Come, and ye shall see.

John opens his gospel by declaring the true identity of Jesus as the Christ. He deliberately takes his readers back to Genesis with the statement,

"In the beginning ... was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him; and without him was not anything made that hath been made. (Joh 1:1-3)" ......... vs, 10-11 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. ............ vs. 14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father), full of grace and truth.

John clearly wanted to present Jesus of Nazareth as Yahweh in the flesh. As he makes his introduction to the audience (readers of the gospel) with a lesson in theology or more specifically, Christology (the study of the person and work of Christ), he continues; "He came unto his own, and they that were his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he the right to become children of God, even to them that believe on his name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."

The first dramatic encounter recorded by the Apostle John is made with John the Baptizer, a distant cousin of the Lord. John's Mother Elizabeth carried him during the pregnancy of Jesus' mother Mary. His birth took place about four months prior to the birth of Jesus. The Apostle bears witness to John as the forerunner of Messiah preparing the way.

John beareth witness of him, and crieth, saying, This was he of whom I said, He that cometh after me is become before me: for he was before me. For of his fulness we all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. And this is the witness of John, when the Jews sent unto him from Jerusalem priests and Levites to ask him, Who art thou? (Joh 1:15-19)

As John the Baptizer was speaking to his disciples, "behold, the lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world." We witness the first dramatic encounter. To say that John truly understood his purpose would be an understatement. His preaching and baptizing in the wilderness had drawn great crowds. It also drew the attention of the Pharisees. These were a group of super religious Jews that controlled the religious and social life of the people. They prided themselves with their piety and religiosity. They had a form of godliness which was quite impressive, but completely devoid of any relationship with the God they supposedly worshiped or the people they proposed to minister to. John's ministry in the wilderness was so successful that even the Pharisees were curious about him. John completely shunned the religious trappings they were so accustomed to, preaching a doctrine of holiness and repentance not unlike that of their own, the Pharisees wondered, "who is this itinerate preacher?"

And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou? And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ. And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No. Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself? (Joh 1:19-22)

The religious establishment, consisting of the Pharisees, the priests, Levites, and scribes had a monopoly on the socio-economic life of Israel. Although they were under Roman rule, it was the practice of Rome to allow their conquered territories a limited amount of autonomy and self rule. As long as the locals behaved themselves and submitted to the final authority of Caesar, they were allowed to control much of their own destiny. Rome was more interested in their tribute money than controlling every aspect of people's lives. Under this system, the establishment in Israel could not allow too much controversy, because it would cause Rome to intervene into their affairs. All of Israel was aware of the prophecies concerning the Messiah. Their hope was that Messiah would come and bring an end to the Roman rule. John was a herald declaring the coming of Messiah.

He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias. And they which were sent were of the Pharisees. And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet? John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not; (Joh 1:23-26)

The Baptist had set the stage for the first dramatic encounter recorded by the Apostle. Downplaying his own encounter with the scribes, his retort, "He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose." Unlike any scribe or Pharisee, who would never in a million years defer religious importance to another nor ascribe to another preacher or teacher more eminence than themselves. John was not a part of the religious establishment and was not concerned about making a name or reputation for himself. His only ambition was to make way for the coming of the Lord. As he awaited Messiah, he continued with his ministry baptizing in Jordan and preaching repentance. When the dramatic day occurred, John was busy carrying out his mission, which brings us to the next significant controversy.

Behold..........the Lamb of God

On that day, countless individuals came to John, submitting to his baptism. He continued to preach the doctrine of repentance and the coming kingdom without any controversy until the next dramatic encounter occurred. Having received revelation knowledge by God the Father, that one whom he would baptize was indeed the Christ. He would know him by the sign of the dove descending like a spirit and remaining on him. Normally, doves would avoid humans but this was no ordinary dove, as the one he landed upon was no ordinary man. Once the baptism of Christ was complete, and the heavens opened up declaring God's pleasure in Him, John made no special mention of Him. Perhaps the audience was of a mixed multitude and not worthy of the revelation, but on the next day, in the presence of his own disciples, John made the dramatic declaration, "Behold the Lamb of God,.......". Why John would make the declaration while Jesus was afar off and not at hand is a mystery. Perhaps it was his intention to keep at a distance so his disciples would have to make a more volitional decision to retreat from him and follow Jesus. As John would later say, "He must increase, that I might decrease." To direct all attention to another preacher is something very few if any, twenty first century pastors or evangelists would ever dream of, let alone do.

One of John's disciples was a man named Andrew, whose dramatic encounter was so profound, it changed not only his own life, but the course of history.

And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou? He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour. One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ. (Joh 1:37-41)

John the Apostle and Andrew were together on that day when they met Jesus for the first time. They were so enamored by his presence that they spent the entire afternoon with him. Jesus had made such an impression, Andrew's response was not unlike a beggar who finds free bread, he runs and tells his best beggar friend. In this case, the one person in the world who was most dear to Andrew, was his elder brother Simon. Faith comes by hearing the word of God and Andrew's faith in Christ prompted him to share the good news of Messiah with the most important person in his life. Not much is recorded of the life of Andrew. It appears his purpose in life was to introduce to Jesus the one person who would be used most mightily by him. He is mentioned only one more time in the New Testament, at the feeding of the five thousand (John 6:9); where he found the Lad who shares his lunch with the Savior. Although the Savior uses another, Andrew is remembered for bringing the key person at a key moment. If your posterity is to be bringing to the Master someone who will be used to a greater degree than yourself, it is a noble thing. Much like his first mentor John the Baptist, Andrew probably gained much pleasure in knowing that it was not about himself, it was about linking the hearts and minds of men to Jesus. The spirit of Andrew lives on to inspire the saints through successive generations. There have been many servants of God who would be considered giants, men such as Charles and John Wesley, Charles Spurgeon, or Charles Finney to name a few. But those men would never be known unless someone such as an Edward Kimball would come alone in total obscurity to share Jesus with a lost soul as he did with a young Dwight L. Moody, who became one of the most renowned preachers, teacher, and evangelist the world has ever known. Once you have a dramatic encounter with Jesus, and give yourself totally to him, the very fabric of your life is transformed to the point where nothing else matters but getting others to meet Jesus for themselves, so that they too, can be completely transformed by his grace.

Ever so often a holiday such as Christmas falls on Sunday. During one such year when Christmas Eve landed on a Saturday, Eternal Life Christian Fellowship, a ministry founded by my wife and I, decided to feed the homeless immediately after service on this particular day. It was a small church with limited resources, but we believed doing this type of outreach would be appreciated by the community and the young people in the congregation would have a good experience serving the needs of others. This particular neighborhood was known for its homelessness, public drunkenness, drugs, prostitution and low level street crimes common to inner cities. The First Lady and I, as well as the rest of the small congregation contributed and prepared most of the items for this feast. Mamas Nem's, a local soul food restaurant, over prepped turkey the night before and donated two large pans of roasted turkey wings to the feast. I was totally surprised by this unexpected blessing. The church did not have a dining room, so we took large tables and placed them in the parking lot and set up a buffet line. Using portable chafing dishes and warmers; the spread looked very impressive. Any food service professional would have been impressed. The delicious food was beautifully prepared and displayed and everything was all set to go. Once the children were fed, they donned aprons and serving gloves and made ready for the crowd, which to my dismay of never came. I wondered if maybe we had goofed preparing so much food. I dreaded being stuck with so many leftovers. One of the children boldly approached an obviously hungry homeless man and asked him if he wanted something to eat. The gentleman approached the youngster and replied, "yes, but I have no money." "You don't need any money, it's all free", replied the gregarious teen. "Is that why no one is coming, they think we are selling food on a holiday?" The homeless man retorted, "the other churches around here sell dinners or just feed themselves, hardly ever think about us." One of the teens was assigned the duty of manning the wash basin, allowing the people off the street to wash, dry and sanitize their hands. So the man washed up and got in line. Still no one else would come. So one of the other teens approached another passerby and asked if he wanted to eat with them. Looking at the first guy enjoying his holiday meal, he also washed up, got in line and got a styrofoam hinged plate. They were all fixed to go because there was no real seating available. The thirty or so folding chairs used for worship service, were removed from the Parramore Avenue storefront and arrayed in the parking lot for the enjoyment of whoever wanted to sit down and eat. The second man however, took the plate with him and walked around the corner and after a few minutes, people were lined up across the parking lot. I wondered where all those people suddenly came from. As it turned out, the second visitor went and told his friends about the food being given away around the corner. Suddenly, the entire neighborhood had thronged the little storefront church. Before long over two hundred people were fed that day. My wife and I had to eat at McDonalds, because all of the food was given out to the visitors. We were glad so many people were blessed by the meal and the opportunity to share the love and message of Jesus Christ. I did not care that we had to eat fast food while the others feasted. My meat was to do the will of him that sent me. That second visitor did what is typical of most men, when they have an encounter with Jesus, they run and tell other men what great things the Lord had done for them. In the words of Pastor Steve Brown of Reformed Theological Seminary, "the beggars always tell other beggars where to find bread."

Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.

The next significant encounter with Jesus occurs at of all places, a wedding. What made the event significant was the fact that Mary, the mother of Jesus was there, along with his family and disciples. Apparently, Mary was a prominent person at this affair, possibly responsible for planning or procuring the necessities. In the orient, it was not uncommon for the wedding celebration to last several days, the more prominent the family, the longer the celebration. It was not atypical for the wedding festivities with family and friends to last a whole week, according to (Judges 14:17) the days of the marriage was said to be" thirty". This encounter set up a dilemma for Mary. They had run out of wine. It was an embarrassment of monumental proportions for the governor of the feast to run out of wine. Celebration and mirth was the order of the day, in this case week, and to run out wine would have created a laughingstock. With her back against the wall she went to the only person who could remedy the situation.

The wedding at Cana brings several important points to mind, first of all, in life, there will always be circumstances where the reason to celebrate will be lost. Calamity will come into our lives sooner or later. When calamity does show its ugly head, it is important that someone in the midst knows Jesus. In the text, calamity manifested itself with the running out of wine, but in our day, calamity may take the form of extended unemployment, a negative doctor's report, or it may present itself as a foreclosure on your home. However calamity comes upon anyone, there will be no reason to celebrate. It will be as it was on that day in Cana of Galilee when the wine ran out and when it does, someone better know Jesus. The wedding also provided the reader with a reminder that it is important to look to the Word of God when faced with any crisis and act upon that Word with faith. It also showed that God has strategically and providentially provided the resources necessary for managing any crisis.

Up until this wedding at Cana, Jesus had done no public ministry or miraculous manifestations. The messianic clock had not been wound, but once he started, there would be no turning back. When his mother approached Him with the problem, his response appeared harsh in the translation. "What have I to do with thee?" The Greek literally says, "what to me and to thee?" Essentially, Jesus is saying to his mother, "do you know what you are asking"?..... "My time is not yet come." This dramatic encounter initiated the countdown to the cross. Knowing her son would never let her down, she immediately drew her attention to the servants with the order, "Whatsover he saith unto you, do it." Not knowing what he would say, or what he would do, being the only person on earth knowing his true identity, Mary's confidence in her son was reflected in the resoluteness of her voice. His order, though illogical was followed to the amazement of the servants.