“Come and See.” We are surrounded by similar invitations, aren’t we? Enroll in this cellphone plan! Subscribe to this streaming service! Finance this car for no interest! It’s only after carefully studying the fine print that we realize the interest rates or fees explode after the first year. It’s no wonder that after a few such “offers” we become disappointed, skeptical and suspicious.

In contrast, Jesus simply invites Andrew to “Come and see” (1:39). Now, Andrew had been a disciple of John the Baptist. But although John had told Andrew that Jesus was “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (1:29), Andrew probably didn’t know what that meant. In the same way, many people today don’t know a lot about Jesus, or about what following Him will mean for them. And we might wonder how we can persuade them to become Christian, what clever arguments we can employ, or what evangelistic tactics are most effective.

But we don’t see any manipulation or trickery in today’s passage, do we? No, instead of trying to seal the deal before His disciples have a chance to change their minds, instead of hiding high costs behind the curtain to be discovered only too late, Jesus simply invites those who are curious or hesitant to come and see, to learn more about Him, to experience for themselves His welcome, His forgiveness, His grace, and His love.

And that’s the same thing we should do when we invite others to follow Jesus, just as Philip invited the skeptical Nathanael in 1:46. Instead of relying on subtlety or surprises, we just need to show Christ to the world, repeating His words of welcome and demonstrating the reality of His Spirit living within us. For just as Nathanael’s skepticism dissolved when he saw Jesus, we can trust that seeing Jesus is the only sales pitch the world really needs.

John 1:35-51 (ESV)

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).
43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.”
44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.
45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
46 Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”
47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!”
48 Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”
49 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”
50 Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.”
51 And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”