John 1:35-42; Romans 10:8b-18; Ezekiel 3:16-21
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
They say that seeing is believing. I believe they have that backwards, and that it is truly by believing that we are able to see rightly. Many people saw John the Baptist, but they did not see who he truly was or understand what he was truly doing until the Holy Spirit opened their eyes to see him aright. Most of them saw a wild man, a lunatic who lived in the dessert eating bugs and raving about the end of the world and the need to be prepared. However, those whose eyes the Holy Spirit opened through John’s preaching and Holy Baptism, those who believed, they saw in John the promised Elijah who was to prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah. They became disciples of John the Baptist, one of whom was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter.
One day while John was baptizing at the Jordan, Jesus was amongst the crowd. John pointed directly at Him and proclaimed in the hearing of his disciples, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” What did John see when he looked at Jesus? Clearly, he saw something that most others could not see. By the inspiration and enlightenment of the Holy Spirit, John could see that his cousin and boyhood friend Jesus was the promised Messiah, the Son of God, and the sacrificial lamb Abraham prophesied of whom God Himself would provide to take away the sins of the entire world. It was John’s prophetic calling to point Jesus out to the world and to prepare men’s hearts to receive Him and believe in Him. John preached both Law and Gospel as he called men to repent of their sins and promised them forgiveness. That forgiveness was to be found in Jesus, who would shed His blood on the cross for the sins of all men. Andrew and another disciple of John, perhaps John the Evangelist, the writer of this Gospel, heard John’s preaching and the Holy Spirit opened their eyes to see Jesus for who He truly was and for what He was sent to do. They left John, whose preaching had prepared them to receive Jesus, and they began to follow Jesus.
Jesus asked them, “What are you seeking?” You should know that these are the first words of Jesus in John’s Gospel; therefore, they are addressed to all who will follow Jesus even still. These words beckon the faithful to see with their ears the story of Jesus presented in the Gospel. The disciples answered Jesus, addressing Him as Rabbi, which means teacher, and they asked Him where He would be staying so that they may truly follow Him and His teaching. Jesus said to them, “Come and you will see.” Those whose eyes the Spirit has opened are invited to follow Jesus and His teaching into ever greater and greater light and sight, forgiveness, mercy, love, and life. And, as living things grow and flourish and bear fruit, so Jesus’ disciples grow and flourish in Him and bear His fruit and good works in word and deed.
Andrew began to bear Jesus’ fruit in his own life. Unable to keep this new life-giving teaching to himself, he went and found Simon his brother and told him, “We have found the Messiah,” and he brought him to Jesus at once. That is what faith does: Faith shares. Faith tells. Faith invites. Faith welcomes. And this begins at home, between parents and children and siblings. Charity begins at home. At home is where we learn to love and to forgive each other, and to bear with each other, to sorrow with, celebrate with, and to give thanks with each other. Only when this is practiced in the home can it be carried out to your church, your job, your community, and the world. It was through the simple act of Andrew telling his brother Simon about Jesus and inviting him to come and see for himself that Simon was made to be Peter, the rock, one of the pillars of the Christian faith and Church.
A little more than six hundred years before John the Baptist, the LORD called Ezekiel to preach a word of repentance to Israel to warn them of the peril of their sinful apostasy. The LORD charged Ezekiel with the task of warning Israel, and He warned him that failure to preach was not an option: “If I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning…, that wicked person shall die for his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. But if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul.” Truly, once the Holy Spirit has opened your eyes to truly see, bearing the LORD’s fruit in your life, words, and deeds is not an option. Jesus taught, “I am the vine, and you are the branches.” He promised, “Remain in me, and I will remain in you, and you will bear much fruit.” You WILL bear fruit. In fact, you WILL bear MUCH fruit, Jesus promises. Likewise, James instructs us in his epistle that “faith without works is dead,” which is to say it is not faith at all. Faith is living and it is always bearing fruit and good works.
However, do not fret over this, what you will say or what you will do. For you have this promise from the LORD, “the word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim).” The Holy Spirit will equip you to bear His fruit. He will give you the words to say and the people to say them to. What did Andrew do? He went and told his brother Simon and brought him to see Jesus. Tell them what you have heard. Show them why you believe. Let them see Jesus in you. And then bring them to see Jesus that they may see for themselves and receive His gifts.
For, the Gospel message is this: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” What, are you going to keep this good news to yourself? That, dear Christian, is not an option. However, neither is it a daunting task to which you have been called. You do not need a special degree, a strategic program, or even instruction. Simply go and share and tell and invite. Share with others what you have received yourself. For, “how will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent?”
Faith in Jesus comes only through hearing His Word. Apart from it we can neither believe in Jesus Christ our Lord or come to Him. But when the Word is proclaimed, then the Holy Spirit is at work in the heart calling, enlightening, sanctifying, and keeping us in the one true faith. You have been called out of the darkness of sin and death to live and walk in the light of the Lord.
Heavenly Father, give us eyes to see Your Son as our Lord and Savior by the power of Your Holy Spirit through the Word alone.
In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.
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