In our study of the Gospel of John let’s read John 1:35-51
35 The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38 Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” 39 He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. 40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). 42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter).
43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 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 Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” 48 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.” 49 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 50 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.” 51 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” (ESV).
The Apostle John is saying come and:
? You will see
? You will be changed
? You will see greater things
Let’s look at what John means by:
Come and you will see
In vv. 35-37, John says,
The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus.
This is the second time Jesus comes their way and what did John do? He pointed beyond himself to Someone else. Once again in this first chapter of the gospel of John, John the Baptist says to his disciples, “Behold the Lamb of God.” But in this moment only two of his disciples were actually listening - “they heard it” meaning they got what He was saying. How do we know? Because it moved them into action and they started following Jesus.
The verb to follow in the New Testament often means ‘to follow as a disciple’ (1:43; 8:12; 12:26; 21:19), but sometimes the word is quite neutral and may just mean to accompany someone. As we will read in the Gospel of John, some only accompanied Jesus because they followed the miracles, the healings, the excitement, but when difficult times came we know the majority parted ways.
For some people, following can be quite impersonal - following God or the Bible is like following a rule book or a road map. Just like in today’s social media, you can be a follower of someone you have never met with the click of a button and just as quickly you can unfollow someone because this requires no effort or commitment.
But here in v. 37 the verb tense for “follow” speaks of a once and for all action. At one level, these two common fishermen were ‘following’ Jesus in the most mundane of senses, but on another level they were taking the first steps of genuine discipleship. There was no unfollow button, even though they were severely tested, the decision they had made was final. Just like we see today in countries like N. Korea or in Iran or Afghanistan, to be a follower of Jesus is a final decision that requires a great cost.
In vv. 38-39
Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.
Jesus turns around and sees these men following him and in reality is asking, “What do you want? What do you hope to gain by following me? What are you looking for in life?” Jesus asks these questions several times to those who were following him during His ministry.
Jesus wants us to think about this question. Why are you following me, what are you looking for? These young men were hungry for truth, for meaning, for God Himself. They said, “Rabbi” - this is a title of honor, because they believed Jesus was a teacher of God. Obviously they had a lot of questions about Him, this was the beginning of their journey, they didn’t know him, they had only heard John’s testimony about Jesus being the Lamb of God, but now they wanted to know it for themselves and so they asked, “Where are you staying?”
In v. 39 Jesus says, “Come and see.” Jesus had invited these two young men to spend the day with Him and they took him up on the offer. He was saying: If you really want to know me and really want to see what I can do - If you really want to see if I am who I say I am, you can come. Because when you come, when you personally spend time with me, you will see it for yourself and make your own assessment. This brings me to the second point John was making:
Come and you will be changed
This is such an important principle for each one of us to understand. All of us have issues and unanswered questions about God. Maybe there are areas of paralyzing uncertainty about the direction I need to take and the decisions I need to make. Maybe I am searching for purpose, meaning in my life. But if I really want an answer then Jesus invites me to come and see, listen and learn for myself. But this requires a decision to follow Him. This means listening, and learning from His words and actions, coming under Him as my Teacher, Mentor, Friend and Savior. It means spending time with Him, staying with Him. If you are truly following Jesus, you will find that you will wrestle with Him about many things in your heart, your will vs. God’s will, your values vs. His, your desires, wants and dreams vs. what He wants for you.
If you want to follow, you need to be willing to listen to what Jesus says through His Spirit and His Word because there will be times when Jesus is going to say things that offend you and me, that challenge and correct you and me. At first it looks like God is your adversary and against you when in reality He is your best friend and ally. When God calls us to wrestle with Him, we need to realize that He is accomplishing more than we can understand or see. Only in retrospect will we understand that God always uses those times to work character into us and change us into His image. The key, like Jacob did in Gen 32:22-28, is to not let go of God until He blesses us and accomplishes what he wants to in our lives.
After spending just a few days with Jesus, one of the two disciples (Andrew) made a decision to go get his brother Simon Peter, to tell him, “We have found the Messiah.” The word “found” implies someone who was diligently searching for something and then joyously discovers it. Jesus said: “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field (Matt 13:44 ESV).” These people had been anticipating and searching for the Messiah for centuries so you can imagine the joy they had when they found Him.
Peter responds to his brother Andrew’s testimony about the Messiah and comes to see Jesus for himself. How many people here have had a family member or friend invite us to come and hear about Jesus and you came? Peter finds out for himself and when he meets Jesus, Jesus not only changes his name from Simon to Peter which means a rock, He changes him from a vacillating, impulsive person to a steadfast disciple who would stand for and eventually die for his faith. When you come, you will see, and when you see, you will be changed.
The next day, Jesus walks into Galilee and finds Phillip and says, “follow me.” Don’t just accompany Me or come along for the ride but follow Me. And Phillip did. Whatever happened in that short period of time must have been dramatic because we see in v. 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.” Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”
Nathanael answers - are you sure about this? Nazareth did it have any biblical significance in the OT, nor was it any point of interest on the map. Nathaniel was quite cynical and like everyone else then, turned their nose down on anyone who came from the town of Nazareth. Obviously, where you were born and your family line were quite important in those days. But not to God - He seems to like to do great things in and through the least likely people.
Phillip was not out to convince Nathanael about the Messiah. He simply answered, “Come and see.” In other words, if you have questions about Him then come and ask Him yourself.
Then when Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, He said of him, “He is a true Jew, a real believer in God, inside and out, a person of integrity, no guile, no phoniness, no hypocrisy, Nathanael is the real deal. Jesus knew who he was on the inside out, told him where he first saw him. Nathanael was apparently pretty stunned by this and proclaims His deity and authority.
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” (1 John 1:50).
What was Jesus saying? If you come, you will see, and if you see you will be changed, and after you are changed…Jesus says come and
You will see greater things
Nathanael and all the disciples had only known Jesus for a few days but as they continued following Jesus they would see even greater things from God. Jesus told Nathanael,
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 1:51).
Jesus was reminding Nathanael of Jacob's incredible encounter with God (Gen 28:10-16). Jacob was in a crisis, running for his life because he so angered his brother and decided to spend the night in a place called Bethel. Jacob slept on the earth with a stone for his “head piece.” As he slept, he had a dream in which he saw a ladder or stairway with angels going up and down between heaven and earth. When Jacob woke up he said, “God was here and I did not know it.” Just as God made His divine presence known on earth with Jacob at Bethel and He is making His divine presence known in the incarnation of Jesus.
For the next 3 years Jesus would open the eyes of Nathaniel and the disciples as they would see God and His supernatural work done on this earth through the Messiah. They would see miracle after miracle, they would see His crucifixion, His resurrection and His ascension. They would see the goodness and the faithfulness of God play out in their time.
What does this have to do with us today? Maybe you have a lot of questions about God. If you really want to know Him and really want to see what He can do - If you really want to see if He is who He says He is, you can come. Because when you come, when you personally spend time with Him, you will see Him for yourself? Second, maybe you are wrestling with things in your life. The question is, are you wrestling with these things alone, wit other people or with God? Are you letting Him change you in the process?
Are you willing to listen and learn from Jesus? Are you only accompanying Him, are you just along for the ride or have you made the decision to follow Him. God is always inviting us to come, if you are hungry or thirsty come and eat, are you weary and tired, are you are burdened, come and I will give you rest. Are you in need of grace and mercy, then accept His invitation to come. If you come, you will see, you will be changed and you will see even greater things.
