John 1:43-51

This is the second Sunday after Epiphany. Epiphany is the time in the liturgical calendar when we get to read all those Bible stories about the beginning of Jesus’ ministry.  Epiphany is about Jesus breaking onto the public arena; it is Jesus making his way into the lives and hearts of all those living in Nazareth and around. Epiphany is about Jesus offering them the life-transforming opportunity of becoming his followers.

        Our text places us right at the beginning of all this, right at the beginning of the Gospel of John where this carpenter from Nazareth began breaking new ground bybeginning a more organized effort to communicate His message of God’s kingdom.

In today’s gospel, Jesus is making his way through Galilee. He has already convinced a handful of disciples to follow Him.  The first two disciples came to Jesus for what they heard from John the Baptist. When John saw Jesus coming, he said: “Look, the Lamb of God.” After this, two of his disciples followed Jesus and asked, “Where are you staying?” Jesus told them “come and you will see”.

        One of the two who followed Jesus was Andrew, the other one was John. They went with Jesus and stay with Him for one day. After this, Andrew went and invited his brother Peter. By the next day on their way to Galilee, Jesus invited Phillip, and Phillip went and invited Nathanael. In matter of days Jesus’ followers had more than doubled their number from 2 to 5.

Today’s text is about bringing others to Jesus; it is about inviting others to “come and see.” Come and see who Jesus is.

Therefore, Epiphany is a time of discovering what kind of disciples we are. When concerning our faith, there are three kinds of disciples: One, those who keep the faith to themselves. Two, those who want to force everybody to think and believe the way they do. And third, those who invite others to “come and see.” According to the Gospel of John, sharing our faith in Jesus is not about shoving our faith down someone else’s throat; it is not about using magic formulas. It is not about using hell and fire to bring people to heaven. It is about inviting them to “Come and see.” We have several examples in John’s Gospel.

That is the invitation Jesus extended to John and Andrew when they asked Him, where you are staying? that is what Phillip told Nathanael when he did not believe that something good could come out of Nazareth; that is what the Samaritan woman told the people in her town after she spoke with Jesus.    

Yet as simple and non-threatening as this invitation of “come and see” is, many Christians still have a hard time making it. Many Christians choose to stay quiet because they believe faith is something personal. Our decision to follow Jesus and accepting Him as our Savior is personal, yes. But sharing our faith should not; it is part of our freedom of religion; sharing our faith must be part of our spiritual DNA. However, those firsts disciples are a great example for us to follow. In Galilee, Phillip found what every Israelite was waiting for, the Messiah and he could not keep it for himself. He went to share this founding with his friend Nathanael; Andrew did the same with his brother Peter. For both this news was so good that it was hard not to share it especially with the people they care for.

Epiphany is a time to remember the Great Commission, Jesus told His disciples to go, go, and make disciples. In other words, go and invite others to come, to come and see what Jesus has done, what Jesus is doing, and most of all come and see what Jesus can do in your life. We often feel we must have a special knowledge to fulfill the Great commission, that we must have a profound knowledge of the Bible, and be well-versed in theology, but listen what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2:4-5, “My speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power…”.    

Paul and John’s gospel tell us that inviting others to Christ is not about having the right words to persuade them. It is about being faithful in sharing our passion about what Jesus has done in our lives, and then invite people to “come and see” for themselves what He is all about.

Jesus extended the invitation to Philip. He said, “Follow Me.” Jesus invited Philip to come and see and to experience Him firsthand. When Philip came to know Jesus Christ, He just had to tell other. The person He told first was Nathanael. The seed Philip planted in Nathanael’s heart was planted with a simple invitation, ‘Come and see.” Remember, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing the Word of God” (Romans 10:17).

There is another lesson the Gospel has for us concerning sharing Jesus. Very often we want to convince people and we try to prove we are right, and they are wrong. When Phillip 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.” Nathanael reaction was, “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” After this, I would have tried to convince Nathanael that yes, something good can come from Nazareth. I would have taken my best arguments to convince him. But not Phillip. Philip knew he was unable to prove what he believed, what he had found in Jesus, and he did not even try. But he was able to say, “at least come and see.” What Philip had seen in Jesus moved him to help others to see.

The lesson for us is, the only one who can convince people is the Holy Spirit, not us. John 16:8 says, “And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.” John is talking about the Holy Spirit.

Epiphany is the time of God’s self-revelation to the world. Epiphany is the season when we must ask ourselves: How can God reveal Himself thru me? How can I be His witness?

How will we invite others to come and see that which we have seen? Remember, Jesus called Philip, and Philip responded by witnessing to Nathanael. When Phillip invited Nathanael, Jesus was already looking at him resting under the Fig Tree. The Spirit was already working in his life. When we invite others to “come and see,” God will work in those we have invited.

Philip, Peter, James, and John, these first group of disciples who were invited to come and see are also found in the book of Acts 4:20, arguing with those who wanted them to stay quite saying, “we cannot keep from speaking about what we have seen and heard.” When people ask you, “why do you go to church every Sunday?” you can answer them, “Come and see for yourself.”  When they ask you why do you believe in Jesus? You can answer them “come and see.”