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Jan 12, 2025

Will You Follow Him? | Come and See

Will You Follow Him? | Come and See

Passage: John 1:35-51

Speaker: Matt Petty

Series: Come and See

Category: Sunday Sermons

Keywords: prayer, jesus, god, sermon, bible, christ, gospel, hope, gospel of john, sermons, jesus christ, christianity, bible study, light of the world, atlanta church, trust in god, believe in jesus, come and see, bible teaching, matt petty, burnt hickory baptist church, burnt hickory, burnt hickory worship, jesus as the word, transformative faith, burnt hickory live stream, powder springs ga, kennesaw ga, west cobb church, matt petty sermon, atlanta worship, faith and belief, eternal word of god, life in jesus’ name, transformative love

Ever wondered what it would be like to meet Jesus in person? In this message, we dive into the stories of Jesus's first followers—regular people just like you and me, whose lives were completely changed by a personal encounter with the Son of God. From skeptical questions to bold statements of faith, their journeys show us how genuine curiosity can lead to life-altering discoveries. As we explore their experiences, we'll uncover the timeless questions that still hit home for us today: What do we really want out of life, and what would it take to see Jesus for who He truly is? Through the lens of these early encounters, we'll see how authentic relationships with Jesus can change our lives and make a difference in those around us. This message challenges us to go beyond surface-level spirituality and into a real, life-changing connection with our Creator.

If you're with us online, thank you for being here. We know some of you still have blizzards in your driveways across West Cobb and Pauling. But thanks for being with us. Well, listen, we started a new series for the first of the new year. It scares me to death to admit that from now until about the middle of May, we’re walking through this book, this gospel called John.

From the beginning of studying John together, we see that God's purpose is for us to know who God is. Last week, John went to the very beginning of time and began to tie a scarlet thread through scripture about who Jesus is. Jesus is the word. I love that the more we fall in love with the word of God and the more we read the word of God, the more God shows us how he weaves Jesus throughout all time and places through all of the events of scripture.

He's pointing towards our redemption, and he's showing us the bigness and the beauty of who Jesus is. God desires for us to not only know who Jesus is but to fall deeply in love with him. I was walking out of church last week and somebody asked me a question that I had never really taught before. So I wanted to mention something before we get to the book of John today.

Here’s the question: why are there four gospels and not just one? There's no way that in one book God could just show us who Jesus is. If you take all four gospels, there's this corroborating evidence that points towards Jesus. But even four wouldn't do him justice. There's this amazing thing that God does with the gospels that tie into John going to the beginning of time. In the Old Testament, when you looked at who God was, there seemed to be these four emblems or banners or symbols that represented not only who God was, but who the Messiah would be.

Last week we talked about the temple. God resided in the temple. In the Old Testament, God didn't rest inside of man. He lived in what we call the Holy of Holies. It was the inner sanctuary of where his presence was. Now in Exodus, they traveled around guided by the cloud by day and fire by night. And they moved all the time. They had to have an orderly way to re-set up this temple. Inside the temple, it had these two places. One was the holy place, and inside of that was the Holy of Holies. And then on all four sides, outside of the temple walls or curtains, you had all of the Levites that lived there. Those were the guys that took care of the affairs of the temple.

And then outside of that, you had the four areas where the 12 tribes of Israel would camp. They did the same thing every time they picked up and moved, every time the fire would go or the cloud would go in front of them. They would go and settle into these same four sides. This is where the thousands of millions of people would live outside in these four different groups, three tribes on every single side, for the 12 tribes. They all rested in behind a lead tribe. To the east was the tribe of Judah. To the west was the tribe of Ephraim. To the south was the tribe of Reuben. And to the north was the tribe of Dan. Each one of these lead tribes had a banner that they would carry in front of them that had an emblem on it. Judah was the lion. Ephraim was the ox. Reuben was the man. And then the eagle was Dan.

Stay with me, because this is awesome. Each one of these represented a piece of who God is, and who Jesus would be one day. These are the same images that Ezekiel received in his vision of who God is in Ezekiel chapter 10. They're the same images that John the Apostle received in Revelation of who God is. He received these same images. And here's the incredible connection: it's the same imagery that we find when we watch every single gospel of the New Testament.

Matthew speaks to the Jews and speaks about the fulfillment of Jesus being the king of the Jews, the lion of the tribe of Judah if you would. Mark, in his fast-paced gospel, talks about Jesus being the servant over and over and over again. An ox was the best servant that they had, the best animal that they had. Luke talks of Jesus as the Son of God. And then John speaks of Jesus as being the exalted one, high and lifted above all things, which was the emblem of the eagle.

So take all four of these symbols that pointed to the presence of God, who God was, and who they marched under. Put them together and begin to see an incredible portrayal of not only who God is, but who Jesus has always been. So we have the synoptic gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke: what he said and did and felt. But like we said last week, we get to John and begin to see who is Jesus. And we see this completeness of a picture, pointing into a temple and our souls. That's the connection. And if you begin to allow God to press into your mind, if any serious-minded person will take scripture and walk and pray through it, you will begin to see Jesus make himself known to you in every single one of these ways.

Now, last week we walked through John 1:1-14. We said last week that it was Jesus's resume. That he is eternal and he is God and he's creator. He's the giver of life and light, and he wants to dwell in you, not just the temple. This week we’ll pick up where we left off, but we're going to skip down to John 1:35. He's going to show us what we do when we realize who he is.

It says the next day, John. Now stop there. John the Baptist in the above verses has gotten into some hot water already with the religious leaders. He's already told them, I'm not the Messiah, I'm not Elijah. I'm just the one saying that that guy is coming. At this point, John the Baptist has a great following behind him. He's baptizing people into repentance. He's teaching about and pointing to the Messiah.

Verse 35, the next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, look, the lamb of God. Now, if you look right above this, in verse 29, this is the second time he has used this phrase, lamb of God. The first time he says, here's the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, the spirit of God has ascended on him at the baptism and I know he is the one. But this time he just looks at him and he pauses with all these people following him and says, that's the lamb. What an incredible image to burn in our minds on top of these four images that we've already seen.

John the Baptist is walking with two of his disciples. The first one is Andrew. The second one is none other than the writer of the book, the Apostle John. I told you last week that John doesn't point out a whole lot that he's the guy, but he is. We know that from the other gospel writers and because of the details. So Andrew and John are following John the Baptist. They have submitted to his teaching. They've been following him for some time. They've been hearing the messages that the Messiah is coming. They've been hearing the messages of the Old Testament. They had heard that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah. They were nowhere near their house at this point. They were in the North. They lived a little bit farther down to the south, which means that they were following learners.

That's what a disciple is: following learners. And at this moment in time, John the Baptist is somewhat of a celebrity religious figure. And he sees Jesus and he stops in his tracks in the text and he says, look the lamb of God. Now to us, non-Jewish people we're like, okay, that's good. For those of us who have been reading scripture, we're kind of on board with this already. But for them, the lamb was the central figure of forgiveness in Jewish worship. Going back to Exodus, and the children of Israel being delivered at the last plague: they took the lamb and spread its blood around the door or brought a lamb to the temple to be sacrificed for their sin on the day of atonement.

John the Baptist looks at Jesus and says: this person is the one. It's an incredible claim. But the problem was the Jews are not looking for a lamb, they were looking for a king. John says, everything written, everything spoken by the prophets, everything points to the lamb, and it’s Jesus.

The lamb and the Messiah are one. And this blew their minds. John says, behold, pay attention. You need to recognize who Jesus is. And church, that plea is still the same plea that God is asking of us today. It's still the same plea that is just as relevant today as it's ever been. Because we have a sin debt that cannot be paid. It cannot be covered by anyone else but the lamb. Only Jesus, the lamb can pay it in full. Only when we receive Christ as the Messiah and as the king can we know the lamb.

Have you come to the place where you have believed, trusted, committed, and acted on the lamb? Verse 37 says that when two of the disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. So simple. Turning around Jesus saw them following and asked, what do you want?

Here's the first question that popped up in my mind that helped me process through this text. Number one, this is what Jesus asked: What is it that you truly want? The first words out of Jesus's mouth in the Book of John are profound. It's the same thing Jesus asks every time he has an encounter with a person for the rest of the gospels. What are you looking for in life the most? What is it really that you think I can do for you? What is it that matters the most? What are you really searching for? Or what is it that brings you life?

It's one of the biggest questions we can ever ask ourselves. And at some point this week, would you carve out 30 minutes of your time to sit before the Lord and ask him, God, what matters the most to me? What is it that I really, really want? Ask God to reveal it to you. If he doesn't show you in that 30 minutes, somehow, if he doesn't show you, here's what I want you to do next. I want you to go look at your bank account and your transaction history. That'll show you. Go look at your calendar. That'll show you. Go look at your browsing history. That'll show you. Go look at your screen time. That'll show you. Go look at the secret parts of your life you're hiding from everybody else. And that'll show you.

Or look at what is it that makes me the most mad, the most glad, or the most joyous? Would you ask Jesus that this week? He'll begin to show you where it might not be him. And I love that question from Jesus. What do you want? So direct.

Now look at their answer in verse 37. It says, that when the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. Turning around Jesus saw them following and he asked, what do you want? They said, Rabbi, which means teacher, where are you staying? Now you have to laugh at that, but you gotta give it to the guys. At least they call Jesus Rabbi, which is a term of respect and honor. It shows they're beginning to transfer their followship from John the Baptist over to Jesus. This is not their official calling to throw down their nets. This is just an initial calling to discover who he is. Out of all the first things they could say to the lamb of God they ask, where are you staying? We laugh at it, but doesn't this happen all the time with Jesus?

Have you ever been there with Jesus where you know there's something he's pressing into your soul, but you're like side-winding it over here and trying to come up with something else? It seems like right here that Jesus is talking on a level way up here. But people always seem to be talking on a surface level down here.

We will see it all through the book of John. In John chapter six, Jesus looks at all of his disciples and says he’s the bread of life. And they're like, well, we like bread. You see it again in John chapter three, where Jesus says to Nicodemus, unless you are born again, you will never receive my kingdom. And Nicodemus is like, I can't crawl back in the womb. In John chapter four, Jesus looks at the woman at the well and says, I have living water. And she's like, well, where's your bucket? And we see it all the time. Jesus is asking the spiritual questions, and the disciples answer with worldly answers. But thank goodness Jesus doesn't get frustrated with him. He knows that this is a way for them to break the ice.

Look at the response of Jesus. Verse 39 says, Come He replied. And you will see. So they went and saw where he was staying and they spent the day with him. And it was about four in the afternoon. There was a chance for them to make a choice. The second question is this, will you come and see who Jesus really is? Isn't that the question of all questions? In other words, will you humble yourself to the point where you decide, yes, that's the lamb? And I don't know all the answers. But what I do know about you, Jesus is that you are the lamb that takes away the sins of the world. And I'll follow you, Jesus.

That's still the greatest invitation of all time for us to surrender and know Jesus. That's the good news.

They don't have it all figured out. They have the dumbest questions. They have the craziest motives. They have all kinds of baggage. They have all kinds of wrong ideas. They have all kinds of troubles. But Jesus takes them. And Jesus can take us from wherever we are in humble submission and transform all of us. That's what he does. Look, it's possible today that you're asking God a dumb question. And I don't mean that in a bad way, but just a secondary question of God.

Jesus can handle those questions and he wants to. He doesn't get mad at them. Jesus wants you to walk away from your sin, walk into his presence, follow him, know him, and fall in love with Him. John gives us these details. Look back at verse 39. Come Jesus replied, and you will see. Somebody needs to hear that this morning. That's the invitation. So they went and saw where Jesus was staying and they spent that day with him and it was about four in the afternoon.

I love how John gives us these details. Just to remind us, this is not a fairy tale. This is not a mystery. This is not a parable. John is saying this really happened. Every theologian I read this week agrees about the reason John put the timestamp here. In Jewish tradition, if anyone was at your home after 4:00 PM you would have had to offer a place to stay that evening.

So whether it's true or not, these guys went in with Jesus to see where he was staying. They sat around the table with him. They heard the stories, not just from John the Baptist, but now they saw the light, they saw who Jesus is. It mimics Luke chapter 24, that Road to Emmaus experience where Jesus begins back in the Old Testament. He says, there I am, and there I am. And here's the gospel, here's salvation, and here's who I am to you. These guys meet Jesus. They surrender their lives to Jesus.

Watch what happens next. Verse 40 says this, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, we have found the Messiah.

How do you know they met Jesus? Because now they're out there talking about Jesus. They're out there spreading the word of Jesus. We have found the Messiah that is the Christ. And he brought Simon. They brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, you are Simon, son of John, and you will be called Cephas, which is translated Peter. And two things came to my mind when I read this text this week.

Here's the third question number three. Are you introducing others to Jesus? No matter where you are on your faith journey, no matter if it's the day after, our role is to invite others to come and see Jesus. There's no other role that is more primary to this. So are you making that invitation? Are you meeting people? Are you reaching out to those that are closest to you? I don't have all the answers. I don't know all the stuff. All I do know is that Jesus is the Christ and you need to follow him. It's the theme of Andrew's life.

Another question that popped into my mind right here: what do people call you? Oh, it makes a lot of difference. In other words, when people see you, what's the first thing they think about you?

Jesus gives Peter his nickname. He does it even before he earns it. Now look, some of you have some great nicknames. My particular favorites are the largest human beings on the planet that are named tiny. But a nickname normally comes because of something that stands out about you or something you've done. Jesus gives Peter a nickname that hasn't even happened yet. It's really a prophecy of who he will become.

Jesus says, Hey, you are Simon. That's that's his current name, who he is right now. But then he says, you are the son of John. That's his family name. Like a last name. It represents his past. He says, but now you're Cephas. That's a picture of who Peter would be. When you believe and follow Jesus, you cease to be defined by your past, by your family, by your mistakes, by your accomplishments, by your failures. You now begin to be defined by who Jesus has made you. That's why we come and see. Jesus knows you. So the question is, what is it today that you need to surrender to him to remake, remold, or rename? If you'll turn to him, he'll make you new. He wants to call you by a new name. Because now you're his beloved. You're his chosen. You're his redeemed. You are his rock.

Verse 43 says, the next day, Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. In other words, he's leaving the north, coming back down toward the south, finding Philip. He said to him, follow me. This is another one of the greatest invitations of all time that Jesus has put in front of us. It answers the question of what it means to be a Christian. It doesn't mean that we start perfect. To be a Christian is to believe and to follow.

Now in Jesus's day, it was easy to see who was following Jesus. You looked up on the road, and you'd see Jesus walking, and there were guys behind him. But in our time it's a little different because we don't have the physical Jesus walking in front of us. Let me put following Jesus into two words for you that can help. To follow Jesus is to be a learner of Jesus. That means you've committed yourself to learning who Jesus is, what Jesus does, and how Jesus interacts with people. If you're going to follow Jesus, you have to know Jesus. There are no shortcuts. You need to have a life of reading, studying, being at church, hearing messages, being in a small group, and growing in knowledge. When you love somebody, you learn about them. That's the point.

But it's not just learning, it's doing. If you want to be a disciple, there's learning and there's doing. See some of us, we've had a lifestyle of learning. We are so spiritually knowledgeable, but this is the part we miss. It's not just about knowing what Jesus did. It's about doing what Jesus did. So when Jesus invited Philip to come follow him, Jesus invited him and others into a life of learning and doing, knowing Jesus, and emulating Jesus.

And the same is true for us. That’s why we don't apologize every time we stand up here and say to be a part of this church. We want you to be a learner. We want you to be a committed worshiper, a committed member of the family. We want you to be a servant. We want you to be a life-on-mission person, and we want you to be a steward. We don't apologize because that's what it looks like.

Philip doesn't get a lot of press, but I love his example. He is like Andrew in that he can't keep this news to himself. Verse 44 says Philip like Andrew and Peter was from the town of Bethsaida. Philip found Nathaniel. And he told him, we have found the one that Moses wrote about in the law and about whom the prophets also wrote. Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.

What another incredible example of what it looks like to lead others to Jesus. Hey, I met him. He's the one, and you need to know him. Do I know all the answers? No, but he's the Messiah, the giver of hope, the giver of deliverance. Does this look like your life in Jesus? Can you even recall the name of the last person that you shared the name of Jesus to? From the beginning of Jesus' ministry to the end of it, followers invite new followers, believers invite new believers.

Sometimes it goes incredibly, incredibly bad, but that doesn't matter. The results are not up to you. Sometimes the results are good and people meet Jesus. Verse 46 says Nazareth. Can anything good come from there? Nathaniel asked, come and see. Man can I just tell you that's one of the greatest evangelism strategies of all time. Man, come and see, said Philip. When Jesus saw Nathaniel approaching, he said of him, here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit. Now that's a whole message right there.

How do you know me? Nathaniel asked. Jesus asked. Jesus answered, I saw you. And he still sees you while you're still under the fig tree before Philip called you. Now this is profound because this is not even the same city. It's not like they went over there one day and peeked in on them and hid. They were up here. They went down here to a different place. And Jesus is looking at Nathaniel going, Hey, I see you. Because I'm not only the lamb, I am God.

Then Nathaniel declared, rabbi, you are the son of God and you were the king of Israel. Jesus says, wait. You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than that. And then he added, very truly, you'll see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending on the son of man.

Here's the last question: What will it take for you to follow Jesus? Jesus is the one who fulfills all of these prophecies about the Lamb of God. Jesus not only fulfills these prophecies and puts himself on the throne, Jesus invites us to follow him. And as Jesus invites us to follow him, he knows our innermost thoughts.

Jesus loves us and cares for us even through those things. And now we see that Jesus even gives his life to us. Two of the greatest needs that all mankind has is to be known and to be fully loved. And in this one text, Jesus offers both. He shows us He loves the secret parts and he wants to love us through them. He loves the public parts and he wants to mold us through them. There's so much of us that is so unlovable that we want to hide, but Jesus says come follow me and I will be yours because I am the lamb of God.

Again, verse 51 says, then he added very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending on the son of man. Now this phrase right here, heaven open and angels ascending. Maybe in your Bible reading this week, you got to Genesis chapter 28. Not sure, but it’s describing Jacob, the younger son of Isaac. He cheated, stole, and is now running for his life, lost, alone, and vulnerable. God gives him a dream, this great ramp to heaven, staircase, ladder, whatever the gospel song we used to sing is. The angels were going up and down that will ultimately helped him help Jacob reach God.

But here Jesus looks at Nathaniel knowing that Nathaniel knows that story, knowing he's a guy who loves God. And Jesus says, pause for a minute because I am the one and I am the gate. And I'm not only the lamb, but I'm the gate. I'm not only the gate, I'm the stairs. I'm not only the stairs, I'm the escalator. I am the one that gives the way. And Jesus says I'm offering you the way. Because I am the Messiah. Church, this is the lamb. John the Baptist says Jesus takes away the sins of the world. But the question is this, will we believe and receive?

 

Follow Along with the Message

Will You Follow Him?

 

January 12, 2025

 

John 1:35—36
35 The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”
John 1:37—38
37 When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. 38 Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?”
Questions from a firsthand jesus encounter

1. What is it that you want?

John 1:37—38
37 When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. 38 Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?” They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”
John 1:39
“Come,” he replied, “and you will see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon.

2. Will you and see who Jesus really is?

John 1:39
“Come,” he replied, “and you will see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon.
John 1:40—42
40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ) 42 And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter).

3. Are you introducing to Jesus?

4. What do people you?

John 1:43
The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.”
John 1:44–45
44 Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. 45 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.
John 1:46–51
46 “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” said Philip. 47 When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.” 48 “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you. 49 Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.” 50 Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.” 51 He then added, “Very truly I tell you, you will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on’ the Son of Man.”

5. What will it take for you to fully Jesus?

John 1:51
He then added, “Very truly I tell you, you will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on’ the Son of Man.”
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