come and see

an invitation to the spiritually hungry

summary

Spiritual hunger will only be satisfied by accepting the invitation to, "Come and see".

introduction

You may be interested by the following facts of discoveries made by ‘accident’:

In 1786, Luigi Galvani noticed the accidental twitching of a frog’s leg, and thereby discovered the principle of the electric battery.

In 1822, the Danish physicist Oersted, at the end of a lecture, happened to put a wire conducting an electric current near a magnet, which led to Faraday’s invention of the dynamo [a machine for converting mechanical energy into electrical energy by rotating conducting coils in a magnetic field].

In 1858, a 17-year-old boy named William Henry Perkin, trying to make artificial quinine, cooked up a black-looking mass, which led to his discovery of aniline dyes.

In 1895, Roentgen noticed that cathode rays penetrated black pepper and thereby discovered x-rays, which have been priceless boons to the fields of medicine and industry.

In 1929, Sir Alexander Fleming noticed that a culture of bacteria had been accidentally contaminated by a mould. He said to himself, “My, that’s a funny thing!” He had, through accident, discovered penicillin.

But these accidents would have been meaningless if they had [happened to normal folk, rather than] to Galvani, Perkin, Roentgen, and the others, or to such [others] possessing equal powers of perception and insight. As [Louis] Pasteur once said, “Chance favours the prepared mind.”

The fact is that for these scientists, while making such discoveries “accidentally”, they were looking for something in the first place. They were perpetually primed and prepared for the discovery of new knowledge.

Similarly, Christians tend to look at their family, friends, and neighbours as being to some degree uninterested and unaware of God and his Spirit. The truth is, however, that all humans are primed for the discovery of new knowledge. Some actively pursue this search; others are not prepared at all.

Let’s take another look at Jesus’ baptism, and the events that immediately followed it, so as to discover some interesting truths about the work of the God’s Spirit in this world and about how we might prime the receptivity of our neighbours to the Spirit.

exegesis

²⁹The next day [John] saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! ³⁰This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me’. ³¹I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel”. ³²And John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. ³³I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit’. ³⁴And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God”.

³⁵The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, ³⁶and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, “Look, here is the Lamb of God!” ³⁷The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. ³⁸When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which translated means Teacher), “where are you staying?” ³⁹He said to them, “Come and see”. They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon. ⁴⁰One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. ⁴¹He first found his brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated Anointed). ⁴²He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter). (John 1:29-42)

Where is the voice of God?

We have moved from the account of Jesus’ baptism recorded in the gospel of Matthew to that in the gospel of John. We have here the same story, but two different authors whom naturally highlight different aspects of that story.

Some would argue that this is an instance of the contradictions inherent in the Bible. However, those “with eyes to see” will understand that God has taken advantage of the availability of two authors so as to provide different perspectives and reveal various layers of meaning.

Interestingly, Matthew highlighted the divine and the miraculous aspects of Jesus’ baptism. John, on the contrary, seems to downplay the miraculous in favour of highlighting the human response to the epiphany of Jesus. Both John the Baptist and his disciples, who later became Jesus’ disciples, have quite dramatic responses worth looking at in more depth — don’t get confused by the use of the name “John”, as one is a baptiser and the other is the author of a gospel.

Why does John use the term, “Lamb of God”?

We discussed Matthew’s version of the story last week: Jesus comes to John the Baptist, in the wilderness of the Jordan River, to be baptised, in public, and divine action intervenes to declare Jesus’ identity and the advent of the new covenant (Jeremiah 31:31ff). In John’s account, on the contrary, it is as if Jesus is simply walking around, minding his own business, a man of no account. John the Baptist spots him and begins to testify about him — and what a testimony it was!

Revealed in John the Baptist’s testimony is the point that “Jesus draws to himself the most central and powerful imagery and titles in Scripture” (Campbell). He is the centrepiece of human history and the focal point of salvation history. This moment of Jesus’ identification is a divine appointment. However, John the Baptist’s exuberance at participating in this moment seems to get away from him.

John the Baptist piles up image upon image, title upon title, and even seems to invent a new title: Lamb of God. There is no context for this title obvious in the situation. Matthew very clearly highlighted that Jesus is the Messiah from the prophecy of Isaiah. John the Baptist was less poetic in his delivery. However, perhaps that is the point.

Like Simeon and Anna waiting at the Temple (Luke 2:22-38) for the promised Messiah, John the Baptist had been waiting for this moment. God had even prepared him for it by telling him what he would witness as the identifying marks of the promised Messiah (Jn 1:33). Yet, when the moment came, John testified to it, but his eloquence to do so came not from himself, but from the Spirit, who prophetically pointed out the golden thread within the scripture: “God loves us, we disobeyed Him, and He redeemed us through the blood of the Lamb”. From Genesis to Revelation, it is a lamb that acts as the scapegoat for the people, thus enabling their reconciliation with God. Jesus takes on that role and assumes the identification as the Lamb of God.

Why does John state that he did not know Jesus?

So, Jesus is just a normal guy walking around until, that is, John the Baptist erupts in the overwhelming testimony of Jesus’ divine identity. You can almost imagine John the Baptist doing his whole baptism-thing, then looking up and spotting his cousin, Jesus. He goes to raise a hand in casual greeting, then stops mid-air, with incredulity, as he witnesses the Spirit of God descend upon Jesus.

And, yes, I did say that Jesus was John the Baptist’s cousin (Lk 1:36). And from Luke 1, we discover that Jesus’ mum and John the Baptist’s mum were very acquainted with each other, visiting one another often. So, we have every reason to assume that Jesus and John the Baptist were very familiar with each other, probably even playing together in the sandpit. Why then does he state that he did not “know” Jesus?

This is yet another instance of why English is such a poor language for capturing the expressing the heart of the Bible’s message. Most translations, like the New Revised Standard Version which I chose to preach from, use the simple word “know” in verse 33. The New American Standard Version provides the better translation, by using the word “recognise”, because the original language translated here more correctly conveys John the Baptist’s lack of full understanding of who Jesus was. To put it more simply, while John the Baptist knew who Jesus was (“Duh, he’s my cousin!”), he did not really recognise Jesus as the Lamb of God until the moment that he witnessed the Spirit of God descend upon him.

An interesting question is, “Why not?” We’ll come back to that one in a moment.

Why were John’s disciples so quick to abandon him?

We have to appreciate that, while John the Baptist was waiting for the moment, promised to him by God, that he would identify the Messiah, he still understood that he had a job to do: to baptise with water, following repentance, for the forgiveness of sins (Mk 1:4), and to proclaim the coming Messiah, who had now come (Jn 1:31). His joy, at this promise being fulfilled, was overwhelming, so much so that he literally bubbled forth his testimony to Jesus’ identity.

Not only was John the Baptist waiting for the promised Messiah, but he attracted disciples to himself, who were also hoping for God’s promises to be fulfilled. He probably would have liked nothing better than to follow Jesus’ himself — and not just ‘catch-up with him at Christmas, as all good relatives do — but John the Baptist was committed to his ministry. His disciples, on the contrary were free to come and go. We should not feel sorry for the Baptist, that his disciples abandoned him, because that was the point.

Why do John’s disciples ask Jesus, “Where are you staying?”

Just as John the Baptist was not very poetic in his initial testimony about Jesus, so to his disciples do not seem very ‘clue-y’ in their approach to Jesus. When he notices them following him, Jesus asks them not, “Why are you following me?”, but, “What are you looking for?”. They, similarly cryptically, ask him, of all things, “Where are you staying?” (:38)

This conversation may seem odd at first glance, but the explanation of its oddity follows the explanation for the mistranslation of “knowing” noted earlier: Jesus recognises that they are spiritually hungry — they are looking for something, just as was the Baptist — and the disciples are not seeking answers to questions as much as to simply get to know him, the promised and recognised Messiah. The way to get to know him is to be with him, to become his disciples.

Why does Jesus tell the disciples to, “Come and see”, rather than explain who he is directly?

Now, Jesus could have, of course, simply confirmed that he is the Messiah and left it at that, as if he were answering the questions that they were not asking, but likely wanted to. Instead, he instructs them to “come and see” (:39). This whole passage that we are studying demonstrates how little faith is about our rational acceptance or explanation of Jesus and how much faith is about the experience of Jesus! His words are a call to discipleship: “First we follow Jesus along the path of discipleship, and then along the way we come more fully to believe and understand who he is.” (Campbell)

They do go with Jesus and as they do, they have an encounter with him, such that they become fully convinced that he is indeed the Messiah and, because of this heartfelt realisation, they become bold witnesses to that fact, as did John the Baptist.

exposition

Everyone is spiritually hungry!

In looking at this passage more closely, the theme of spiritual satisfaction and testimony comes through.

While John and Jesus played in the sandpits of their childhood, John knew Jesus only as his playmate-cousin. But as life progressed for both of them, John’s spiritual hunger grew, as did his sense of calling. John studied the scriptures, pursued his spiritual discipline fervently, and became ‘worthy’ of his calling to become the Baptist, the one who would herald the Messiah’s advent. Yet he did not recognise Jesus until his own spiritual hunger was complete, we might say. Or, as Jesus himself stated, “Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15).

John’s disciples too were saturated in the scriptures, but, rather than dismiss faith as a ‘pipe-dream’ or a ‘crutch’, they aligned themselves with those who were also fervent in the faith and devotion to God, even to the point of becoming the disciples of a wild man in the wilderness! (Mk 1:6)

Their spiritual hunger is not at all unnatural, but is a reflection of the human condition that befalls everyone of us. Who here has not felt, at some point of your life, that all is not right with the world, that all is not well with us? If that is not you, then I wish you well with your rose garden, but for the rest of suffering humanity, we know, deep inside that the writer of Ecclesiastes was right when he wrote, “Everything is meaningless; completely meaningless!” (Ecclesiastes 1:2)

The fact is that most, if not all, of the people that you know — whether family, friends, neighbours, or workmates — know that all is not right with the world. They are spiritually hungry! They may express that hunger differently, to varying degrees, but all are hungry. You can take that as a given.

Satisfaction of spiritual hunger is something worth celebrating!

Both John and his disciples are overwhelmed upon recognising that Jesus is the satisfaction of their spiritual hunger. Both John and his disciples are quick to testify regarding Jesus once they know him. This too is not uncommon.

When we recognise that spiritual hunger is a constant of the human condition, then we can appreciate the passion that is elicited once one attains any level of satisfaction. We may think that they are getting carried away, we may be able to easily account for their blessing with respect of some psychological trick of the mind, but, nevertheless, satisfaction of spiritual hunger is not something to be taken lightly. That is why religiously and spiritually-oriented books and television programs are becoming increasingly acceptable in the mainstream of society.

How do our missionary methods take these points into consideration?

Christians so often want to give the answer to life’s deepest questions — which is always “Jesus” — whether or not people are asking us any questions! Yet, this passage from the gospel of John demonstrates an eternal truth. Jesus’ statement, “Come and see”, tells us a lot about appropriate missionary methods.

Charles L. Campbell argues that

The church is the community of disciples that bears witness to Jesus. The church is now the community that is called to follow Jesus and invite others to “come and see”. God depends on the church to make Jesus known in the world through its life and witness. (Charles L. Campbell)

This is not rocket science! We are the ones who know, in the real and fullest sense, who Jesus is. Our job is now to not only bear witness to our knowledge in our faith and lifestyle, but to also actively testify to our knowledge of his identity. We are to invite other to start on the path of discipleship, so that they might see and understand Jesus’ identity as we do.

conclusion & response

The points that I would like to conclude with begin by encouraging you to never take someone else’s spiritual journey for granted or dismiss it because it doesn’t fit our preconceived notions of how someone is supposed to find God. The fact is that,

there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:12).

Yet, while salvation comes through Jesus and he alone, even so

what can be known about God is plain to [us], because God has shown it to [us]. Ever since the creation of the world his eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made. So [we] are without excuse. (Romans 1:19-20)

Somehow, some way, God knows what is in the heart of every man and woman, boy and girl, such that he is able to reveal himself to them and establish a relationship with them, perhaps even to the point of salvation. I will not argue this point, but the passage does seem to allow it.

Consider the implications of Romans 1 before you jump all over me because Romans 2 continues by making the point that it is not our place to judge another person’s salvation:

Therefore you have no excuse, whoever you are, when you judge others; for in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, are doing the very same things. (Rom 2:1ff)

All that I am trying to point out is that we need to appreciate that everyone is spiritually hungry and that it is the Spirit’s job to satisfy their hunger.

What is our job then? To increase in our own knowledge of Jesus (Ephesians 4:13) and to testify to what we know of his identity as the Holy One of God (Jn 6:69; cf. Mk 1:24). In that knowledge, we invite others to “come and see”, to walk with us on a journey towards God, a journey along which the Spirit guides us towards a full and complete and true knowledge of God, as he is perfectly revealed in Jesus Christ. Their hunger will be satisfied as they “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8).

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