Come and See Jesus :: John 1:35-42a
The next day, again, John had been standing [along with] two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus walking around, he said, ‘Look! The Lamb of God!’ And the two disciples heard him speaking, and they followed Jesus. When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, ‘What do you seek?’ And they said to him, ‘Rabbi’, which means Teacher, ‘Where do you stay?’ [Jesus] said to them, ‘Come and you will see.’ Therefore they went and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day. It was about the tenth hour. Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two who heard from John and followed [Jesus]. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (which means Christ). He brought him to Jesus (vv 35-42a).
[Introduction]
If I were to ask you to name the first apostle that comes to mind, who would you pick?
I imagine some of you would first think of Paul, who wrote half the New Testament. But I think I would choose Peter. After all, it was Peter who walked on water ... and Peter who gave us the confession that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God. It was Peter who was given the keys to the kingdom, and it was Peter who swore he would never deny knowing Jesus. Then after Jesus restored him, it was Peter who called us on the Day of Pentecost all to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins. More than that, it was Peter who gave me my favorite verse: Though you have not seen him, you love him, and even though you don’t see him now, you believe in him and are filled with a glorious and inexpressible joy as you await the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls (1 Pt 1:8-9).
But how did Peter come to see this truth of Jesus?
5.
Meet Andrew, Peter’s brother ... your brother ... the first apostle who pointed out that Jesus is the Christ. Andrew had been waiting for this day. Initially, he was a follower of John the Baptizer, the messenger who prepared the way before the Lord by returning to a baptism of repentance every day. In the waters of baptism, when John saw the Holy Spirit descend upon Jesus, he knew immediately who our Lord was, proclaiming ... Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! (v 29).
The next day, Andrew and another disciple, who I suspect is Philip, were with John, listening to him preach. When they heard and saw John point to the Lamb of God, they immediately left everything to follow Jesus (vv 35-37). Faith comes through hearing.
What do you want? Jesus asked them.
We want to stay with you, they replied.
So Jesus called them to come and see what that means. After seeing where he was, they did what true disciples do: Andrew found his brother Simon and declared, ‘We’ve found the Messiah.’ ... And he led him to Jesus (v 42).
4.
If you are a disciple of Christ, too ... and I’m sure you must be because you are here ... ask yourself, how did you come to know the truth of Jesus? As we are reminded in the catechism, We know that we cannot by our own reason or strength believe in Jesus, or come to him. But God our Savior ... desires all men to be saved and come into the knowledge of the truth (1 Tm 2:4). So he calls men like Andrew to speak of Jesus and lead us to Jesus.
At sometime during your life, you undoubtedly had a man just like Andrew who cared enough about you to lead you to Jesus ... to show you where Jesus stays. Was that “Andrew” your father? Your mother? Your spouse? Your pastor?
We have found the Christ ... they told you ... and his name is Jesus. Come and see!
Brothers and sisters in Christ, God longs to have ... and the church needs to have ... more people like Andrew ... men and women alike who hear the Gospel that Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world ... and who THEN share that good news with their family and lead them to Jesus ... at Trinity Lutheran Church.
As Paul teaches us in our epistle ... How then will they call on the one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how are they to hear without preaching? (Rm 10:14)
3.
Today is the First Sunday in Advent. It’s also the day set aside to remember Saint Andrew. These two days go well together. The purpose of Advent is to prepare us for the coming of Jesus ... to point us to Jesus ... to prepare us in such a way that we are looking with eager anticipation, like John the Baptizer, for the arrival of Jesus. The Andrews of the world prepare us for the coming of Jesus by taking us to where Jesus is found, where his Word and sacraments are heard and received.
When Andrew heard the word that Jesus is the Christ ... which is another way of saying he is God in the flesh ... the one coming to provide The Sacrifice of sacrifices on the mountain that God would tell us about ... that he is the one who would be led to the slaughter and rise on the third day ... Andrew got excited. We have found the Messiah, he declared. And he immediately went and found his brother and led him to Jesus.
2.
There are loved ones in our lives who have been waiting for a Gospel moment like this ... to come and see ... and they probably don’t even realize that they’re waiting. They, too, are longing to hear about Jesus ... to be with Jesus. After receiving Jesus today, won’t you share this good news, too? Tell everyone that you, too, have found Jesus at Trinity.
As the Gospel of John goes on, the next day, the church doubled in size.
After Andrew found Peter, Philip found Nathanael (vv 45, 48), and Jesus shared the Gospel with them, too. You remember what the Gospel is, don’t you?
Jesus is the Lamb of God ... the Christ ... the one who has fulfilled all righteousness for you ... by living without sin, dying for your sin ... and then after resting on the Sabbath, by rising from the dead, and ascending into heaven. Andrew was a witness to all this. And before he knew it, he was leading a boy with five barley loaves and two small fish to Jesus, who then fed 5,000 men with them. Then he was leading strangers to Jesus ... because they just wanted to see Jesus (Jn 12:20-22). Then he began teaching others the same.
1.
Won’t you now do the same?
Although we can’t all be like Peter and Paul ... preaching like they did, teaching like they did ... we can by the Spirit’s power, be like Andrew and bring our family to Trinity, where Jesus can be found ... in Word and sacrament. It may take more courage to speak of Christ to a brother, neighbor, or friend than it does to give generously. But this word is in your mouth and in your heart ... so tell the world ... to
COME AND SEE JESUS
[Conclusion]
We have found him at Trinity.
When you do this, you will come to know Jesus, love Jesus, receive Jesus, and be saved by Jesus. May God, who has blessed you with this faith, keep you in this faith ... in his name.