Come, and you will see
Come, my daughter, and see a sunrise with Me.
This was the invitation one recent evening while at a lakeside cottage. A quarter after five in the morning is early. Yet, I set my alarm to have enough time to make a coffee, grab my bible, settle in, and watch the sunrise. And what a glorious sunrise it was. The reds and oranges. The pattern of clouds. The clear reflection in the lake. The quietness of the display. Except for the occasional fishing boat going by in the distance and the gentle morning music of the waking birds, it was still. Yet, filled with the expectancy of the invitation “Come.” It wasn’t a word, it was a call. And it had the benediction of the painted sky as an image of the beauty of following, showing up, and coming and seeing.
Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said, “Rabbi, … 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…”
In this passage, Jesus calls His first disciples. The heading in most Bible versions reads something like “Jesus Calls the First Disciples.” Yet, notice that the word call is not in the actual account. It is revealing that being called is about “coming,” “seeing,” and “staying.” And Jesus daily invites us to this progression of intimacy with Him.
Come, my daughter. See a sunrise with me. See where I am staying … and stay with Me.
The words translated into see or saw are more and deeper than the physical sense of sight. When Jesus turned and saw these two men following Him, the word theomai is used. This Greek word means “to behold, look upon, contemplate, observe intently, to interpret.” Jesus saw past the outward appearance and could interpret who they were. Jesus sees you. He sees me. He deeply sees our hearts, our longings, our seeking. Being called by Jesus means being seen BY Him first.
Jesus then asks these following disciples (imagine them trailing behind Jesus, trying to keep Him in sight!) What are you seeking (zeteo)?” In this question, He asks, “What are you “investigating”? What “matter are you trying to get to the bottom of?” In that moment of contemplation of the men, who were now going in the same direction as Him, Jesus saw their desire for more. He saw their need to get to the bottom of something that only He could get to the bottom of. When they replied with a question, He encouraged their inquiry by drawing them further in with a promising invitation that called them further.
Let’s pause and reflect on the fact that the disciples’ question wasn’t “Who are You, Rabbi?” or “Are YOU the One who will save us?” Wouldn’t that be the more direct “investigative question”? No, they asked a surprising yet necessary question: “Where are you staying?” If I am going to follow You, I need to stay with You and spend time with You. The word staying is the Greek word meno, repeated in the verse three times. It means “to stay, abide, remain, dwell, endure, be present, tarry.” So, it suggests that time is needed.
In reply, we don’t get an address from Jesus. Instead, in reply, Jesus says, “Come (erchomai – accompany me), and you will see” where I dwell or My tarrying place. That “see, ” also found in the following line as “saw,” is not the same as theomai. The Greek word horao is used now, which means “to see, perceive, attend to, experience, discern, or to spiritually see.” Jesus promises that the disciples will see with their spirits and experience who Jesus is when they come with Him. And they did! Think of all they experienced in the years that followed. This was just the beginning.
The fulfillment of our longings or our seeking – for answers, peace, hope, healing, and strength is found in staying with Jesus. Yet, one cannot stay in two locations simultaneously, of course. You and I cannot be present in two different places. We have to choose. And it begins with the direction we take. Jesus’ call is to follow where He walks and to see where He is living. No address. Precise address details would allow us to come to Him on our terms and in our way. He desires for us to join Him, His way. His “come” type of erchomai walk means staying by His side.
So, what does that look like? How do we become undivided in our “staying” when so much calls our attention and when we have responsibilities and tasks that wait for our attention? And then, how do we grow in perceiving His voice and experiencing His presence because we keep on “staying”? Sometimes, I can feel like I have amnesia. I forget from one day to the next or season to the next. My memory forgets Jesus’ presence in the clutter and noise of our world, the next battlefield, the waiting. But, perhaps it is a bit like seeing a sunrise.
Daily, a sunrise calls us to look outside through bleary eyes in those early hours. See the sun just peeking above the horizon; it seems…messy. Ripples of dull grey clouds filling a pale blue-grey sky. The sun appears so small. Then, in choosing to answer the beaconing sunrise and sit next to the water, the colours gradually begin their change while the birds continue their songs. The slow change is filled with waiting and distractions like thinking about the warm bed left behind, the concrete seat and the chill in the air. But we choose to sit and not miss out. And the movement in the sky becomes more apparent and then… the glory! The transformation! In all their hues and surprise, the colours are scattered by those same clouds all over the sky. It is reflected in the water, and it is a masterpiece!
It’s little by little. It’s answering the invitation by just being there, and that gradual entering will happen. Notice that we don’t know what Jesus spoke during that visit with the disciples. But the conversation wasn’t necessary to follow and stay with Him. The conversation happened, I’m sure, but the promise to see and perceive and experience wasn’t conditional on specific words spoken. It was in coming…stay…see.
Over the years, I have heard the Lord so often whisper gently and persistently to my spirit, “Rest.” It is my hardest thing. He knows that this is the missing piece to staying with Him. Rest. Stay. Sit. BE and not DO. He is persistent in His open-door invitation to come and enjoy His sunlight and let it scatter off the clutter and busyness in my days. Silence in His presence is allowed, and He promises we will see.
Do you sense the daily call to come? That sunrise waiting on the other side of those curtains? Or do you need to begin in those verses1 earlier in the passage and hear the words “Behold, the Lamb of God! ” where someone has to remind you of the sunrise that faithfully occurs every day? If so, here is your invitation! There’s a sunrise! Come! Join me in accompanying Jesus and in staying with Him today.
Further Study
- Find your place to enjoy the sunrise. Continue reading in John 1 (vs 35-51). What words do you find are repeated often? What might the Lord want to tell you in quiet conversation? Rest in the truth He shows you.
- Read Isaiah 55. What further truth would the Lord have regarding the word Come? How does it bring life to your spirit?
FOOTNOTES
- John 1:36—Here, John the Baptist looked at Jesus. The word looked is the Greek word emblepo, meaning “to look at, consider, see clearly, discern clearly.” John knew who Jesus was. Note that John is standing while Jesus walks by. John’s ministry is ending, and Jesus’ ministry is starting. ↩︎
