Come and See
Pastor Tan Thai · Dec 22, 2013
This Christmas sermon calls the congregation to 'come and see' Jesus — not only with physical senses but also with spiritual eyes. After encountering Christ, every life is transformed and becomes a new creation in Him.
This sermon was delivered on Sunday, December 22, 2013, with Luke 2:10-12 as its foundation. The pastor opens by contrasting the birth of the British royal prince in 2013 — celebrated worldwide with gun salutes and messages from world leaders — with the birth of Jesus in a humble stable in Bethlehem. Just as Abraham Lincoln was born in a poor log cabin while Napoleon was conquering Europe, the most important event in human history took place in the greatest lowliness and simplicity.
The sermon poses the question: Who came to see Jesus, and how did they come? The shepherds watching their flocks at night obeyed the angel's message and came immediately. The wise men from the East, though educated, humbly asked for directions when they did not know the way. In contrast, the chief priests and scribes — who knew the prophecy about the Messiah — did not come at all. The pastor references several New Testament figures who sought Jesus with different motivations: Nicodemus coming by night, Zacchaeus climbing a tree to see Jesus, and the sinful woman who anointed His feet with perfume and tears.
The sermon emphasizes that while humans perceive the physical world through five senses, truly knowing God requires spiritual senses given by the Holy Spirit. The pastor uses the story of the prophet Elisha in 2 Kings 6:14-17 as an illustration: Elisha's servant only saw the surrounding enemy army until God opened his spiritual eyes to see the invisible angelic host. The question is raised: Where do we find God today — in magnificent church buildings or in ordinary people? Drawing from Matthew 25:34-40, the pastor shows that God reveals Himself through the least and the lowly.
The closing section focuses on the life transformation that follows an encounter with Christ. The Christmas season is often dominated by commerce and material gifts, but the gift God gave humanity through Jesus is completely free and of eternal value. The shepherds, after meeting the Lord, returned glorifying God. The pastor quotes 2 Corinthians 5:17 to affirm that anyone in Christ is a new creation, and concludes with a practical call to love modeled after Charles Swindoll: forgive, reconcile, give anonymously, and love one's neighbor as God has loved us in Christ.