John 1: 35 – 51
Draft Selection
35 Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. 36 And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, “Behold the Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. 38 Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, “What do you seek?” They said to Him, “Rabbi” (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), “where are You staying?” 39 He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour). 40 One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus. Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, “You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas” (which is translated, A Stone). 43 The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, “Follow Me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46 And Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Nathanael answered and said to Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 50 Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And He said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”
One thing I admire about John and Andrew was the fact that they were seekers. As we begin this study please note that they were disciples of John the Baptist.
35 Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples.
Please notice that John The Baptist stood with ‘two’ of his disciples. Where were the other ones? They could have been there doing other things in assisting the Baptist yet by chance both John and Andrew were standing next to their leader when our Lord Jesus came by. One thing I have learned in life is that there are no coincidences. Being in harmony with The Holy Spirit John the Baptist saw the Lord, looked at the two disciples and remarked to them.
36 And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, “Behold the Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.
Now remember that John and Andrew were dedicated students of John the Baptist. So, ask yourselves what made them all of a sudden leave John and follow Jesus? Did he signal somehow to them to go and follow Jesus?
As men who were seeking the fulfillment of prophecy I think you would agree with me that they saw somewhat something unique in John the Baptist’s ministry so they hung around waiting to see some special results. John had declared to them and to all who were listening to him that he was one who was preparing the way for someone special. As you know he commented that he was a voice crying out in the wilderness to prepare the way for the Lord as prophesied by the prophet Isaiah.
Being students of God’s Holy Scripture I am sure that they had heard of the story of their ancestor Abraham written in the book of Genesis. Let me show you were the men would have gained their understanding of God’s lamb. We read in chapter 22 the Lord’s testing of His servant Abraham, “
1 Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2 Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” 3 So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. 5 And Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.” 6 So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together. 7 But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” Then he said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” 8 And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” So the two of them went together. 9 Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. 10 And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the Angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” So he said, “Here I am.” 12 And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” 13 Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 And Abraham called the name of the place, The-LORD-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the LORD it shall be provided.” 15 Then the Angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, 16 and said: “By Myself I have sworn, says the LORD, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son— 17 blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. 18 In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.” 19 So Abraham returned to his young men, and they rose and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba.
Please note that Abraham had informed Isaac that the Lord would provide the Lamb for the sacrifice. When John the Baptist told his tow disciples – ‘Behold the Lamb of God’ they understood that he was refereeing to the special one sent from God and with John’s silent approval went after the Lord Jesus
38 Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, “What do you seek?” They said to Him, “Rabbi” (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), “where are You staying?” 39 He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour).
Have you ever been at a loss for words and come up with a stupid response to a question. At first thought this is what seems to have happened to Andrew and John.
The few words spoken by our Lord Jesus have some significant depth to them. He asks them - What do you seek? Or more interesting point is – What do you want? They said to him, “Rabbi, (which means, being interpreted, ‘Master’), where do you abide?” Now do not forget that the writer John is one of these two disciples. In penning his testimony he lets us all know that he and Andrew had a deeper concern in their question to the Lord Jesus not just asking Him where He Is camping out at.
Their question covers both the natural and spiritual. ‘Where are you staying?’, yes, but also they ask the Lord where do You continually dwell?’ They want to know that if He Is The Lamb of God, then they want to know about His contact with God the Father. Wouldn’t you want that deep insight?
The Lord answers perfectly. He says to them, “Come, and you will see.” They will learn both facts on what they seek to know. So in response to Jesus’ invitation they go to where He Is staying and spend the day with Him, presumably being taught by Him. But behind it may well lie the implication that they also became enlightened by Him as to His eternal dwelling place (‘they saw where He dwelt’). They became aware that He was truly from God.
40 One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.
Let’s hear it for Andrew. What an interesting man who along with John were seekers of God’s ways. He appears as one who is not in line of being important. He just wants to find the Messiah and stay close to Him. If you have some time, please take a look at the Gospels and look up Andrew’s name. You will note that after he introduces his brother to the Lord Jesus, he will take second place. You will see listed the names Peter than Andrew. Hey I grew up with the last name beginning with the letter ‘S’ so I was always in the back. ‘A’ is before ‘P’, right? Andrew was the one who was in the beginning seeking out the Lord and you will note that he is not bothered with the fact that his brother will take the lead.
41 He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus. Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, “You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas” (which is translated, A Stone).
Andrew seeks out his brother Simon (Peter) and declares that they have found ‘the Messiah’. Once someone has truly found Christ they cannot help but seek to tell others. That is a proof of their genuineness.
At this stage, in their first enthusiasm, it is clear that they consider Jesus to be the expected Messiah. That was what John was pointing to. Such was the expectancy of God’s coming deliverance in those days that it was almost inevitable. But as time goes by that belief will fade, for as they go about with Him they will find that He does not behave as they expect the Messiah to behave.
The Lord Jesus has not come with force of arms but with force of words. He has not come to achieve earthly success but to gain a heavenly victory. Thus He will continue on His way and let them watch Him and gradually come to an understanding of Who and What He Is. The Messianic claim in the way that they understood it would not only have been dangerous, it would have been wrong. He was not an enemy of Rome. In His purposes Rome was an irrelevance, and He would not die for a cause He was not interested in. He had come to seek and to save the lost and to establish a heavenly kingdom, a kingdom ‘not of this world’. But this as yet was something that they could not understand.
The final certainty that Jesus is the Messiah will in fact come later, when Jesus will redefine the term in terms of the suffering Son of Man. Yes, we see that John the Baptist was right on target when he said to his disciples, ‘Behold the Lamb of God.’
So as we come back to this story we see that Simon comes to see for himself Andrew’s discovery of the Messiah, and on seeing Simon, Jesus declares that one day he will be renamed Peter (petros in Greek, cephas in Aramaic - meaning a stone). Already He sees in Simon the raw material of an effective, spiritual leader. This renaming is mentioned again in Matthew chapter 16 verse 18, but in both cases the change has the future in mind. Jesus never actually addresses Peter as such by this name until Peter’s acts of betrayal, when He wishes both to warn him and to encourage him.
When we remember how Peter so often got things wrong, and how he failed Jesus at the last, it is an encouragement to us all to know that God knew what he would become in the end. In the same way God knows too what we will become. Once we are in Christ He does not judge us as we are, but as what He knows we will become.
43 The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, “Follow Me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.
If we were to have a bible question quiz and I asked you who were Jesus’ first disciples, I would think that most if not all would answer it was Andrew and John and then Peter. However, please note that Philip is the first one that Jesus positively calls to be his disciple. This calling of disciples is in contrast to the Rabbis whose disciples simply chose to follow them.
It is significant that He does not ‘call’ any of those who were disciples of John at this stage. What exquisite tenderness He showed. Andrew, Peter and John will be called later, but only when they have openly ceased to be recognized as ‘John’s disciples’. John must be allowed his day, and although he would have been quite willing for Jesus to do so, Jesus will not trespass on his ministry. This indeed explains why their call was delayed.
45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
Philip then seeks out Nathaniel (probably the same as Bartholomew, who is elsewhere linked with Philip (Matthew 10.3)) and tells him that they have found the One of Whom Moses and the prophets spoke, ‘Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph’. It was quite common in those days for people to have two or three names, Hebrew, Greek or Aramaic.
Take a look again with me at the statement ‘Moses --- and the prophets.’ The prophets are linked with Moses not with the Law. Philip says that both Moses and the prophets wrote of Jesus, Moses doing so in the Law (the Torah). Thus he is claiming that Jesus is One Whom God has constantly prophesied will come, even in the Torah. He would have in mind such verses as Genesis 49.10 ff.; Numbers 24.17. The full title of Jesus is given to stress his royal descent through Joseph to help to substantiate the claim. All would know of Joseph, for in Jewish eyes he was heir to the throne of David.
46 And Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”
Nathaniel replies with what was possibly a well known joke in Bethsaida, ‘can anything good come out of Nazareth?’. It may, however, have been a popular proverb. Alternately it may be that Nathaniel is thinking of the fact that no prophecy known to him has forecast a ‘coming one’ from Nazareth. Nazareth was a very small, out of the way, town in the hills, even though from its height it overlooked a main highway.. The phrase emphasizes that Jesus has come in lowliness and humility. Philip’s reply is simple. ‘Come and see’. He is confident that Nathaniel will be impressed.
It is a reminder to us that if we are seeking to win men to Christ we can do nothing better than to take them to Jesus. It is in portraying Christ truly that we will make Him attractive, and there is no better way of doing this than to persuade them to read the Gospel of John or if you attend a good bible teaching evangelistic church invite them to join you.
47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!”
When Jesus sees Nathaniel He declares, ‘See, a true Israelite who is without ‘deceit’ or ‘guile’. The idea is taken from Psalm 32.2 - ‘blessed is the man --- in whose spirit there is no guile’ - the epitome of the true Israelite. This impresses Nathaniel, who was clearly a very pious man, and he is curious to know how Jesus knows this about him.
48 Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”
Nathaniel is puzzled by Jesus’ first statement and so he asks, ‘From where (or how) do you know me?’ Jesus is claiming knowledge about him. He wonders what the source is.
Jesus replies, ‘Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you’. It is clear from Nathaniel’s reply that this must have had some significance for Nathaniel for he is even more impressed. Perhaps he had just been meditating on Psalm 32 himself, or thinking of Jacob and Esau, or perhaps what he had been thinking to himself while under the fig tree was of great religious importance and related to thoughts about the coming king and the days of deliverance. Whatever it was, he wonders how Jesus could have known it. Indeed he considers that there can be only one explanation, this man has extraordinary powers.
49 Nathanael answered and said to Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”
This awareness of Jesus convinces Nathaniel that his friend Philip is right. ‘Rabbi,’ he says in awe, ‘you are the Son of God, you are the King of Israel’. Notice the juxtaposition of the two phrases. It would appear that to him the one equates with the other, although ‘Son of God’ was not as far as we know a recognized designation for the Messiah. He had recognized that the promised king has come. It may, however, be that his thought went further than that and that what Jesus had said had so impressed him that he considered Him unique in His relationship to God without defining it too specifically.
However, even if at this point in time in the Gospel reference to ‘the Son of God’ has in mind the ‘coming king’ as God’s adopted son, the Messiah, its deeper significance, which will dawn on them later, is what the writer wishes to bring out. For the term ‘Son of God’ was not a recognized Messianic designation. But that a coming king could be recognized as the son of God is implicit in Psalm 2.7.
50 Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And He said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”
Jesus reply is, ‘Does your faith rest on the fact that I saw you under the fig tree?’ (‘and knew what you were thinking’ is implied). Then he tells him that more wonderful things are yet in store for him, beyond what he could even have conceived. ‘You will see Heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man’.
Perhaps this had been included in Nathaniel’s earlier thoughts under the fig tree, as he pondered Jacob’s experience and connected it with his guile (Genesis 27.35), and as therefore in contrast with the man without guile pictured in Psalm 32.2. Now he is learning that a greater than Jacob is here Who can read all his thoughts.
Jacob had received his vision when he had left home and was about to enter a strange and foreign land. It had been a confirmation that God was with him and was watching over him wherever he went, and that world events were under heavenly control. The message Jesus is conveying is that He too left home, aware of the period of hardship that lies ahead, and that He too will know the presence of His Father watching over Him, and will have special heavenly connections. It will be a period that will stress the closeness of His relationship with the Father, and will result in a new period of fulfillment of the promises of God, and He is indicating that Nathaniel will have a part in that future, and will come to recognize Jesus’ unique relationship with the Father, and share in its blessing.
