One day as John was standing with two of his disciples, he saw
Jesus walking by, and said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard
him speak, and they followed Jesus. Jesus turned, and saw them following, and
said, “What are you looking for?”
They said to him, “Teacher, where are you staying?”
He said to them, “Come, and see.”
It was about 4 p.m. They came and saw where he was staying,
and spent the rest of the day with him. One of the two who heard John, and
followed him, was Andrew, who found his brother, Simon, and said to him, “We
have found the Messiah!” He brought him to Jesus, who looked at him, and said,
“You are Simon, the son of Jonah. You shall be called Peter.”
On the next day, Jesus went into Galilee and found Philip.
Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of
Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael, and said to him, “We have found the
one spoken of in the prophets and by Moses in the law: Jesus of Nazareth, the
son of Joseph.”
Nathanael said to him, “Can any good thing come out of
Nazareth?”
Philip said to him, “Come and see.”
Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and said, “Behold, an
Israelite in whom there is no deceit!”
Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?”
Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, I saw you when
you were under the fig tree.”
Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You
are King of Israel!”
Jesus answered him, “Because I said I saw you underneath the
fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these!” He said to
him, “Most certainly, I tell you, one day you will see heaven opened, and the
angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
Reflections
There is something so inviting about
Jesus’ words, “Come and see.” No sense of pressure or obligation, no
manipulation through guilt, no inducement through hype and promises; it was just a simple, “Come and see.”
Philip used the same phrase with Nathanael. Were you invited to discover Jesus
in a similar way? Have you ever invited someone else to do the same?
Prayer:
Keep reminding me, Lord: people come to you by invitation, not by heavy-handed
persuasion.
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