Now is the Time #2

Come and see

John 1:43–51 KJV (WS)

43 The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me. 44 Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. 46 And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see. 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! 48 Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee. 49 Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel. 50 Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these. 51 And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.

Introduction

Key Point: It’s not just that Christianity isn’t dying—it’s reviving, and young adults are at the center of it.

Let me tell you who’s leading the comeback. It’s not the grandparents—it’s the young adults.

A recent Barna study shows that personal commitment to Jesus has surged, and the biggest increases are among Gen Z and Millennials. For the first time on record, 20- to 40-year-olds are more likely to say they’ve made a personal commitment to Jesus than older generations.

And church attendance? Millennials nearly doubled their weekly church attendance from 2019 to 2022.

We are living in a moment when the very generation many gave up on is becoming spiritually hungry.

This is our moment. God is moving in the hearts of young people—and He’s calling us to move with boldness and faith.

Now is the time to participate in the harvest!

But how do we do it?

Our passage this morning gives us an important example of how we can get involved.

The passage begins by showing us how Philip came to be a follower of Jesus. vss 43-44

We first learn that it was Jesus who found Philip and invited him to become a follower.

Philip was from Bethsaida.

The same hometown as Peter and Andrew.

We’ll see in a moment that Philip was a spiritual Jew.

He was familiar with the teachings of Moses and the prophets.

How great must it have been to receive a personal invitation to follow Jesus!

This is the first taste in our passage today of what every person in the world needs.

They need Jesus.

Philip was found by Jesus.

It didn’t take long before Philip got involved with the harvest.

The first person that Philip went to was Nathanael. vss 45-46

He says to Nathanael, “we have found HIM!”

Notice he doesn’t say, “I found a group of supportive friends.”

Nor does he say, “I found a philosophy that makes the world make sense.”

The more time passed, the more both of those statements would come to be true.

He doesn’t initially seek to draw Nathanael in with these things.

Instead, he starts by holding up Jesus.

What makes Jesus special in Philip’s mind?

Philip knows the prophecies in the law and prophets that pointed to the Messiah’s coming.

After meeting Jesus, he is convinced that Jesus is the one who fulfills all of these prophecies and pictures.

Personally, Philip had been on the lookout for Jesus.

When Jesus called Philip, he responded immediately.

Nathanael is not as primed for such acceptance.

He responds to Philip’s news with skepticism.

Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?

People in that day were just as susceptible to regional prejudices as we are today.

2x people questioned Jesus’ legitimacy because he came from Galilee.

Philip is not deterred.

Philip had met Jesus.

He didn’t know everything about Jesus.

He knew enough.

His response to Nathanael’s protest is an invitation to “Come and see.”

This is the same thing that Jesus had said to Andrew back in vs 39.

There is a challenge presented in these words.

Since Jesus offered them first, we can say that Jesus was confident in his ability convince people to himself.

Since Philip repeated these words, we can say that Philip had experienced the draw of Jesus and was confident that it would work on Nathanael also.

Philip believes that Nathanael will be convinced about Jesus if he will just come and see Jesus for himself.

Based on what happens next, Nathanael agrees.

Nathanael meets Jesus.

Jesus speaks first.

He calls Nathanael a man who has no guile.

Guile means deceit or craftiness.

Nathanael immediately starts wondering how Jesus could make a statement like this.

He asks Jesus, “how do you know anything about me?”

The way he asks the question, it makes it sound like Nathanael thinks they must have met somewhere else before.

A fair question.

Nathanael is surprised by Jesus.

How could he know this about Nathanael, who he just met.

Jesus answers and reveals that he knows more about Nathanael than he might think.

He tells Nathanael that he knew who he was before Philip ever came and told him about Jesus.

When Nathanael was sitting under the fig tree, Jesus was watching him.

Well, either Jesus was there at the fig tree or he was exactly who Nathanael claimed he was.

This was all Nathanael needed, he immediately believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

He responded to the light he was given.

What is God’s response whenever we receive the light he gives us?

He gives us more light.

Jesus asks Nathanael if telling him that he was seen under the fig tree was all that it took for him to believe.

There will be much greater things than this that he will witness.

For example, he will see angels descending and ascending upon the Son of God.

Philip introduced Nathanael to Jesus and it produced genuine, lasting change in his life.

This may seem like a basic lesson to look at this morning.

However, I feel like it is a lesson we really don’t get today.

Maybe it’s better stated that we understand this passage, we just don’t do a good job applying it today.

Application

What are we really inviting people to do?

Philip invited Nathanael to come and see Jesus.

Are we more likely to invite people to come and meet our friends at church than we are to talk to them about Jesus?

Are we more likely to talk to people about Christian principles for living than we are to talk to them about Jesus?

Statistics say that this is the case.

60% of Christians have invited at least one person to church in the last 6 months.

60% of Christians have not shared the gospel with someone in the last 6 months.

What does this mean?

It means that we feel a burden to reach the lost.

We just don’t want to be the ones to actually do it.

Do you know Jesus well enough to confidently invite people to him?

Well pastor, I didn’t go to Bible college.

I haven’t been saved that long.

Have you known Jesus for more than a day? A week?

Then you are further along than Philip was when he went and found Nathanael.

You don’t have to have a theology degree to invite someone to come and see.

Did Jesus prove himself to you?

Can he prove himself to someone else?

He can.

We need to make sure that we don’t confuse inviting someone to church for inviting them to Jesus.

Can people meet Jesus at church?

Is it the same thing? No.

What’s the difference between faith in a church and faith in Jesus?

Jesus never fails, the church does.

Jesus died for you, the church did not.

Jesus is a person, the church is not.

Jesus can save you, the church can not.

Nathanael was invited to Jesus, who in your life needs to be invited to Jesus above all else?

Conclusion

The harvest is white and ready for reaping.

People are as receptive as they have ever been.

We want to be involved.

The best thing we can do is invite people to Jesus, first and foremost.

You don’t have to be a preacher to be able to invite someone to come and see.

If we will usher them to Jesus, he will prove himself to them.

Who are you going to invite to Jesus this week?