Week 40 - Come And See
“Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.” (Psalm 119:18)
Recently, I came across “Come and See Ministries,” founded in 1980 by an optician. The ministry’s two-fold objectives are firstly, to help unbelievers see their spiritual need for Christ and secondly, to help people see with their natural eyes by providing free eye examinations and glasses to the needy.
The phrase “come and see” appears three times in the gospel of John. On each occasion, the call was issued to connect people to Christ.
“[Jesus] said to them, ‘Come, and you will see’” (
The First Call to “Come and See”
Section titled “The First Call to “Come and See””The first call to “come and see” was made by Jesus to His first disciples. He did not say to them, “Come and hear what I have to teach you.” Instead, He said, “Come and see.” And see they did! What a marvellous sight it must be to see the Lord healing the sick, proclaiming the kingdom of God and reaching out to the needy. They must have held their breath when they saw the Lord being crucified on the cross and then leapt for joy on seeing the risen Lord.
However, how can we, the twenty-first century disciples of Jesus Christ, “come and see” Him? The answer, I believe, is not in sight but in insight. We can read the gospels and see what the first century disciples saw. We can read Acts and see how the Holy Spirit acting through the disciples, created a movement that “turned the world upside down” (
Besides the Bible, the story of the grace of God is written in the life of every Christian. Surely we can see Christ as we share our stories about the grace of God.
“Philip said to him, ‘Come and see’” (
The Second Call to “Come and See”
Section titled “The Second Call to “Come and See””The second call to “come and see” was issued by Philip.
Have you ever wondered why it is so difficult to explain the Christian faith to a non-believer? I wonder if the reason is because people have heard so much about Christ but have not seen enough of Him. Hence, when Philip wanted to introduce his friend Nathanael to Jesus, he followed Jesus’ strategy by inviting Nathanael to “come and see” Him.
Sometimes, no amount of explaining can convince our non-Christian friends about the Christian faith. The solution is to introduce them to Christ. I remember one of my former Sunday school teachers used to remind the class, “Tell God about your friends before you tell your friends about God.” Although we are not able to physically bring people to see Christ, we can show them what Christ has done for us and what He can do for them. For “by our love they will know we are His disciples,” wrote the Apostle John (see
“[Mary and Martha] said to him, ‘Lord, come and see’” (
The Third Call to “Come and See”
Section titled “The Third Call to “Come and See””The third call to “come and see” came from two sisters, Mary and Martha. Their brother Lazarus had died. They asked Jesus to come and see. I’m sure our Lord too will hurry to our side when we cry out to him in sorrow.
A hymn writer, after going through a painful life experience, penned the following words to comfort others who may be experiencing the same sorrow. He wrote, “Are you weary, are you heavy hearted? Tell it to Jesus, tell it to Jesus. Are you grieving over joys departed? Tell it to Jesus alone.”
Are you going through a difficult time in your life right now? Is your burden heavy as you bear it all alone? Why not tell it to Jesus? He will lighten your load.
Let us ask the Lord to open our eyes that we may see Him. Let us point others to Christ. And let us bring our burdens to Him for He cares for us.