“Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses wrote in the Law, and the prophets also wrote: Jesus the son of Joseph, from Nazareth!” Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good be from Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”
Philip found the Messiah and ran to let Nathanael know… He realized who Jesus was …He said “We found the promised one”… Philip had met the Son of God, and he recognized Him because they had been looking for Him for Centuries. His knowing “who and what” he had found was the key…. and it still is today.
Jesus is not a surprise. His first appearance in the manger was prophesied for thousands of years, and His return has been foretold by historically documented predictions. He is one of the most recorded figures in history. His life has been verified by both church and secular historians, so the question of His existence is not the question… Knowing “who and what” He is – is what changes everything.
When Philip realized this, he did the only logical thing he could do… He ran to tell his friend. That is the only rational response we can have as well. If you realize that He is the foretold lamb of God which takes away the sins of the world, and you don’t tell the people you love… How can you say you love those people?
The problem is that they may not be interested in your discovery. So, we can also learn from Philip’s confident approach to witnessing… When Nathanael mocked him, Philip didn’t retaliate, he simply said “come and see”… Those three words carry a wealth of theological implications and are incredibly powerful.
You and I need to put away our argumentative rebuttals to naysayers and simply say “come and see” … Our intellectual opinions are not as powerful as saying, “look at the changes Jesus has made in my life”, and then living in such a way that they can “come and see” Christ in us.
The power of the gospel is that you have been made a new creation, and our job is let others know that God offers new life to all who come to Him.
“Live as a credible witness. If our actions don’t line up with the message we’re proclaiming, we risk losing our credibility.” — David Jeremiah
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