Christian Koinonia, Dr. Samuel Lee
COME AND SEE!
Passage: John 1:35~51  
Key verse: 39a
John’s Disciples Follow Jesus(A)
35 The next day John(B) was there again with two of his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”(C)
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”(D) (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).(E) 42 And he brought him to Jesus.
Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called(F) Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter[a]).(G)
Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael
43 The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip,(H) he said to him, “Follow me.”(I)
44 Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida.(J) 45 Philip found Nathanael(K) and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law,(L) and about whom the prophets also wrote(M)—Jesus of Nazareth,(N) the son of Joseph.”(O)
46 “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?”(P) Nathanael asked.
“Come and see,” said Philip.
47 When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite(Q) in whom there is no deceit.”(R)
48 “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.
Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”
49 Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi,(S) you are the Son of God;(T) you are the king of Israel.”(U)
50 Jesus said, “You believe[b] because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.” 51 He then added, “Very truly I tell you,[c] you[d] will see ‘heaven open,(V) and the angels of God ascending and descending(W) on’[e] the Son of Man.”(X)
Footnotes
Cross references
- John 1:35 : 1:40-42pp — Mt 4:18-22; Mk 1:16-20; Lk 5:2-11
- John 1:35 : S Mt 3:1
- John 1:36 : S ver 29
- John 1:38 : ver 49; S Mt 23:7
- John 1:41 : Jn 4:25
- John 1:42 : Ge 17:5, 15; 32:28; 35:10
- John 1:42 : Mt 16:18
- John 1:43 : Mt 10:3; Jn 6:5-7; 12:21, 22; 14:8, 9
- John 1:43 : S Mt 4:19
- John 1:44 : S Mt 11:21
- John 1:45 : Jn 21:2
- John 1:45 : S Lk 24:27
- John 1:45 : S Lk 24:27
- John 1:45 : S Mk 1:24
- John 1:45 : Lk 3:23
- John 1:46 : Jn 7:41, 42, 52
- John 1:47 : Ro 9:4, 6
- John 1:47 : Ps 32:2
- John 1:49 : ver 38; S Mt 23:7
- John 1:49 : ver 34; S Mt 4:3
- John 1:49 : S Mt 2:2; 27:42; Jn 12:13
- John 1:51 : S Mt 3:16
- John 1:51 : Ge 28:12
- John 1:51 : S Mt 8:20
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source:  BibleGateway
1. Come and you will see! (35-39)
John didn't keep his disciples under him but sent them to Jesus, the Lamb of God! When two of them followed him, Jesus first asked them, "What do you want?" They answered, "Where are you staying?" They purely wanted to spend quality time to know Jesus more and better. Jesus was glad and invited them, "Come and you will see." So they went, listened, observed and found Jesus was the Messiah. As a Bible teacher, we must send people to Jesus. As a Bible student, we must spend quality time focusing on Jesus. Jesus will surely welcome us to know who he is, the Lamb of God, the Savior of the world.
2. You will see heaven open (40-51)
Now Andrew, one of two, found the Messiah in Jesus. What he did first was to go, find and bring his brother Simon to Jesus to share his utmost joy. Jesus saw Simon who looked like sand with full of fish smell but called him Cephas, which means Rock with God's hope. The next day Jesus called Philip. He also found Nathanael testifying that Jesus is the Messiah about whom Moses and the prophets wrote. But Nathanael was suspicious about the Nazarene. Jesus showed his divine power knowing what he was reading and recognizing his genuine personality. Jesus revealed how Jacob's dream would be fulfilled through his own descent and ascension to lead many to heaven.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for your invitation to come to know you and be Cephas in this generation!
One Word: We have found the Messiah in Jesus!