Come and See
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John 1: 35-51
What are you Looking For?
In the Gospel of John, the very first words out of Jesus’ mouth, were not his first words as a baby. We have no idea if he said “mama” or “dada” first. To hear Jesus’ first words in this gospel, we have to fast forward 30 years after that first Christmas. (The Gospel of John doesn’t tell us anything about 12-year-old Jesus in the temple). But Jesus’ first words begin with a question, followed by an invitation. This question and invitation are relevant to every one of us. We just heard it.
Jesus was walking , while John the Baptist was with two of John’s disciples. John had been teaching the day before, how the purpose of John’s entire life was to point to the one who takes away the sin of the world. Then he looked up and saw Jesus walking by! John quickly declared, “Look, here is the Lamb of God!” That was enough for the disciples to turn and follow after Jesus…and Jesus’ first words in John’s gospel happen when He sees these disciples walking behind him. He turns and asks them:
“What are you looking for?”
In a way, he is just asking why these guys are walking behind him. Yet, it resonates much more deeply… “Why are you following me? What are you seeking in life?” The disciples really didn’t have an answer to that question figured out. I get that. They respond, perhaps a bit awkwardly, with their own question, “Rabbi, where are you staying?”
I love that Jesus doesn’t criticize their answer. He simply invites them, “Come and See.”
Invitation to remain with Jesus
The Scripture says that they followed him to the place he was staying and remained with him.
The word translated “STAYING”, is the same word for “REMAIN” and is translated elsewhere as “ABIDE”. In Greek it is the word meno (μένω). This word is used over 40 different times throughout the gospel of John. And it points to an enormously important theme.
When Jesus invites those first disciples to abide or remain with Him, He is essentially saying, Focus on me and let me show you…I want you to see the world like I see it…I want you to think like I think…I want you to do what I do… I want you to love what I love…and hate what I hate…I want my life to shape your life…Come and See…abide with me!”
Invitation or Interruption (Gifts from Jesus)
In the midst of their busy lives, Jesus came to each disciple with this invitation. To each of them, Jesus invites them to remain with Him. And their lives are turned upside down as abiding in Jesus becomes the focus of their lives.
For Peter, abiding with Jesus meant a new name…and a new identity! It was an invitation, but it was also an interruption. Jesus interrupted his life - Instead of catching fish on a boat every day and selling them to make a living, Simon, now called Peter, would eventually focus every day on revealing Jesus’ love, justice, and power – not to earn a living, but to welcome other people into a new life.
I believe Jesus is still Inviting and Interrupting today.
Not unlike those first disciples, Jesus asks each of us, “What are you looking for?” Many of us don’t understand very well what we are looking for, while others may know exactly.
I remember a man, I’ll call Jerry, and his wife, I’ll call Sally. Jerry and Sally went to church and I had performed their wedding. But then they disappeared for quite a while. Until one day they showed up at my office at church. Jerry had just been released from jail. He had hit Sally, and she wisely called the police. Now they were looking for hope. Jerry couldn’t control his anger. His family history was filled with his parents teaching him he was incompetent, not enough, and he fought against this every day in his head. When Sally said something that sounded critical, he would explode. Ultimately, he hit her. They were both beside themselves with grief and dismay. How could this happen? Is there any hope?
Jesus tells us to bring all our brokenness to Him and all three of us, Sally, Jerry, and I believed that the Holy Spirit is indeed about healing and fullness of life. We prayed and we met often for more than a year. Meanwhile, the courts had recommended an anger management therapist for jerry. He went to that therapist too. That therapy was an answer to many many prayers. We watched together as this man and woman placed themselves before Jesus through prayer, through study of God’s Word, through the counsel of other Christians (including me and his therapist). This focus on Jesus and the ways of Christ were a very deliberate way to abide with Jesus. There were years (almost a decade) of change and growth that happened to Jerry. He never hit his wife again. His anger was so well managed, even healed, that he became a counsellor for other men. Then just about five years ago, Jerry called me to ask if I’d write a character reference for him to go to seminary to become a pastor.
Whatever you are looking for – Come and See
How do we abide with Jesus?
Every day, I charge my phone. I plug it into a source of power, usually a wall electrical socket, and in a few hours, it is full of life. I remove it from the attached cord and go about my day to use the many features of this amazing device.
Too often I treat my spiritual life the same way. I refuel every morning (or at least as often as possible) through a study of the Bible or a devotional reading. But then I act like I’m an electronic device and I unplug, trusting in my fuel to get me through the day.
But the Lord Jesus himself has told me to constantly abide in him (Jn 15:4). It speaks to connection, dependence, and continuance.
We are instructed to abide in the Father and the Son (1 Jn 2:24), the light (1 Jn 2:10), his word (Jn 8:31), and his love (Jn 15:9). Conversely the word of God (1 Jn 2:14), eternal life (1 Jn 3:15), the truth (the teaching of the apostles and Jesus) (1 Jn 2:24, 27, 2 Jn 1:2,9), and God’s seed (1 Jn 3:9) abide in us.[1]
Because the Holy Spirit dwells in us we are never fully disconnected from God. However, we can choose to “unplug” and not pay attention to the Lord. To not let him fill us, to not go to scripture for our nourishment, talk to Jesus, or stick with Jesus. Let’s be mindful to intentionally abide in him.
You may not know what you are looking for. You may not know where you are going. But when Jesus asks us “what are you looking for?” a perfectly acceptable answer is, “Rabbi, where are you staying?” When we choose to abide in Jesus, no matter where we go and no matter what we do is going to be the right direction.
Abiding isn’t retreating. It’s preparation. It’s how we remember who we are when the world tries to shape us into something else, and Jesus is inviting us to abide with him every minute of every day of our lives. I pray we can all do so.
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, thank you for connecting heaven and earth. Teach us to abide in you as you dwell in us and shape us with your vision, your will, your peace, and your power this day. In your name we pray. Amen.
[1]Eva Burkholder, https://evaburkholder.com/2024/11/18/abide-in-jesus-because-his-spirit-abides-in-us/
Pastor Doug Cox