Scripture in Action

Aneel Aranha is an author, preacher, and evangelist who has spoken to hundreds of thousands of people around the world. You can find a huge selection of his reflections, articles, sermons, songs and other resources on his app.

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Scripture in Action

John 1:35-42 — Restless Hearts

June 15, 2023 • Aneel Aranha • Season 2 • Episode 11

0:00 | 4:04

God invites all of us to experience him personally so that we can satisfy our spiritual thirst and find fulfillment in his presence. Let us accept the invitation gratefully.

John 1:35-42 — Come and See — Aneel Aranha

Hello and welcome to the Bite-Sized Gospel with Aneel Aranha. Today we will reflect on John 1:35-42. Listen.

The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”
When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?”
They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”
“Come,” he replied, “and you will see.”
So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon.
Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus.
Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter).

There is not a single person on this earth who does not have a restless heart. Some people believe they will find rest in the love of another person; some search for answers from a spiritual guru; some look for it at the bottom of a bottle. But no matter what we do, we never find it and move from person to person, philosophy to philosophy, bottle to bottle. Consequently, as Thoreau said, "The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation." Is there no solution?

There is. Augustine once wrote, "Our heart is restless until it rests in you." Taken from his most famous book, "Confessions," these powerful words speak about the restlessness of the human heart until it finds and rests in Christ. Whether we like to admit it or not, we are constantly searching for God because God has placed that longing in our hearts.

But in this world where God seems to have lost all relevance and is systematically being evicted from every aspect of our lives, how do we find him? It's simple. Come and see. In today's passage, we find Jesus inviting people to do that. As John the Baptist points out Jesus to two of his disciples, they follow him. Jesus turns to them and asks, "What do you want?" They respond, "Rabbi, where are you staying?" Instead of simply giving them directions or a quick answer, Jesus invites them with a profound phrase: "Come and see."

We find a similar invitation echoed throughout the Scriptures, as God continuously calls humanity to "come and see." In Psalm 34:8, the psalmist declares, "Taste and see that the LORD is good." It is an invitation to experience the goodness of God firsthand, to encounter his faithfulness and love personally. In Isaiah 55:1, the prophet invites, "Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters." It is an invitation to satisfy our spiritual thirst, to find fulfillment and satisfaction in God's presence.

As we reflect on this passage, may it inspire us to respond to Jesus' invitation to seek him wholeheartedly.

God bless you.