We’ve Found Him | John 1
John 1
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Chapter Notables:
In the Beginning was the Word; and the Word became Flesh - verses 1-18
The Pharisees asks John the Baptist who he was - verses 19-28
John the Baptist declares Jesus - verse 29-34
John’s disciples, Andrew and Simon, follow Jesus - verses 35-42
Jesus calls Philip and Nathanael to follow Him - verses 43-51
Come And See | Lemuel Ayudtud
Telling others about Jesus is one of the most instrumental ways to bring followers to Jesus. It’s a matter of command in the New Testament: every disciple is directed to make other disciples. But the best witnesses are not the ones that share their faith because they were told to do so; the best ones are the those who share their faith because they’re excited that they have met Jesus.
“Come and see” appears to be an underlying vibe of chapter 1. Some people ask Jesus where He stayed, Jesus tells them, “Come and see.” Philip, after being asked of Jesus to follow Him, sees his friend Nathanael and tells him about Jesus.
“I think we found the one we’ve been talking about all these years, the Messiah: Jesus of Nazareth,” Philip tells Nathanael. Nathanael responds with a question, “Is there anything good that can come out of Nazareth?” “Come and see,” Philip responds.
It’s that simple. The excitement that we have for Jesus, and our desire to share our faith with other people, it’s as simple as inviting someone to come and see. In “come and see” what we’re doing is not answering their questions for them. We’re not trying to pontificate or elaborate on why we follow Jesus. We are not trying to demand people to believe what we believe. What we’re doing is simply inviting someone to come and check it out for themselves.
For the most part we don’t know the struggle people have, we don’t know the questions people may ask, and often times we don’t have the appropriate answers. But this one thing we know, the Jesus we follow is worth seeing. He is worth hearing. And if people would just come and see they can find out for themselves why we are followers, disciples of Jesus.
In our modern day how do we invite people to “come in see”?
Be excited ourselves. No one will come and see anything if the person inviting them is not excited about what they are about to show them. Maintain your excitement for Jesus.
Share your testimony. Tell people what you’ve seen. If you can invite somebody to come and see, you best have something to share to them that you have come and seen.
Invite them to an experience. You could invite sent them to a church service, a Bible study, or a gathering of believers. This way they can actually come to something where they will see something.
Share your hope in Christ Jesus. Much like Philip shared to Nathanael his hope in Jesus, we have to know how to share our hope with those we invite. Be ready to tell somebody why you have made Jesus the Lord of your life. Be ready to tell them why and how they can become a follower of Jesus as well.
Sharing our faith becomes very simple when it’s a matter of just telling somebody to come and see. No extra weight or burden on us. It is Jesus they will come and see and He will show them why He is worthy of their full surrender to Him.
Lord, lead me to somebody today that I can share my hope in You with. Let me not make it extra hard or extra special. Help me to share my experience with them about you and invite them to come and see for themselves whether or not what we say is real and true. Give us the grace to be friendly and to be inviting so that those we invite will respond positively. Help us to be like the early disciples who didn’t make demands on people but invited them to experience Jesus for themselves instead. Help me to be a walking invitation for you and may my life be the first thing they come and see. In Your Name, Jesus, I pray, amen.
