Come and See

The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “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 answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” (John 1:43-51).

Did you catch it? I just noticed that the Spirit inspired John the Apostle to record these first days of Jesus’ presence in a very chronological order. Each event in the gospel narrative begins with the words, “the next day”. This is the pattern since the day John the Baptist was confronted by the Pharisees and he made his first prophetic declaration that the Christ was already here and would soon be revealed… “Among you stands one you do not know, even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie” (John 1:26-27). The next day the Baptist identified Jesus as, “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). The next day Jesus drew his first three disciples to follow Him with the invitation, “Come and you will see.” (John 1:39). On the next day of today’s text Jesus attracted more disciples. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” Philip found Nathanael and invited him to come to Jesus with the same words Jesus had used to attract the first three disciples… “Come and see.” The Spirit of Truth reveals a pattern for soul winning here. Christ followers simply have to share the truth they’ve discovered about Christ then add an invitation to come and see.

Are you becoming a better witness as you grow up into Christ? Genuine Christ followers share a common burden with Christ and with each other to bring others to the Savior. This burden grows stronger as we mature in our walk with Christ and we enjoy the blessings of His indwelling presence in our lives as we journey through this temporal life toward heaven, our land of promise. The burden increases as our understanding of the truth about heaven and hell increases. Our eagerness and effectiveness as soul winners should increase too as we mature in our faith.

The Teacher inspired the apostle John to record that the Baptist, Andrew, and Philip each shared the truth that had been revealed to them about Christ with someone else they loved. They did not have to learn some pattern or method. They did not have to attend an evangelism class. They simply shared what truth the Spirit had revealed to them about Christ. This is what Jesus would later commission all of His followers to do. He called them to be His witnesses… “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). A witness does not have to be a preacher, teacher, professor, or other trained professional. The Greek word translated witnesses here is martys and it means record or testimony. The word was used to identify thousands of believers who testified to their faith in Christ through death during the intense persecution of the church in its earliest days. They were known as martyrs. A witness is one who declares in word, deed, and lifestyle the truth that, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ) (John 1:41). Christ followers who are earnest about bringing the lost to Christ always add an invitation to “Come and see.” This is because the final work of saving the lost is not ours, but it is the work of Christ… “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10).

As we grow up into Christ discovering and applying more of the truth His Spirit reveals of Christ to us through His word we become more empowered by the Spirit of Truth and more effective witnesses. Why not meet with Him today then share truth with someone and invite them to…

Come and See.