Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want? ”They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?” “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. (John 1: 38-39)
Where did Jesus stay? I started to gloss over the scripture as irrelevant. “Where are you staying” and “You will see.” The passage could just be about a group of guys hanging out together at Jesus’s place for the day. But something about it grabbed me.
Possibilities crept into my consciousness and I began to ponder what this scripture could be about if not read superficially. Two elements to ponder are: (1) The words “where” and “see” can take on dual meaning. We live and think in a multi–dimension existence built on facts, reason, logic and understanding coexisting with a parallel dimension built on faith, hope and love. Faith is one way to describe the mental state we move to when we exhaust facts, reason, logic and understanding but continue living toward a purpose. Faith is that which fills the void when logic, reasoning and understanding evaporate. (2) There always seems to be a tension or force pulling at us to be logical or to have faith. The world of facts and the world of faith (the world of the tangible and the intangible) are forces that attempt to have us focus on the one and dismiss the other. The forces of logic pull at us to only do, see and act on what is fact, logical, practical, etc. The forces of faith pull at us to continue to reach for what isn’t logical, yet, but could be once experienced.
The word “where” can speak to a tangible location, but it can also speak to an intangible/abstract state. In the abstract, the word can be used both as a description of a condition existing in the present or a condition/state that doesn’t exist yet. The word see can mean to look at something (tangible) but it can also mean to visualize something intangible. The words are used in both the tangible and intangible form.
What if the followers in the scripture asked their question in the tangible, “where” (a location) Jesus stayed but He answered in a spiritual or intangible form? Did he respond by showing them a physical location or his spirit? Perhaps he showed them his place of faith, charity, hope and love so they would truly see, not just understand. His response: “Come, he replied, and you will see.”
Joe Wilson
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