Come and See

John 1:29-42 New International Version (NIV)

29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”

32 Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. 33 And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”

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!”

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?”

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.

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).

Our text for this morning picks up where we left off last week, but we are looking at John’s version instead of Matthew’s. Last week we looked at Jesus’s baptism and the declaration from the heavens, “This is my son, my beloved. With him I am well pleased.”

Today we find a different declaration about Jesus. And this time, rather than coming from the heavens, this one comes from John the Baptist. In verse 29, John says, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” And just incase you didn’t get it the first time, John says it again in verse 36: “Look, the Lamb of God!” In Latin, it is Agnus Dei. And funny enough, if you switch the “g” and the “n,” we go from the Latin word for lamb to an English word for a breed of cow, angus.

Interestingly, this is the only place in the Bible that Jesus is called the lamb of God. There are other places where he is called a lamb, or where the metaphor of the lamb is used. But this exact phrase is nowhere to be found in the Torah or the Prophets, and you won’t find this exact phrase in the New Testament, either. This is specific to John. And we really don’t know why John chooses to call Jesus the lamb of God. But if we dig a little deeper, we can make some interesting assumptions and connections.

First of all, when John calls Jesus the lamb of God twice, he isn’t just repeating himself. He is making this announcement to two different groups. The first time I assume takes place while he is baptizing along the banks of the Jordan River. Verse 35 tells us that some time has passed, and John is there (wherever there is) with two of his disciples. So John isn’t just repeating himself to repeat himself. He is telling a different group, specifically his disciples, who Jesus is. He is the lamb.

Quite the nickname, am I right? They call me…the lamb. Which is even a worse nickname in Latin. They call me…Agnus.

Did he just say his name is Agnes? That’s a girl’s name. No, let’s explore this nickname a little more.

We are now at the end of football season. Last Monday Louisiana State University (LSU) defeated Clemson in the college football championship. The Super Bowl is in two weeks. Notice the nicknames and mascots of these teams. Both LSU and Clemson have the tiger as their mascot. In the NFL you find teams like the Lions, Eagles, and Bengals (also a Tiger). Especially in football, there is an attempt to find a mascot that is intimidating and ferocious. Often these nicknames are predatory animals intended to strike fear into the very souls of their opponents. Now how many professional football teams are named the lambs? You may be able to find one somewhere, but I think you get the point. Lambs aren’t intimidating, they are herbivores, and they share their wool to help keep us warm in the winter. I know, scary, right!

John doesn’t call Jesus the bull who has come to run over everyone and gore you with his horns. He isn’t the eagle who will claw you with his talons. He isn’t the lion who will devour you with his sharp teeth and claws. He is the lamb. Now yes, Jesus is called the Lion of Judah in Revelation 5:5. But let’s look at verses 5-6a: “Then one of the elders said to me, ‘Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.’ Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne.”

The people are always looking for a lion, and they get a lamb. Lambs are gentle. Lambs are communal creatures, thriving in groups. And in the Old Testament temple system, it was the lamb who gave his life for the sake of the people. From the very beginning of his ministry here in the first chapter of John, it was clear that Jesus wasn’t going to be a leader like all the other leaders. While most leaders seek power and authority, looking to acquire wealth and servants, our leader comes in as a gentle servant. Interestingly, three years later, at the Passover festival, in a story we only find in John’s gospel, it is the lamb of God who washes the feet of his disciples.

Just to really hammer the point home one more time, the people are expecting a lion, and they get a lamb. From the very beginning of his ministry, Jesus is turning the expectations of the people upside-down.

Let’s circle back to the second time John calls Jesus the Lamb of God. We are told that John is there with two of his disciples. One of them is Andrew, the other is not named. John had followers as well. But when John proclaims that Jesus is the Lamb of God, they start to follow him. Now I don’t know that they are following him in the sense that a disciple follows their leader at this point. But they are literally tailing him. They were spying on him, seeing where he went and what he did. I know, it’s a little creepy.

Jesus notices that he is being followed, turns around, and addresses the men directly: “What do you want?” he asks in verse 38. And he probably says in nicer than I would. Maybe more like, “What can I do for you gentlemen?”

I don’t understand their response. Maybe they were a little flustered. They were trying to assess whether or not this guy was the messiah, and they got a little tongue-tied. The remainder of verse 38 gives us their response: “They said, ‘Rabbi’ (which means ‘Teacher’), ‘where are you staying?’”

Maybe it’s just me, but if two strange dudes are following me around and then they ask where I’m staying, I’m not going to tell them. But Jesus is more trusting than I am. So he tells them to come and see, and we are told that they spend the day hanging out together.

Evidently, whatever they saw there made an impression on them. This makes we wonder, when they went to the place Jesus was staying, what did they see? Knowing the kind of person Jesus was and is, I assume that they saw tax collectors and sinners sitting together at the dining room table. I imagine that they saw people of various political persuasions, the Republicans and Democrats of their days, sitting around and learning together. Perhaps they saw enemies reconcile. People who had been hurt forgive. People who had not experienced love felt accepted.

Whatever these disciples saw when they spent the day with Jesus, they wanted more. Not only that, they wanted others to see it as well. After spending time with Jesus, Andrew, one of John the Baptist’s disciples, runs to find his brother, Simon, and tells him that they have found the messiah. They have found the one who was promised long ago. The one who would restore Israel, the one who would bring peace. So Simon follows Andrew to Jesus, and Jesus gives him a nickname. In verse 42 Jesus says, “‘You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas’ (which, when translated, is Peter).”

Petra is the Greek word for “rock.” As I’ve said before, long before Duane Johnson, Simon Peter had the privilege of being the original “The Rock.”

I’m amazed by this story. Jesus’s first disciples started following him because he invited them to come over and hang out, to spend some time with him. He didn’t argue with them over some abstract theology or debate politics. When these men approach Jesus and ask him some questions, he doesn’t give them some simple reply. He invites them to “come and see.”

I know that we have a bunch of hikers in our congregation. We live in the Shenandoah Valley, and I believe that all able-bodied people should be required to go on at least one hike at some point in their life.

A couple of months ago I was visiting with a couple in Washington, DC. They had some time and they were going to be heading our way. So they asked me what I would suggest doing while in the area. I had some restaurant suggestions. I told them about the Shakespeare center. But it was October, and the leaves were just reaching their peak. I told them they really needed to go on a hike or a drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway. I described the view of the mountains, rolling as far as the eye could see. I described the color of the leaves, all decked out in their finest for the fall. I described the rivers that helped cut, shape, and form our valley over many, many years.

Help me out. What words would you use to describe the Shenandoah Valley in the fall? Beautiful? Colorful? Mesmerizing? That’s the thing, all of these words are correct, but they really don’t do it justice. If you want to understand the beauty of the Shenandoah Valley in the fall, there is only one thing you can do. You have to see it for yourself.

I tried to describe this beautiful land, but the best that I could do was to tell my friends, “Come, and you will see.” I could try to describe it for you, but I’ll fail. If you really want to know, come, and you will see.

I find it interesting that these are the exact words of Jesus as well. I want to point out that this is Jesus’s form of evangelism. Jesus didn’t stand on the street corner and yell at people to turn or burn. Yes, Jesus talks a lot about hell and punishment, but those conversations are always saved for the religious elite, like the Pharisees. He spoke to the average person in a much different way. Jesus didn’t try to scare people into following him. He didn’t shame people, he didn’t attempt to come off as better or superior than them. But if anyone could get away with thinking they were better than someone else, it would be Jesus!

Here in John’s gospel, Jesus’s efforts toward evangelism is simply to invite people to come and see. Come spend some time with me, come and hang out. Like the Shenandoah Valley in the fall, there is something too beautiful to simply describe with words. Yes, Jesus could try to explain what he was all about to Peter, Andrew, and the other disciple, but he doesn’t. He wants to show them.

Which makes me wonder, is there something about Jesus, something about the church, or something about Christianity in general that you believe is so beautiful that you would invite someone else to come and see it for their selves?

That’s the problem. I think that we have often made Christianity into something ugly.

I met someone I now call a friend a few years ago through a mutual friend. Let’s call them Jack and Diane. So here’s a little ditty about Jack and Diane. Jack introduced us and somehow ended up telling me that Diane attended a local church. Jack knew that I was a pastor, so he was trying to make a connection. But Diane said, “Oh, you’ve outed me as a church girl.” That’s when I turned to her and said, “Hi, let me introduce myself properly. I’m Reverend Kevin Gasser.”

Diane was joking, but there was something behind it. Has the church become something that we are embarrassed of? Sometimes I’m embarrassed by the church. Not this church, but the worldwide church. We’ve made the church into something ugly. We’ve at times made the church something we don’t want others to see.

Yet there are also still beautiful things about the church. And these are the things that rarely get media attention. I want to highlight one such story here.

It has been said that one of the reasons that the early church grew and spread as quickly as it did was because of the way the church cared for the weakest and most vulnerable among them: the widows, orphans, and foreigners. In that society, these people couldn’t work and therefore couldn’t provide for their selves or their families. So the church stepped in. Following in the footsteps of Jesus, they cared and provided for these people.

Jump ahead to today, and we know that there are still a lot of people who cannot provide for their selves. I’m not talking about lazy people who just don’t want to work. But people who are genuinely behind the 8 ball. For instance, did you know that 137 million Americans are struggling with medical debt? Medical debt is one of the most common reasons for people to declare bankruptcy or cash in their retirement funds. But what are you going to do? If you get sick, you need treatment, even if you cannot pay. And I’ve heard that of those struggling with medical debt, 75% have medical insurance. But for whatever reason, they couldn’t cover all of their bills.

Here is where the church comes in. A few weeks ago, right around Christmas, a large church in California made a decision to make a major purchase. This is a mega church with a budget that is far beyond my comprehension, and their giving was above what was needed in 2019. So what do you think this mega church spent their surplus money on last year? A new addition? Perhaps a coffee bar or book store on campus? No, they purchased the medical debt of their neighbors…and forgave it.

Christian Assembly Church mapped out the 28 neighborhoods surrounding their building and worked with a nonprofit to identify the medical debt in their community. There were 5,555 households that met their requirements. So on Christmas morning, these families, all 5,555 woke up to find their medical debt erased.

All 5.3 million dollars of it.

Now to be clear, the church bought the debt at a discounted rate, but it was still significant. They just paid it off, no strings attached.

When John’s disciples come to Jesus and begin asking questions, he doesn’t give them canned responses. He invites them to come see. And like the Shenandoah Valley in the fall, we can see some absolutely beautiful things in the church, and even more beauty in Jesus.

Things almost too beautiful to describe.