³⁵ The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, ³⁶ and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!”³⁷ The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. ³⁸ Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” ³⁹ He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. ⁴⁰ One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. ⁴¹ He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). ⁴² He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter).  John 1:35-42

We have the calling of the disciples in this part of John, and specifically the conversation between Philip and Nathanael. Philip, after being called by Jesus, first goes to tell Nathanael about his experience with Jesus. We do not have any of the conversation except for Nathanael’s comment about what good can come out of Nazareth, and Philip’s response “Come and See.” Nazareth was a town with many influences, including many Gentile influences. Even the people in Nazareth reject the message of Jesus—people of his hometown. Nazareth would not have been a good town to raise good, Jewish children, apparently.

But we can learn a lot from this short exchange. First and foremost, Philip becomes the first evangelist, going forward to share what has happened to him in his encounter with Jesus. And, even in the face of severe rejection, Philip persists with compelling words – come and find out for yourself. It doesn’t take a lot of fancy words to invite people to come and experience the good news of Jesus Christ. Simple words of invitation will do – and may speak volumes to those who just need a simple invitation.

My friends, believe it or not, there are people out in our communities who want to hear some good news in their lives, especially existential good news. They are waiting for you and me to share the story.

Pastor Dave

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God. ³ All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. ⁴ In him was life,^[a] and the life was the light of men. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.⁶ There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. ⁷ He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. ⁸ He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. ⁹ The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. ¹⁰ He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. ¹¹ He came to his own,^[b] and his own people^[c] did not receive him. ¹² But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,¹³ who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” John 1:1-13

The Gospel of John is not one of the synoptic gospels, synoptic meaning Gospels that are “similar”—similar in structure, in story, and in style. John is a different animal. It came to be added into the canon late in the process, mostly because of its Gnostic overtones.  There are some things to look for as you read this gospel. First, notice that the sons of Zebedee, James and John do not appear in this gospel. Notice too the referral to the “disciple whom Jesus loved”. There are many theories of who this is supposed to represent…John the gospel writer, Lazarus, whom Jesus raised from the dead, even Peter. Notice how John lacks many of the stories that are common to the other gospels.  Also notice that Irony and Paradox are common in John with many people misunderstanding what Jesus says only to lead us to deeper levels of meaning. We do not get a lot of the Gospel of John in our three year lectionary, so enjoy this opportunity to immerse yourself in this wonderful book.

Pastor Dave