Come and See: Jesus Calls You Out of Your Routine

Introduction

In John 1:35-51, John the Baptist sees Jesus passing by and declares : « Behold the Lamb of God. » Two of his disciples hear this, leave John the Baptist, and begin to follow Jesus. They ask him a single question : « Where are you staying? » And Jesus answers : « Come and see. » In this sermon at CVV Paris, Joël takes you to the banks of the Jordan, into the prophecies of the Old Testament, into the humility of John the Baptist, and into the gaze of Jesus that redefines a destiny. There is a call that still resounds today for you : « Come. Step out of your routine. Come and see who Jesus really is. »

Message Outline

1. « Behold the Lamb of God » : a revelation that overturns expectations

• The passage begins with « the next day » : the day before, Jesus had been baptized by John the Baptist. The next day, John is still standing there with two of his disciples.
• We know why Jesus is called the Lamb. But they are hearing it for the first time. To grasp the weight of this statement, we need to place ourselves back in Jewish culture.
• The first mention of a sacrificial lamb is found in Genesis 22 : Abraham is about to sacrifice Isaac, and God himself provides a lamb. This already announces the sacrifice of Jesus. God did not ask Abraham to pay the price that he himself had imposed on himself to pay for the redemption of our lives. That is the grace of God.
• This passage is read every year in synagogues at Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year. At Passover, we see again the slain lamb of the Exodus. In Leviticus, for the forgiveness of sins, one must bring a lamb without blemish : the innocent one who bears the guilt of the guilty.
• Isaiah announces it : « he was led like a lamb to the slaughter. » The Jews had always heard talk of a lamb. John the Baptist, for his part, recognizes this very Lamb in one specific man : his own cousin.

2. The astonishing humility of John the Baptist

• John the Baptist had built a ministry. He has disciples, he baptizes crowds, his word carries weight. And yet, in another Gospel, he declares : « he must increase, but I must decrease. »
• When he says « Behold the Lamb of God », he does not speak directly to his disciples, but he says it in front of them. His two disciples turn away from him to go toward Jesus. He begins to lose his disciples, and he accepts it.
• In our modern Christianity, we often measure success by the number of people in our churches. John the Baptist, however, knows his calling and the limit of his calling. He knows very well that he must step aside.
• What humility, what death to self. He shows the way to the Messiah, but he accepts that people leave him to attach themselves to Jesus. John the Baptist does not present Jesus as « his cousin ». He presents him as « the Lamb of God. » This is a level of revelation, not a blood relationship.

3. « Come and see » : step out of your routine

• Jesus turns around, sees the two disciples following him, and asks them : « What do you seek? » They answer : « Rabbi, where are you staying? » Jesus tells them : « Come and see. » They came, they saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about the tenth hour, that is, four in the afternoon. They probably stayed the whole evening.
• The place of the baptism is located far down, opposite Jericho, at the very spot where the people of Israel crossed the Jordan to enter the promised land. Andrew and John had come down from Capernaum, far up on the Sea of Tiberias. They had made the journey to step out of their everyday life.
• This call « come and see » still resounds for each one of us today. Jesus is there, present in our midst, and yet he says « come. » Come to me, come spend time in my presence, but also : go out. Step out of your Bethsaida, your Capernaum, your Nazareth.
• In the Paris region, everything locks you into a routine : Sunday morning service, afternoon nap, children's activities, prayer meeting, worship group, and all we wait for is one thing, the holidays. Do you think that's what the Christian life is? Do you think that's what God is calling us to?

4. A historical panorama : why the people cry out for a deliverer

• To understand the expectation of the Messiah, Joël unrolls a 2000-year panorama.
• Around 2000 BC : God calls Abraham. « Leave your father's house, go to the land I will show you. I will bless you… and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through you. » From Abraham onward, God does not have a plan for Israel alone : he has a plan for all nations.
• Around 1700 BC : Joseph, Abraham's great-grandson through Jacob, is sold by his brothers, becomes Pharaoh's right-hand man in Egypt, and brings his family down to save them from famine. The people remain there 400 years and become enslaved.
• God sends Moses as a deliverer. On the way to the promised land, he makes a covenant with his people : « If you listen to my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be to me a kingdom of priests, a holy nation. » Then comes the law, the tabernacle, the entry into the promised land, the judges.
• Around 1000 BC : Saul, David, Solomon. The twelve tribes are united. The temple is built. But at the end of Solomon's reign, the kingdom splits and idolatry sets in everywhere : Baal, Molech, Astarte, the Asherah pole, child sacrifices in the valley of Gehenna.
• The prophets announce the deportation. Amos, then Isaiah (700 BC), then Babylon (starting in 590 BC), the destruction of the temple, the exile, the story of Esther, the return under Cyrus (515 BC).
• Malachi (430 BC) announces : « Behold, I will send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. » And he adds : « I will send you Elijah the prophet, before the great day of the Lord comes… he will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers. » That is why the Jews are waiting for Elijah : he did not die, he was taken up in a chariot of fire.
• Alexander the Great conquers Persia (around 330 BC), the land becomes Greek. A statue of Zeus is placed in the temple in 160 BC, which triggers the Maccabean revolt. Then in 63 BC, the Roman Empire conquers the region. The people have been under occupation for 600 years.
• They cry out for a deliverer. And they expect a political one : a king who will drive out Rome. But God sends a Lamb. John the Baptist has this spiritual insight to recognize, not the king they were expecting, but the Lamb who is going to be sacrificed.

5. The gaze of Jesus that defines your destiny

• Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, is one of the two who heard John the Baptist and followed Jesus. The time Andrew and John spent with Jesus was a revelation. They immediately have the reflex to run to their brothers : Andrew runs to Simon, John runs to James, son of Zebedee. « We have found the Messiah. »
• Simon arrives. Jesus looks at him and says : « You are Simon, son of John ; you shall be called Cephas, which means Peter. »
• When we come to Jesus, something happens : Jesus looks at us. And it is not just a look on the face. It is a gaze that goes to the very depths of our being and that defines us, that can even change our destiny.
• Peter, as we know, was impetuous, impulsive, indecisive. He had trouble following through on the decisions he made. In human eyes, you probably would not have chosen this man to build the Church. But Jesus sees beyond appearances, beyond even the character of the moment. He sees and proclaims a destiny, even when it is not yet visible.
• This is what Jesus does for you. You find yourself miserable, small, weak, in your troubles, with your struggles. Go to Jesus, listen to his voice, let him pierce you with his gaze, so that he may come and define who you are and what your destiny is on this earth.
• Your destiny is not just to have children and prepare an inheritance for them. That is what those who live without God do. God has called you for a destiny. As Mordecai says to Esther : « who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this? »

6. Nathanael under the fig tree : step out of your unbelief

• The next day, Jesus wants to go to Galilee. He meets Philip, who was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip runs to find Nathanael and tells him : « We have found him of whom Moses wrote in the Law, and also the prophets : Jesus of Nazareth. »
• Nathanael is doubtful : « Can anything good come out of Nazareth? » At that time, apparently, Nazareth was not held in high regard. Philip does not argue, he simply answers : « Come and see. »
• Your unbelief can disqualify you right away. There are plenty of things that can keep you from coming. And in our day, it is probably one of the greatest obstacles : rationality, reason, the « those are just old wives' tales. » But come, come, come and see. Come and taste. Step out of your unbelief, step out of the situation you are in. As Malachi says, « put me to the test. » Take God at his word.
• Nathanael comes toward Jesus, and Jesus sees him coming and says : « Behold, truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit. » Nathanael asks : « How do you know me? » Jesus answers him : « Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you. »
• Nathanael was probably praying desperately under that fig tree : « God, do you see me? » It is possible that this morning, in your secret place, you are praying this same prayer : « Where are you? Do you see me? » Jesus, through a word of knowledge, shows Nathanael that he has seen him. Nathanael's reaction is immediate : « Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are the King of Israel. »

7. Heaven opened above Jesus : wherever you are, there is authority

• Jesus concludes with this extraordinary statement (John 1:51) : « You shall see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man. »
• This « from now on » points back to Genesis 28 : Jacob falls asleep with a stone for his pillow, he dreams of a ladder set up on the earth whose top reaches to heaven, the angels are ascending and descending on it, and the Lord stands above it. God renews his promise : « The land on which you lie, I will give to you and to your descendants… All the families of the earth shall be blessed through you. »
• Note that the angels are ascending and descending : they are there, around Jesus. Today, where is Jesus? He is in us, because we are the temple of his Spirit. This « from now on » is not a parenthesis in history : heaven is always open above Jesus. And Jesus lives in you.
• Which means that wherever you are, there are angels ascending and descending. It is a place of authority. Not because you are handsome, strong, or perfect, not because you have done a forty-day fast, but simply because Jesus lives in you.
• Whether you are in a high school, in an office, in a shop, on the street, be aware that the angels are with you. Where Jesus is, there cannot be darkness. The path is cleared before you.

Key Takeaways

• John the Baptist recognizes Jesus as the Lamb of God : a revelation that overturns the expectation of a political Messiah and that points back to Genesis 22, to Passover, to Leviticus, and to Isaiah.
• The humility of John the Baptist is a model : he knows his calling and its limit. He accepts losing his disciples so that they may follow Jesus. « He must increase, but I must decrease. »
• The call « Come and see » still resounds today. Step out of your routine, step out of your Capernaum, step out of your spiritual rut to come spend time in the presence of Jesus.
• The gaze of Jesus defines your destiny. As with Simon who became Peter, he sees beyond your character and your failures, and he proclaims what you are called to become.
• Wherever you are, heaven is open and the angels ascend and descend, because Jesus lives in you. Your presence is a presence of authority.

Personal Application

1. Are you ready, like John the Baptist, to « decrease » so that Christ may increase in a situation, a ministry, or a relationship where you are holding the place?
2. What is the routine that you are locked into right now? What is Jesus specifically asking you to « leave » in order to come spend time with him?
3. What unbelief or prejudice is keeping you from coming to see for yourself who Jesus is? Are you ready to take him at his word and put him to the test?
4. What name, what destiny do you think Jesus wants to pronounce over you? Take a moment to ask him what he sees when he looks at you.
5. Where have you been called this week : school, office, neighborhood, family? How will you become aware that this place is a place of authority because Jesus lives in you?

Verses Cited

• John 1:35-51 (main text)
• Genesis 22 (Abraham and the lamb)
• Isaiah 53 (the lamb led to the slaughter)
• Malachi 3:1 (the messenger who prepares the way)
• Malachi 4:5-6 (the prophet Elijah and the hearts of the fathers)
• Genesis 28:10-15 (Jacob's ladder)
• Esther 4:14 (« who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this »)

Further reading

• How to Integrate Newcomers into a Small Group
• Christian Leadership: Biblical Principles and Practical Advice
• Best Church Event Photography Tips

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does John the Baptist call Jesus « the Lamb of God » instead of simply the Messiah?

Because John the Baptist had received a level of revelation that most of his contemporaries did not have. The Jews were expecting a political Messiah, a king like in the prophecies of Jeremiah, who would restore Israel and drive out Rome. John the Baptist, however, recognizes Isaiah's prophecy : the Lamb who would be led to the slaughter to bear the sin of the world. He connects it with Genesis 22, with Passover, with the sacrifices of Leviticus. It is this very Lamb that he sees in Jesus, not merely the king that was hoped for.

What does « Come and see » mean for a Christian today?

It is a call to step out. To step out of your routine, your everyday life, your vicious cycles, your unbelief, your spiritual ruts. The two disciples made the journey from Capernaum all the way to the Jordan to go meet John the Baptist, and then Jesus. Today, Jesus invites you to take that very same step : to come and spend time in his presence, listen to him speak, and let yourself be transformed. It's not just information about Jesus that you need : it's an encounter.

How can the gaze of Jesus change my destiny?

The gaze of Jesus is not a gaze that stops at the face. It is a gaze that goes to the very depths of your being and that can define you differently. This is what happened to Simon who became Peter, to Nathanael seen under the fig tree, and it is what can happen to you. You may find yourself miserable, weak, marked by your failures. But Jesus sees beyond. He sees what you are called to become, and he proclaims it, even when it is not yet visible. Your destiny is not just to keep your life running : God has called you for a destiny.