January 20 Sermon - Come and See
for Yourself –
It’s True – John 1:32-51
Jonah and his two sons were in the fishing business. The older son was a good worker, but the
younger was irresponsible. He wanted to
go off with one of his friends to hear some revival preacher down south. He kept pestering, and since business was
slow, he told him he could take a week off with his friend.
A week went by and he wasn’t back, so dad decided to send the older son
to check up on him. When older brother
got there, he saw his brother and his friend at the revival. But they weren’t in the congregation; they
were standing up front by the preacher.
When it was time for the altar call – and the baptisms – his brother was
one of those guiding the sinners to the preacher for baptism. Quite a surprise.
Andy, the younger brother wasn’t ready to come home yet. He said there was someone he wanted his
brother to meet – a new religious teacher who might really be the promised
one. His brother Simon – you know him as
Peter – was skeptical. “Before you left,
you told us that this teacher, John the Baptist, might be the promised one, the
Messiah. Now you’ve found another
Messiah?”
Andrew might have told him that it was John the Baptist who pointed
Jesus out to him. Or that he had spent a
day talking with Jesus. But he knew he’d
never convince his skeptical brother, so he didn’t try. Andrew simply said: “Come and see. Check it out for yourself.”
If we were to read on, we’d see Philip, another follower,
go to his friend Nathaniel to tell him about Jesus. Nathaniel is skeptical and dismissive. “Can
anything good come out of
In the beginning, how did Jesus gather
followers? How did the early church
grow?
The answer to both questions is one person at a time. The word about Jesus spreads from person to
person.
First, John the Baptist points out Jesus to two of his co-workers,
Andrew and his friend. They go to Jesus,
and when he asks “What do you want?” –
They’re not sure. So Jesus
simply says, “Come and see.” The next day Andrew goes to his brother
Peter – and after that Philip to his friend Nathaniel. In each case that other person is skeptical –
and their answer is “Come and see for yourself”.
That’s how the Jesus movement began – and how the early church
grew. Someone invited a friend – another a relative – still another a co-worker. It worked back then. It still works today. Many of you are first came
to Resurrection because someone invited you.
So return the favor, invite a friend or relative or co-worker to come
with you to church some Sunday. In that
way you become part of the story in today’s gospel – you’ll be like Andrew and
Philip, inviting someone to come and see for themselves.
But don’t expect the reaction of someone you invite to be anymore
enthusiastic than those in the gospel.
Simon Peter was probably skeptical and Nathaniel was dismissive.
But the response was not to try to convince or convert. They simply invited them to come and see for
themselves – to make up their own minds.
In the world of science, Niels Bohr was a
well known and respected physicist. One
day Professor Bohr nailed a horseshoe above his office door for good luck. A
colleague asked “You do not really believe in that stuff, do you?”
To which Bohr responded, “No, of course not. But I’ve heard it works even for people who
don’t believe.”
“It works even for people who don’t
believe.” Actually, that’s part of
the rationale for the invitation “Come and see.” Christianity works even for people who don’t
believe.
That sounds like a contradiction. Doesn’t being
a Christian mean believing in Christ and having faith?
Yes, but today we’re looking at the first step. For example, today
Simon Peter accepts Andrew’s invitation to meet Jesus – to “Come and see.” And Jesus tells him someday he’ll be Peter,
the rock.
But when does that happen? When does he make that confession of faith in
Jesus?
You’ve got to page ahead to the middle of the gospel – and in time
about two years, to find Peter’s confession of faith in Jesus Christ. Was he just slow? No, he is praised by Jesus for being the
first of the disciples to declare his faith, and thus he earned his nick-name
“rock”.
Two years of listening to Jesus and following him everyday. Those of us who don’t have the advantage of
being with Jesus everyday may take longer.
How did Peter come to faith? How do we?
Not everyone comes to faith in the same way. And our faith grows and develops in different
ways. Looking at Peter in the gospels
illustrates one process – a pragmatic approach.
First, by
accepting that invitation to come and see. That simply means listening to
Jesus’ teaching with an open mind.
Second, by
accepting Jesus’ invitation “Follow me”.
But maybe at first, that means selectively following his teaching in
some area of your life. Then as you see
that it works for you, you begin to follow more of His teaching. Because it works even for
people who don’t believe.
You don’t have to believe in the law of gravity to make it work. It’s self-validating because it is true. Jesus’
teaching is true whether you believe or not.
But like Peter, you can only discover that his teaching is true when you
try it for yourself. Then you gradually
come to believe those things he says about himself. Then the third step – making that leap
of faith – deciding that despite lingering doubts, you’ll trust Jesus and His
Word as the way for your life.
Walter Wangerin tells this parable from his
childhood. There were big trees in his
backyard, and one was his hiding place.
More than ten feet above the ground a stout limb made a horizontal fork,
a cradle in which he could lie face down reading,
thinking, dreaming. Then one Saturday a
summer thunderstorm blew in unexpectedly.
Wally was up in his tree on that branch and did not notice the change –
Until a gust of wind almost blew him out of the tree. It threw him from his limb, but he wrapped
his arms around the branch and hung on.
He tried to wind his legs around the limb, but the whole tree was
wallowing in the wind.
As the wind continued to blow, he felt that his arms were going to slip
from the branches. So he started yelling
for help.
Then he saw his father at the back door and yelled even louder. As his dad walked over,
Wally was relieved, because he just took it for granted that dad would climb
the tree and rescue him.
But that wasn’t the plan at all.
He came to a spot below the tree and yelled “Jump”
“What?”
“Jump, I’ll catch you.”
“No!”
But as the wind continued to blow, Wally changed his mind, and let go,
thinking “This is what it’s like to die.”
But his father’s arms caught him.
It was only then that Wally really believed he could trust his father’s
word.
You have to trust His word and jump to come to really believe in
Christ. Like young Wally, take that leap
of faith.
We’re all at different points in our faith journey. Some of you are mature in the faith, while
others are seekers. Some are confident
in your faith, while others have serious doubts. And maybe a few vacillate: at times your
confidence suppresses your doubts, but other times doubts completely undermine
that confidence.
God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
1 Corinthians 1:9
Within the fellowship of the church, the mature can provide guidance to
the seekers - and the seekers can challenge the mature to growth by their
questions. In a diverse group,
discussions can begin to answer doubts, as the confident testify to their
struggles. We can encourage and
challenge each other, thus together strengthening our faith.
Today we celebrate our diversity.
We come from different religious backgrounds and are at different points
in our journey toward more confident belief.
And some were born here in
you have been enriched
in Him in speech and knowledge of every kind…
so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift. 1 Corinthians 1:5-7
We’re so diverse that just about anyone would fit in. They don’t even have to be a believer - just
a willingness to listen with an open mind.
After all, Christ’s teaching works even for people who don’t believe,
because it is true.
Who might you invite to come and see
for themselves?