Scripture: John 1:43-51 (ESV)
“The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, ‘Follow me.’ Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael 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.’ Nathanael said to him, ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’ Philip said to him, ‘Come and see.’ Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, ‘Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!’ Nathanael said to him, ‘How do you know me?’ Jesus answered him, ‘Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.’ Nathanael answered him, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!’ Jesus answered him, ‘Because I said to you, “I saw you under the fig tree,” do you believe? You will see greater things than these.’ And he said to him, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.'”
A pair of glasses changes everything. We recently had one of our sons’ eyes tested. He would come home from school cranky and irritable. He would snap at his siblings and his emotional tank would be empty when he came home. As parents we wondered for a long time whether he was just an irritable child, or whether there was something else going on. Then one day he finally told us that he had a headache after reading for a prolonged period of time. It finally clicked: his eyes might be dodgy! Sure enough, we took him off to the optometrist and he was quite severely far-sighted, and reading had been quite a struggle for him. Now that he had the glasses, everything changed. He came home happy, he did better at school, he had far greater emotional capacity and resilience. A pair of glasses changed everything for him. In a sense, once he could see, he could never really go back.
Our passage today is filled with seeing and vision language. It is all about seeing and perceiving things. It is about seeing the truth of spiritual things. The passage begins with Philip. He meets Jesus and is changed by the meeting. He is the first one to use the vision language: He immediately goes and finds Nathanael and tells him to “come and see”. But Nathanael was sceptical. “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”. But notice Phillip just invites him again. “Come and see”. If we want to be evangelists today, if we want to share Jesus with people, we might learn a thing or two from Phillip. What if we could show people Jesus, instead of telling them about Jesus. What if we invited them to “Come and see”, rather than simply saying, “Repent and believe”?
When Nathanael does come, something surprising happens. Jesus gives one of the most flattering summaries of anyone in scripture: “Here is a true Israelite, one in whom there is no deceit”. After a short discussion, Nathanael does what everyone who sees Jesus properly does. He gives his life to Jesus and rightly recognises him as the Son of God and the King of Israel. Nathanael’s eyes were opened, and he saw Jesus for whom he really was.
The same is true of us. When we see Jesus, when we perceive the reality of who he really is, then that vision will change us. Seeing really is believing in this case.
So how well do you see?
Prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus, we want to see you clearly. We don’t want to look as through a glass darkly, but we want to see you you clearly. Please take the scales from our eyes, so that we may see and be changed. Help us to also invite others to come and see. We pray in your mighty name. Amen.
Spiritual Challenge:
Today, invite someone to “come and see” Jesus. Instead of debating or arguing, simply share how Jesus has changed your life. Let them see through your eyes.