Come and See

Introduction

Illustration: I’ve never seen the Niagara Falls. I have seen pictures, and seen it on tv and in movies. Not the same thing is it? Some things, maybe even most of them, need to be experienced in person.

What about when it comes to Jesus? Is it enough to just know a lot about Jesus? When John the Baptist showed up on the scene he had been sent by God to prepare the way for the Messiah, the Son of God, Jesus Himself. In doing so he revealed to the nation of Israel the nature of Jesus’ mission, and identified Him as the lamb of God. He also took disciples and baptized them. Was it enough for people to follow John and to know the mission of Jesus?

Let’s take a look at how a few of John’s disciples reacted to the message of John about Jesus and where they went from there. Today we’re finishing up chapter one of the Gospel According to John in our sermon series called “Believe and Live,” where we’re taking a close look at John’s Gospel and how it inspires us to faith in Jesus and life in Him. Our passage is

John 1:35–51 CSB

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. 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!” 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.”

This morning we’re going to take a closer look at this passage and we’re going to ask ourselves, what does this narrative teach us about what it means to be a disciple of Jesus? This passage is perfect for that since it’s the account of the first disciples of Jesus after all. How did they become disiciples? What did they do once they became disciples? In looking at these questions in my preparation I came to see three major themes that have bearing on how we follow Jesus as His disciples.

First, it is not enough to learn about Jesus, we need to experience the person of Jesus and spend time in His presence. Second, we should go out and find other people to invite to meet Jesus. Third, it’s important to truly know who Jesus is and what that means for all of us.

Abide With Jesus

Illustration: There’s no real replacement for quality time. There’s a noticeable difference between when we’re just in the same room as our kids and when we’re playing with our kids.

If there’s anyone we want to have a deep and meaningful relationship with, shouldn’t it be with our God and Savior Jesus Christ? Jesus isn’t a spiritual force, or just some figure in history. He’s a person who loves us and wants to be with us, and who demonstrated His great love for us by enduring torture and execution, in order that we might be forgiven for our sins and inherit eternal life.

The first disciples illustrate how we develop a deeper relationship with Jesus first hand in the first few verses of our passage for the day.

John 1:35–39 CSB

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.

So these two disciples, one of which we see later is Andrew and the other is probably John himself, hear the Baptist’s testimony about who Jesus is and they decide to follow Him. Already they are very much on the right track here. Then Jesus, in characteristic Jesus style, turns around and asks them a big question. “What are you looking for?”

Now from most people this question would be the casual conversation starter when you notice that someone seems to want to talk to you, the equivalent of a polite “how can I help you?” But Jesus isn’t most people. This is the one that they have been waiting for, the Messiah, the “Lamb of God who takes away the Sin of the world.” So when He looks you in the eye and asks you what you’re looking for, well… that is an enormous question. What is the thing you are looking for, that you’ve been looking for all your life.

Now they could have come up with other good answers to this question. What must we do to be saved? What is the secret to living righteous lives approved by God? What are the 4 spiritual secrets to material prosperity? Okay that one’s not a good question.

But in this case the disciples nail it with what they request. First, they call Him rabbi, which John translates for us as teacher but also means master. They express a desire to obey and learn from Him just by giving Him a title. Then they ask a simple question with a deep implication. Where are you staying?

Now first by way of explanation they lived in a culture that often made requests in a roundabout way in order to avoid offense. You wouldn’t ask someone, can I come stay at your house and eat your food? Instead you would ask them, “Where are you eating?” or “Where are you staying?” and give them an opportunity to invite you to come.

So they ask where Jesus is staying so that they can be invited to come with Him. That’s not all. In asking Him the disciples use one of John the Apostle’s favorite terms. In the Greek the word is μενω, which means to stay, remain, live, dwell, or abide. John loves to use this word to describe the ideal relationship with Jesus. This is the word that the CSB translates as “remain” in the following passage.

John 15:7 CSB

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you want and it will be done for you.

and in John 15:10

John 15:10 CSB

If you keep my commands you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.

and again in 1 John 2:28

1 John 2:28 CSB

So now, little children, remain in him so that when he appears we may have confidence and not be ashamed before him at his coming.

John seems to use this word in the sense of “remaining in the presence of,” and I think it’s no mistake that he uses this word on the lips of himself and Andrew when they ask where Jesus is staying. Remember that we believe that these narratives really happened, but we also know that the gospel writers probably didn’t write word for word exactly what people said, especially since a lot of it was said in Aramaic and they write in Greek. That means John is choosing the words he is using, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, to express what the disciples asked Jesus that day.

And what is Jesus’ response to their question? “Come and see.” He invites them to journey with Him and find together the place where He is dwelling. This is how disciples are made. They are invited to come and see who Jesus is and to dwell with Him. John says that he and Andrew spent the rest of the day with Jesus wherever it was that Jesus was staying. I wonder what that coversation was like?

I think it’s important when we hear these stories to be reminded of what it means to “come to Christ” as we often say it. It’s not coming to an intellectual decision to convert to a system of religion called Christianity. It’s cliche now, but they started saying “it’s not a religion it’s a relationship for a reason.” Now I think it’s actually both by the literal definition of the word religion, but that’s neither here nor there. God is not a system of beliefs, Jesus is not a system of beliefs. He’s a person who has invited us to His table, so to speak, and asked us to remain with Him. So when we find ourselves treating church and christianity like a set of rules and rituals we need to remind ourselves of what we really need to be doing and ask Him to come and remain with us and to help us to remain in Him.

Invite Others to Jesus

Illustration: Imagine wandering in the desert with a group of friends, and you get seperated and find an oasis. What would you do? Go find your friends and bring them to the oasis no doubt.

That’s kind of what it’s like when we come to know Jesus and give our lives to Him. We were wandering in a desolate waterless place with a certainty of death awaiting in our future when we stumbled upon cool, clear water. Of course the first reaction would likely be to drink deeply, but then it would be natural to think of your friends. Do you cup your hands in the water and try to carry it to them? No, you go get them and bring them to the source.

Jesus actually refers to the Kingdom of God as living water in John’s gospel. John 4:13-14

John 4:13–14 CSB

Jesus said, “Everyone who drinks from this water will get thirsty again. But whoever drinks from the water that I will give him will never get thirsty again. In fact, the water I will give him will become a well of water springing up in him for eternal life.”

So then how do we get this living water to the people that we love in our lives? Well let’s take a look at what our new disciples in this first chapter of John do after spending the day with Jesus.

John 1:40–46 CSB

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. 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.

Both Andrew and Philip respond to coming to Christ by going and finding someone else to bring to Him. Also John is probably getting his brother James here, but humble Apostle John of course leaves that bit out. They are excited that they have found the Messiah and want to introduce Him to other people.

Notice that what they do is bring people to Jesus. Jesus is the one who invites them to become disciples. This is a crucial part to understand. Jesus meets Simon and gives him a new name. This represents changing who he is, transforming him as a person. Jesus actually is the one who takes initiative with Philip in the first place. Finally we’ll see in the next session that Jesus is the one who amazes Nathanael and brings out His praise and adoration.

It can be easy to get our focus wrong when it comes to sharing Jesus with other people, and feel pressured to win people for Christ. Like we have to be convincing and arguing people into the Kingdom. The healthy perspective is to realize that Jesus is the one inviting them to His Kingdom. So our role is simply to bring them to Jesus and let Him do all the work.

What does that look like practically? That looks like evangelism that is absolutely drenched in prayer. Because if we aren’t praying when we’re trying to reach people than that means we’re trying to reach them based on our own strength. So then we should be praying for the people who are on our hearts right now by name and asking Jesus to be present to them. We to offer to pray with the people in our lives who are open to it. We need to involve Jesus in every step of our journey of making disciples. Otherwise we aren’t inviting people to Jesus, we’re inviting them to agree with us. I know which I would rather do.

Know Jesus

Illustration: One of the many reasons I ask for the help of my neighbor who is a mechanic is because of how often I buy the wrong part when I try to fix anything on the car myself. What is the first thing you need to know when you go to buy a replacement part? What is the first thing the machine at Canadian Tire asks you? It asks you what the year make and model of your vehicle is. If you get any of those three things wrong you are setting yourself up for failure.

Let me ask you another question. If we get major things wrong about who Jesus is, are we at risk of worshipping a counterfeit Jesus? Consider at the end of 1 John, when the same author who wrote the gospel we’re studying says in 1 John 5:20

1 John 5:20 CSB

And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we may know the true one. We are in the true one—that is, in his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.

He is talking about the importance of knowing Jesus, and believing that He is the true God and gaining eternal life through Him, and then he follows it up with this short phrase in 1 John 5:21

1 John 5:21 CSB

Little children, guard yourselves from idols.

It is my contention that the idolatry that John has in mind in this letter is worshipping a false Jesus. This seems to be the implication behind the immediate contrast with the previous verse. So John emphasizes the importance of knowing and believing in the real Jesus, so we know that we have to get this part right. So who is the real Jesus? Let’s see what Nathanael’s story has to tell us about the real Jesus in

John 1:47–51 CSB

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!” 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.”

This is an interesting story for a number of reasons. Now remember that Nathanael’s first reaction to hearing from Philip that he had found the Messiah was to make fun of Nazareth. What is Philip’s response? Come and See. What a beautiful invitation. Then things start to get a little strange to us. Why does Nathanael respond to Jesus’ compliment with “How did you know me?” Does he think really highly of himself? And why does Jesus saying He saw him under the fig tree impress him so much? Is it just that Jesus shows having supernatural knowledge by knowing he was under the fig tree, or is it something deeper?

John leaves this mostly a mystery to us, but there are some commentaries that have an interesting theory. You see sitting under a fig tree was at the time considered the ideal place to pray and study the scriptures by many authoritative rabbis. So it’s possible that Nathanael was praying and reading Scripture under that tree. If so than the fact that Nathanael was praying and Jesus saw Him seems to imply that Jesus was the one that Nathanael was praying to.

Consider something else. Jesus calls him a “true Israelite” in whom there is “no deceit” and later tells him that he will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the son of man.” This is an allusion to the story of Jacob’s ladder in Genesis 28:10-13

Genesis 28:10–13 CSB

Jacob left Beer-sheba and went toward Haran. He reached a certain place and spent the night there because the sun had set. He took one of the stones from the place, put it there at his head, and lay down in that place. And he 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. The Lord was standing there beside him, saying, “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your offspring the land on which you are lying.

So Jesus is referring to that story about Jacob, whose name means deceit and is later renamed Israel, after telling Nathanael that he’s an Israelite in whom there is no deceit. Is it possible that this was the very story that Nathanael was reading under the fig tree? We will never know for sure. What we do know is the reaction that this inspires in him.

John 1:49 CSB

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

Nathanael realizes who Jesus is. Jesus is the promised coming King who would save Israel, and He is the very Son of God. And when he says Son of God as in the case of all who make that startled confession seems to say something significant. Son of God not in the sense that Israel is the “son of God” but in a special unique sense. Nathanael has made his major first step towards understanding the identity of Jesus.

We too should strive to know Jesus as He really is. As we spend time abiding with Him and reading what the gospels teach us about Him we can grow in our knowledge of Jesus and be certain that we are worshipping the genuine Son of God and King of Israel who died to save us from our sins.

Conclusion

It’s always interesting to look at the disciples in the gospels and learn from them. Often from their mistakes, but in this case we learn from their early and eager successes a few things that we could all be doing to better serve Jesus as His disciples. We learn the importance of first abiding with Jesus, spending time with Him in His presence and getting to know Him in a relational we. We learn the importance of bring people to Jesus, not to a system of thought or a set of beliefs but to the person of Jesus. And we learn the importance of really knowing Jesus for who He truly is.

So as we go from this place and start making our way in the world for another week let us pause and ask ourselves a deep reflective question about whether we are living by this example from the disciples. Are we abiding with Christ? Are we inviting others to Him? Do we truly know who He is? Then let us renew a passion in ourselves to seek after God’s Kingdom first in our lives.

Let us pray.