01/25/2026
Greetings, Remnant Church Houston members and friends. Since we are not meeting at Remnant Church Houston today due to the possibility of bad weather, here is a short message to think about and pray about on this Lord’s Day. I pray we will all be back together next Sunday when we will continue our journey through the book of Revelation. God bless you! -Pastor Ed
RCH MESSAGE 1-25-2026
“COME AND SEE”
John 1:43-50
We are reading through 16 books of the Bible this year at Remnant Church Houston. We have read through the entire Bible twice before in previous years, and last year we read through the entire New Testament and all the Psalms.
As I said, this year, we are changing things up a bit. We will read every weekday from a list of chapters from various books of the Old and New Testaments.
We are currently reading the book of John in our daily readings. In John 1:43-50, there is a story about two men, Philip and Nathanael. It’s a short and simple passage, but I think we can learn some important spiritual truths by reading these few verses and thinking about them a few minutes.
John 1:43-50 NKJV
43 The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, “Follow Me.”
44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.
45 Philip found Nathanael 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.”
46 And Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”
47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!”
48 Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?”
Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”
49 Nathanael answered and said to Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!
50 Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.”
Right before our passage, the Bible says, the previous day Jesus met with Andrew and Peter as He selected His disciples at the beginning of His earthly ministry. As our passage begins, it’s a day later. Jesus finds a man named Philip and tells him to “follow Me.”
Philip was very excited about meeting Jesus, and was convinced He was the Massiah many had been waiting for. Philip went and told his friend, Nathanael, also known as Bartholomew, about Jesus. Nathanael had also been looking for the Messiah to come, but he wasn’t as easy to convince as Philip.
Nathanael’s first thought after hearing about Jesus was “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Nathanael lived near Nazareth and knew its reputation as being a place of low morals and sketchy religious beliefs.
But verse 47 says, Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!” What a great thing to have Jesus say about you. What a blessing. Jesus knew all about Nathanael, and all the Apostles, before He ever called them. Just like He knows all about us. And Jesus, always looking into people’s hearts, knew Nathanael was a man of integrity.
Nathanael was still mystified, however. How could Jesus know anything about him when they had never met? But Jesus did know and gave such a clear account, even saying, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you,” Jesus basically gave Nathanael proof that He truly is who He says He is. After hearing that, Nathanael was convinced. Jesus is the Messiah, “The Son Of God.”
Then verse 50 says, “Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.”
Jesus was right. Nathanael and Philip would certainly see many great things over the next three and a half years, and beyond.
That is an awesome story. Philip and Nathanael had been diligently looking for the Messiah to come. Then Jesus shows up. Philip is quickly convinced that Jesus is the Messiah. But Nathanael is skeptical because of what he knows about Nazareth, and, not yet knowing the story of the birth of Jesus, because no prophet had mentioned Nazareth in association with the Messiah.
Nathanael had pre-conceived notions that might have kept him from believing, but Philip told him to “come and see” for himself. Nathanael did – and, with the help of Jesus, he was able to believe that Jesus was indeed the Messiah.
The lesson in this story is that we can’t let pre-conceived ideas and stereotypes cause us, or the lost people in this world, to miss out on the love and power of Jesus, without responding to His invitation to “Come and see” for ourselves about Him.
Will you “Come and see” Jesus today?
Will you invite others to “Come and see” Jesus?
Let’s pray!
Lord Jesus, we want to know you more. We want to “come and see” what You have done for us. And we pray that when we see all the great and loving things You have done for us, we will believe in You, get to know You better and better, day by day, and love You more and more, as Philip and Nathanael did, and get on with the work You have called us to do throughout our lives. Amen.
