How to Talk to Skeptics
Today’s Scripture: John 1:29-51
John Testifies About Jesus
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me be- cause he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”
32 Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. 33 And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”
35 The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”
37 When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. 38 Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?”
They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?” 39 “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.
40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). 42 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).
Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael
43 The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.”
44 Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. 45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote— Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
46 “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” said Philip.
47 When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.”
48 “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.
Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree be- fore Philip called you.”
49 Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.”
50 Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.” 51 He then added, “Very truly I tell you, you will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on’ the Son of Man.”
I say the same thing every Sunday:
“Whatever your week’s been like or your life’s been like—whatever you look like—whether you believe what we believe, or even if you vehemently disagree: in the name of Jesus Christ you are welcome in this place today.”
The reason I say this is because I know that Jesus can take care of himself. It’s my job to knock down bad arguments and to clear the path for folks to come to Jesus, but it is NOT my job to argue people into the Kingdom. So, I don’t worry if there are folks at Munger on a Sunday who aren’t believers—I know that as long as I make the space for them to meet the Lord, he can take care of himself.
Look at how how Phillip deals with Nathanael when Nathanael asks some skeptical questions about Jesus.
Nathanael asks, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (For whatever reason, he is not impressed when Phillip tells him where Jesus is from.)
To which Phillip replies, “Come and see.”
Phillip knows that Jesus can take care of himself, and that if he only makes it easy for Nathanael to be confronted by Jesus, Jesus will take care of the rest. So, Phillip invites Nathanael to take a step toward the Lord with those simple words: “Come and see.”
I think this is exactly how we should talk to unbelievers in this culture. Note how Phillip doesn’t allow himself to be drawn into a pointless argument; instead, he brings it back to Jesus, and gives Nathanael an invitation to meet Jesus himself: “Come and see.”
We have a part to play in bringing people to faith, but it’s the part of invitation.
Once people encounter Jesus, he has a way of surprising them, just as he surprised Nathanael.
So, the next time you get in an argument with a non-believer, I believe the best thing you can say is,
Come and see.
