Come and See

He said to them, "Come, and you will see." So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. John 1:39

In John chapter 1, we see a series of simple invitations. First, John the Baptist’s disciples meet Jesus, begin to follow Him, and He gives a simple invitation: “Come and see.” Then Andrew goes to his brother, Peter, and he brings him to Jesus. The next day Jesus finds Phillip and tells him, “Follow me.” Then Phillip goes to Nathaniel and simply invites him to “come and see.” These are all simple invitations for others to join in coming and spending time with Jesus.  I believe we underestimate the power of a simple invitation to others to simply come with us as we spend time with Jesus and His people.

I read some interesting statistics the other day. Lifeway research showed that less than 2% of people responded to a church invite through a mass invitation like a social media post or invitation card. Less than 10% responded to a pastoral invite. However, almost 80% of people who were invited by a friend, neighbor, or relative joined the person who gave them a personal invite.  

I think we overcomplicate things so often, especially when it comes to inviting others to meet Jesus. In John, these guys didn’t have it all figured out yet, but they did know that they had met the Messiah, and they wanted others to meet Him. All they did was invite others to come and see with them. A simple invitation that can change lives.

Here is the simple challenge for you. Who can you invite to come and meet with Jesus with you? It may be an invitation to come to your Bible study. It may be an invitation to dinner where you can have a gospel conversation.  Or it may be an invitation to come on a Sunday morning to join you and your family to worship King Jesus with others. Let’s not underestimate a simple invitation of “Come and see.” It very well could be the simple invitation that changes them for all eternity.