John 1:46 And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see.
The Cascade Effect
Not long ago I had the privilege of preaching in a fine church in Honduras. As I was preaching, I noticed there was a lady interpreting for a deaf man. After the service, they were among the few people I was able to talk to because they knew sign language and I knew sign language. The lady was hearing, but spoke Spanish, and the man was deaf, but spoke a language that I could understand.
I learned that this man and woman were siblings, and that he had taught his sister sign language so she could interpret for him. He had learned sign language from an American, and the American had learned sign language from my grandmother many years ago. Now apart from being wonderfully encouraging to me, this incident also reinforced something I saw over and again in those days I was in Honduras. I saw people discipling other people. That is the way the gospel is supposed to work. The gospel has a cascading effect when we remember who does what.
In John 1, Jesus is called the Word and the Light. John the Baptist came to be the voice of the Word and the witness of the Light. “Witnessing” is the word that describes the work of other men who brought their loved ones, friends, and brothers to the Lord Jesus Christ.
For instance, in verse 46 it says, “And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see.” He didn’t make an argument, but just invited him to witness Jesus for himself. We should be able to give answers to people, but more than anything else, we want to lead people to witness Jesus for themselves.
In verse 41, Andrew went to find his brother, Simon, to tell him that he had found the Messiah. The gospel has spread far and wide across the world, but you will not get the gospel far and wide without giving it to the people close at hand. Andrew witnessed to those closest at hand first.
Jesus has the power to win the hearts and minds of those who are just given access to Him. That is our job and privilege. In John 1, John lost two disciples to Jesus that he wouldn’t have lost if he had just kept his mouth shut, but John was not about keeping his mouth shut. He was about bearing witness to Jesus Christ. If you will do the same, you can see the effects of the gospel cascade to your family and to your world.