How Hard Can It Be?

John 1:46 Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” (ESV)

    I see a progression in this section of scripture that is worthy of notice. Philip first appears in verse 43, when Jesus calls him in saying, “Follow me.” The only thing we are told about Philip is where he is from. Then directly after his call, Philip finds a man named Nathanael, he goes on to tell him about Jesus of Nazareth. Then Philip challenges Nathanael to “come and see” Jesus for himself. I see a threefold procession taking place; one that I believe is the Jesus style of disciple making. First we receive the call, second we find another person, tell them about Jesus, and third we give them the same invitation to come and follow. To look even deeper into this procession we need go no further then the great commission Jesus gave to His disciples Himself. I find it no coincidence we see the same procession in the great commission. “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20). We see the call to go, the invitation extended to another to enter into the triune community of the godhead, and the telling them of Jesus, or as worded here teaching them to observe all that Jesus has commanded us believers.
    Believer we must not stop there for the most vital piece of this methodology has yet been discussed. In the great commission we see one vital component throughout the whole, that is Jesus. As his disciples we are to go in his authority and have received the promise he is to be eternally with us as we go. What a promise! As we give the invite, “come and see”, we need not fear for He is with us. I rejoice in this beautiful illustration found in the gospel of John. We must note that Jesus knew of Nathanael before Philip ever came into contact with him. “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree I saw you.” It was not Philips responsibility to get the job done, for Jesus knew of this man before the foundation of time. Philip was just the messenger in this scene, but Jesus knew the work he had for Nathanael to walk in long before Philip ever gave him the invitation (Ephesians 2:10). Jesus is faithful to complete the good work began (Philippians 1:6), we simply must be willing and yielded to the prompting of the Holy Spirit, that he might make his appeal through us (2 Corinthians 5:20).

Application:
My prayer today is to be more yielded to the leading, guiding and directing of the Holy Spirit. Trusting and believing as I am lead to give the invitation, “come and see,” Jesus already knows the one I’m giving it to, and is obligated by promise to be with me as I fulfill His great commission.