Come, see and follow Jesus
Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. 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.” “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” said Philip. When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.” “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.” Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.” John 1:44-49 When the Lord Jesus Christ called His first disciples, they only heard about His coming through the preaching of John the Baptist. They were familiar about the coming of the Messiah through the Old Testament prophecies. Now, from the text, they were face to face with the Messiah. Andrew was the first disciple to follow Jesus. He might have many questions to ask Jesus but as soon as He commanded him to follow, he just obeyed. Same with Phillip, he just followed Jesus without hesitations. Phillip went to his friend Nathanael to invite him for him to experience the Messiah. But Nathanael was not immediately persuaded instead he asked, “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” But once Nathanael experienced the Lord Jesus Christ he too did not hesitate to follow. One of the reasons why we miss experiencing the reality of Christ’s working within us is because we are not willing to take God at His word. Instead we think that all our questions about God should be answered first before we commit our life to Him. We waste valuable opportunities because we are not willing to follow Christ. When God calls us to come and see, we must set out and take the journey with Him. Unless we follow, our Christian life will be meaningless if we never actually step out in faith. Christianity is not a set of teachings to debate over with God. Christianity is about the Person of Jesus Christ and our willingness to submit to Him. When His first disciples followed, they saw and experienced the Lord Jesus Christ demonstrating God’s power. Not only they gained knowledge about God but more importantly they experienced His presence. There will be times that we will arrive at a fork in the road; one road will direct you to ask for more questions to gain clarity about God. The other road will just have a sign, “Come, see, and follow Me – Jesus.” When you say “Yes” to Jesus and you start taking Him at His word and you walk with Him daily, you will discover that your questions are answered little by little. “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock” (Matthew 7:24).
Blessings,
Noel De Guzman
www.my-wbc.com
