Come and see

They were looking for a hero. That’s why they were with John. He was clearly a man of God. His teaching and preaching were powerful. They were inspiring, challenging, and full of hope! He seemed to know something. He seemed to know something that no one else knew. He knew the Messiah! The long-awaited King of Israel! Their hero!

For 400 years, the people of Israel had waited and waited and waited. God had promised them a redeemer. God had promised to save them from their enemies. God had promised to make them a great nation once more. But year after year after year had passed, and there had been no savior. One generation after another had come and gone without ever seeing God fulfill the promise. There had not even been a PROPHET for 400 years. And, suddenly, there was John! Wandering around in the desert and calling out to people to repent. Get ready! Make way! The Messiah is coming!

The religious leaders challenged John. “Are you saying that YOU are the one?” “Oh no!” John replied. “I am not the Messiah.”

John was not the Messiah. And he was not Elijah, although he had a lot in common with the Old Testament prophet. Many many years before John was born, King Ahab had ruled the 10 northern tribes of Israel. But he did not observe God’s laws. In fact, Ahab married a woman who worshipped a false god, and then Ahab built an altar to that false god in the capital city, which, of course, made the one true God very very angry. So God sent Elijah to confront the wicked king and call the people of Israel to turn back to the Lord. Which is what John was saying now. But that did not make him the reincarnation of Elijah.

No, John was not the Messiah, and he was not Elijah. And he was not the end-time prophet. He was the forerunner. The prophet Isaiah had once told the people of God that someone would come before the Messiah. Someone would come to prepare them for the coming of the Lord. And that someone was John!

The religious leaders were not convinced. “Well, if you’re NOT the Messiah,” they asked, “if you are NOT the one who will save us from our sin, then why are YOU baptizing people?”

Baptism had long been a religious practice for the people of Israel. It was a symbol of their devotion to God. A sign that they had acknowledged their sins and were determined to turn their lives around and obey God’s laws. But no religious group had given John the authority to conduct baptisms. He was doing what God had called him to do.

“You think this is something,” John told the accusers. “Just you wait. I’m baptizing people with water. It’s a symbol. But there is one among you who is far greater than I. Heck, I’m not worthy to even untie the thong of his sandals!”

And then, lo and behold, the very next day, Jesus came! And John told everyone around, “There he is! This man is the Lamb of God! This is the one who takes away the sin of the world. This is the great man I was telling you about. This is the Messiah! Our savior! Our hero! When I baptized this man, I saw the very Spirit of God come down upon him! The Spirit is with him! I’m telling you. I saw it with my own two eyes. It’s the truth. This IS the Messiah! This is the one we’ve been waiting for!”

The Bible doesn’t tell us what happened after that. Maybe some listened. Maybe not. But the next day, John was standing with two of his students when Jesus walked by, and John shouted out, “Look! Here is the Lamb of God!”

And those two students understood what John was telling them. This was the hero they had been looking for. So they followed him! They had to see for themselves. Is this really the one?

Jesus turned and saw the two men following him, so he asked, “What are you looking for?” And they said, “Well, we were wondering where you are staying.” And Jesus says, “Come and see. Find out for yourself.”

So they did. They went with Jesus. They saw where he was staying, and they decided to stay there, too. They spent the whole day with Jesus. Just hanging out with him. And, apparently, that was enough to convince them because at 4 o’clock in the afternoon, Andrew went to find his brother, Simon Peter, and told him, “We have found the Messiah!” And then Andrew brought his brother to Jesus. So he could see, too. And they both decided to stick around. Spend more time with the Lord. It was a decision that would change their lives forever.

 That’s what happens when we spend time with Jesus. We are changed. He washes away the sin of the world. How does he do it? Come and see. You can’t really know if you are looking on from a distance. You have to come close, like Peter and Andrew did. Spend some time with the Lord. Spend time in his presence.

They were lucky enough to be able to hang out with the Lord, just like brothers. They would spend three years together. They would work together and eat together and go fishing together. They would talk. They would talk about everything! They would share everything. Secrets. Successes. Failures. They would celebrate the birth of children and grieve the death of loved ones. They would help each other through tough times. Jesus would come to know everything about them, and they would come to know him.

They would see his strength and power and wisdom. They would see his compassion and patience and commitment. They would see Jesus as an obedient son, following his mother’s instructions to help some friends when they ran out of wine at their wedding. They would see Jesus as an angry protester, driving peddlers, salesmen and money changers out of the temple. They would see Jesus as a risk-taking reformer who would offer unvirtuous women, hopeless sinners, and countless lost causes a second chance at life. They would see Jesus frustrate the proud and arrogant and lift up the weak and vulnerable. They would see him walk on water, feed 5000 people with five loaves of bread and 2 little old fish, and bring the dead back to life. They would see. They would see it all! They would even see Jesus suffer the abuses of an unjust legal system. And then they would see him die on a cross like a criminal. But they would also see him rise up to live again in victory!

They would see it all. As they followed Jesus. As they spent time in his presence.

People today are still looking for a hero. We will look in all kinds of places and to all kinds of people. Politicians. Preachers. Physicians. Athletes. Academics. Armies. Musicians. Moguls. Monks. We will search and search and search, desperately trying to find someone who can help us find our way out of the mess we have gotten ourselves into.

But the savior we seek is right here among us, just as he was thousands of years ago on the banks of the Jordan River. Jesus is our savior. Jesus is the Messiah. Jesus is the one who takes away the sin of the world. How does he do it? Come and see. You have to come and see. You have to see for yourself. You have to spend time with Jesus. Through prayer. Bible study. Worship. Fellowship with other believers. Serving others. Jesus invites us to come and see.

But be warned: It’s a decision that will change your life forever. That’s what happens when we spend time with Jesus. We are changed. He washes away the sin of the world. How does he do it? Come and see. You can’t really know if you are looking on from a distance. You have to come close, like Peter and Andrew did. Spend some time with the Lord. Spend time in his presence. And you will be changed. It may not happen right away. It might! Your life might change in a moment. God can do that. One thing you discover when you spend time with Jesus is that God can do ANYTHING. God can give sight to the blind, compassion to the heartless, and hope to the hopeless. God made us, and God can CHANGE us. God can make a saint out of every sinner. Sometimes, it happens in a moment. And for that we say, “Thank you, Jesus!” But it may happen slowly. As we walk day by day, moment by moment, side by side with Christ.

God can make a saint out of every sinner. But it only happens when we spend time in the presence of the Lord. So come and see.

Jesus is the answer for the world today. Above him there's no other. Jesus is the way. 2X

If you have some questions in the corners of your mind

and traces of discouragement and peace you cannot find.

Reflections of the old past, they seem to face you every day.

There's one thing that I know for sure. Jesus is the way.

I know that you got mountains that you think you cannot climb.

I know that your skies have been dark. You think the sun won’t shine.

In case you don’t know I’m here to tell you that the word of God is true

And everything that he promised I tell you he would do it for you.[i]

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[i] Andrae Crouch. “Jesus is the Answer.” Published online at http://www.elyrics.net/read/a/andrae-crouch-lyrics/jesus-is-the-answer-lyrics.html. Downloaded January 12, 2017.