38. Turning 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.

I don’t want to minimize the influence of John the Baptist when he pointed Andrew and John to Christ, but now they had to discover more about Him for themselves. They wanted to investigate the matter. They were honest seekers.

Many seekers want to know more about God. What better way to discover Jesus than to spend time with Him and learn about Him? For the first followers that meant going to His place, visiting Him, listening, asking questions and thinking about these implications for their own lives. They heard John speak about Him. Now they needed to discover more for themselves.

I used the book, “A Case for Christmas” by Lee Strobel as the springboard for sermons one year.  As a young atheistic journalist, upset that his wife had become a Christian, he wanted to prove to her that this religion is based on superstitions and legends and therefore false. He did an investigation; looking in books, articles and talking to scholars both liberal and conservative.

His first book was “A Case for Christ”. It was the summary of his research revealing the evidence indeed pointed to Jesus’ claim that He is the son of God. He then needed to ask a more important question in his life. “What am I going to do with Jesus?” 

C.S. Lewis (also an atheistic scholar) observed Jesus made some claims that would require a conclusion. There were four reasonable options - He was a liar, a lunatic, a legend, or He was Lord.

Strobel could easily refute the first three options with his investigation, but if the fourth was true, then it demanded a response. It was the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ that could not be explained away except as a historical miracle. He followed Christ for himself just like the disciples John and Andrew did.

“Come and see.” may be a good place to start with non-believers and seekers in their spiritual journey. “Come and see.” is also a way to increase your faith as a follower. The more you discover who Jesus is the more you trust Him. The greater trust you put in Him, the more you will follow Him. 

Some become followers because of investigation.

Application:  Set your heart to “know Him” by spending more time with Him.

Prayers: Lord, as I seek to know you in Your Word, let your word fall on fertile ground in my heart and spring up and bear the fruit that will lead others to you.

Prayer:  

Dale