Come and See

Use these materials to go deeper into this message on your own, or with your small group. 
Passage Breakdowns, SOAPS Format & Instructions (Weeks 1-12)
Passage Breakdowns, SOAPS Format & Instructions (Weeks 13-26)

If you’d like to follow along with us using the Gospel of John Scripture Journal, you’re welcome to purchase a copy here

8:40 Service | 10:00 Service | 11:20 Service | Sermon Audio

We’re taking January through June to walk through the Gospel of John together. So let’s jump in and pick up where we left off last week. John chapter one, starting in verse 35. Let’s hear God’s Word… 

35 The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” 

37 When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. 38 Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?” 

They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?” 

39 “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.” 

So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon. 

40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus. 

Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter). 

43 The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.” 

44 Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. 45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, “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.” 

46 “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked. 

“Come and see,” said Philip. 

47 When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.” 

48 “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. 

Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.” 

49 Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.” 

50 Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.” 51 He then added, “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 the Word of the Lord. 

So John the Baptist is standing there with two of his followers—Andrew and somebody who’s not named. Jesus passes by, and John does what we’ve seen him do already: he points people’s attention to Jesus: “Look—the Lamb of God.” If you were a Jewish person in the first century, and you heard that, you would never think, “Oh—here comes a man who’s nice and soft and gentle, like a lamb.” You would know what John meant: this is a man who would play the same role as a sacrificial lamb in the Jerusalem temple—he would give his life—he would spill his blood—to atone for the sins of the people.” And these two disciples of John the Baptist immediately start following Jesus, because if this really is the Lamb of God, who takes away people’s sins, they want to get in on that.  

Today, in this service, there are some who have never had their sins taken away by the Lamb of God. You have never repented of your old life, and turned to Jesus, and received the forgiveness that he paid for at the cross. And I am urging you today: don’t wait. You may not wake up tomorrow morning. This life is so unpredictable. Don’t wait. Ask the Lamb of God to wash away your sins, and then, to show the realness of your faith, at the end of this service, come forward and be baptized. Don’t put it off any longer.  

So these two disciples start following Jesus. And as they do, and as we see other people begin to follow Jesus, here’s what we realize: this Lamb of God doesn’t just take away sins; he wants to do so much more for those who follow him. The forgiveness part is just the start. Some of us haven’t moved very far past that first part. You’re like, “I’m good—I’m forgiven—I’m going to heaven.” And today I want you to listen to the voice of Jesus, calling you deeper in your walk with him.  

Twice in this passage we see those inviting words: “Come and see.” So here’s my invitation today: Come and see the One who wants to, first of all, be with you. Come and see the One who wants to be with you. Verse 38: Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?” Do you realize those are the first words of Jesus that John records in his Gospel? The first thing he quotes out of the mouth of Jesus is a question: What do you want? Can you imagine walking into the Chapel lobby this morning, and Pastor Paul greets you at the door, and he says, “What do you want?” That’s a pretty Jersey way to greet someone. It sounds kind of blunt, but it’s very direct, and if someone is following you, it’s a fair question to ask. What do you want? 

They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?” I don’t think they knew what to say. But Jesus put them on the spot, and that’s the first thing that came to mind: “Umm…where are you staying?” Jesus could have said, “That’s a little too personal. I like to keep my public ministry and my private life separate, and I’m going to ask you to respect my boundaries.” But he doesn’t. 39 “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. And for those two men, this was when they first realized that Jesus wasn’t just the Lamb of God who takes away their sins; he was a person who actually wanted to be with them. In fact, later, in chapter 15, Jesus says to his disciples, “I no longer call you my servants; I call you my friends.” 

If you went up to a devout Muslim and asked them if Allah was their friend, they would say, “No—it’s not like that. I have fear and submission, but I would never call it friendship. That’s disrespectful.” If you asked a Buddhist or a Hindu, “Do you have a personal relationship with God?” They would either say, “Which god?” or they would say, “Well, God is in everything—God is in you and the mountains and the trees—he’s not a personal being you can have a friendship with.” The idea that the eternal God, who created the universe, wants to be known and to have a friendship with people, is really unusual. And it’s one of the most beautiful things about this faith. 

Some of you are blessed enough to have a close friend who understands you really well. Maybe it’s your spouse; maybe it’s someone else. They just get you. Do you have somebody like that? They’ve been with you so long, they know what you’re thinking; they know the weird things about you that nobody else knows; you start saying something and they can finish your sentence. Right? Because they know you! But not perfectly. Even in the closest friendships; even in the best marriages, there are times when you’re going through something, and nobody understands. As much as they want to, it’s a personal thing that no one else can really understand. 

But Jesus can. Hebrews 4:15 says For we do not have a high priest (this is talking about Jesus) who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Jesus gets it. Because Jesus has been there. 

Have you been misunderstood? Jesus has too. 

Have you been lied to? So has Jesus. 

Have you had people you thought you could trust turn their back on you? Same thing happened to Jesus. 

Have you been verbally abused? Jesus has felt that sting. 

Are you in physical pain? Believe me, Jesus gets that. 

Have you been wrongly accused? Jesus knows that feeling very well. 

Have you prayed for something and it didn’t happen? Jesus knows that anguish. He’s been there. He’s felt it. He gets it. 

Like that old African-American spiritual says: “Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen; Nobody knows my sorrow. Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen; Nobody knows but Jesus.” He knows. 

And therefore—Hebrews 4:16: Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Go to him. Pour out your heart to him. When you’re driving in the car and there’s nobody else there, or when you’re walking the dog, or if you’re single and you find yourself alone on a Friday night, remember he’s with you. You’re not alone. Talk to him. Learn to take comfort in his presence.  

Joni Earickson Tada, who’s been paralyzed from the neck down since she was a teenager, said, “My weakness, that is, my quadriplegia, is my greatest asset because it forces me into the arms of Christ every single morning when I get up.” What’s your weakness? What makes your life hard? Let it drive you closer to Jesus.  

Those two guys who followed Jesus had no idea they’d get to spend the whole day with him. But they did, and then they spent the next three years with him. Because he wanted to be with them. Come and see the One who wants to be with you.  

Second, Come and see the One who wants to change you. After Andrew spends that first day with Jesus, he immediately goes and finds his brother Simon and brings him to meet Jesus. So here come Andrew and Simon; Jesus sees them coming. And verse 42 says Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter). Is that not the most bizarre way to greet someone? You’ve never met them before, and the first thing you do is change their name! I preached this passage many years ago, and I said, “Imagine if I were meeting you for the first time, and I walked toward you, and you said to me, ‘You are David, son of Ralph. You shall be called Larry.” I just picked a random name. And there was a guy in the Chapel, who from that day until the day he died a few years ago, every time he saw me, he called me “Larry.” He would not let that go. But you can’t just do that! You can’t go around changing people’s names!  

If you’re Jesus you can. The one who created you has the right to name you. In fact, when you look back through biblical history, you see God renaming Abram “Abraham”—“the father of many.” He renames Sarai “Sarah”, which means “Princess.” He changes Jacob’s name to “Israel”, which means someone who wrestles with God. And in every case, the reason for the renaming is to represent God’s call on their life.  

So why did Jesus rename Simon? If you know anything about Simon’s personality, you know he was a man of strong emotions, and he was often driven by his emotions. He could be impulsive and reckless and unreliable. And Jesus knew all of that about Simon, and he accepted him anyway. Because you don’t have to clean up your act before you come to Jesus. You come as you are. There’s a saying in Christianity: “Jesus loves you just the way you are.” And it’s true. Simon is proof of that! 

But there’s another half to that saying! Jesus loves you just the way you are…but he loves you too much to leave you that way. Jesus had plans for Simon. He wasn’t going to leave him the way he was. So he gives him this new name as a promise of what he would become. He names him Cephas” (that’s the Aramaic), or “Peter” (that’s the Greek). You know what that means? Rock. In other words, “Right now, I know you’re an impulsive hothead. But I’m going to turn you into someone who’s as steady and solid and reliable as a rock.” 

And you know what? That did not happen overnight! When you look at Peter’s life over the next three years, you’re going to see him continue to struggle with that natural tendency—just like we do, right? The things we struggle with are really deep, and they usually don’t change instantly. But when we’re connected with the power of Christ, they do change. Peter became one of the most solid leaders of the early church, and he held onto his faith until death. Maybe he thought he was just getting a new nickname—but Jesus had plans for him. 

And you have to see that he has plans for you. He wants to change the way you think about your identity.  

You say, “I’m an addict. I can’t stop using alcohol or drugs or overeating. It’s just who I am.” Jesus says, “No, no, no. You are free. And if the Son has set you free, you’re free indeed. That’s who you are. Now live out that identity.” 

You say, “I’ve done terrible things. I’m guilty. I’m shameful.” Jesus says, “No, no, no. You are forgiven by the blood of the Lamb. That’s how I see you. Now walk in that identity.” 

You say, “I’m afraid. I’m afraid of people; I’m afraid of the future; I’m afraid of failing.” Jesus says, “You can do all things through him who strengthens you, and I will never leave you or forsake you.” Walk in my power.  

When Andrew invited his brother Simon to come and meet Jesus, Simon had no idea how personal it would get. But he walked away from that first encounter with a whole new way of thinking about who he was. “Jesus says I’m a rock.” That’s his vision for my life. And he has a vision for your life. Come and see the One who wants to change you.  

And third, Come and see the One who wants to enchant you. So the next day, Jesus calls a guy named Philip to follow him; Philip finds his friend Nathanael, and 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.” And Nathanael says, 46 “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nazareth was a tiny village in Galilee with only a few hundred residents; it’s not mentioned anywhere in the Old Testament. And Philip is not buying it. He is a skeptic. Do you know any of those? Maybe you’re a skeptic. You’re not ready to believe, and you’ve got your reasons.  

And I love Philip’s response. He doesn’t argue with his friend; he doesn’t manipulate him. He simply says, “Come and see.” I love that. I understand you don’t believe. But come and see. Come to Night to Shine and see how followers of Jesus treat every person with dignity. Come with us to Paterson and see how we treat homeless folks with respect. Come to church and see how Jesus is preached every Sunday from the Bible. Come to a Young Adults group or MomCo group and see the community and love there. Come and see, and you decide for yourself. 

So Nathanel goes along with his friend; Jesus sees him coming, he says, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.” Nathanael says, “How do you know me?” And Jesus says, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.” In that culture, sitting under a fig tree was very symbolic. Because it was considered a place of meditation and private communing with God. So Jesus is saying, “Nathanael, you were in this private place of devotion, and you didn’t think anyone knew you were there…but I saw you. I know what you’ve been wrestling with; I know your doubts and your questions. I saw you.” And he sees you. In your private moments; in your questions; in your doubts. He sees you. 

And for reasons I don’t fully understand, Nathan is completely convinced. In verse 49 he says, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.” He goes from mocking skeptic to all-in believer, just like that. It makes me wonder: how many Nathanaels are out there—mocking on the surface, but in reality not far from faith? 

Verse 50: 50 Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.” 51 He then added, “Very truly I tell you, you will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on’ the Son of Man.” What is he talking about? Well, he’s referring to a scene from the life of Jacob. Jacob has a dream of a ladder connecting heaven and earth, and he sees angels going up and down the ladder—between heaven and earth. And Jacob wakes up from the dream, and he says, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.”  

Here's what Jesus is saying to Nathanael: “Nathanael, you’re impressed because I saw you in that secret place—under your fig tree. You haven’t seen anything yet. If you stick with me, you’re going to see heaven cracked wide open—just like Jacob’s dream. I know you’re skeptical, but you’re going to see that I’m the ladder that connects you with heaven. 

There are so many people today who have a disenchanted view of the world. In other words, reality is only what you can see. There’s no supernatural. Everything can be explained by science. And Jesus says, “Come to me, and let me enchant you. Let me show you that God is real, and there are angels all around, and there is much more to life than you can see with your eyes.” Come and see the One who wants to enchant you. 

This whole thing started when John the Baptist said, “Look—the Lamb of God!” And we immediately think of the Lamb as the one who died to take away our sins. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg! John could have said, “Look, the Lamb of God—who wants to take away your sins, and be with you no matter what happens, and change you into the best version of yourself, and enchant your world so you realize there is supernatural activity all around you.” That’s the Jesus who called them, and that’s the Jesus who’s calling you. Will you take a step toward him?  

For some of you, your next step is a step of baptism. So I’m going to invite our worship team back up, and as they’re coming, I’m going to pray. If God is calling you to be baptized, this is your time. You can slip out during my prayer—when everybody’s eyes are closed, or you can slip out during this next song, just step into the side hallway and you’ll be greeted by some friendly people. If this is your time, don’t hold back. Take that step.