Come and See

Welcome

1. Good evening! (welcome to English Bible study) (our "online community” Bible study) (as always, we like to do some introductions… type your name and where you are from)

2. . Announcements: Christmas ornaments, 8 things...

3. Please keep us “up-to-date” on you how you are doing. (words of care and love from Amanda)

The Gospel of John

1. Tonight, we are continuing our study of the gospel of John. (the John is one of the four gospels, but not a “synoptic gospel.” (it is different from Matthew, Mark, and Luke) (it follows a different course of events... it uses symbolism differently... and there seem to be two levels of understanding … there is basic level and a deeper level.

3. We’ve already talked about how the “word became flesh” (this is the incarnation of Jesus) (this is how God chooses to get “close” to His creation) (we see this throughout the gospel of John) (Jesus breaks through nature, through social customs, even through death to show that… we matter to him)

4. That’s what we see in John 1:35-51 Read. (follow along here...)

Jesus and the Disciples

This is the account of Jesus calling his first disciples. (John’s version is different from the other gospels) (if you remember in the other versions… Jesus very actively approaches and calls some of the disciples) (they listen to Jesus and ultimately leave their boats, their professions, and they follow Jesus… because He “calls” them)

In John’s account, it’s different. (Jesus doesn’t so much recruit disciples… as they are “drawn” to Him) ( *two disciples are with John and they “see” Jesus passing by) (John the baptizer is there and recognizes Jesus) (actually… this is a very clear recognition) (John says, “Look, the Lamb of God”) (this is in full reference to who Jesus is and what He has come to do)

They begin following Jesus and Jesus has to ask them, “What do you want?” (they say “where are you staying”.... which means far more than just a location… they are looking for who He is, where He came from, what is His purpose, etc.) (they come with a lot of questions) (this is important here… we don’t have to know everything about Jesus before we begin a relationship with Him)

The story of my first encounter with Jesus at the age of 7 (I didn’t know much about Jesus, but I knew that I wanted to follow Him)

Jesus understands that the disciples have a lot of questions and what Jesus says next is most important. He says, “Come and you will see!”

Sometimes there is something in life that too big, too great, too much to really explain. (as great as words, are sometimes you just have to see it)

One of the most beautiful places I’ve been… the mountains of Ushguli.

1. Said to be “he highest inhabited village in Europe.”

2. Amazing view, beautiful flowers, running stream, glacier in the distance

3. This is difficult to describe with words (show picture)

4. The experience is even more rich when you realize that you can’t get there easily (the journey is dangerous, the roads were bad, there safety rails on the side, and honestly… several times we thought we were going to die

5. It is hard to describe with words (show video)

Jesus’ Encounter with Nathanael

We read that the next day that Philip discovers Jesus and tells Nathanael about Him. (he says, “we have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

The encounter here shows us that Nathanael and Philip know their Jewish history. (one of the things we need to understand about this text is that ancient peoples believed that 3 things were important to determine a person’s character: geography, gender, and generation) (it means where they came from, who their daddy is, and what gender they were determined who they were)

The Jews were not expecting the Messiah to come from Nazareth. (if they knew Old Testament prophecy from Micah, they might have expected, him to come from, Bethlehem) (but Nazareth was a one-stoplight town, in Galilee; no one was looking for a Galilean messiah from Nazareth)

So when Philip says to Nathanael and says, “Come see Jesus,” Nathanael’s reaction is, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” “Come and see,” says Philip. (in this Gospel, Jesus is not so much recruiting disciples as there is an invitation to “Come and see.” Find out for yourself who this Jesus is.”

So as Nathanael approaches Jesus, and Jesus immediately does something very interesting. (Nathanael does not yet know the character of Jesus, but Jesus knows exactly the character of Nathanael)

As Nathanael is approaching Jesus, Jesus says, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.” Nathanael says, “How do you know me?” Jesus answers, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”

Nathanael immediately recognizes the miracle. (Jesus has seen Nathanael in a vision or some other miraculous way) (Nathanael then says “Rabbi”—which means ‘my master’—“you must be the Son of God, the king of Israel.”

Jesus says, “You believe already because I told you I saw you under the fig tree? Trust me; you’re going to see greater things than that.” He then adds, “Very truly I tell you, you will see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man” (this is like they did on Jacob, because Jesus is portrayed as Israel in this Gospel)

At Christmas, we sing as song that says, “The hopes and fears of all the years” [are] summed up in Jesus.

Christmas or Advent is good time to recognize that Jesus invites us to “Come and See” (He wants us to see who he really is, what can do in our lives, and what future He has in store for us)

If you think about it, almost every person in the Christmas story had an invitation to “Come and See” Jesus. (the shepherds, the wise men, even Mary and Joesph had to “Come” to belief about Jesus to really see Him.

It brings us to the question: “What do you see about Jesus as you celebrate Christmas.” (do you see Him as your hope in the future… as someone who is willing to do miracles in your life.... someone who will forgive your sins.

The second part of that question is: What will you tell others about Jesus? (this is equally important in the Christmas story and in the gospel of John)

Prayer

Discussion Questions:

1. What do you see about Jesus as you celebrate Christmas.

2. What will you tell others about Jesus?