This post is written by Matt Rogers as a companion for Unit 19, Session 5 of The Gospel Project for Adults, Volume 7: From Heaven to Earth (Spring 2023).
“Come and see!”
These words are common for children and adults alike. When we see something that captures our attention, we want others to experience what we’ve witnessed. Sometimes this happens when we see something that is unexpected, like a bear walking in the woods on a hike or snow on Christmas morning. When these things happen, we want people to check them out for themselves. Why tell them about it when they could come and see for themselves.
Sometimes we say, “Come and see!” when something is so great that we can’t capture it in words. For example, new parents rush into the hospital waiting room and invite their parents to come and see the new baby.
Other times we say, “Come and see!” when we just don’t know what to say. There might be a water leak in our house, for example, and we don’t know the cause, so we invite someone to take a look for themselves and try to figure it out.
We say, “Come and see!” when we experience something unique, something amazing, or something complex. Jesus is all three. He’s unique since He is God’s answer to the plight of human sin and suffering in a person. God chose to save in a way that no one would expect. He’s amazing since He is the perfect imprint of the character of God. He is sinless in every way. And He is complex. We have the full testimony of God’s work in the world in the Bible, and it’s still complicated to explain exactly who Jesus is and how He saves. Theologians and pastors have spent centuries trying to grapple with the complexity of God’s work through Jesus, and they still haven’t plumbed the depths of all that Jesus is and does. We must not lose sight of the greatness of Jesus.
There is much talk in our day about the need for Christians to live with evangelistic urgency. Perhaps more than any time in history, we have tools to help us understand the Bible and explain the truth of the gospel. We have easy access to travel to share the gospel in remote places around the world that once were cut off. Most of us don’t need more tools or resources or access, we need to be overwhelmed by the beauty of Jesus. We need to see Him for who He actually is. We need to reflect on His perfection and celebrate His character. We need to think about the salvation He brought to our life and give praise to Him for satisfying God’s wrath for our sin. We need to think about the complex wisdom of God that is found in His work in the world. The more these truths compel our hearts, the more we will invite others to come and see for themselves. This, then, becomes a continual process. One person who has been changed by Jesus invites another person to be changed by Jesus, and the gospel message moves forward along these relational lines. Today, spend time celebrating the greatness of Jesus and ask God, by His Spirit, to cause you to invite others to come and see Jesus for themselves.
Matt Rogers is the pastor of Christ Fellowship Cherrydale in Greenville, South Carolina. He and his wife, Sarah, have five children: Corrie, Avery, Hudson, Willa, and Fuller. Matt is also an assistant professor of church planting at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, the Director of Church Health with the Pillar Network, and a freelance author.
