The One Who Followed

Come and see. An open invitation to investigate, to be curious, to find out who he really is. And apparently it works because Andrew runs off and finds his brother Simon, brings him to Jesus. And that's how it starts. One person sees something in Jesus and they invite someone else to come and take a look.

See, Jesus still works this way. The call of the gospel is to invite curious people to come close, to investigate, to see for themselves.

This is Christ the King's Sermons. Christ the King's Sermons is a ministry of Christ the King Presbyterian Church located in Raleigh, North Carolina. CTK is a community rooted in the depth of the gospel, refined by hard conversations, fueled by meaningful relationships and committed to redemptive work in Raleigh.

Thank you, James. Well, good morning, everyone. My name is Paul Deschamps. I serve as one of the assistant pastors here at Christ the King. I'm also a fan of soccer and the Lord of the Rings and I'm a father of three kids, two of which are twins. So we have a lot in common and I'm super excited to have you aboard here and glad to be here this morning.

In addition to my role here as an assistant pastor, I'm also a church planting resident working towards launching Northside Presbyterian Church in Roseville, Northeast Wake County in early 2026. Thank you for that. And if you are interested in hearing more about that project and the work that we're doing or even exploring ways in which you can be a part of that and supporting that, I'd love to talk to you. I'd love to spend the time talking about expanding the kingdom and what God's doing up in that part of the world.

And so this summer, James just so eloquently shared with us, our senior pastor Jeff Bradford is on a well-earned sabbatical and that means that you're going to be hearing a little bit more from me. You're going to be hearing a bit more from James. You're also going to be hearing from a great group of other pastors, elders, and leaders in our area. Men who love Jesus, who love our church. They're excited to help carry the load of leading in the church while Jeff rests because we serve a God who designed rest as a really good gift and resting was God's idea from the very beginning.

We're thankful for Jeff and thankful that Jeff gets to experience that gift in a focused way this summer.

And so with that said, let's turn our attention to God's word. If you would turn with me to the Gospel of John, we're going to be in chapter one verses 35 through 51. If you need one of the black pew Bibles, you can turn to page 922 where you can follow along with us on the screen. And if you would join me as is our custom in reading out loud together, God's word.

The next day again, John was standing with two of his disciples and he looked at Jesus as he walked and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God." The two disciples heard him say this and they followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, "What do you seek?" And they said to him, "Rabbi, which means teacher, where are you staying?" He said to them, "Come and see." They came and saw where he was staying and they stayed with him that day for it was about the tenth hour. One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first found his brother Simon and said to him, "We have found the Messiah, which means Christ." He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "So you are Simon, the son of John, you shall be called Cephas, which means Peter." The next day, Jesus decided to go to Galilee and he found Philip and said to him, "Follow me." Now, Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathaniel and said to him, "We have found him of whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." Nathaniel said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see." Jesus saw Nathaniel coming to him and said to him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed in whom is no guile." Nathaniel said to him, "How do you know me?" Jesus answered, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you." Nathaniel answered him, "Rabbi, you are the son of God. You are the king of Israel." Jesus answered him, "Because I said to you, I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You shall see greater things than these. And he said to him, truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man." — John 1:35-51

This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

Let me pray. Oh Jesus, your word gives life. We pray that you'd send your spirit and that we would meet you in it this morning. Would you bless these words to our hearts? Would you allow us to be people who can come and see you for who you are this morning? I pray this in your name. Amen.

So, we're kicking off a new series this morning and each week this summer, we're going to be walking through the first half of the Gospel of John in the series that we're calling The One Jesus Loved. And we're naming this because it's actually how John refers to himself, not by title, not by status, but by his relationship. He's the disciple that Jesus loved. I mean, what a title, what a name, what a relationship, right?

Now, that's not to say that Jesus had favorites, but that's how John experienced him as someone who knew him fully and loved him anyway. This is the heart of this gospel. The message in John, it's a book that's deeply personal and yet theologically rich. It's different from the other three gospels. There's four gospels in the beginning of our New Testament and Matthew, Mark, and Luke are what we call the synoptics because they give us a more chronological and event driven account of Jesus's life. But John gives us something that's more reflective. He's not just telling you what Jesus did. He's showing us who Jesus is.

The gospel of John opens in chapter one verse one in a poetic prologue that declares:

In the beginning was the word and the word became flesh. This flesh would make his dwelling among us. — John 1:1

This word is Jesus. God's great revelation of himself, who he is in human form come to us. And John wants us to see that Jesus is both fully God and fully man.

If you look at the whole book of John, there's a structure to it. It's really important for us that it starts with this prologue and then it's split into two sections. There's what most people call the book of signs, which is where we're starting today through chapters 12. And then there's the book of glory or the book of the passion, which is the last half of the book, chapters 13 through 20, which really slows down and focuses on Jesus's last week leading up to his work on the cross. And then it ends with a really brief epilogue, which is a really beautiful chapter.

For this summer, what we're going to be looking at is the book of signs. This first half of John contains many major miracles. These signs are not just displays of Jesus's power but revelations of his identity. And these signs include things like familiar stories that you may know like Jesus turning water into wine. Stories of him healing the sick, feeding the 5,000, Jesus walking on water, giving sight to the blind, raising the dead. Each one of these stories peels back the curtain page by page to reveal to us who Jesus really is.

Why does John call them signs? Why do we call this the book of signs? Because signs point to something beyond themselves. When you're driving on the road, we're thankful for signs because road signs give us directions. They point us to where we're supposed to go. So, what does John point to for us? What points to the end of this book? John 20, the purpose statement of this entire book:

These things were written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the son of God and that by believing, you may have life in his name. — John 20

What a sign. That's the invitation of this book. That's the invitation of our series, not just to learn about Jesus, not just to see the miraculous things he did, but to see him for who he really is, to believe in him, to follow him, and to find life in him.

As we turn to this section, this passage that we just read, we get our first glimpse of what that actually looks like. This is where Jesus calls his first disciples. Meet John the Baptist who points two of his own followers toward Jesus. And from there, it ripples outward. Andrew meets Jesus and brings his brother Simon Peter. Philip sees Jesus and goes and brings his friend Nathaniel. Nathaniel sees Jesus and his doubts quickly fall away and turns into conviction. That progression, it's intentional and it's still how discipleship happens. Someone points, someone follows, and on this pathway, people come to see Jesus for who he really is. It's not flashy. It's not a multi-step process. It's a relationship.

So today, we're asking, what does it actually look like to be in a discipleship relationship with Jesus? What do you want from him? What does he want from you? And what do you receive if you follow?

The main idea that I want us to sit with today is that Jesus transforms individuals into his disciples. He meets people where they are, invites them to follow him, and showers them with grace. It all starts with seeing and with being seen.

We're going to look at this story through two simple but important questions. First, what do you see? And second, what does he see?

What Do You See?

As we jump into this story, there's already buzz around Jesus.

People may not know exactly who he is yet, but they know he's someone to watch. If you pay attention to the names and the titles that have been woven into this passage, dropped through these verses, it's like John is hitting us with rapid fire introduction—verse after verse where we get just another glimpse of who Jesus is. Bam, bam, bam. Says in verse 36, he's the Lamb of God. Verse 38, they call him Rabbi. Verse 41, he's the Messiah. Verse 45, the one written about by Moses and the prophets—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. Verse 49, he's the Son of God, the King of Israel. And in verse 51, the Son of Man, the name that Jesus would use most often to talk about himself.

Now, it's a lot. And to me, it feels a little bit like the scene from the movie The Sandlot. Do you guys remember this movie? A baseball coming-of-age story. Remember when the new kid in town, Scotty Smalls, doesn't really know much about baseball and he's trying to impress his friends? They're trying to tell him about the most infamous, legendary baseball player of all time—Babe Ruth. And he's like, "Who?" And they're like, "He's Babe Ruth. He's the Colossus of Cloud, the Sultan of Swat, the Great Bambino." All these names just rattled off, revealing who he is and why Scotty Smalls should care. And it feels a little bit like that's what John's doing here. He's piling up these titles so that we as readers start to get the picture. This is not just a good man. He's not just a wise teacher. This is the Lamb of God. The fulfillment of prophecy, the Son of God, the King, the Son of Man. John wants us to see Jesus so clearly for who he is.

This scene takes place in an area around the Sea of Galilee, which is Jesus's home turf. He's not a stranger here. People know him. The first person to really see Jesus in John's gospel is the man called John the Baptist, who is his cousin. John has spent years out in the wilderness preaching and baptizing, and people have been asking him, "Who are you? There's something different about you. Are you the Messiah? Are you Elijah promised to come back? Are you the long-lost prophet?" And he's saying, "No. I'm the one preparing the way. I'm the one pointing to the one who's greater, who's still to come."

And then one day, as we enter into this text, Jesus walks by and John says, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world." He doesn't just see Jesus in that moment. He's been watching Jesus his whole life. He's seen how he walks. He's seen how he teaches. He's seen how he treats people. He's seen enough to know: this is the one. This is the real one. This is the one that we've been waiting for.

And it's a really seriously humble move. Did you see what he does? John the Baptist takes his own disciples, his own followers, and says, "Not me, him. Go follow him. He's the one. He's the one you need to follow." That's the mark of someone who really truly sees Jesus. When you're willing to let go of your own following and point others to the real thing.

Come and See

So two of John's disciples go. One of them is Andrew, and they ask Jesus this kind of strange question to us: "Rabbi, where are you staying?" It's kind of random to us, but in that culture, it meant, "We want to know more of who you are. We want to see you—not just your words, but your life." Because in the first century, if you wanted to become a disciple of a rabbi, you didn't just go and buy your rabbi's books or listen to their podcast. You'd go and live with them. You would follow them. You would walk where he walked. You would watch how he handled interruptions, how he treated people, how he lived, how he prayed, how he taught. You learned by seeing and savoring and experiencing.

And Jesus doesn't brush them off. He doesn't say, "I'm busy. You might not be the right guys." He says simply, "Come and see." An open invitation to investigate, to be curious, to find out who he really is.

And apparently it works, because Andrew runs off and finds his brother Simon and brings him to Jesus. And that's how it starts. One person sees something in Jesus and they invite someone else to come and take a look.

See, Jesus still works this way. The call of the gospel is to invite curious people to come close, to investigate, to see for themselves. Maybe that's where you are today. You're not hostile to Jesus, but you're not sure that you've really seen him yet. You've heard about him. Maybe you've grown up around him. But have you looked at him? Have you spent time getting to know who he really is? You don't need to have all your questions answered before you take the next step. Jesus doesn't say, "Understand everything first. I'm going to give you a test on all the systematic theology of the whole Bible and see if you really get it." No, he says, "Come and see."

And for those of us who already believe, who've put our trust in Jesus, let me ask you: Are you still looking at Jesus?

Or have you settled for knowing enough about him without feeling the need to draw nearer? Without allowing him to really change who you are. See, discipleship isn't just believing some facts. It's staying close enough to watch his life and let his life shape your life.

But this passage tells us it doesn't stop with you when you're in relationship with Jesus. It begs us to ask the question: who are you pointing to him? Who are the people in your life, your family, your coworkers, your friends who might just be waiting for someone to say, "Have you met my friend Jesus? You gotta come and see who he is. Would you come and see him for yourself?"

You don't need to have all the answers. You just need to be someone who's seen enough of Jesus to know that he's worth following. That's how becoming a disciple of Jesus starts and that's how it spreads. One curious heart, one personal invitation, one glimpse of the one who takes away the sin of the world, the one who steps into brokenness to bring healing, the one who loves you so much that he would give his own life for yours.

But following Jesus isn't just about what you see in him. Like we said, this is a relationship. It also requires acknowledging that he sees you. And what does he see?

The next day... — John 1:42

That's fast. Which means Philip must have had this incredibly refreshing, incredibly life-changing encounter with Jesus. What does he do? He runs and finds his friend Nathaniel. I mean, you can feel the excitement in his voice, can't you? "We found him. We found the one that Moses was talking about, the one that he wrote about, the one that the prophets were pointing to. This is the son of Joseph. It's this Jesus of Nazareth."

And Nathaniel goes, "Nazareth? Really? Can anything good come from Nazareth?"

Now, I don't think that's some cheap dig like we may throw at rival colleges in the triangle. He's not being snarky. I actually think it tells us something really important about who Nathaniel is. See, I think Nathaniel is a guy who knows his Bible. He's really thoughtful. He's really sincere. He's probably a little cautious. He knows that the Messiah is supposed to come from Bethlehem, not from Nazareth. And so his question isn't just a joke, it's a reflection on how seriously he takes scripture. His buddy is talking crazy and he's realizing, "I need to be the one to talk some sense into him."

I think there's something in there for us. See, sometimes our expectations—whether they come from the tradition we grew up in, our theology, how we were raised—they can get in the way of our ability to really and truly see Jesus. We think we know what he's supposed to look like, how he's supposed to work, and where he's supposed to come from, and we miss the actual person standing in front of us.

What I love about Nathaniel is that even though he doubts and even though he raises a really legitimate question, he doesn't dismiss his friend. He doesn't say, "You're nuts, man. The Messiah can't come from there. We're done." No, he hears the invitation: come and see. And so he goes. He doesn't argue with him. He doesn't put out some mean, snarky tweets about his friend behind his back. He just goes with him.

We don't know why. Maybe he saw something in Philip's face. Maybe he could tell that something had changed. Philip had just spent a day with Jesus. I mean, that's got to leave a mark on you, right?

The Heart of Evangelism

This is the heart of evangelism. This is what evangelism means. Evangelism is just telling someone else about something or someone that's changed your life. And we do this all the time. Evangelism sounds like a really scary word, but we're evangelists for all kinds of stuff. You find a new restaurant that you love, you go tell your friends. You take this amazing vacation, you put it on Instagram so we all know. You go buy a new car that you've always wanted, a brand new pair of shoes, you go and tell your people. We become evangelists for the things that we love, the things that matter most to us. That's what Philip's doing. He's been with Jesus and now he's sharing it.

And it's risky because the first thing—did you catch this?—the first thing that Nathaniel does is push back. And I mean, honestly, for all of us here, myself included, that's what most of us fear the most when it comes to sharing our faith: "What if they ask a question that I can't answer? What if they challenge me?"

If you were in our Sunday school class this morning, you heard Rue talking about this. Man, Philip is so cool. He says, "I don't know. Just come and see. Would you please just come and see Jesus?" He doesn't panic. He doesn't get into a long, protracted debate. He doesn't try to convert Nathaniel on the spot before getting him to Jesus. He just invites his friend to meet Jesus.

It's so simple. He doesn't say you need to adopt the system of beliefs and it's not Christianity.

It's not you got to come to my church. It's not you got to adopt my politics. It's just Jesus. So they go. And as Nathaniel walks toward Jesus, they've never met and Jesus looks at him and says, "Ah, behold, here's a true Israelite in whom there is no deceit, no guile." Isn't that a fun word? We don't use the word guile enough anymore, but there's nothing false. That's a big statement. That's not nearly as random as it might seem to us, but see Jesus already knows the kind of man that Nathaniel is. Somebody who's honest, who asks honest questions, someone who takes scripture seriously, someone who longs to be faithful to God and Jesus is saying, look, I see you, man. I know what's in your heart.

And naturally, Nathaniel's caught off guard by this. How do you know me? We've not met. What he's really asking is, well, who told you about me? You know things about me, but who told you about me? Was it Philip? Were you and Philip talking about me? Is this a setup? And Jesus hits him with this: "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you."

Now, this might not sound like a bold thing for us to say, but to a first century Jew, this is an absolute mic drop. See, the image of a fig tree is loaded with meaning for God's people. All throughout the Old Testament, sitting under your own fig tree was a symbol of peace and security and blessing.

"Under Solomon's reign, Judah and Israel lived in safety. Every man under his vine, under his own fig tree." — 1 Kings 4:25

Micah 4 and Zechariah 3:10 both describe a coming day of restoration where everyone will sit under the vine, under their vine and fig tree unafraid, restored at peace, right with God. See, the fig tree becomes kind of a shorthand for a faithful life. A life of peace, obedience, of hope filled with the promises of God.

But the opposite is also true. When Israel was unfaithful, the prophets often describe the nation as a withered or barren fig tree.

"I would gather them, there are no grapes on the vine nor figs on the fig tree." — Jeremiah 8:13

What a picture of spiritual dryness of people who look religious on the outside, but bear no real fruit.

"Whoever tends a fig tree will eat its fruit and who guards his master will be honored." — Proverbs 27:18

So the promise of striving after faithfulness and caring about the things that God cares about is the reward like the sweet fruit of the fig tree. Can you imagine how delicious that must have tasted in first century Palestine? Rather arid climate. There's no candy shops. There's no Two Roosters ice cream. The gift of a well tended fig tree and the juicy fruit must have just tasted like heaven. That's supposed to be the fruit of God's people. It's a gift. It's refreshing.

And so when Jesus says, "I saw you under the fig tree," we don't know if Nathaniel was literally sitting under a fig tree, praying, thinking about the promises of God, or if Jesus is using that rich prophetic image to say something deeper. But either way, the point is this: Jesus saw him as a man who cared about the things that God cares about. Before anyone said a word, before Philip made the introduction, before Nathaniel said anything cynical or searching, Jesus already knew him because he made him, because he loves him. He's loved him from the very foundations of the earth.

And what a delight it is to Jesus that he saw a man who genuinely longed to live out what it meant to be a faithful child of God. Not perfect, not polished, but honest, hungry, faithful. This is exactly who Jesus invites to follow him. He doesn't invite people with perfect theology, but people who are seeking truth, people willing to ask honest questions, people who want to be found faithful.

Nathaniel's response is immediate. Just a moment ago, he's dismissive. What good could come from Nazareth? But now, "Oh, rabbi, you're the son of God. You are the king of Israel." What a shift. What a massive heart change. In a single moment, Nathaniel moves from a doubter to a disciple. And why? Because he realizes that before he ever saw Jesus, Jesus saw him. He's known.

The Invitation to Follow

And as we close this morning, know that this is no less true for us. Before you spoke a word, before you ever asked a question, before you ever thought to look for him, Jesus saw you. Jesus knows what's in your heart. He knows your longing to be faithful even when you fall short. He knows your doubts. He knows what you're wrestling with. He knows your desire to live a life that matters. He knows your struggles. And still, he invites you. He welcomes you.

Not because you're perfect, not because you have anything that you can add, not because you've got all of this figured out and you're the one he needs on their team. No. But because your heart is open, because you're hungry for a life that only he can give.

But what if that isn't you?

What if you're sitting here today and your heart isn't like Nathaniel's? What if you don't feel honest or faithful? What if you're not full of sincerity, but you're full of self? You're prone to manipulate, prone to perform, to fake it in order to get what you want. What if you've been two faced in your relationships, smiling on the outside but scheming underneath? Jesus sees you too. And by grace, he still invites you to come.

So, remember, when Jesus calls Nathaniel, a man without deceit, he's deliberately echoing a story that's deep in the history of his people. It's the story of Jacob. Jacob, whose name literally means the deceiver. Jacob, who manipulated his brother, lied to his father, and ran away from the mess he made. But in Genesis 28, Jacob finds himself in the wilderness alone, sleeping on a rock, and God meets him there. He has this dream. He has a dream of a ladder that's reaching from heaven to earth, and angels are ascending and descending. And when he wakes up, he says,

Surely the Lord is in this place, and I didn't know it. — Genesis 28

He's alone in the makings of his own mess. The Lord is in this place. That ladder shows up here in John one. Because when Jesus says in the last verses in this passage,

You'll see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the son of man. — John 1:51

He's saying, I'm the ladder. I'm the one who brings heaven to earth. I'm the one who meets you in your mess, and I still bring you blessings.

How amazing is it that Jesus has grace for the doubter like Nathaniel? And how much more grace does Jesus have for the deceiver who deeply needs forgiveness? Jesus sees the sincere seeker like Nathaniel, but he also sees the struggler like Jacob—the manipulators, the self reliant, the ones who've made a mess of things. Here's good news. He still offers grace. Grace upon grace upon grace. He still invites you in. He still gives you a new name, a new future. Whether you're under the fig tree or whether you're flat on your back in the wilderness, Jesus sees you and his invitation still stands. Come and see.

I must be honest, some of us walk through life like spiritual impostors. We think, if people really knew me, if God really knew me, would I still be invited in? But Jesus does know you. Every contradiction in your heart, every question you're afraid to ask out loud, every fig tree moment that you've sat wondering if God sees you—he does. And his invitation is still the same. Come and follow me.

So if you're searching, keep searching. But know that you're not searching alone. You have a family to search with, and Jesus is already looking at you with love. You don't have to clean yourself up to be seen. You don't have to hide the struggle to be accepted. There is not one of us in this room who can stand on our own merit to be counted as one of Jesus's disciples. And yet he still calls. He doesn't call perfect people. He calls faithful seekers who know their need of a savior.

And if you already know him, here's the challenge. Do you see others the way Jesus sees them? The people who ask hard questions, the ones who seem skeptical, the ones who feel overlooked, the ones who walked away? What if instead of avoiding hard conversations—the ones that come with questions that we can't answer—we invited those that we care about to come and see Jesus for themselves?

Personally, I'm so excited that we're going to be going through this chunk of John this summer because I'm not supposed to have favorites. It's my favorite book. Because it was in reading John that I met Jesus for the first time when I was 19. I'd spent my whole life growing up in the church. I knew a lot about Jesus, but I did not know him. Until one night, when I was at a really low point, I opened my Bible and I sat and I read the whole book in one sitting. Alone in my room, when I finished about 3:00 in the morning, I closed my Bible and I believed. I saw him. He met me in his word. He had grace for my mistakes. He had love for my rejection. He had an invitation to follow him into a new life to the fullest, and I took it. It was years in the making, happened in a flash.

And it's my prayer, and it's my hope this summer, CTK, that we will come and see Jesus together.

Let me pray. Jesus, you love us so much that you would come to us. You wouldn't stay far off, but you would come. You would reveal who you are and your great love that you have for us. And that is my prayer, Jesus, that you would meet us here this summer in your word, convict the places in our heart that we have a hard time letting go of, answer our doubts, cover our shame. That we would be a people that are marked with grace and the joy that we have in you. I pray this in your name. Amen.