Come and see for yourself.
This weeks Gospel contains the the same simple call to faith as last week. "Follow me" Jesus says to Phillip. Phillip follows as willingly as Matthew did last week and is so excited that he can't wait to find his mate Nathaniel and tell him all about it.
“We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.” (John 1:45)
Matthew and Phillip both have the advantage of a first hand encounter with Jesus. Nathaniel has not yet had the chance and is not so sure about downing tools to follow someone he hasn't even met, especially considering where comes from . “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” ( John1:46 )
“Come and see for yourself.” Says Phillip. ( John 1:46 )
On meeting Jesus, Phillip is quickly convinced and responds with one of the earliest statements of faith in the Gospels. “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” (John 1:49)
Till next time
Andrew
- Like Phillip, following Jesus means that we too should want others to know and follow him too.
- Like Nathaniel, not all those we share our faith with will always be as enthusiastic as we are.
- Like Nathaniel, most people will have questions that need answering before they will come to faith.
- Like Phillip we can answer those questions with the same simple invitation he gave to Nathaniel.
Till next time
Andrew
