When Jesus Invites Us to be on His Team

Reading Time: 5 Minutes

Jesus says, “Follow me.”

John 1.43 – The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.”

If one of the Super Bowl champions from the Kansas Chiefs invited you to hang out for coffee, would you be willing to adjust your schedule for the visit? If Patrick Mahomes or Travis Kelsey invited you, how motivated would you be to keep the coffee appointment?

Jesus walks through our lives and invites us to follow him, just as he did Philip. Surely, the greatest Being of all is worthy of scheduling time for a daily visit.

We can’t keep a good thing to ourselves.

John 1.44-45 – Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.”

If I spent an hour with one of the Chiefs’ star players, I couldn’t wait to talk about it. Actually, if I had a visit with one of the men from the practice squad, it would be one of the first things I told my family and friends.

Today, we have a chance to visit with Jesus, the King of all kings. Will we share with significant people in our lives the exciting experience of a few minutes spent in the presence of such greatness?

There will always be haters.

John 1.46 – Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”

My wife and I were on a shuttle bus from the Oakland airport to the rental car lot when the Chiefs were scheduled to play the Raiders. I engaged in some friendly banter with the Raiders fans and it was clear that they felt nothing good could come from Kansas City.

Nathanael thought the same thing about Nazareth as did the Oakland fans did about Kansas City. Philip simply told Nathanael to “come and see.” I think he knew a personal encounter would be enough.

I don’t think I have to answer all of the objections people have about Jesus. If I can just get them to meet him, Jesus can take care of the rest.

Bridges versus hurdles

John 1.47-51 – When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said of him, “Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael asked him, “Where did you get to know me?” Jesus answered, “I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.” 49 Nathanael replied, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 50 Jesus answered, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And he said to him, “Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”

My approach to ministry is to provide a bridge for people to Jesus. There are plenty of hurdles I could erect, but then people would have to scale the hurdle before meeting him.

Today’s Prayer

Dear God, I praise you that we can meet Jesus today. I also praise you that we can be a bridge to our friends and family, encouraging them to “come and see” Jesus for themselves. Please help us all to do this today.

Your Turn

Thanks for reading a little longer article today. Please spend some time thinking and praying about these verses.