Come and See

John 1:45–46: “Philip found Nathaniel and said to him, ‘We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.’ And Nathaniel said to him, ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’ Philip said to him, ‘Come and see.'”

At the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, the Apostle Philip incorrectly identified Him as “the son of Joseph.” While Philip’s theology was not quite correct, he was certainly trying to introduce someone to Jesus. Part of the message here is that God doesn’t require us to be theologically perfect before we can be used by Him. Isn’t that encouraging? God is much more concerned with our hearts, than our brains. Are you excited about Jesus? Great! Then go and tell someone what He’s done in your life.

Notice that Philip was also wise in the way he shared his faith. Nathaniel scorned Philip’s statement, saying, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Some believe Nathaniel responded this way because he was a student of Old Testament prophecy and was pointing out that the Messiah was to come from Bethlehem. Others think Nathaniel had a very low opinion of Nazareth, because he was from a village just over the hill from it. Whatever the case, Philip gave the reluctant hearer the perfect answer, one we might all find useful, “Come and see.” Very few people, if any, are ever argued into the kingdom of God, but many are open to being shown truths about Jesus.

There is an old, unverifiable story that illustrates this idea well. T.H. Huxley, the biologist, writer, and infamous agnostic once asked a Christian to tell him why he was a believer. The Christian hesitated, knowing Huxley could out argue him. Huxley said, “I don’t want to argue with you. I just want you to tell me simply what this Jesus means to you.” So the Christian did and reported that with tears in his eyes, Huxley said, “I would give my right hand if only I could believe that!” There is no physical record of Huxley ever coming to believe in God before his death, but no man knows what God might have done in his heart through that witness. We need to show the same spiritual sensitivity to those who are searching for truth.

“LORD, use us today to display Your love to someone who needs to know You.”