Come and See:
The Disciples Meet the Messiah
A. The witness theme continued.
Good morning. Please turn in your Bibles to the first chapter of the Gospel of John. Last time, we talked about John the Baptist, and we noted that God had taken extraordinary measures to make John the Baptist believable. He was a man with an impeccable reputation. So when John proclaimed that Jesus was the Son of God, John's message carried great weight. For this reason, when people look for reasons to believe the Gospel, one of the things I want to tell them is, "Come and see -- come and see the testimony of John the Baptist."
Nevertheless, John's testimony was just one testimony. It was the testimony of just one man, and according to the Law of Moses, the testimony of just one man was not sufficient to establish a fact for legal purposes. At least two witnesses were required. In the text we are about to read, additional witnesses will be supplied. These witnesses will eventually affirm John's testimony regarding Jesus. But before they do that, they will need to meet Jesus and get to know Him.
B. Meeting Jesus.
Have you ever been in a situation where you wanted to get to know someone, but you could not find a way to get past formal greetings and social barriers? Maybe it was a prominent person in the community who many knew on a first name basis. But you were an outsider, and when you tried to interact with this person, you could not get past a formal "how do you do?" Or maybe it was a famous musician. You waited in line for forty-five minutes to get an autograph. But once that was done, it was clearly time for you to move on. You had to make room for the next person in line. There was no opportunity for personal conversation.
In our text, two of John's disciples were anxious to meet Jesus. Jesus was brought to their attention in John 1:36 when John the Baptizer, seeing Jesus walking, said to his disciples, "Behold the Lamb of God."
Immediately, the men left John the Baptist and started following Jesus. But these men wanted more than an autograph. They wanted more than formal greetings. They wanted to know who this man, Jesus, was and what he planned to do. But how -- how could they get to know Him?
In John 1:38 "Jesus turned, and beheld them following, and said to them, 'What do you seek?'"
In the disciples' culture they could not be so bold as to say what they really wanted. It would have been considered rude for them to say, "Well, we were wondering if we could hang out with you a little while." No, they could not say that. So they evaded his question with another question. They asked, "Rabbi, where are you staying?"
Imagine how the faces of these men lit up when Jesus looked at them and said, "Come and see." The ice was broken. The awkwardness was gone. They were about to have a personal, direct, encounter with Jesus, and their lives would never be the same.
C. The messianic expectation introduced.
This morning I would like to invite you to come and see. Come and see Jesus' earliest interactions with those men who would eventually become His disciples. Feel the enthusiasm of these men as they tell others what they have found. Share their excitement as they describe Him as: The Messiah, The Prophet, The Son of God, and The King of Israel.
To that end, we will, first, review the Old Testament passages that informed the messianic expectations of these men. Second, we will interact with the text and examine how these men responded to Jesus. Third, we will look at how Jesus chose to describe Himself. Thus, the invitation to "come and see" is broken down into three points:
The messianic expectations of these disciples were well-grounded in the Old Testament prophecies.
A. Protoevangelium.
We find the first messianic promise in Genesis 3:15. The sin of Adam had ruined mankind, but God promised that a deliverer would come. The deliverer would come through the offspring of the woman, which here is referred to as seed. Seed means offspring. Regarding the serpent and the woman God said that He would put enmity between the serpent and the woman, and between the serpent's seed and the woman's seed. The woman's seed would bruise the serpent on the head, and the serpent's seed would bruise the woman's seed on the heel.
B. Abraham and Isaac.
The story continues years later as Abraham refuses to withhold his only son from God. With Isaac already laid out on the altar, God interrupts just in time, Isaac is saved from the sacrificial knife, a substitute sacrifice is provided, and God says to Abraham in Genesis 22:18, "In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice."
C. The scepter.
Later Isaac has two sons, Esau and Jacob. Jacob grows up and has twelve sons of his own. Now Jacob is about to die, and as Jacob blesses his son, Judah, he prophesies in Genesis 49:10, "The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes, and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples." Thus, the scepter, that symbol of kingship, would be taken up by one who would emerge from the Tribe of Judah.
D. The prophet.
Later would come slavery in Egypt and delivery from slavery under the leadership of Moses. Moses would lead the Israelites through the wilderness and become the mediator of the law. He would be the prophet through whom Israel would seek God's guidance. Many prophets would follow Moses. Meanwhile, Moses, even after his death, would remain the preeminent authority. Yet, even Moses pointed to one who would come after him who would have the same kind of authority that he had, as we read in Deuteronomy 18:15, "The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him."
E. The Davidic covenant.
Many years pass. David becomes King of Israel, and God makes David a promise in 2 Samuel 7:16 saying, "Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever." Thus it is revealed that the deliverer of Israel will be a descendent of David.
F. The kingly Messiah in the Psalms.
More about the Messiah is revealed through the Psalms. In Psalm 2:7-8 we see the Messiah crowned as king: "I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to Me, 'You are My Son, today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, and the very ends of the earth as Your possession.'" We see the Messiah as king again in Psalm 110:1-2, "The LORD says to my Lord: 'Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.' The LORD will stretch forth Your strong scepter from Zion, saying, 'Rule in the midst of Your enemies.'"
G. The suffering Messiah in the Psalms.
But the same book of Psalms that reveals a kingly Messiah also reveals a suffering Messiah. In Psalm 22:16-18 we read, "For dogs have surrounded me; a band of evildoers has encompassed me; they pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones. They look, they stare at me; they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots." But God does not leave the Messiah to decay in the grave. For in Psalm 16:10 we read, "You will not abandon my soul to Sheol; nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay."
H. The suffering Messiah in Isaiah.
Isaiah 53:4-5 continues the theme of the suffering Messiah, but it also reveals the purpose of the suffering: "Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed."
I. The Son of Man.
Next we see the Messiah as the Son of Man. In Mark 10:45 Jesus ties the title Son of Man to Isaiah's suffering servant when He says, "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." The term Son of Man did not always reflect divinity in the Old Testament. For this reason, it allowed Jesus to cover up His mission for a season. However, in Daniel 7:13-14, the Son of Man is clearly revealed as a divine being. For this Son of Man comes with clouds, and clouds are an ancient symbol of divinity. Daniel writes, "I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven one like a Son of Man was coming, and He came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him. And to Him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations and men of every language might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away; and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed."
J. The birth of the Messiah.
Thus we see that the Old Testament predicts the life and work of the Messiah. But it does even more -- it even predicts where the Messiah will be born, as we see in Micah 5:2, "But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity."
K. Summary.
Now, let's summarize what we have just discussed regarding the Old Testament messanic expectation:
III. Come and See the Messiah through the Eyes of the Disciples
Now that we know what the Old Testament predicted about the Messiah, we are ready to consider the messianic expectations of the disciples. So please turn to our main text, John 1:35, where we will read verses thirty-five through fifty-one:
Again the next day 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 speak, and they followed Jesus. And Jesus turned and saw them following, and said to them, "What do you seek?" They said to Him, "Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are You staying?" 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. One of the two people who heard John speak and followed Him was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He found first his own brother Simon and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which translated means Christ). He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas" (which is translated Peter).
The next day He purposed to go into Galilee, and He found Philip. And Jesus said to him, "Follow Me." Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter. 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." Nathanael said to him, "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see." Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!" 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." Nathanael answered Him, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel." Jesus answered and said to him, "Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these." And He said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."
In this passage we will consider Jesus with respect to the titles provided here: The Lamb of God, The Messiah, The Prophet, The Son of God, The King of Israel, and The Son of Man.
A. The Lamb of God.
First we will consider the title The Lamb of God. In verse 36 John the Baptizer introduces a couple of his disciples to Jesus as the Lamb of God. Yet, it would be two or three years before the disciples would fully understand what the title meant. John said, "Behold the Lamb of God." On the previous day, in verse 29, John had described the sense in which Jesus was the Lamb of God when he said, "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world."
John the Baptist was a member of a priestly, Levite family, so he was familiar with how lambs were used to take away sin. He was familiar with the practice we find in Exodus 29:38-39 where we read, "Now this is what you shall offer on the altar: two one year old lambs each day, continuously. The one lamb you shall offer in the morning and the other lamb you shall offer at twilight."
That this was a daily sacrifice is found in Exodus 29:42, "It shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the doorway of the tent of meeting before the LORD, where I will meet with you, to speak to you there."
Matthew Henry comments on this practice as follows:
A lamb was to be offered upon the altar every morning, and a lamb every evening . . . as a continual burnt-offering throughout their generations. Whether there were any other sacrifices to be offered or not, these were sure to be offered, at the public charge, for the benefit and comfort of all Israel, to make atonement for their daily sins, and to be an acknowledgement to God of their daily mercies. This was that which the duty of every day required.
Even more lambs were required on the Sabbath day, as we find in Numbers 28:9-10: "Then on the sabbath day two male lambs one year old without defect, and two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering, and its drink offering: This is the burnt offering of every sabbath in addition to the continual burnt offering and its drink offering."
Surely this was on John the Baptist's mind. Along with the passages from Isaiah 53, passages that describe the Messiah as a lamb, passages that we have already discussed, surely this daily, perpetual sacrifice of lambs was on the mind of John the Baptist when he referred to Jesus as The Lamb of God.
B. The Messiah.
Next we come to the word Messiah. Among the list of messianic titles is the word Messiah, itself. In John 1:41, Andrew tells his brother Peter that Jesus is the Messiah. What was Andrew thinking when he used that word to describe Jesus? If Andrew was like most people of his time, his messianic expectations were more political than spiritual. While most people were primarily concerned with being rescued from the Romans, Jesus, at least in His first coming, was primarily concerned with rescuing people from their sins. Edersheim in his book Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah describes the Jewish messianic expectation:
What mattered it, that the Idumaean, Herod, had usurped the throne of David, expect so far as his own guilt and their present subjection were concerned? Israel had passed through deeper waters, and stood triumphant on the other shore. For centuries seemingly hopeless bondsmen in Egypt, they had not only been delivered, but had raised the God-inspired morning-song of jubilee, as they looked back upon the sea cleft for them, and which had buried their oppressors in their might and pride. Again, for weary years had their captives hung Zion's harps by the rivers of that city and empire whose colossal grandeur, wherever they turned, must have carried to the scattered strangers the desolate feeling of utter hopelessness. And yet that empire had crumbled into dust, while Israel had again taken root and sprung up. And now little more than a century and a half had passed, since a danger greater even than any of these had threatened the faith and the very existence of Israel. In his daring madness, the Syrian king, Antiochus 4:(Epiphanes) had forbidden their religion, sought to destroy their sacred books, with unsparing ferocity forced on them conformity to heathen rites, desecrated the Temple by dedicating it to Zeus Olympios, and even reared a heathen altar upon that of burnt-offering. Worst of all, his wicked schemes had been aided by two apostate High-Priests, who had outvied each other in buying and then prostituting the sacred office of God's anointed. Yet far away in the mountains of Ephraim God had raised for them the most unlooked-for and unlikely help. Only three years later, and, after a series of brilliant victories by undisciplined men over the flower of the Syrian army, Judas the Maccabee, truly God's Hammer had purified the Temple, and restored its altar on the very same day on which the 'abomination of desolation' had been set up in its place. In all their history the darkest hour of their night had ever preceded the dawn of a morning brighter than any that had yet broken. It was thus that with one voice all their prophets had bidden them wait and hope. Their sayings had been more than fulfilled as regarded the past. Would they not equally become true in reference to that far more glorious future for Zion and for Israel, which was to be ushered in by the coming of the Messiah?
Perhaps this is a summary of what Andrew and the other men were expecting from the Messiah. But what does the word Messiah mean?
The word Messiah means anointed. Another word for Messiah is Christ. In the Old Testament, priests, prophets, and kings were anointed with oil. This is how they were consecrated. This is how they were recognized and set apart for service to God. But there was an anointing that surpassed all others. It is found in Psalm 45:6-7, "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; a scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of joy above Your fellows."
This anointing in verse 7, an anointing "above your fellows," is an anointing that pertains to the Messiah alone.
C. The Prophet.
The next messianic title is derived from Philip's comments rather than explicitly stated by Philip. In verse 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.'"
Where did Moses write about Jesus? Moses spoke of Christ in Deuteronomy 18:15-19 when he said:
The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him. This is according to all that you asked of the LORD your God in Horeb on the day of the assembly, saying, 'Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, let me not see this great fire anymore, or I will die.' The LORD said to me, 'They have spoken well. I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. It shall come about that whoever will not listen to My words which he shall speak in My name, I Myself will require it of him.'
Was Jesus that prophet of whom Moses spoke? Many prophets followed Moses, but none of them resembled Moses as much as Jesus. We especially see this resemblance with respect to the law. None of the other prophets presumed to give a new law. They only demanded faithfulness to the law the people already had. Jesus, on the other hand, both affirmed the law of Moses and added to it.
D. The Son of God.
Next we come to the title Son of God. Son of God is one of the titles used by Nathanael in John 1:49 where he says, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel."
This outcry: "You are the Son of God," would be heard throughout Jesus' ministry. In John 11:17 Martha says, "Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into the world." And in Matthew 14:33 after Jesus had walked on water and stopped a storm, "those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, 'You are certainly God's Son!'"
E. The King of Israel.
Nathanael also called Jesus the King of Israel. This title is applied in a messianic sense in several places in the Old Testament, for example, Zephaniah 3:14-15 where we read, "Shout for joy, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! The LORD has taken away His judgments against you, He has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; you will fear disaster no more."
We see this title again in Zechariah 9:9, "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, humble, and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey."
IV. Come and See the Messiah as the Son of Man
Finally, in John 1:51, Jesus introduces His favorite title for Himself, Son of Man. He says: "Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man." I have already mentioned the connection between the Son of Man title and Daniel 7:13-14. Now we will consider the use of this title in the New Testament.
In the Gospel of John, Jesus refers to Himself as the Son of Man thirteen times, John 1:51 being the first instance. In all of the gospels together it occurs eighty times, and in the New Testament as a whole it occurs eighty-four times. During the course of Jesus' time on earth He would embue this title with enriched meaning, using it to comprehensively reveal all aspects of His person and work.
But initially Jesus used this title in two ways. He used it both to hide his mission and to reveal it. For in its most common usage at that time, the title son of man could be used by any man. Any ordinary man could refer to himself as a Son of Man. This allowed Jesus to cover up His divine mission for a season. But little by little, Jesus brought significance to the title by associating it with every aspect of His work. He would associate this title with: His suffering and death, His provision of salvation, His authority to judge, and His glory.
A. His suffering and death.
Jesus connected the title to His suffering and death in John 3:13-15, "No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life."
We see this connection to suffering and death again in John 8:23-30:
And He was saying to them, "You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world. Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins." So they were saying to Him, "Who are You?" Jesus said to them, "What have I been saying to you from the beginning? I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and the things which I heard from Him, these I speak to the world." They did not realize that He had been speaking to them about the Father. So Jesus said, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me. And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him." As He spoke these things, many came to believe in Him.
Another place where the Son of Man title is tied to suffering and death is John 12:27-36:
Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, "Father, save Me from this hour"? But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name. Then a voice came out of heaven: "I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again." So the crowd of people who stood by and heard it were saying that it had thundered; others were saying, "An angel has spoken to Him." Jesus answered and said, "This voice has not come for My sake, but for your sakes. Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself." But He was saying this to indicate the kind of death by which He was to die. The crowd then answered Him, "We have heard out of the Law that the Christ is to remain forever; and how can You say, "The Son of Man must be lifted up"? Who is this Son of Man?" So Jesus said to them, "For a little while longer the Light is among you. Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you; he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes. While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of Light."
B. His provision of salvation.
These passages show how the title Son of Man is tied to Jesus' suffering. Next we will look at how the same title is tied to Jesus' provision of salvation. One example is John 6:26-27 where we read, "Jesus answered them and said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal."
Then in John 6:52-58 Jesus proceeds to drive away most of His followers by telling them that they have to eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of Man:
Then the Jews began to argue with one another, saying, "How can this man give us His flesh to eat?" So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also will live because of Me. This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever."
Many of Jesus' disciples had trouble with this statement, saying in John 6:60, "This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?" Peter was also confused. Yet in John 6:68 he is able to say, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life." In saying this, Peter speaks for all of us. There are many things we do not understand. But this one thing we do understand -- the Son of Man is the source of eternal life.
C. His authority to judge.
Jesus also tied the title Son of Man to His authority to judge. In John 5:25-29 we read:
Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.
Even when Jesus heals the blind man in the ninth chapter of John, Jesus connects His Son of Man title to His authority to judge. After Jesus healed the blind man, the blind man was able to see the temple just long enough to be banished from it, a punishment he suffered for refusing to speak evil against Jesus. In John 9:35-41 the story continues:
Jesus heard that they had put him out, and finding him, He said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" He answered, "Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?" Jesus said to him, "You have both seen Him, and He is the one who is talking with you." And he said, "Lord, I believe." And he worshiped Him. And Jesus said, "For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind." Those of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things and said to Him, "We are not blind too, are we?" Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, 'We see,' your sin remains."
D. His glory.
Jesus also ties the Son of Man title to His glory. But it is more than the future glory of a conquering King of Israel. No, this glory includes His death, His resurrection, His ascension, and His return. This glory is often expressed through the phrase lifted up.
For example, when Jesus told the Pharisees that He was the light of the world, He said that they would know this to be true when they lifted Him up. In John 8:12-13 we read Jesus' claim and the Pharisees' response:
Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, 'I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.' So the Pharisees said to Him, 'You are testifying about Yourself; Your testimony is not true.' [Folks, remember the two-witness requirement] But in John 8:28-29 Jesus looks forward to being vindicated. There He says, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me. And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.
Jesus connects the title Son of Man to glory again when Judas leaves to betray Him. We find this in John 13:31-32, "Therefore when he had gone out, Jesus said, 'Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him; if God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and will glorify Him immediately.'"
So Jesus clearly connects the title Son of Man to Himself with regard to four aspects of His ministry: His suffering and death, His provision of salvation, His authority to judge, and His glory.
V. Summary
Now to summarize and apply all that we have discussed. Over the last few minutes we have considered the Messiah in three ways:
VI. Application.
So how should all of this information about the Messiah affect your life and my life tomorrow morning when we rise to face the day? Here is one way. In Acts 1:11 we read what the angels said after Jesus ascended to heaven, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven."
The record of the first coming of the Messiah should encourage all of us to look forward to His second coming. Just as He fulfilled prophecy in His first coming, He will fulfill prophecy again. The first coming was primarily to get us ready for His second coming. In His second coming Jesus will conquer the world and judge it. Whether you experience His judgment or His mercy depends on how you respond to His first coming. If you submit to Jesus, you will experience His mercy. If you rebel against Jesus, or if you ignore Him, you will experience His wrath. Either way, Jesus is coming again.
Let us pray: Dear Heavenly Father, please help us to hold fast with firm assurance of faith to our hope that your Son will return. And please help us all to be ready. Amen.
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