INVITATIONS: COME AND SEE

Pastor Jonathan Falwell 

John 1:35–51 (CSB) 

Today, we begin a new sermon series which will lead us through Easter, and will lead us through our church efforts to knock on every home within the city of Lynchburg in the month of March. This series will reveal a number of encounters Jesus had with regular people and the invitations he extended to each of them. Our hope is we will be inspired to see the value in being the witnesses Christ has called us to be. 

1. The Invitation to See 

Vss 35-39a The next day, John was standing with two of his disciples. 36When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” 37The two disciples heard him say this and followed Jesus. 38When 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?” 39“Come and you’ll see,” he replied.

• This encounter was a random moment which happened prior to the calling of Andrew and Peter to be disciples as recorded in Matthew 4.
• Two of John the Baptist’s followers heard him proclaim Jesus as the Lamb of God and they immediately approached Jesus.
• The answer given by Christ was “Come and you’ll see” which is a powerful statement of what they will experience as they walk with Christ.

2. Seeing the Obvious

Vss 39b-42 So they went and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day. It was about four in the afternoon. 40Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard John and followed him. 41He first found his own brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated “the Christ”), 42and 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”).

• As the afternoon continued, they sat at the feet of Jesus and most likely taught them things they had never heard.
• Jesus as a youth (Luke 2:47), Nazareth (Luke 4:22), Capernaum (Mark 1:22), Temple Leaders (John 7:15), Hometown Crowd (Matthew 13:54), The Disciples (Matthew 8:27), Pilate (Mark 15:5), Crowds regarding Healings (Mark 7:37), The Disciples (Matthew 19:25-26)
• It was clear to them in the moment, this Man was the Messiah
• Key: they were told about Jesus by a friend, and it changed their lives!

3. Seeing the Miraculous

Vss 43-51 The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. He found Philip and told him, “Follow me.” 44Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the hometown of Andrew and Peter. 45Philip 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.” 46“Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Nathanael asked him. “Come and see,” Philip answered. 47Then Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said about him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.” 48“How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you,” Jesus answered. 49“Rabbi,” Nathanael replied, “You are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel!” 50Jesus responded to him, “Do you believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this.” 51Then he said, “Truly I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

• Another invitation by Phillip to Nathanael to come and see this man Jesus
• Instantly, Nathanael saw the supernatural as Jesus knew him, knew all about him, even knew what he had been doing
• “Jesus revealed his divine omniscience to Nathanael: “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”[i] – Gary Baumler
• Jesus gave us all a sneak peek at who He really is in vss 50-51. He made it clear; He had arrived to give us new revelations about God and the Kingdom of Heaven.

Charles Spurgeon once famously said, “You have never truly found Jesus if you do not tell others about Him!”[ii] 

Our Takeaways:

1. Be ready to see 

36When he saw Jesus passing by…

2. Be ready to listen

39b …and they stayed with him that day…

41b …“We have found the Messiah”…

3. Be ready to act

48-49a “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you,” Jesus answered. 49“Rabbi,” Nathanael replied, “You are the Son of God;  

Kenneth Gangel said, “John 1 describes five men who met the Lord and the Lamb. All different. All believers. All models. What great lessons they teach us. We learn that witnessing is everybody’s responsibility. We also learn that witnessing begins at home, either in one’s own family or hometown, not necessarily by going to another country. A third lesson is that witnessing promotes the Lord, not ourselves or some personal agenda. And finally, these early disciples show us that witnessing is both verbal and specific.”[iii]

[i] Gary P. Baumler, The People’s Bible: John (Northwestern Publishing House, 1997.)

[ii] Charles H. Spurgeon, Through the Eyes of C.H. Spurgeon: Quotes from a Reformed Baptist Preacher (Lucid Books, 2012.)

[iii] Kenneth O. Gangel, John, vol. 4, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000), 18–19.