Come and you will see!

Saturday, February 28
Psalm 30
Deuteronomy 7:17-26


John 1: 35-42

Jesus' First Disciples
35The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. 36When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, "Look, the Lamb of God!"

37When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. 38Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, "What do you want?"
They said, "Rabbi" (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 spent that day with him. It was about the tenth hour.

40Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, "We have found the Messiah" (that is, the Christ). 42And he brought him to Jesus.
Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas" (which, when translated, is Peter).

John the Baptist didn't hesitate to point his own disciples to Jesus. His disciples didn't hesitate to follow Jesus. The preaching of John had created a yearning and an expectation that was so instense that it was only natural for them to follow Jesus. Imagine the awe and excitement that filled them as they follwed him, but didn't quite dare to approach him. They followed him so closely however, that eventually Jesus turned in his tracks and invited them to where he was staying.
We all start our walk following Jesus at a safe distance until our steps become so much in tune with his that he receives us with the same open invitation. He invites us into fellowship with himself. We have the opportunity to join Him. Andrew was one of those who spent the day with Jesus and could extend the invitation to his brother Simon as well. "I've found the Messiah! Come and see! " He brought him to Jesus.
We are invited into fellowship with Jesus. When we enter in, he reveals himself in his fulness to us. It is only natural that we also then run to our brother or sister and friends and say "I have found the Messiah! come and see!"

This oil painting is titled Ecce Agnus Dei (1464). The painter was Dieric Bouts the Elder (ca. 1415-1475) of the Netherlands. It can be found in the Alte Pinakothek in Munich, Germany.