John 1:38-51
When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. 38 Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?”They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?” 39 “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon. 40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus.41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter). 43 The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.” 44 Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. 45 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.” 46 “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?”Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” said Philip. 47 When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.” 48 “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.” 49 Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.” 50 Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.”51 He then added, “Very truly I tell you, you will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on’ the Son of Man.”
Have you ever met anyone famous? Can you remember what you said to them? Chances are it was something pretty lame and you wish you could take it back and say something profound. Imagine the author, John the apostle, after several thousand years waiting for the Messiah to come and 400 years of prophetic silence, meets the promised one who all of mankind has been waiting and for whom and by whom this Earth and mankind is created - and what were his first words? "Where are you staying?" I have to laugh because that sounds like something I would say. Did he really care where He was staying? I don't think so. I think he just didn't know what to say. I think he just lobbed the conversation ball to Jesus and Jesus took over. And that is the point.
Jesus just says "come and see" or "follow me". We often think we have to reason people into the Kingdom of God. My dear departed Dad, when I would ask him what he thought of a message. he would reply, "Just preach Jesus!" John the Baptist earlier was asked to defend why he was baptizing or who gave him the right. He didn't argue the case for baptism from the scriptures, he just pointed them to One who was coming whose baptism was totally different. Andrew doesn't try to convince Peter of the Messiah's attributes and how Jesus fits the bill, he just brings Peter to check Jesus out for himself. Phillip doesn't get into the debate seen in John 7:52 where a prophet can't come from Galilee or from Micah 5:2 that the Messiah has to come from Bethlehem, he just tells Nathaneal, "come and meet Jesus."
I was reading in "A Case For Faith" by Lee Strobel where in chapter 2 he interviews the top apologist in Christianity, William Lane Craig, about how he came to faith. Craig says that the virgin birth was a major stumbling block because he knew that was impossible but he was so enamored with the person of Jesus and His teachings and his historicity that he suspended his intellectual questions and received Christ. Once he was a believer, he realized that if God could speak the world into existence, forming a baby in a woman's womb was simple. What happened to Craig? He came and saw. He met Jesus and that answered the questions.
This week as we see and meet unbelievers and look to rescue them from darkness and bring them into the wonderful light, let's not stumble on what to say or how to argue them in. Let's just invite them to meet Jesus at church. Let's ask, "Do you know Jesus?" "Who do you think Jesus is?" "Can I tell you about the day I met Jesus?" Bring them into the presence of Jesus and let Him do the miraculous, not you.
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