Come and see

The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, "Follow me." Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida.  Philip found Nathanael and told him, "We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote--Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."

"Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?" Nathanael asked.
   
"Come and see," said Philip.

When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, "Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false."

"How do you know me?" Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, "I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you."

Then Nathanael declared, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel."

Jesus said, "You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You shall see greater things than that."  He then added, "I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man" (John 1:43-51).

The name Joe makes us think of a man who is good and dependable, solid and uncomplicated.  Calling someone a ‘regular Joe’ is a compliment.  In today’s Gospel lesson, we meet a regular Joe.  His name is Nathanael.  Jesus calls him a true Israelite, a straightforward and honest man.  Nathanael was an upright guy, the sort of person who got right to the point without any fooling around.  He said what was on his mind
and expected others to do the same.

Philip had met Jesus.  He was very impressed by what he heard and saw.  Long ago Moses had said, The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him (Deuteronomy 18:15).  The prophet Isaiah had said that when this Savior came, He would bring the Good News of God’s mercy and back up His words by healing incurable ailments.  In Jesus, Philip saw the promises of the Old Testament fulfilled—so he went to Nathanael and said, "We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote--Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." 

But Nathanael was a down-to-earth sort of guy, a practical man.  He knew the kind of town Nazareth was—a small community along a trade route, full of strange ideas brought in by people who were just passing through.  The entire region of Galilee was held in low regard by the educated people of Jerusalem.  To claim that God’s Chosen One would come from a village like Nazareth seemed preposterous.  So Nathanael grunted a cynical response: "Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?"

There are a lot of people today who say basically the same thing.  You invite them to come to church and they respond, “Church?  Are you kidding me?  Why would I want to go there of all places?”  They have a low opinion of church.  Maybe they’ve heard about the public scandals involving sex and money, and think that all church leaders should be avoided.  Maybe they’ve had a bad experience with church—a pastor offended them, or they saw the members of a congregation fight about an issue like a bunch of nasty little children.  Maybe they have never set foot in a church, and since life is going well for them right now, they see no need for religion.  Maybe they are skeptical of anything that cannot be proven through science or experienced through the senses.  Or maybe they are willful, and strongly resent anyone trying to tell them what to do or how to behave. 

Basically, Nathaniel’s objection was this: ‘Why should I visit this guy?  I’m comfortable where I am.  Does this Jesus really offer anything that I’d want?’  He challenges Philip to convince him. 

This is what makes us afraid to talk about Jesus.  We don’t like being challenged.  We don’t feel comfortable trying to sell Jesus to a suspicious customer.  We feel as if we’re in a courtroom, and we are the lawyer that has to make a convincing argument to win the case.  But we feel inadequate, too unprepared to do the job properly.  Better to keep our mouths shut and a let a professional church worker do the job of witnessing. 

But Philip didn’t get in Nathaniel’s face.  Philip did not try to sell Jesus.  Philip did not argue with Nathanael in order to convince him.  All Philip did was say, “Come and see.”

That’s all you need to do: offer the invitation to come and see.  “Come sit with me on Sunday morning and find out for yourself why I like attending worship.  I’ll even pick you up; after church we can go out for lunch and chat about the service—it’ll be my treat.”  That’s not scary, is it?

Jesus doesn’t need a salesman—He can sell Himself.  Jesus doesn’t need a lawyer; He can make His case far better than we can.  But He does need people to listen, or His words do them no good.  The Lord knows what’s going on with us wherever we are; He saw Nathanael under the fig tree, and He sees you as you work and eat, play and sleep.  But we can only hear His words if we go to a place where they are read out loud.  Church is where Jesus comes to speak with us.  He speaks through the Bible readings.  He uses the hymns and sermon to help us understand His message.  And He invites us to speak our concerns to Him through prayer. 

Once Nathanael met Jesus, he was quickly impressed.  Jesus knew him!  Jesus knew what he was like and what he was doing with his time.  It was obvious to Nathanael that Jesus was interested in him personally. 
It was also obvious that Jesus had power no ordinary man had.  These two things made Nathanael an eager follower.

Of course, not everyone is so easily impressed.  God causes miracles to happen every day, yet most people label these events as coincidence, luck, or good fortune.  Since God and His angels are invisible, they usually don’t get the credit for their work.  And let’s face it—some people simply refuse to believe in miracles because they don’t want to believe in God.  In the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, Jesus said if they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead (Luke 16:31).  Of course, Jesus rose from the dead—the Bible holds many eyewitness accounts.  There are all sorts of people who deny this historical event, labeling it fantasy—yet they foolishly believe that we can end hunger around the world and negotiate a lasting peace in the Middle East. Jesus knew better. The poor you will always have with you, He said (John 12:8).  He also warned that wars and rumors of wars will always be a part of life until the day when He returns to judge the world.

Jesus as judge—that’s why we want to bring people to meet the Savior now.  Now is the time of God’s favor (2 Corinthians 6:2).  The Lord is ready and more than willing to forgive every sin, sparing us from eternal punishment.  That’s why Jesus came—to call followers to His side.  Jesus brought the Good News of redemption.  When He died on the cross, God’s curse on sin was washed away by His blood.  Jesus suffered our punishment and died the death we deserved for angering God.  And how do we anger God?  We anger Him in two ways.  First, by breaking His rules, which Jesus summarized this way: `Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: `Love your neighbor as yourself' (Matthew 22:37-39). The other way that we anger God is by ignoring the sacrifice that Jesus made on our behalf.  He said, God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life…Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son (John 3:16, 18).  Only the blood of Jesus can wash away our sins, and that blood is free to all those who follow Christ.  But that offer must be taken advantage of while we still live; once we die, our eternal fate is sealed. 

Since no one knows when they will die, introducing unbelievers to Jesus is urgent work.  Thankfully, the Lord is busy helping us with this task.  He confronts skeptics with miracles that cannot be explained.  He allows chaos, even disasters, to rattle lives and make people reevaluate their priorities.  He puts huge obstacles in the lives of stubborn individuals, problems that break their willfulness and drive them to their knees in humble surrender. 

It’s in these moments of crisis that people are most inclined to accept your invitation to meet Jesus.  But don’t wait for those opportunities to arise.  Invite others to come with you to church off and on throughout the year.  After all, you never know when the Holy Spirit will melt a stubborn heart.  You never know when a friend or relative or co-worker might suddenly ask you about your beliefs, your values, or your coping strategies.  If they know that you are interested in talking about such things, they will be more likely to open up at the Lord’s prompting.  

How do you get a regular Joe to come with you to church?  You don’t have to be a pest or a fanatic about it.  Offer the invitation to come and see when you know they are going through a stressful time or when there is something special going on at church.  When a service has touched you deeply, tell them about it. Offer to give them copies of sermons—just ask the pastor, and he’ll get them for you.  And if they accept your invitation, only introduce them to a few people in church at first so they don’t feel overwhelmed. 

What it all boils down to is this—if a person doesn’t spend time with the Lord, He has no idea what he’s missing!  You can help fix that.