The search is over!  You finally found exactly what you were looking for to complete your longings!  You run to show and tell your family first, then your friends, then anyone who will listen!  Your search for perfection for you as you envisioned in your mind is over.  You are ecstatic.  No one can wipe that smile off your face!  So what is that?

So, what or who were you searching for to fulfill your life’s dream, to check off one more item on your bucket list, that person to marry or that perfect job?  What are you searching for?

What are you after, says Jesus?

John—God’s Love

John 1:35-51, The Message

(Emphasis mine)

Come and See for Yourself

The next day John was back at his post with two disciples who were watching.  He looked up, saw Jesus walking nearby and said, “Here he is, God’s Passover Lamb.”  The two disciples heard him and went after Jesus.  Jesus looked over his shoulder and said to them, “What are you after?”

They said, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher”), “where are you staying?”

He replied, “Come along and see for yourself.”

They came, saw where he was living, and ended up staying with him for the day.  It was late afternoon when this happened.

Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard John’s witness and followed Jesus.  The first thing he did after finding where Jesus lived was find his own brother, Simon, telling him, “We’ve found the Messiah” that is, (‘Christ’).  He immediately led him to Jesus.

Jesus took one look up and said, “You’re John’s son, Simon?  From now on your name is Cephas” (or Peter which means “Rock”).

The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee.  When he got there, he ran across Philip and said, “Come, follow me.” (Philip’s hometown was Bethsaida, the same as Andrew and Peter.)

Philip went and found Nathanael and told him, “We’ve found the One Moses wrote of in the Law, the One preached by the prophets.  It’s Jesus, Joseph’s son, the one from Nazareth!”  Nathanael said, “Nazareth?  You’ve got to be kidding.”

But Philip said, “Come, see for yourself.”

When Jesus saw him coming he said, “There’s a real Israelite, not a false bone in his body.”

Nathanael said, “Where did you get that idea?  You don’t know me.”

Jesus said, “You’ve become a believer simply because I say I saw you one day sitting under the fig tree?  You haven’t seen anything yet!  Before this day is over, you’re going to see heaven open and God’s angels descending to the Son of Man and ascending again.”

THINK ABOUT IT…

Imagine Jesus, looking over his shoulder with those loving eyes of mercy and grace, asking you and I, “Seriously, what are you after in life?”  Think about all the time we spend in search of something to add to our collections, searching always for the perfect thing to bring us joy and contentment.  When found, does it last?  Usually, not for long.

When we find what we are looking for we immediately text or post on Facebook, right?  We tell anyone who will listen standing nearby at home or at work, “Guess what, I found it!”  And then you show them.  But in our humanness, the receivers of our news of material acquisitions are actually jealous and envious and find it hard to share in your news…UNLESS…your news includes them.

Jesus is Good News for everyone!  The excitement of Andrew running to tell his brother, Peter, is contagious.  Our own hearts race at reading this passage, right?  Our minds are filled with amazement as this news of Jesus spreads quickly.  Imaging talking with the One, in person, and realizing who He is!  Yes, everyone in this passage runs excitedly to their family with “Come and see!”  The search for the One is over.  It is Jesus!  Jesus is the Messiah we have all read and heard about and have been waiting for!

John the Baptizer points out who Jesus is, the Passover Lamb of God, to the two men intently watching John preach.  “He is the One”, John shouts, “who will save the world”.  Two men now look in the direction of Jesus and then run to Him.  Over His shoulder, Jesus asks a very important, profound question of these interested searchers;

“What are you after?”  What becomes “who” in their lives.  They suddenly want to be where he is and do what he does.  So, they asked where He was staying.

Jesus follows up their question with, “Come along and see for yourself”.  Jesus is not just telling them where He is staying momentarily, He will be teaching them a new lifestyle. 

Friends, I don’t think this meeting was by accident!  These men were searching for meaning and significance for their mundane, Roman oppressed lives.  They became curious about John’s unorthodox preaching. So, they went to see for themselves. I believe they were called with readiness to listen to John’s message.  God prepared their tuned ears to hear John clearly with 20/20 vision to see Jesus as the One.  God knew them well, so Jesus knew them.  God knew their abilities as “excited tellers” as well as their willingness to follow.  God ended their search with finding Jesus.

What are you after?  Who are you after in this life?  This is a question Jesus is still asking each one of us daily.  What we truly believe will be expressed in our actions and behaviors.  So, Jesus continues to ask, What are you after with who are you living for as witness to the world? 

If you are after peace in troubles, forgiveness of all sins of your past and present, love like you have never known before, along with mercy and grace, then your search is over.  Jesus is the One!  Run after Jesus who is life eternal!

Believe and be saved.  Then go and tell…

Lord,

I love You with all that is in me.  I love how you speak into my heart as I read Your Word.  I hear your Holy Spirit more clearly when I take time to camp and meditate on Your Word with open eyes with ears to hear.  Now take what I have learned and help me, by your power and leading, to live it out loud.  My confidence is You, only You, dear Jesus.

In Jesus Name, Amen