Come and See

John 1:35–51 NET

Again the next day John was standing there with two of his disciples. Gazing at Jesus as he walked by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”When John’s two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus.Jesus turned around and saw them following and said to them, “What do you want?” So they said to him, “Rabbi” (which is translated Teacher), “where are you staying?” Jesus answered, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day. Now it was about four o’clock in the afternoon. Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two disciples who heard what John said and followed Jesus.He first found his own brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah!”(which is translated Christ).Andrew brought Simon to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon, the son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter). On the next day Jesus wanted to set out for Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” (Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the town of Andrew and Peter.) Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the law, and the prophets also wrote about—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Nathanael replied, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip replied, “Come and see.” Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and exclaimed, “Look, a true Israelite in whom there is no deceit!”Nathanael asked him, “How do you know me?” Jesus replied, “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 said to him, “Because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these.”He continued, “I tell all of you the solemn truth—you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

Have you ever stopped to think about the threshold showing and telling? Not in terms of the way the two actions are different - it doesn’t take much work to explain how showing differs from telling. No, I’m thinking more about what compels us to do one instead of the other.

Sometimes, it’s a matter of convenience. The person you want to inform is right there, in the same room with you and whatever you want them to know about. Showing is more efficient, so you say “hey, look at this.” Here, read this. Check this out.

But the more distance between the person you want to inform and whatever you want them to know, the more work is required to bring the two together. At that point, it comes down to two questions: How important is this, and how easy is it to understand? If I’m driving home, and along the way I see a beautiful classic car - say, a 1969 Corvette T top convertible with a 427 inch engine and dual side exhausts - I am probably going to go home and tell my wife. She also likes classic cars, so that description is not hard for her to understand, and the work of loading everyone into one of our cars and driving back to get a glimpse of that vette just isn’t worth it.

On the other hand, if I’m driving home and see that exact same car with a sign in the window that says “Free,” Well… I’m pulling over right then and there, calling my wife and saying “get down here now, you have to see this” before ringing the doorbell and introducing myself to the fool - I mean, very generous person - who’s giving the car away.

Some things are easy to believe and understand without ever having to see them. But others, you just have to see to believe. And even then...

Showing and telling mark the early points of Jesus’ ministry in the book of John. It begins, as we heard last week, with John the Baptist telling his crowds of followers “I’m not the one you’re waiting for. But if you stick around with me long enough, I’ll know him when I see him, and then I’ll tell the rest of you.” Then he sees Jesus and says “there he is! There’s the one you’ve been waiting for!”

This morning’s passage begins the next day. Jesus walks past John and John says to two of his disciples - his students “Look! It’s God’s lamb.” At this point, they could turn to John with all kinds of questions. What is God’s lamb? Why does God’s lamb matter? Why isn’t he something cool like God’s Lion, or God’s Dragon, or God’s one-man Rome destroying machine? But they don’t ask. They know they have to go and see for themselves.

So they follow Jesus, apparently without announcing their presence. Eventually he notices them following him and says “umm… can I help you?” They call him teacher and ask where he’s staying and he replies “come and see.” He’s not just inviting them to see the place where he’s sleeping. He’s responding to the questions they didn’t ask, about who he is and why he matters, and he’s inviting them on a journey of discovery to find those answers for themselves. In short order, one of those two disciples has been convinced. So he goes to his brother and says “We have found the Messiah!” God’s anointed one! This is too good to be true, and Andrew knows it. He doesn’t waste time explaining, he just grabs his brother Simon by the arm and says to come and see. Simon comes. Simon sees. And Simon is changed.

The next morning, another new Jesus-follower has to go and tell his brother the same thing. “Nathanael, we found the promised one! It’s this guy from Nazareth. He’s a carpenter’s kid.” Nathanael is skeptical. A carpenter’s kid from some podunk little town is the chosen one, how is that even possible? But Philip doesn’t waste time explaining, he just replies “come and see.” Nathanael comes. Nathanael sees. And Nathanael is changed.

Come and see. It’s the unofficial slogan of John’s gospel. It will be repeated time and again as people have life changing encounters with Jesus. There’s just something about him - something that is too important, and yet too hard to just explain. It demands an audience. It demands people experience him for themselves. So, as they receive the invitation, they come, they see, and they are changed.

Has getting to know Jesus changed your life? It’s okay if the answer is “not yet.” If he hasn’t, come and see. Dive into the story of who he is, what he did, what he taught, and what he stands for. Earnestly pray and seek his presence. And come away changed by the encounter.

And if your life has already been changed, it’s your turn now. Go to your siblings, your friends, your neighbors, your whole village. Offer them the same invitation. Come and see! Because when you come to the place I want to show you, and see what I want you to see, you will be changed.

Come and see.