Come and See
John 1:44-46
44 Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. 45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, ‘We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.’
46 ‘Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?’ Nathanael asked.
‘Come and see,’ said Philip.
I. We have found (44-45)
Philip told Nathanael, ‘We have found…’ (45) as Andrew said ‘We have found…’ in v41. They didn’t say, ‘I have found…’. ‘We’ include two disciples of Baptist John, Simon, and Philip. Including Baptist John, ‘we’ are five people. ‘We’ would impress Nathanael more than if Philip had said, ‘I have found…’ [3].
Let’s study what the Bible says about why two or three are better than one.
Ecclesiastes 4:9a says
Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their labour:
It is because they can help each other up (Ecclesiastes 4:10) and keep warm (Ecclesiastes 4:11).
Again Ecclesiastes 4:12 says,
Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
Jesus sent his disciples out on mission trips two by two (Mark 6:7). Where two or three gather in Jesus’ name, there is Jesus with them (Matthew 18:20).
II. Come and see (46)
Nathanael expressed his doubt due to Nazareth (46a). Nazareth was in Galilee and the Messiah or a prophet was not expected from Galilee (John 7:41, John 7:52).
Without wasting time arguing the point, Philip took Nathanael to Jesus directly [1] by saying, “Come and see.” (46b)
Come and see (46) is an echo of what Jesus said (‘Come and you will see.’ (John 1:39)) [2]. Replying by ‘Come and see’ is the best remedy against preconceived opinions [Bengel].
In Jesus was life and that life was the light of all mankind (John 1:4, TikTok Video). ‘life’ in Jesus means that we can experience God in Jesus and our relationship with God is restored in Jesus. Therefore, come to the true light, Jesus. And you will see His glory (John 1:14), you will experience God and your relationship with God will be restored.
References
[1] Gangel, Kenneth O. Holman New Testament Commentary.
[2] Lange, John Peter; Schaff, Philip. A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: John.
[3] Lenski, R. C. H. The Interpretation of St. John’s Gospel.
