Articles
Come and See
Come and See
Welcome to the Brandon church of Christ! We are a group dedicated to Jesus and showing Him to others. The first chapter of John’s gospel account is all about this idea. Come and see what I mean.
Jesus to His followers: come and see
“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?’ He said to them, “Come and see’” (John 1:38-39).
The people who had already started following Jesus were curious about His purpose, so He invited them to come and see. Jesus wanted the people to find out for themselves who He was. One of the people who heard and answered this invitation was a man named Andrew. Peter is one of the most memorable followers of Jesus, but it is his brother Andrew who brings him to Jesus. Andrew followed the invitation and then encouraged his brother to do the same. Perhaps you are here today because someone invited you to go to church with them. The way the good news of Jesus traveled from Andrew to Peter is the same way the good news travels today: a person finds Jesus, then encourages others to do the same. There are many ways to see Jesus, but I hope you see Jesus in a way today that makes you want to learn more about Him.
A friend to a friend: come and see
“And Nathanael said to him, ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’ Philip said to him, ‘Come and see’” (John 1:45-46).
After Andrew invites his brother Peter, we read another invitation for someone to come and see Jesus. The exact invitation that Jesus gave to His curious followers is the same invitation Philip gives to his skeptical friend Nathanael. If you are skeptical about following Jesus that is okay. But my encouragement to you would be to find out for yourself who Jesus is and what it means to follow Him. Nathanael doubts based on the one thing he knows about Jesus. He knows Jesus is from Nazareth, an undesirable place to be from, so he doubts that this could be the Messiah. It is easy to dismiss everything about Jesus based on something in our past. Perhaps you have met a Christian who was a hypocrite or you have seen religious conflict in the world, so you ask if anything good can even come from Jesus. My answer would be the same as Philip’s: come and see. A lot changes for Nathanael because hefinds out for himself who Jesus is.
Jesus to His follower: you will see greater things than these
“Nathanael answered and said to Him, ‘Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!’ 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’” (John 1:49-50).
The once skeptical Nathanael has quickly become a dedicated disciple. Jesus knowing who Nathanael is so amazing to him that he immediately exclaims that Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus was certainly right when He tells Nathanael that he is going to see much greater things. Someone who followed Jesus from the beginning of His ministry would see almost every miracle of Jesus, see the crowds who came to hear His amazing teaching, then see Christ’s death and resurrection. The skeptic turned disciple had just started to see the amazing things of a life dedicated to Jesus. If you have seen something today that makes you want to learn more about Jesus, my answer would be the same as Jesus’: you will see greater things than these.
Let us know if you want to study the Bible more and learn more about Jesus. Come and see for yourself. --William Speer
