Come And See
John 1:37-49
Salvation and evangelism are subjects that we often seem to make more difficult than they really are.
In fact they really aren’t difficult at all!
Salvation & Evangelism are as simple as the phrases “Follow me” and “Come and See”
You do not have to be a scholar or theologian to ell people about Jesus. You do not have to know tons of verses or even be familiar with the “Roman Road”
I. Salvation is as simple as surrendering to Jesus
II. Evangelism is as simple as sharing Jesus.
We have several great illustrations of those truths in our selected text for today! I would like to look that these verses and consider the thought “Come And See” There are 3 things that I would like to “see”
1) What Jesus Will Do For You
2) What Jesus Will Do For Your Family
3) What Jesus Will Do For Your Friends
Look with me to verses 37-39 and:
I. Come And See What Jesus Will Do For You! - v37-39;43
John 1:37 ¶And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. 38 Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou? 39 He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour.
There are 2 disciples mentioned in verse 37 who “heard Him speak and followed Him”. In verse 40 one is identified as Andrew. The other is believed by most to be the author of this Gospel - The Apostle John.
These men had heard the testimony of John The Baptist - v29"Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
John the Baptist’s statement has pointed his disciples to Jesus
Andrew & John realize that Jesus is the prophesied one … the long awaited Messiah! These men are captivated with interest and immediately begin to follow Him They spend time with Him and ask Him questions!
(Master), where dwellest thou? 39 He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour.
This encounter marked the beginning of a new life for these men. They were forever changed after meeting Jesus!
Notice the progression:
They were introduced to Him!
They followed Him!
They desired to remain with Him!
They never left Him!
That is the case for the lost soul that comes to saving faith in Jesus Christ!
Someone points the way to Jesus
That lost soul surrenders to Jesus
Then begins to follow Jesus
Has a desire to learn more about Jesus
Wants to remain with Jesus & never leave Him!
This, my friend happens when a life is changed. When you surrender to Jesus your life will never be the same again!
I love this conversation. These men asked Jesus “where are you staying?” Jesus simply says “Come & see!” (Just that simple) Can I tell you, that is an invitation that is open today! - Jesus is still saying COME & SEE!
Jesus has invited many of you to “Come and See”, and you began to follow Him.There should be a desire in every believer to follow Jesus and to ABIDE with Him!
We are told that this encounter happened around the 10th hour. This would be around 4:00 P.M. So these men spent a good bit of time with Jesus. When you accept the invitation to come and see, there will be a desire to abide: In The Word of God …In Prayer to God … In God’s House
There is so much that happened to these men after this encounter. We read the whole story throughout the pages of the New Testament. It can be summed up with the phrase “THEIR LIVES WERE FOREVER CHANGED!”
That is an open invitation that is available to you today! Come and see what Jesus can do for you! HE WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE FOREVER!
Let’s move a little deeper in the text and see what Jesus can do for your loved ones. Look to verse 40 and:
II. Come And See What Jesus Will Do For Your Family!
v40 One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 41 He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messiah, which is, being interpreted, the Christ. 42 And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jonah: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.
Notice - v40b Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 41 He first findeth his own brother Simon
I love this! Of all of the places he could have went …of all of the people he could have sought out, ANDREW FIRST TOLD HIS BROTHER!!!
You have all heard people say that it is harder to witness to your family than it is witnessing to anyone else. That may be true. After all who knows our faults and failures better than our family. And yes, they may throw those faults in your face! They may bring up things from the past. It may be hard to witness to family but that is NO EXCUSE NOT TO TELL THEM ABOUT JESUS!
When Andrew brought Peter to Jesus, Jesus not only called his name but He changed it! Jesus did more than change his name, He changed his life! Just consider the things that Peter would be a part of from this point forward.
He would see first hand Jesus heal the deaf, dumb, lamb, blind and sick.
He witnessed Him cast out demons
He was there when Jesus raised people from the dead.
He heard Jesus teach with authority.
He saw Jesus transfigured on the mountain. (saw Moses & Elijah & heard God’s voice.
He was with Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane
Denied Christ & was restored
One of the first to witness the empty tomb.
He was selected to preach the Word at Pentecost
He was used throughout the remainder of his life
Died for the cause of Christ
These and many other things happened and it can all be traced back to the fact that his brother Andrew brought him to Jesus. In fact, Peter was privileged to be apart of Christ’s inner circle. He saw things that Andrew didn’t even get to witness.
Do you have a burden for your lost family member? Are you willing to step out of your comfort zone and bring your family to Jesus? Follow Andrew’s example… Simply take them to Jesus!
The 3rd and final thought I would like to consider is:
III. Come And See What Jesus Will Do For Your Friends
Evangelism - the sharing or spreading of the gospel, the good news of and about Jesus Christ.
Evangelism is in the sob of God. Evangelism is in the anguished cry of Jesus as He weeps over a doomed city.Evangelism is in the cry of Paul, 'I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh.'Evangelism is in the heart-winning plea of Moses. 'Oh this people have sinned.—Yet now, if thou wilt, forgive their sin—; if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of the book which thou hast written.'Evangelism is in the cry of John Knox, `Give me Scotland or I die.' Evangelism is in the declaration of John Wesley, 'The world is my parish.' Evangelism is in the sob of parents in the night, weeping over a prodigal child. - Source: Unknown
Evangelism is your responsibility and mine!
v43 ¶The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me. 44 Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. 46 And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see. 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! 48 Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee. 49 Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.
Phillip was confronted personally by Jesus. Jesus looked at Phillip and said “Follow me!” - Phillip was changed and convinced that Christ was the promised Messiah! Phillip’s reaction to salvation was evangelism! He immediately sought out Nathaniel - {Phillip} findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write
Nathaniel was not quick to trust the report that Phillip had delivered… He was skeptical!
Have you ever witnessed to someone and they reject you immediately? This is a common response that often hinders people from sharing the gospel. Nathaniel’s skepticism did not deter Phillip he simply said “Come and see for yourself” Phillip did not argue, beg or strike up a theological debate with Nathaniel. He simply sought to take him to the source!
That is all we are required to do! TAKE THEM TO JESUS! Jesus will do the rest; leave the results up to Him!
There is a story about an illiterate man in Texas. He couldn’t read, but he got himself a pocket full of tracts and went out to the highway and started hitchhiking. When someone picked him up, he would ask them to read the tract to him and then he would tell them what Jesus had done for Him. He would try to lead that person to Jesus. When he finished witnessing to that individual, he would get out and hitch a ride back the other way. Again, asking the person to read him the tract and telling them about Jesus. In his first year, this illiterate man had won 168 people to the Lord. He wasn’t a theologian, but he knew who Jesus was! - The Sermonnotebook.com
Do you have a burden for the lost? Whether it is our lost family, our lost friends or people who we don’t even know that are lost we MUST HAVE A BURDEN!
Gen. William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, believed if he could hold each of his young Salvation Army officers over hell for a few minutes, he would never have any trouble keeping them motivated about being witnesses to Christ. - S. Briscoe, Getting Into God, p. 87.
I think that is much of our problem, we have forgotten that HELL IS REAL!!
Some supposedly have a burden but will not do anything about it.
If you are saved it is because someone pointed you to Jesus!
Someone, somewhere, somehow told you of your lost condition and that a loving Savior died to save you from your sins.
They relayed a simple invitation “Come & See”
Your job now is to do just that …POINT PEOPLE TO JESUS! Give them an invitation to “Come and See”
If you are here and you have not been saved, you are headed down a path that leads to eternal destruction.
Jesus died to save you and deliver your from that fate!
He is giving you an invitation today to “Come & See”
