COME AND SEE #2: I’VE FOUND JESUS
REVIEW THE INTRO TO THE GOSPEL OF JOHN:
• The Gospel of John is one of four accounts of the life of Jesus in the New Testament.
• Purpose: “And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.” (20:30-31).
• We see this in John’s seven “I am” claims of Jesus, seven miracles, and seven sermons.
REVIEW THE PROLOGUE:
“1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it… 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:1-5,14).
• After this, we are introduced to John the Baptist who came to be a witness to Jesus.
THE BIG IDEA: After someone has tasted and seen that the Lord is good, their most natural response is to want to share Jesus with others.
QUESTION: How did you become a Christian? How many of you met Jesus at church? How many of you had a friend lead you to the Lord? A co-worker? How many of you Jesus revealed Himself to you? People come to faith in many different ways, as we will see in this story.
1. JOHN THE BAPTIST POINTS OUT JESUS TO HIS DISCIPLES: (John 1:35-40).
35 Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. 36 And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, "Behold the Lamb of God!" 37 The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. 38 Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, "What do you seek?" They said to Him, "Rabbi" (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), "where are You staying?" 39 He said to them, "Come and see." They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour). 40 One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.
• One of the things we learn about Jesus here is that He is the Lamb of God.
• Like the Passover Lamb in the Old Testament, Jesus’ death on the Cross provides our salvation, forgiveness, adoption into God’s family.
• Here are two disciples – Andrew and most likely John – who start following Jesus.
• They found Jesus through a preacher – just like some people come to faith at church.
• When they asked Jesus where He was staying, they were inviting themselves over for dinner. They were seeking friendship with Him.
• Jesus didn’t make them memorize the Bible or learn all of the right facts about Him before they could follow Him. He just said, “Come and see.”
• Andrew and John’s journey with Jesus began by sharing a meal with Him one night.
• Look at how many Christians there are in the world today, and it all started with John the Baptist pointing out Jesus to two guys!
2. ANDREW TELLS HIS BROTHER PETER ABOUT JESUS:
41 He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which is translated, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus. Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, "You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas" (which is translated, A Stone).
• Here we learn another one of the titles of Jesus – the Messiah or the Christ.
• What does it mean that Jesus is the Christ, the Anointed One? “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed.” (Luke 4:18).
• Andrew isn’t a famous disciple, but he was the one who brought Peter to Jesus.
• How did Peter become a follower of Jesus? His brother Andrew and one of his co-workers, John, who was in the same fishing business with Peter.
• Andrew just said, “We found Jesus” and took Peter to Jesus too.
• Jesus is here to change people’s lives. Jesus gives Simon a nickname, Peter – the Rock.
• When we meet Jesus, we should want to share Him with our family and friends.
3. JESUS CALLS PHILIP TO FOLLOW HIM:
43 The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, "Follow Me." 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.
• Here’s a different encounter: Jesus goes and He finds Philip.
• Sometimes Jesus reveals Himself directly to people (like He did with Saul of Tarsus).
• This is rare – most often, people find Jesus through family or friends.
• Philip did have a geographic connection with Andrew and Peter – from the same town.
• It’s like when I walk around Winnipeg wearing my Roughrider green and I see someone else from Saskatchewan – instant connection. That’s what it was like for these guys.
4. PHILIP TELLS HIS FRIEND NATHANAEL ABOUT JESUS:
45 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." 46 And Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see."
• Now Philip goes and finds one of his friends and said, “I’ve found Jesus!”
• Nathanael is skeptical. God came from a back-water hick-town named Nazareth?
• When we were reading this passage in our family devotions last week, Liza said, “Can any good thing come out of Saskatchewan?” Ah, wives!
• Philip doesn’t try to convince him, he simply says, “Come and see.”
• When you invite your friends to come to Jesus or come to church, you don’t have to have all of the answers. Just invite them to come and see!
47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!" 48 Nathanael said to Him, "How do You know me?" Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you."
• The fact that Nathanael was ‘under the fig tree’ symbolically represents the fact that He was praying and/or reading the Scriptures.
• QUOTE: “I am inclined to think that Nathanael had been reading and meditating about Jacob, and this text in Genesis in particular, under the fig tree (not unlike the way the Ethiopian eunuch had been reading in Isaiah, just before Philip drew near to him (Acts 8:26-40). Jacob was a man in whom there was much deceit. Most of his life he schemed and manipulated to get ahead at the expense of others. Jacob was also the first “Israelite,” in that God would soon rename him “Israel” (Genesis 32:28). He was the first “Israelite, in whom there was much guile.” (Bob Deffinbaugh, That You Might Believe).
49 Nathanael answered and said to Him, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!" 50 Jesus answered and said to him, "Because I said to you, ’I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these." 51 And He said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man."
• Because of this amazing word of knowledge, Nathanael puts his faith in Jesus.
• Here are two more titles for Jesus: The Son of God, and the King of Israel.
• Jesus said, “You ain’t seen nothing yet!”
IN SUMMARY:
• John the Baptist points out Jesus as the Lamb of God, and two disciples follow Jesus.
• Andrew tells his brother Peter about Jesus the Messiah and Peter follows Jesus.
• Jesus calls Philip, and Philip tells Nathanael about Jesus and says, “Come and see.”
CLOSING CHALLENGE: Are you a seeker? Are you a skeptic? Come and See!
Are you a Christian? Have you found Jesus? If so, then tell others to come and see!
Jesus said, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” (Mark 16:15).
All of us have been given this great commission. What are you doing with it?
APPLICATION: Pray for your friends and family members to come to know Jesus.
Invite your family and friends to come to church, to “Come and see!”
Beausejour Community Church Website: www.beausejourchurch.ca
Pastor Chris Jordan’s Blog: http://pastorchrisjordan.wordpress.com/
