Deacon Jude Tam Tran

COME FOLLOW ME

“Behold, the Lamb of God.” — John 1:29
“Come, and you will see.” — John 1:39

It was one of those ordinary days that didn’t look important at all—no thunder, no choir of angels, no dramatic music swelling in the background. Just dust underfoot, the slow movement of people along the road, and John the Baptist standing where he always stood, doing what he always did: pointing people toward God.

John wasn’t alone. Two of his disciples were with him, lingering nearby, probably half-listening and half-daydreaming the way people do when they’ve heard the same preacher long enough to think they already know the message. And then Jesus walked by.

Nothing flashy. No announcement. No sign hanging over His head that said Messiah approaching. Just Jesus, passing through like anyone else.

John stopped mid-sentence.

He watched Jesus for a moment, and then said, almost casually but with deep certainty,
“Behold, the Lamb of God.” John 1:29

That was it. No long explanation. No footnotes. Just a sentence heavy enough to change lives.

The two disciples heard him. And something in that moment clicked. They looked at Jesus… then at John… then back at Jesus again. Without asking permission or saying goodbye, they quietly stepped away from John and started following Jesus down the road.

Imagine that for a second. Their teacher says one sentence, and they’re like, Yep. That’s Him. Time to walk.

Jesus, of course, noticed. It’s hard not to notice when two people are trailing behind you, trying to look casual but not doing a great job of it. He turned around, looked straight at them, and asked a question that still echoes through history:

“What are you looking for?”
Not “Who are you?”
Not “Why are you following me?”
But “What are you looking for?”
The disciples froze.

This was their moment, and suddenly they had no idea what to say. They hadn’t rehearsed a speech. They didn’t have a mission statement. So, they blurted out the safest, most polite thing they could think of:

“Rabbi… where are you staying?”

It’s almost funny. They were searching for meaning, truth, and the Messiah—and all they could come up with was an address.

Jesus smiled. He didn’t laugh at them. He didn’t correct them. He simply said,
“Come, and you will see.” John 1:39

No lecture. No pressure. Just an invitation.

So, they went. They saw where He was staying. And then—this part matters—they stayed with Him. They didn’t just pass through. They didn’t shake hands and move on. They lingered. They listened. They watched how He spoke, how He rested, how He treated people when no crowd was watching.

The story tells us it was about four in the afternoon. A small detail, but a beautiful one. That means they didn’t just stop by—they spent the rest of the day with Him. And by the time evening came, nothing was the same anymore.

One of those two disciples was Andrew.

Andrew didn’t waste time. Once you’ve met something—or Someone—that changes everything, you don’t sit on it. You don’t overthink it. You don’t wait until you feel fully prepared.

Andrew went straight to find his brother Simon.

You can almost picture him bursting in, out of breath, eyes wide, talking too fast.

“We found Him,” Andrew said.
“The Messiah. The Christ. The One everyone’s been waiting for.”

Simon probably raised an eyebrow. Brothers tend to do that. But Andrew didn’t argue. He didn’t debate theology. He didn’t try to prove anything.

He just did the most important thing he could do.

He brought Simon to Jesus.

That’s it. That’s the whole move. Andrew didn’t make himself the hero of the story. He didn’t claim special insight. He simply introduced his brother to the One who could change him.

When Jesus saw Simon, He looked at him—not just at his face, but at his future. And He said, “You are Simon, son of John. But you will be called Cephas.”

Which means Peter.
Which means rock.

Simon hadn’t done anything rock-like yet. He was impulsive, loud, inconsistent, and often confused. But Jesus wasn’t naming him for who he was—He was naming him for who he would become.

And like Andrew, we don’t need to have perfect words to share faith with others. Sometimes the holiest thing we can do is simply bring someone to Jesus and let Him do the rest.

And that’s where the wisdom of this story meets us today.

God often enters our lives quietly, walking past us in ordinary moments. We’re busy. We’re distracted. We think we know what we’re looking for—success, happiness, answers, direction—but when Jesus turns and asks, “What are you looking for?” we sometimes don’t know how to answer.

So, we say things like, “Where are you staying?”

“Can you just show me a little sign?”
“Can I understand first before I commit?”

And Jesus still says the same thing:
“Come, and you will see.”