Even a tentative or doubt-filled prayer is a vehicle for encountering the Lord. And while we may not be able to walk down the road from our shady fig tree to find Him, we can meet Jesus in prayer. You have to meet Jesus yourself by coming to Him. No one is made a believer on the testimony of others alone. To meet Jesus and discover experientially that He is the Messiah, the Savior, is essential to becoming a disciple of Christ. Though he has heard the testimony of his friend, like Thomas after the resurrection, Nathanael needs to meet Jesus himself. Philip invites Nathanael to get to know Jesus, and Nathanael comes. But once he’s given the testimony of his own encounter with the Lord, Philip allows Nathanael the freedom to come and see for himself–or not. First, it’s important to notice that “come and see” only follows Philip’s willingness to seek out his friend and boldly declare to him that he has found the Savior. Come see for yourself and decide.”Īs an aside, there’s an important lesson here about evangelism. It’s as if he says, “You don’t have to believe me. He simply tells him, “Come and see.” He is neither offended that Nathanael may not believe him nor is he shaken in his own decision to follow Jesus. He’s not only not convinced that Jesus is the Messiah, but he’s not convinced it is possible for someone that important to come from such a scripturally unimportant (and sometimes disreputable) town like Nazareth.Īmazingly, Philip is not taken aback by Nathanael’s doubts nor does he try to further convince him. It’s perhaps not too much of a surprise that the testimony of Philip, no matter how enthusiastic, was not enough to convince Nathanael. Andrew declares, “We have found the Messiah,” and Philip says, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote–Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Pretty hefty claims. Immediately after John’s two disciples spend the evening with Jesus, a Galilean game of telephone begins as Andrew goes to find Peter, and after being called by Jesus, Philip goes to find Nathanael. This week, we take a look at what happens right after this first “come and see” calling. Last week we talked about the invitation of Jesus to “come and see” where He lived, and we established that to become a disciple is first to be near to the Lord and experience Him in His own home. He identified faculty including Bond and Rosales as receiving funds that were being directed to further such an agenda.By Christina Andresen | | Staff Reflection Miller gave the introduction.Ī few minutes of the speech were devoted to the spending of grant funds on what Garrett said he believed was the promotion of a partisan political agenda, according to the suit. 12, 2019, Garrett gave a public lecture on campus in which he discussed Marxism, free speech and campus censorship. It says Garrett and Miller were accused of enabling white supremacism.Ī formal public debate was arranged, but two professors associated with the Social Justice Institute - Andrew Bond and Oliver Rosales - refused to participate, the suit says. Students and faculty associated with the Social Justice Institute called the stickers “racist” and “vandalism” while Garrett questioned whether the stickers were a protest against the use of taxpayer funds to advance a one-sided political agenda, according to the suit. In April 2019, stickers that said “smash cultural Marxism” and other right-of-center viewpoints were anonymously posted around the Bakersfield College campus and were removed by campus authorities. Willner.ĭistrict officials on Thursday said it’s their longstanding practice not to comment on matters that are being litigated. “A public college or community college district has no business investigating, much less disciplining, a faculty member for publicly criticizing how the district chooses to spend its money,” says the suit filed by Los Angeles-based attorney Arthur I. The latter ordered an investigation into the professors’ comments regarding the use of grant funds and signed “administrative determinations” disciplining them, according to the suit filed in federal court in Fresno. It names as defendants former district Chancellor Thomas J. The suit filed by Matthew Garrett and Erin Miller says the district bowed to pressure from other faculty members in threatening them with disciplinary action, including termination, following an investigation into comments made at a public lecture in 2019. (KGET) - Two Bakersfield College history professors are suing the Kern Community College District for allegedly violating their right to free speech.
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