There are some things you just have to come and see to really appreciate.
That’s why businesses offer free samples, dealerships offer test drives, TV ads invite you to “come in and see for yourself!”
When the new parents bring home the baby, they have many “come and see moments.” Come and see him smile, come and see her laugh, come and see him wiggle his toes, come and see him eat him take his first steps, come and see her fall asleep eating spaghetti in her high chair. You’ve got to come and see this!
When you see something really unusual, you might have a “come and see moment.” Kids call their parents to come see some strange bug making strange sounds. “Daddy, come look!”
At school or at work you see something funny, something that doesn’t make sense, something that your friends just have to see for themselves. Come and see something unusual, something strange, something wonderful, something funny, something shocking---come and see, come and see, come and see!
Today is a special Sunday we set aside here at Rock Springs when we invite our family, our friends, and our neighbors to “come and see.” We want you to experience something wonderful, something unusual, maybe even something shocking. We want you to come and see something special here, gathered together with God’s people in the Name of Jesus Christ, listening and watching for what He will do in our lives.
To help us do that, I want to talk to you a few minutes about some folks who experienced a “come and see” moment. It wasn’t at a church, but it was a turning point in their lives, and I believe that as you and I read this Scripture this morning, it can be a turning point in your life as well. Read with me in John 1:29-34.
The first “come and see” moment comes for a preacher named John the Baptist and two disciples, or followers. John is one of those fire and brimstone preachers everybody claims to like until he starts he points to you and yells you are going to hell if you don’t repent! He’s popular with common people, but he doesn’t get invited to preach by the stuffy religious leaders. John is very passionate and serious about the importance of personal repentance. If you want to get right with God, John would say, you’ve got to change your evil ways.
But John also preached passionately about another subject: the Messiah, or Christ. Israel expected God to send a Messiah, Somebody who would rescue them from their enemies and make everything right again. Some people thought John was the Messiah, but he told them straight up I am not the Man—but the Messiah is coming soon, and He will rescue His people and make everything right.
And sure enough, vs. 29-34 tell how John recognized Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah as when Jesus was baptized. Immediately John begins to invite everybody to a “come and see moment” in vs. 29 (read.)
Behold=come and see! What? The Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world!
John you call me to come and see, but what am I looking at? What does he mean by the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world?
He’s obviously speaking symbolically. Anybody can see Jesus is a Man, not a sheep. But the people of Israel were very familiar with sheep, especially in relationship to their religion. Part of the daily worship in the Temple was the slaughter of two lambs each day, two lambs offered up before God to cover the sins of the people. Why did God demand this sacrifice? Because the wages of sin is death. Only the death of these innocent lambs purchases the pardon of the sins of the people. These lambs had to be the best, they had to be spotless to qualify as God’s Lamb. When John the Baptist shouted out Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world! Everyone who heard him already had the image in their mind of the spotless little lambs that would lose their lives that day to cover their sins. John is calling for all the world to come and see this Man Jesus is God’s Lamb Who takes away the sins of all the world not just for a day, but forever!
Through these words, the Holy Spirit calls out to you to come and see the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world. He comes to earth to pay the wages for your sin—your debt of death you owe for all of the evil and wicked things you have done. Go back in your mind and think about the worst sin you can remember ever committing—stealing? Lying? Sexual sin? Hatred? Your sins were the reason Jesus died on the Cross. He died to wash away your guilt so you could be completely and absolutely forgiven.
But you never receive that forgiveness and freedom until you come to Him and see Him. See Him not just as the Savior, but as your Savior. See Him as the Savior you trust not only to save you, but to keep you, to lead you, to be the Shepherd you are committed to follow. In the words of the Gospel, you can never truly come and see Jesus unless you repent and believe the Gospel. Have you ever come and seen Jesus? So many of us think we have, but have you really seen Him as the Lamb of God Who can take away your sins?
This past Thursday (8/9/2007) AP ran a report about smudge of driveway sealant resembling the face of Jesus Christ has fetched more than $1,500 in an online auction. The family that found the image on its garage floor sold it for $1,525.69 on eBay Wednesday, more than a week after the slab of concrete was put on sale.
Have you see Jesus? Until you see Jesus as the Lamb of God, you never really see Jesus at all.
The second “come and see” moment comes in vs. 35-39 (read.)
John just cannot be quiet about Jesus. Every time Jesus comes near, John shouts out again Behold the Lamb of God! Finally, two of John’s disciples, or followers, decide to check Jesus out for themselves. As soon as John shouts, they get up and trail Jesus.
They don’t follow Him far before Jesus notices. He suddenly turns and asks What are you looking for? Do they really know what they are looking for? Rabbi (they recognize Jesus as a Teacher) where are you staying? Maybe they figure that a person’s home tells a lot about who they are. Jesus answers with a smile: Come and see.
Where does He take them? Wouldn’t it have been interesting to find out? People ask What would Jesus do? What would Jesus eat? And finally What would Jesus drive? Has anybody ever asked where would Jesus live? Does He live alone, or with a family member or roommate? How many rooms are in Jesus’ home? Are there any pictures on His wall? Does He even live in a house, or does He live outdoors?
We really don’t know where Jesus was staying when He invited these two men to come and see. But we do know where He is staying right now.
That’s right—I know where Jesus is staying right now. He isn’t like those celebrities who have unlisted phone numbers and addresses, who try to hide from common folks. The Bible mentions at least 2 places that you can always find Jesus Christ. He can be in all these places at once because He is not only human, but also God. You could say Jesus is everywhere, but the Bible mentions 3 places He is present by His Spirit.
Romans 8:34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.
The Bible says if you want see where Jesus is staying, you have to look up to heaven, where He sits at the right hand of God—the position of power, and prayer. From heaven He hears the prayers of His people, and prays for them, interceding for us before God the Father. Every time a Christian prays, wherever they are, they are at the throne of heaven, right where Jesus stays. Another place you can find Jesus is mentioned in
Matthew 18:20 For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”
If you go back and read this verse in its context, Jesus is talking about how to deal with conflicts among His followers, and in Matt. 18:17 He commands us to take our conflicts that cannot get resolved to the church. He’s not talking about a building, but a people, a group of people who gather together to worship the Lord. Though Jesus is everywhere, you can reach Him by prayer when you are all by yourself, but the Bible makes it clear that in some special way, Jesus lives in His church.
When a man named Saul persecutes the early church Jesus asks Him why are you persecuting Me? In 1 Corinthians Paul calls the church the Body of Christ. Jesus is the Head of the church, He says, but you are His Body. Jesus lives in His church, not the building, but the people. Jesus lives in the life of each individual Christian, but He also lives among them as His church.
The story is told of a little girl and her mom discussing the morning Sunday school class. The child told her mom that they talked about Jesus going up to heaven and that he is now sitting beside God. As they continued to look at the Sunday school paper, the mother noticed a picture of a rainbow. She said, "Look at that beautiful rainbow that God painted for us!" The little girl replied, "And just think, Mommy, God did it all with his left hand." The mother replied, "What do you mean? Can’t God use both His hands?" The girl stated, "Of course not, Mom, my Sunday school teacher said that Jesus is sitting on His right hand."
Jesus invites you and I to come and see where He is staying. Come and see when you pray. Come and see when you gather together in His Name with His church.
Jesus is here this morning, listening for you to call on Him in prayer, reaching out to you through His people in this church. Will you come and see Him today?
The third “come and see” moment comes in vs. 40-51. He invites us to come and see how He transforms the lives of ordinary people into something extraordinary.
One of the men who follows Jesus is Andrew, the same Andrew for whom Operation Andrew is named. Something about what he hears and sees while hanging out with Jesus excites him, so he runs to find his brother Simon. Simon, you won’t believe Who I just talked to—the Messiah! You’ve got to come and see this Man! And vs. 42 says and he brought him [Simon] to Jesus.
But the most important thing that happens in this meeting is not what Simon sees in Jesus, but what Jesus sees in Simon. Simon is a just a fisherman—no formal education, no background in religious leadership, no special political position. But Jesus sees beyond who Simon is to what Simon can be. That’s why He tells him in vs. 43: right now you are Simon, son of Jonah, but I give you a new name-Cephas—Rocky. Jesus says come and see, Simon, what I can make of you when you follow Me. This same fisherman would one day preach a single sermon where 3000 people would come to Christ. He would become a leader of a group of men who would change history. What will change his life? He will answer Jesus’ invitation to come and see how I can transform your life.
The next scene involves Jesus walking through the town of Bethsaida, the hometown of Andrew and Peter, and calling a man named Phillip to follow Him. Phillip does the same thing Andrew did—he goes and finds somebody else about Jesus. He goes and tells a friend named Nathanael about this Jesus of Nazareth (v. 45.)
Nathanael isn’t so easily convinced. Nazareth has a bad reputation for producing bad people. Can anything at all good from a dirty town like Nazareth?
John 1:46 …Philip said to him, “Come and see.”
So Nathanael follows his friend to Jesus. Just as they walk up, Jesus speaks up: Here comes an honest man—a true son of Israel. (Living Bible).
That’s an interesting way to describe a descendant of Israel—whose name was originally Jacob—a man who was known for his devious, deceitful ways. Perhaps Jesus was pointing out that Nathanael was unlike Jacob, but also that Nathanael was shrewd. You couldn’t pull the wool over the eyes of a man like Nathanael.
Nathanael is still a little skeptical How do You know me?
Before Phillip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.
Suddenly Nathanael’s smug smile disappears, his eyes grow wide with wonder, and he realizes this is no ordinary Man Who speaks to him. Why do Jesus’ words affect Nathanael so powerfully? Scripture doesn’t spell it out, but we can guess. During the heat of the day, many people in those days would find a shade tree (such as a fig tree), where they could stay cool and enjoy some privacy to pray and meditate. I can imagine Phillip found Nathanael under such a tree, praying, pouring out his heart to God over some deeply personal matters. Nobody else saw him, or heard the secrets of his heart--but Jesus saw him there and heard his prayer. Perhaps that’s why Nathanael cries out You are the Son of God…the King of Israel…! (v. 49.) Just as his ancestor Jacob had seen a vision of God’s ladder into heaven, Nathanael would soon come to believe Jesus was the true way for all who believe to enter into heaven. This shrewd, skeptical Israelite would become a great man of faith.
Jesus invited both Simon and Nathanael to come and see how He could transform their lives as they followed Him. They would become great men of faith, men who would change history, men who would be heroes of the faith.
What could Jesus do with your life if you have your life to Him? Come and see.
“But Bro. Mike, I’m nobody special. I don’t have any great abilities.” Jesus doesn’t need your abilities—He only wants your availability. You put your life in His hands, and He can help you become more than you could ever be alone, more than you could ever imagine.
If He could change an impulsive, hard-headed fisherman into the apostle Peter, He can make something beautiful out of your life. It doesn’t matter what you’ve done in your past—it doesn’t matter who you think you are, or who other people see you as---Jesus sees what you can be. He invites you to come and see what He can do with your life when you give your life to Him.
Once in awhile you find some great truths hidden in some strange places. Like in the lines of the movie version of the comic superhero Spiderman. You remember Peter Parker is the teenager who gets bitten by a radioactive spider one day and begins to discover that he has suddenly developed some amazing spiderish abilities. It dawns on him that he can’t just use these abilities for himself - he has to use them to make a difference.
In the middle of that movie full of superhero special effects, Peter Parker says these words of wisdom: “For me, living an ordinary life is not an option anymore.”
When you commit yourself to follow Jesus, those words can become yours: living an ordinary life is not an option anymore. Jesus will transform you not into a superhero, but into a person who, by His grace, can make a difference in this world.
There are times when we see. And there are times when we see.
For 51 years Bob Edens was blind. He couldn’t see a thing. His world was a black hall of sounds and smells. He felt his way through five decades of darkness. And then, he could see. A skilled surgeon performed a complicated operation and, for the first time, Bob Edens had sight. He found it overwhelming. “I never would have dreamed that yellow is so...yellow,” he exclaimed. “I don’t have the words. I am amazed by yellow. But red is my favorite color. I just can’t believe red. I can see the shape of the moon -- and I like nothing better than seeing a jet plane flying across the sky leaving a vapor trail. And of course, sunrises and sunsets. And at night I look at the stars in the sky and the flashing light. You could never know how wonderful everything is.” Until you come and see it for yourself!
I end this sermon with the simple invitation with which I began: come and see.
Come and see the Lamb of God Who takes away the sins of the world!
Come and see Jesus, sitting at the right hand of God, living and working in His church.
Come and see the Lord Who can help you become who you were meant to be.
Come and see.
