from the heart.

Jesus is able to pick out our character and tell us who we truly are.

What an honor it was for Nathanael to receive a positive comment from Jesus.

Yet, at the same time, if our hearts are truly not in the right place, Jesus knows that as well.

Jeremiah 17:9 ESV

9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?

In John 2:24-25, John tells us that Jesus himself knew what was in man.

Second, Jesus knows us where we are.

We don’t need to hide from Him.

He knows exactly where we are.

And this shocked Nathanael.

Jesus reveals to Nathanael that He is the all-knowing God who knows the heart and where we are at.

Nathanael might have been mindblown to know that Jesus knows everything about him, but Jesus responds in verse 50, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.”

Jesus is going to do things greater than what Nathanael experienced. He will be even more mindblown.

You think my omniscient is great? Just wait until you see greater things.

What is the greater thing? We see in verse 51 as we close out John 1.

[SLIDE 12] Jesus concludes this conversation, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

It is this verse that gives us a reason why Jacob is important in John’s gospel.

That statement alludes to the story of Jacob in Genesis 28:10-22, which was read during the service if you were paying attention.

Let me do my best to summarize that story.

Jacob was one of the children of Isaac and Rebekah. He had an old brother named Esau.

Jacob was known as a deceitful man, a liar, and a cheater.

Isaac wanted to bless Esau, but Jacob schemed Esau. Jacob stole Esau’s blessing given by Isaac.

Afterwards, Esau was angry and wanted to murder Jacob. So, Jacob ran away from home.

While Jacob was on the run, he slept and had a dream about a “ladder.”

And Jacob saw the angels of God were ascending and descending on the ladder.

So, the LORD (Yahweh) appeared to Jacob and promised to bless him.

After waking up from his dream, Jacob responded that the place is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.

So, Jacob named that place, “Bethel,” which means house of God in Hebrew.

The “ladder” or “flight of steps” that Jacob saw was a point of connection between earth and heaven.

What’s fascinating is that ladder will ultimately foreshadow and find its full substance in the greater ladder in human form.

Jesus would be a greater way of access to God than the heavenly ladder on which angels traveled between God and Jacob.

Jesus is the link between heaven and earth.

That is because Jesus, the God-Man, tabneracled among us as we learn from John 1:14.

He is the One who brings heaven on earth.

He is the One who reveals God to men.

He is the One who is the very essence the presence of God.

He is the “ladder” between heaven and earth.

He is the only way to the Father.

Conclusion

[SLIDE 13] In conclusion, we have been invited to “Come and See Jesus.” We have considered these truths about our Lord.

The intimacy of Jesus

The impact of Jesus

The initiative of Jesus

The insight of Jesus

Knowing and seeing Jesus as revealed in the pages of Scripture should stir in our hearts to go and tell our friends and family members about Jesus and bring them to Him.

The characters that we saw got excited about who Jesus was.

And that excitement spilled over into telling their relatives and friends.

That has been the foundational principle of Christian evangelism.

New followers of Jesus tell others about Him, who (hopefully) in turn become disciples of Jesus and repeat the process.

[SLIDE 14] Brothers and sisters, you don’t need a big platform or a big name to go reach others for Christ.

You have the reach and sphere of influence that I do not have. You have friends, colleagues, and relatives that I do not know, so I urge you to make it your aim to go and tell them about Jesus.

To make it even more practical and tangible.

Make a list of the 5-10 people with whom you have regular contact, who don’t know the Lord.

Begin praying for opportunities to talk to them about their need for Jesus because everyone is a sinner alienated from God.

Jesus is the only Savior who bridges the chasm between us and God.

Jesus is the only way (or ladder) that bridges between heaven and earth.

Benediction

May you be filled with the excitement and joy of the disciples so that you can invite your friends and families to come and see Jesus. May the Father, Son, and Spirit ignite you in that endeavour.