Sermon Tone Analysis

Intro

We’re going to wrap up chapter 1 of John’s gospel today.

Two weeks ago we saw that it is in God’s nature to make himself known.

Last week, we saw how John the witness joined in God’s mission by proclaiming him to others!

Behold the LAMB OF GOD who takes away the sin of the world!

This week we will see theme progress one step further...

John's gospel emphasizes these themes of light and seeing.

And in verses 35-51 this will become very clear in the repeated invitation to COME AND SEE.

But what does John mean by come and see?

There are at least 3 things here that we can draw out of this invitation to come and see.

Let’s discover these 3 things by look at the text together.

So, go ahead and grab your bibles and turn with me to John 1:35-51.

If you don’t have a bible, you can use on of our pew bibles.

You’ll find the passage on page _______.

And if you don’t own a bible, feel free to bring a pew bible home with you as our gift to you!

Once you’re there, I invite you to stand with me if you are able out of respect for God’s Word and follow along with me as I read.

PRAY

Okay so 3 things that COME & SEE means...

Come & Think

The first time we encounter COME & SEE is after 2 of John’s disciples decide to follow Jesus and Jesus asks them, “What are you seeking?”

Now John the Baptist just told these two that Jesus is the Lamb of God and so naturally they are curious.

They probably want to see if this is true.

So, they respond with a question of their own, “Where are you staying?”

Meaning,…

We’d like to spend some time with you.

We’d like to observe you and see what your like.

Now notice that Jesus doesn’t immediately lay out the Apostle’s Creed and demand belief and obedience…NO!

He says...

Come watch me.

Come get to know me.

Come see what I do, how I live, how I speak.

The next time we see the invitation to COME & SEE, Philip is telling Nathaniel about Jesus and Philip responds skeptically in verse 46.

And it’s a valid question.

And Philip doesn’t say, “How dare you question the Messiah!?” — Get in line or go home!

NO!

He says, let’s go find out — Let’s study it, Let’s learn the answer to that question.

Now Nathanial’s question is not the question of a modern day skeptic...

Today someone might ask, if there is an all powerful and loving God, then why is there so much pain and suffering in the world?

And these types of questions just cripple so many Christians.

Or just the thought of being asked a question you don’t know the answer to keeps you from talking with others about Jesus.

But all you have to do is be a modern day Philip and say hey that is a great question let’s look into that — come and see — come and THINK!

Many skeptics accuse Christianity of being a blind faith kind of thing where you need to check your brain at the door.

Well, that is NOT Jesus’ Christianity.

He invites you to come and think.

But how do we do this?

How you come and see today?

You examine the evidence by reading the gospel accounts.

But wait a minute someone might say!

You can’t trust the bible!

Those stories about Jesus have been so embellished over time that it’s impossible to know what’s really true or not!

Some will even claim that the gospels represent nothing more than ancient legends or myths.

But do you know how we can tell the gospels are not legends or myths?

The evidence is right here in the details!

There are many examples of this but there is one right here in our text.

Look at verse 39...

So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.

(which is 4 o’clock).

Any scholar of literature with tell you that ancient fiction NEVER included details like this.

And the only fiction that does is modern fiction!

So, if the gospels are fiction then you would have to believe that someone in the 2nd century suddenly began writing using modern realistic narrative fiction centuries before anyone else would!

Or else you’d have to believe that some 1st century Jews who had been trained their entire lives to believe that God could never be a man, made this whole thing up with such elaborate detail and circulated these deliberate lies.

Then they go out and live such powerfully attractive lives that the entire Roman world is turned upside down!

And when faced with execution for their lies, they knowingly died for them!

IF they were lying, they had EVERYTHING to lose and NOTHING to gain by this — but they willingly died rather than recant their testimony!

The only other intellectually credible option is that the gospel writers were telling the truth about what they actually saw!

That’s the only explanation that makes sense of the rich details of their accounts!

There’s no middle ground.

You can’t say with any intellectual integrity that Jesus was just a good man or a good moral teacher!

Either these are fraudulent lies or they are actual eyewitness accounts.

So, this is how you come and think — you immerse yourself in the eye witness accounts of the gospels!

This the invitation we put out to you recently with our Christianity Explored class on Sunday mornings at 9:30.

It’s a course that will take you through Mark’s gospel and examines the message of Christianity.

It’s an invitation to come and think!

To ask any questions you may have about Christianity!

We’re in the middle of the course now but show up any way.

And there will be offering a new cycle again soon.

Come Together

The next thing that come and see means is to come Together!

This is so cool.

Check this out!

In our text today.

John the Baptist leads Andrew and another disciple to Jesus.

Then Andrew leads his brother Peter to Jesus.

Later Philip leads Nathanael to Jesus.

Remember what Philip says to Nathanael?

He invites him to “COME AND SEE”.

This is an invitation to figure this out together!

Now there are always exceptions but the normal way so many people find Jesus is through a friend.

People find Jesus because they were found by a friend who already found Jesus!

So one of the best ways to invite some one to come and see Jesus, is to invite them to come and see Jesus with you!

But where is Jesus today so that we can know where to bring them?

He is most clearly revealed in the eye witness testimonies of the New Testament.

It’s actually quite genius how John the writer uses this phrase COME AND SEE not just in a narrative way but also in a way that invites the reader of his gospel also to come and see!

And as we work through John’s gospel you will see how Jesus lives and what he says and does and you will see for yourself that he is the Lamb of God who takes away your sin!

One thing I want to encourage everyone of you to do is to pray about one friend you could invite to join you for our next cycle of Christianity Explored.

Because your friend is way more likely to come if they know you will be coming with them.

Offer to pick them up or to meet them in the parking lot and walk in with them.

I know this may sound silly but it’s a big deal for someone who may have never set foot inside a church before.

It can be intimidating to walk through the front doors by yourself for the first time!

Another way we can bring people to see Jesus is by inviting them to our weekly Sunday church gatherings!