Come and See
John 1:43-47, ESV
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.”
This passage takes place very early in Jesus' public ministry. He has not called all twelve of the apostles yet. John the Baptist has pointed out Jesus is 'the Lamb of God.' Andrew sees Jesus and goes to tell his brother Peter they have found the Messiah. Peter goes to see Jesus for himself, and Jesus receives him. Later Jesus calls Phillip to follow him and Phillip tells his friend Nathaniel, but Nathaniel is skeptical. So Phillip invites him to, "come and see," for himself. Nathaniel does, and his life is changed forever. The Bible records Nathaniel, (also known as Bartholomew,) becomes one of the twelve apostles.
There is so much going on, it's easy to miss many important points, especially if we've grown up hearing this story. Try to step back and see this story with fresh eyes. Nathaniel, later to be called a disciple, had his doubts before meeting Jesus face to face. When Nathaniel met Jesus, He didn't rebuke Nathaniel. Quite the opposite in fact. Jesus describes Nathaniel as, "a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false." Jesus welcomes honest questions. If you think about it, if Jesus was and is who He says, there's no question too tough for Him. He is coequal with God the Father and the Holy Spirit. He knows all things. And as some Bible scholars have pointed out, that makes Jesus the smartest person who ever lived. So, you can't outsmart, outwit, mislead, or confuse Him. If you have questions, ask Him. He's big enough to take them and handle them. Spoiler alert: if He knows all things, He already knows your questions.
So, whether you are new to Christianity and know nothing of Jesus or you grew up in church, come take a closer look at the Jesus of the Bible. Learn who He really is from the people who knew him firsthand and wrote about their experiences. If you grew up in church, come re-examine the cornerstone of Christianity.
If you have never been in church, you may not have even heard of the biblical Jesus. To be sure, if you grew up in America, there are references to Jesus liberally sprinkled throughout pop culture. But those are often wrong and certainly incomplete. So, the invitation stands, new to Christianity or an old hand, come and see. This is an opportunity to meet the real Jesus of the Bible who is not to be confused with the Jesus of pop culture, satirical movies, or secular feel-good stories.
Answering the question, "but who do you say I am," is worthy of your time. After all, when you buy a home, you conduct a walk through to inspect it first. If buying a car, you inspect it carefully after looking at it on the lot. And if you are contemplating marriage, you spend time getting to know each other. A typical car may last 12 -15 years. You may live in a home 5 - 50 years. A marriage is meant to be for a lifetime. Your answer to Jesus' question will determine your life now AND eternity. But at the very least, in simple terms, eternity is at least 10 or even 20 times longer than our lifetime. Which means the weight of eternity is far greater than the weight of our earthly life. If eternity is infinitely greater than a lifetime, then such an important decision about how to spend eternity is worthy of your time to make an informed decision. Come and see for yourself. It merits a firsthand inspection of the facts, so you know what you are doing. Eternity is too important a decision to rely on half-truths (which are really lies,) incomplete facts, gossip, or second-hand information. Come and see. What you find out may astound you.
