“He said to them, ‘Come and see.’” – John 1:39
“Philip found Nathanael and said to him, ‘We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.’ Nathanael said to him, ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’ Philip said to him, ‘Come and see.’” – John 1:45-46
It’s Philip’s response that I want you to see. Notice what Philip doesn’t do. He doesn’t argue. He doesn’t debate. He doesn’t produce a list of apologetic proofs.
He simply says, come and see.
What a beautiful model for evangelization. Sometimes we think we have to win every argument, you know, and Philip understood something better. People ultimately meet Christ through encounter, not arguments, but an encounter.You can learn from this. Philip invites Nathanael to an encounter, not merely an explanation.
The best evangelists aren’t on the stage or YouTube. Trust me. People usually encounter Christ through a grandmother, a friend, a spouse, a priest, or a local teacher, someone at work, someone who quietly says, come and see. Take a look. Even at the highest levels of the Church, this principle is understood. St. John Paul the Second often reminded the Church that modern people listen more readily to witnesses than to teachers, and if they listen to teachers, it is because those teachers are first witnesses.
Think about this.
Your life may become someone’s Philip.
When I first heard of Jeff Cavens, it was in ChristLife, on a video. What he said, I’ll never forget. What he said fits my life and guides it in many ways. He said of evangelization, “be a witness”, “people can argue an apologist and catechism but none can contest a witness.” When we tell of how Jesus touched my life, touched me, no one can argue against us. They may fight against the True Presence in the Eucharist or Mariology, or some other point even two millennia old and direct from the mouth of God, but they can’t refute your personal encounter.
Jesus, the Word Who knows all, didn’t put His professor cap on. Philip started to tell facts to which Nathaniel immediately joked, but when he stopped and said, “Cole and see”, Nathaniel had no defense.
So when you have opportunity to evangelize, don’t pull out the whiteboard and Catechism.
Don’t tell facts of Jesus that someone can argue about, but tell of your encounter with Jesus. Invite them to “come and see.”
“I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name for ever. For great is your steadfast love towards me; you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.” – Psalm 86:12-13