Set A Course for Adventure! (1/17/2021 Worship)

“Set a Course for Adventure!”  That’s a line from a cheesy 70s comedy, but it could also sum up what is going on in today’s text. It’s an invitation to enter a journey with the Savior, Jesus Christ. He is walking by John the Baptist one day and tells his two disciples, “Look, here is the lamb of God!”  That piqued their imagination and they went after Jesus. They ask Jesus some questions and finally, he responds to them by telling them to “Come and see.”

“Come and see.” This is an invitation to learn more to join Jesus on the journey. Jesus invites these two disciples to come and follow him.  Then Philip, one of those two disciples goes to his brother, Nathaniel.  His brother can see the smile on Philip’s face and he can hear the excitement in his voice.  “We have found the Messiah.”  Nathaniel is skeptical. Didn’t his brother just say this guy is from Nazareth. Nazareth?  The Messiah comes from Nazareth?  How does anyone claiming to be the Messiah come from that town?

All that Philip says is what Jesus told him 24 hours before. “Come and see.”

Come and see.  If you read the gospel of John, all throughout that book Jesus is always inviting people to a “course for adventure.”  He invites them to come and follow him in a way that leaves them wanting more.  Jesus invites the Pharisee Nicodemus, the woman at the well, and the man born blind. Every one of them is invited to follow Jesus because they had an encounter with the Messiah and want more.

Come and see is like inviting someone over for coffee.  It’s not about shoving our faith in front of our friends or asking people where they would spend eternity if they died tonight.  It is about inviting people into the conversation, into the sharing of our lives.