Invite: Jesus at the Center of Every Invitation
Come and See
In 2005 me and Alisha built our very first home.
During our first year of marriage we lived in a one bedroom apartment. After that we lived in a small rental house that God provided for us for the next four years. That gave us time to save up for our first down payment on a home and there was a new neighborhood being built that we were excited about. It was close to the church where I was working and the homes were beautiful.
We got to choose the floor plan and all the things we wanted. We were so excited to watch as they poured the foundation. Then they started framing the house. We would go by every week to watch and see what they were doing next.
Every step of the way was exciting. And I’ll never forget the day the house was finished and they gave us the keys!
We started moving in almost immediately. As soon as we moved in, you know what we did?
We invited everyone we knew to come and see our new home.
We hosted the staff Christmas party that year. We had an open door policy for friends to come over and drop in any time.
Why? Because we were excited about our new home and we wanted to share it with everyone. We wanted everyone we knew to come and see it!
A Come and See Kind of World
We live in a come and see kind of world.
We invite people to come and see what we’re most excited about!
Come and See this house, this neighborhood.
Come and See this movie.
Come and See this post, this video.
Come and See this person, this performer, actor, singer, etc.
Mom, Dad, come look at this.
We invite people to come and see what we’re most excited about!
Sometimes this is good, sometimes it’s not so good…
Because we are hard wired to respond when someone says come and see, we’re vulnerable… we really are… to this click bait culture we live in.
We’re only one click or tap away from being sucked into the dark vortex of negative news, headlines designed to keep us clicking and reading and spiraling downward, ads that pop up and show us something shiny or something seductive and invite us to click and come and see all kinds of other things that we don’t need to come and see.
We live in a come and see kind of world. And for better or worse, we invite people to come and see what we’re most excited about.
If that’s true, then it might be good for us to ask ourselves, what is it that we invite people to come and see?
What are we most excited about?
Come and See John
About 2000 years ago in ancient Israel, there was a buzz about this man named John the Baptist. Everyone was talking about him. And everyone was heading down to the Jordan River to come and see what he was all about.
John was different.
They said he dressed himself in clothes made out of camel hair and that he ate locust and wild honey. That would be weird today and it was weird then!
People were talking… Hey, you gotta come and see this man named John. He’s baptizing people in the Jordan River and he’s saying, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.” – Matthew 3.2
Crowds are coming to see this man John.
The Pharisees are even sending people to go and find out who he is and what he’s all about.
Baptism is a regular part of Jewish spiritual practice. Before entering the Temple area to worship you would walk into a baptistry, a Mikveh, to baptize yourself and cleanse yourself for worship. But no one had ever seen someone baptize another person. This was strange and new. And what does John mean when he says the Kingdom of Heaven is near?
Everyone is wondering, is he the Messiah? Or is he a great prophet like Elijah? Who is this man?
You’ve got to come and see what’s happening at the Jordan River. Crowds are gathering. Everyone wants to come and see.
But John knows that the purpose of his life is not that people come and see him, but that people come and see Jesus.
Come and See Jesus
You see this when Jesus comes to the Jordan River where John’s ministry is exploding.
The next day John SAW Jesus coming toward him and said, “LOOK! [Behold! Come and See!] The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! He is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘A man is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.’ I did not recognize him as the Messiah, but I have been baptizing with water so that he might be REVEALED to Israel.”
Revealed! So that the people of Israel will come and see Jesus!
Then John testified, “I SAW the Holy Spirit descending like a dove from heaven and resting upon him. I didn’t know he was the one, but when God sent me to baptize with water, he told me, ‘The one on whom you SEE the Spirit descend and rest is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I SAW this happen to Jesus, so I testify that he is the Chosen One of God.”
John SEES Jesus, and now John wants everyone else to SEE Jesus, too!
Why?
Because… We invite people to come and see what we’re most excited about. And this is what John does… he points people to Jesus.
The following day John was again standing with two of his disciples. 36 As Jesus walked by, John looked at him and declared, “Look! [BEHOLD! COME AND SEE!] There is the Lamb of God!” When John’s two disciples heard this, they followed Jesus.
Right here you start to see a pattern develop that continues all the way through John’s gospel.
Come and See. Follow Me.
Come and See, Follow Me Culture
This happens in our culture all the time. We still live in a Come and See, Follow Me, culture.
This is the way we are wired and the Marketing Gurus know it! Every ad, every commercial, every social media post is screaming… Come and See, Follow Me!
Most of the things and people in our culture that are calling us to come, see, and follow want something FROM us. They want our time, our attention, maybe most of all our money.
But Jesus is different. He wants us to Come, See, and Follow not because He wants something FROM us, but because He wants something FOR US!
Invitations are Better Than…
Jesus looked around and saw them following. “What do you want?” he asked them.
They replied, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?” – John 1.38-39
TIMEOUT: Underline and highlight that word staying. It’s the little Greek word: Meno. It means staying, dwelling, or abiding. These disciples want to know where Jesus is abiding! Hold on to that thought, we’ll come back to it in a moment.
Jesus could have said, I’m staying over in Capernaum (John 2.12). Or I’ve got a place with some friends in Bethany (John 1.28). He could have said, “I was going to stay at the inn but there was no room!”
BUT…
Instead of answering their question, Jesus extended an INVITATION.
Which I think is interesting.
I think Jesus knew something that we sometimes forget. People need INVITATIONS more than answers. RELATIONSHIPS are better than solutions.
We have so many questions about so many things for which Jesus never gave us answers. And that may be frustrating, even confusing.
But Jesus knows… People need invitations more than answers. Relationships are better than solutions.
These two disciples had questions about where Jesus was staying.
The Pharisees wanted answers to all their theological questions about God.
We’ve got questions about hot topics and important issues.
Jesus wants to invite all of us to “come and see.” To “follow me!”
What Hangs in the Balance?
The disciples ask, where are you staying?
Jesus answered…
“COME and SEE,” he said. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon when they went with him to the place where he was staying, and they remained with him the rest of the day.
Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of these men who heard what John said and then followed Jesus. Andrew went to find his brother, Simon, and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means “Christ”).
Then Andrew brought Simon to meet Jesus. Looking intently at Simon, Jesus said, “Your name is Simon, son of John—but you will be called Cephas” (which means “Peter”). – John 1.39-42
Don’t miss this… You never know what hangs in the balance of an invitation.
Andrew invites his brother, Simon, to Come and See Jesus. Jesus gives Simon a new name, Peter!
And if you follow Peter’s story, after the death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Peter preaches the first gospel sermon where He invites people to come and see and believe in Jesus as God’s Messiah! 3000 people respond and are baptized that day!
You just never know what hangs in the balance of an invitation.
Think about this… What if Andrew had never invited Peter to come and see Jesus?
Every Invitation is into Relationship
The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “COME, FOLLOW ME.” Philip was from Bethsaida, Andrew and Peter’s hometown.
Jesus says, “Come and see,” then he says, “Follow me.” Jesus’ whole ministry was built around an INVITATION into RELATIONSHIP.
Philip went to look for Nathanael and told him, “We have found the very person Moses and the prophets wrote about! His name is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.”
“Nazareth!” exclaimed Nathanael. “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”
“COME and SEE for yourself,” Philip replied.
As they approached, Jesus said, “Now here is a genuine son of Israel—a man of complete integrity.”
“How do you know about me?” Nathanael asked.
Jesus replied, “I could see you under the fig tree before Philip found you.”
Then Nathanael exclaimed, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God—the King of Israel!” – John 1.43-49
Just to recap:
John invites two of his disciples, including Andrew, to come and see Jesus.
Andrew invites Peter to come and see Jesus.
Philip invites Nathaniel to come and see Jesus.
Jesus invites all of them to Follow Me!
Our job is to INVITE people to COME and SEE.
Jesus is the one who INVITES people to FOLLOW ME.
And what’s interesting is that as you continue to read John’s gospel, his story of the life and ministry of Jesus, it’s all built on this framework of “Come and See, Follow Me.”
Thomas: Come and See
At the end of John’s gospel, Jesus invites a man we call doubting Thomas to come and see the scars in his hands and the place in his side where the spear pierced his skin.
I love this painting, The Incredulity of St. Thomas by Caravaggio.
Thomas, comes to Jesus and sees for himself the risen Jesus!
Perhaps we need to invite the doubting Thomas in our lives, the Simon who needs a new name and a new direction in life, the Nathaniel who at first refuses to believe that anything good could come out of Nazareth to come and see Jesus for themselves.
Our job is to invite people to come and see Jesus.
WHY? Because…
You never know what hangs in the balance of an invitation.
We may never be more like Christ than when we extend the invitation.
Remember, our job is to invite people to COME and SEE. Jesus is the one who calls people to “FOLLOW ME.”
2 Questions:
I’ve got 2 questions for you today.
- Have you accepted the invitation of Jesus to Come and See, Follow me?
If not, I want you to know the invitation of Jesus is open to you. Yes you!
You might think, I’m not good enough. Or, I don’t have it all together. Here’s why we call the gospel Good News. It wouldn’t be Good News if you had to have it all figured out and all together before you came to God!
The Good News is that you don’t! Jesus invites you to come as you are, perfectly imperfect, and to begin following Him today. If you’re ready to start following Jesus, we would love to help you!
- Who in your life do you need to invite… Come and See?
Lifeway research found that 82% of people would come to church if a friend invited them. But only 2% of Christians invite their friends to church!
Is there someone in your life you could invite?
Come and see what church is like.
Come and see what Jesus is all about.
Come and see what it feels like to belong to a faith family.
Come and see what God is doing at Riverside!
We live in a come and see kind of world. We invite people to come and see what we’re most excited about! Why not invite someone to come and see what God is doing in your church. You never know what hangs in the balance of your invitation.
Meno = Abiding
We live in a come and see kind of world. And people need invitations more than answers. Relationships are better than solutions.
Just like Alisha and I wanted to invite people to come to our new house, to see where we were staying, where we were dwelling, where we were ABIDING… John wants us to know that Jesus now ABIDES IN US!
He DWELLS within US!
(John 1.14! John 6.56! John 14.16-17! John 15.4-16!)
It’s my prayer that we would be the kind of church that invites people to come and see what God is doing here because, I believe, God is doing some amazing things here in this place.
And God wants to abide in every heart, in every life.
May we be the kind of church who invites friends, neighbors, the people we meet in line at the store or at Starbucks to “Come and See” what God is doing here among us. Here within us.
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