This week, starting in John 1:43, we find ourselves on day 4.
Let's just start there:
(43) On the next day, he (Jesus) wished to depart to Galilee,
and he finds Philip,
and Jesus says to him,
"Follow me."
Already in the gospel of John, we've seen a number of people take the first steps toward becoming Jesus' disciples. They've "come to" Jesus; they've "followed" Jesus; they've "abided with" Jesus. They've started doing the verbs that mark people as Jesus' disciples.
And what all of these people have had in common, so far, is that they've come to Jesus through the faithful witness of other people.
First, we saw John the Baptist lead two of his disciples away from himself, toward Jesus. Then Andrew, one of the two men, led Simon to Jesus.
Here, Jesus takes the initiative. Jesus wants to leave for Galilee, but before he does, there's someone in particular he wants to come with him-- Philip. Why does Jesus find Philip, in particular? AJ doesn't tell us. But Jesus knows something about Philip that we don't. Philip is the kind of person Jesus wants to seek out.
So Jesus finds Philip, and says to him, "Follow me."
Verses 44-45:
(44) Now, Philip was from Bethsaida, from the city of Andrew and Peter.
(45) Philip finds Nathaniel,
and he says to him,
"The one about whom Moses wrote in the law and the prophets we have found -- Jesus, the son of Joseph, the one from Nazareth."
Why did Jesus seek Philip out? Philip's words here reveal something about himself. Philip is an Israelite who has been living in anticipation of the Messiah's coming. Philip knows his OT-- when he talks about the "law and the prophets," an Israelite would understand that that, together, means the entirety of the OT. And so Jesus, who knows Philip's heart, and knows that Philip has been seeking him, went to find him.
Now, from Philip's perspective, who found whom? AJ told us that Jesus found Philip. But look at what Philip says: "The one about whom Moses wrote in the law and the prophets we have found."
Francis Moloney reads these words, and he says that Philip lies here. And I agreed with him, originally. But there is a sense in which both are true-- and both of these are true, in a way that is core to Christianity. At a lower level-- from our human perspective-- when we choose to "receive" Jesus as Messiah, and "follow" Jesus, it feels like we do so because we have found the truth. We have come to Jesus, and seen enough to know that Jesus truly is the Lamb of God-- the one who takes away the sin of the world.
But from a higher level-- from God's perspective-- all of this looks different. Jesus found Philip. And what we will see is that no one comes to Jesus unless the Father draws him (John 6:44).
How do we put these two ideas together? We find ourselves teetering on the edge of talking about Calvinism and Arminianism. And what both of those systems do is take half of the verses-- half of the truth-- and filter out the other half, and create a perfectly ordered, logical, systematic theology.
But maybe we are better off remembering that John is a 2 story story. There are higher and lower levels of truth.
Let's reread verses 44-45:
(44) Now, Philip was from Bethsaida, from the city of Andrew and Peter.
(45) Philip finds Nathaniel,
and he says to him,
"The one about whom Moses wrote in the law and the prophets we have found -- Jesus, the son of Joseph, the one from Nazareth."
Who is Jesus? Philip says, Jesus is:
(1) the "son of Joseph
(2) the one from Nazareth."
Here, again, we know that on a lower level of truth, that what Philip says is technically true.
We, as AJ's readers, are already familiar with Matthew's gospel (apparently). We know that Jesus' earthly father was Joseph. We know that Jesus spent time in Nazareth (John 6:42). This isn't all new to us-- we are reading John's gospel as a people who have committed to Jesus as Messianic King.
But we also recognize, that Philip here doesn't know the higher level of truth. Who is Jesus' Father?
John 1:14:
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Jesus' Father is (also) the Glorious God in heaven.
And where is Jesus from? At a lower level of truth, you could say he's from Nazareth. But we know that from the beginning of the world, that Jesus is from his heavenly Father's side.
So we read Philip's words, and we realize that there are things Philip doesn't understand. Is Philip trying to lie? Is he trying to be deceptive? No. But Philip is trying to understand Jesus on his terms. And we, as readers, know that there is a higher truth to all of this that Philip hasn't yet reached.
Again, that's not the end of the world. No one in the gospel of John has read the prologue. No one comes to Jesus, understanding everything. But we are supposed to remember that we are watching people who have just started their journey toward Jesus. And we shouldn't hear their words, and assume that they get everything right. Jesus is right. AJ is right. Everyone else... we have to think about what they say.
So Philip has told Nathaniel about Jesus. He did the best he could to point Nathaniel toward Jesus, even though there's a lot he still doesn't know. In verse 46, we read Nathaniel's response:
(46) And Nathaniel said to him,
"From Nazareth, can anything good come?"
Philip says to him,
"Come and see."
Nathaniel responds to Philip's invitation with some skepticism. He doesn't expect the Messiah to come from Nazareth. That sounds "off" to him. It sounds inadequate. But Philip encourages him to come toward Jesus. Come see for yourself.
Verse 47:
(47) Jesus saw Nathaniel coming toward him,
and he says about him,
"Look! A true Israelite, in whom deceit, there isn't.
Jesus sees Nathaniel coming toward him, and Jesus knows all about him-- just like he knew all about Simon, and Philip. And here, Jesus offers Nathaniel high praise. "LOOK! A true Israelite, in whom there is no deceit."
Now, we've already been introduced to the Judeans, and the Pharisees. They came to John the Baptist seeking answers, not understanding who John is. And they left, the same way they came. Not understanding. Not interested. Not following.
Nathaniel is not like "the Judeans" or Pharisees. Nathaniel is a model for what a true Israelite should look like.
Why?
Nathaniel comes to Jesus, not sure if Jesus is the Messiah. He's cautious. There are things about what he's been told that don't make sense-- that defy what he knows should be true about the Messiah (contrast John 6:42).
But Nathaniel comes to Jesus to see for himself. He's open-minded enough, to come toward Jesus. And so Jesus praises him for that. You can point to Nathaniel, and say, "If you are just learning about Jesus, imitate Nathaniel. Be open-minded. Come to Jesus. See for yourself. Make your own decision, after you come."
Verse 48:
(48) Nathaniel says to him,
"From where do you know me?"
Jesus answered,
and he said to him,
"Before Philip called you, while [you were] being under the fig tree, I saw you."
(49) Nathaniel answered him,
"Rabbi, you are the Son of God.
You are the King of Israel.
So Nathaniel was open-minded enough to come to Jesus, and see whether or not Jesus is Messiah.
And what he sees, convinces him that Jesus is... two things. Jesus is the Son of God. And Jesus is the King of Israel.
We read these words, and we're pleased. Nathaniel has come a long way, right? He has taken an enormous leap in his understanding.
But we should also know that there is still a gap between who Jesus is, and who Nathaniel thinks Jesus is.
Now, the question scholars disagree over in this verse, is just how big this gap is (I'm following Francis Moloney here).
I think it's important to see, at the start of this, that Nathaniel calls Jesus "Rabbi" for a second time. Nathaniel is a true Israelite, and he addresses Jesus within the framework of OT expectations for the Messiah.
So. Nathaniel gives Jesus two titles here: "Son of God," and "King of Israel." And he gives both titles, as a faithful Israelite.
Now, when WE hear "Son of God," we hear this in its full Johannine understanding. We know that Jesus is the Preexistent One, the One Toward His Father, the Unique Son.
But a first century Israelite would have understood this "son of God" language differently.
Let's turn to 2 Samuel 7:14-16, which are a promise God makes to King David:
12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, 15 but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. 16 And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’”
So here, we find this same kind of "sonship" language. God promises David that God will establish David's throne forever. He promises David, that David's son, will be God's son.
When we read these verses, as Jesus' disciples, we tend to focus on how Jesus is the fulfillment of this. God has established Jesus' kingdom, and he is building a house for God-- the church. And God is Father to Jesus, his son.
But if we read God's whole promise to David, it doesn't fit Jesus quite as well. Some of the details are really awkward, if God is only talking about Jesus.
In verse 13, Yahweh talks about how David's seed will build a house for his Name. In context, God is talking about how Solomon will build the temple (1 Kings 8). So Yahweh promises that He will be a Father to Solomon, and Solomon shall be a son to him. Solomon will be a son of God.
Then notice in verse 14, how Yahweh warns about what will happen when David's seed sins. "When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men."
This doesn't fit Jesus quite so well, right?
The truth is that every Davidic king was promised a special relationship with God. On the day when the king was enthroned, the king would announce that today, he had become God's son, and God had become his Father (Psalm 2). Every king, as part of the coronation, claimed this promise God made to King David.
And so I think we should read Nathaniel's words along these lines. When Nathaniel calls Jesus "Son of God," he is using a Messianic title about Jesus. Jesus is the Davidic King.
Is it possible that Nathaniel understands more than this? (and this is where commentators differ). Does Nathaniel understand AJ's prologue? WE do. We understand that Nathaniel is more right than he maybe knows.
But my guess is that he doesn't. And I say that because of what Nathaniel says next:
The second title Nathaniel gives Jesus, is that Jesus is King of... what? Of Israel.
Here, it's more obvious that there is a gap between what Nathaniel understands about Jesus, and who Jesus actually is.
Jesus is not just King of Israel. Amen? We know, from AJ's introduction, that Jesus is more than this. "To all who receive Jesus, and give their allegiance to him, Jesus gives them the right to become children of God."
And we know, from John the Baptist's words, that Jesus is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the WORLD.
Jesus is King. Absolutely. But the borders of his kingdom don't stop at Israelite territory. And entrance into this kingdom isn't restricted to Israelites. It's open to all who receive Jesus and give their allegiance to him.
So how should we view Nathaniel, and his words? We should view him positively, first of all. Jesus, who has supernatural knowledge about who people really are, correctly sees Nathaniel. He knows that he is a true Israelite, in whom there is no deceit.
And what that means, concretely, is being open-minded enough about Jesus to come to him, and see for yourself who Jesus is. What you've heard about Jesus may have made you skeptical. You may have questions, or objections, or doubts. If you are a Judean/Jew, you may wonder whether or not Jesus could be the Messiah, because he isn't what you expected (see the contrast at John 6:42). But Nathaniel listens to the invitation to "come and see." And when you come to Jesus, and see for yourself, and you are open-minded, you should be blown away.
So Nathaniel makes an enormous jump in his understanding here. He moves from doubt that Jesus could be the Messiah, to completely accepting that Jesus is the Son of God, the King of Israel.
Does he get everything right? No. We read his words, and understand that he is working within the limitations of what Israelites expected for the Messiah. But... Nathaniel does pretty well here. And even if he doesn't get everything perfect, he's taken the most important step. He's come toward Jesus, to see for himself.
Verse 50:
(50) Jesus answered,
and he said to him,
"Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree , do you believe?"
Greater things than these you will see,"
(51) and he says to him,
Truly, truly, I say to you, you (plural) will see the heaven having become open,
and God's angels ascending and descending to/upon the Son of Man.
What we see in these verses is something that's going to become important in the gospel of John. And that's this: the relationship between the signs and miracles that Jesus does, and "belief." Jesus had miraculous, supernatural knowledge about Nathaniel. And it was this knowledge that helped Nathaniel reach a far higher level of understanding about who Jesus is.
And after Nathaniel offers these titles, and praise, Jesus tells Nathaniel that he only begun to see what Jesus is capable of. Jesus can, and will, do far greater things than this.
And then Jesus sets the bar ridiculously high. Jesus promises Nathaniel that he will see "the heaven opened, and God's angels ascending and descending to/upon the Son of Man."
Jesus says this, and we pause. We feel lost, and confused. What does Jesus mean?
I'm not sure. This is the kind of verse that you read, and you immediately think, "I need help." And you turn to commentators, and it turns out, that this is complicated.
Let me try to explain it like this: First, I'll explain the OT background to Jesus' words. And this part, scholars mostly agree about. Then I'll try to explain how Jesus uses this background. And that's the part that's more debated. It's quite possible that parts of this are wrong. But hopefully I'll steer you in the right direction, toward the truth.
First, let's reread verse 51:
(51) and he says to him,
Truly, truly, I say to you, you (plural) will see the heaven having become open,
and God's angels ascending and descending to/upon the Son of Man.
We are supposed to hear an echo of Genesis 28:10-17 in Jesus' words:
10 Jacob left Beersheba and went toward Haran. 11 And he came to a certain place and stayed there that night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep. 12 And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder[b] set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it! 13 And behold, the LORD stood above it[c] and said, “I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring. 14 Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15 Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” 16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it.” 17 And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”
So, Jacob has this vision. And in this vision, there was a ladder set up on earth, that reached heaven. And angels were going up, and down, the ladder, from God back to Jacob.
What exactly are the angels doing?
Angels have two main jobs. First, they are messengers. They bring messages from God to people (Dan. 9:23). And, they bring messages from people to God. They carry prayers up to God (Rev. 8:3-4).
Second, they are helpers. It's often through angels that God helps his people. And since angels don't have wings, they use ladders to pass between the visible world, and the unseen realm of heaven.
So in Genesis 28, Yahweh opens Jacob's eyes to how God helps him. How does Jacob know that God will keep his promises? How does he know God will give him the land, and the offspring, and the blessings? How does Jacob know that God will truly be with him? He knows, because God shows him heaven opened, and the angelic help.
So, how does this help us understand John 1:51?
Let's reread it one more time:
"Truly, truly, I say to you, you (plural) will see the heaven having become open,
and God's angels ascending and descending to /upon the Son of Man."
Jesus tells Nathaniel that he will see the same thing Jacob saw. Nathaniel will see heaven opened, and angels ascending and descending-- only, now, to help Jesus.
Jesus knows that heaven has been opened to him. Even though the Word has become flesh, God is still with him.
When Jesus prays, angels bring his words up to God . And God, in turn, sends help back down.
Imagine that this was you. Imagine that heaven has been opened for you. That God hears everything you say to him. That there is nothing separating you from God. That whatever you desire, and whatever you ask for, God will give you. Imagine that God is willing to say "yes"-- if you only ask.
Jesus doesn't have to imagine any of this. Jesus knows that this is truth and reality for him.
And so he tells Nathaniel, you haven't really seen anything yet. "Come with me. Follow me. Keep your eyes open. And I will show you what God is willing to do through me, and for me, when I ask."
What will this look like, concretely? At the risk of giving a spoiler, Nathaniel will not literally see any of this, with his physical eyes, anywhere in the gospel of John. This is something that can be seen, and will be seen, but will require eyes of faith.
God is going to do remarkable, miraculous things-- signs-- through Jesus, and for Jesus, in the gospel of John. And these signs are only possible if John 1:51 is true. Nathaniel will see that the heavens are opened for Jesus. He will see angels going up with Jesus' prayers (John 11:42), and coming back down with God's answer and his help. Nathaniel will see God's glory-- and what God is willing to do for his children, when they call on Him (John 14:12). And it's not just Nathaniel that will see all of this. Jesus uses the second person plural-- "you all." "You all" will see these things happen. If you have eyes of faith.
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This verse is commonly taught as though Jesus is himself the ladder. The way English Bibles typically (woodenly, using formal equivalency) translate the key words lends itself to this interpretation.
The angels "descend upon" Jesus.
Brendan Bryne is typical (I think D.A. Carson also says something like this):
"In Jesus' promise 'heaven lies open' and the angels of God ascend and descend, not upon the ladder (as in Gen. 28:12) but upon the Son of Man-- that is, upon Jesus here designated for the first time in the gospel in this enigmatic way.
"Jesus, in other words, is the vehicle of the 'commerce' between heaven and earth. For Nathaniel-- and all who will share his journey of faith-- the barrier between heaven and earth will fall away; heaven will 'remain open' in a constant revelation of God. Like Jacob awakening from his dream, believers will exclaim, 'Surely the Lord is in this place-- and I did not know it' (Gen. 28:16); 'this is. . . the house (temple) of God' (Gen. 28:17c; cf. John 2:19-21); 'this is the gate of heaven' (Gen. 28:17d; cf. John 17:7-10)" (Life Abounding, pg. 50).
This interpretation of Jesus as the ladder is almost certainly wrong, for two reasons:
(1) It completely dismisses the angels. I think the idea is that Jesus will receive help like Jacob did; it will become obvious that God is with Jesus as He was with Jacob.
(2) In Luke 22:44, we find the same phrase--same verb plus preposition.
When Jesus is praying, his sweat became like great drops of blood "falling down upon/to the ground." ?ataßa????te? ?p? t?? ???.
The ground is not the passageway for the sweat. It's not a ladder for sweat. It's where the sweat ends up. Jesus is where the angels end up; Jesus isn't the passageway.
Also, see the Greek version of Numbers 11:9: "And whenever the dew descended upon the encampment during the night, the manna would come down upon it (so also LXX of 1 Chron. 11:23; Ps. 132:2, 3; Ezek. 47:8).
Actually, with all these examples, this looks pretty airtight. "To/Upon" describes where something/someone ends up, not the means by which they get somewhere.
The one commentator I read who almost gets it right (although he sort of tries to have it both ways) is Schnackenburg:
"From the Son of Man on earth, the angels go up to God with his desires and prayers, and come down to serve him. The same thought is expressed directly by Jesus when standing before the open tomb of Lazarus: 'Father. . . I knew that you always hear me (11:42), upon which the greatest miracle of the Johannine Jesus takes place, the raising of Lazarus, where the believer can 'see the glory of God' (11:40)" (1:321).
Jesus is not the ladder.
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With this, we come to the end of the first four days. How do we leave this chapter?
We leave chapter 1 with a sense of anticipation. We are ready to see Jesus do greater things. We are ready to see what it looks like when heaven has been opened, and angels are going up, and coming down, to help Jesus. We are ready to see Jesus revealed, for who he fully is. Not just a Rabbi. Not just the King of Israel. But the Son of God, in the truest, fullest sense of the word.
Who is Jesus, really? What will Jesus do? Come and see. Be open-minded to learning new truths about Jesus.
Be open-minded enough, to consider the possibility that Jesus is more than you think. That he's more, than what you think is possible.
And get ready to see what it looks like, when angels ascend to heaven with Jesus' prayers, and descend from heaven to help (John 11:41).
Translation:
(43) On the next day, he (Jesus) wished to depart for Galilee,
and he finds Philip,
and Jesus says to him,
"Follow me."
(44) Now, Philip was from Bethsaida, from the city of Andrew and Peter.
(45) Philip finds Nathaniel,
and he says to him,
"The one about whom Moses wrote in the law and the prophets we have found -- Jesus, the son of Joseph, the one from Nazareth."
(46) And Nathaniel said to him,
"From Nazareth, can anything good come?"
Philip says to him,
"Come and see."
(47) Jesus saw Nathaniel coming toward him,
and he says about him,
"Look! A true Israelite, in whom deceit, there isn't.
(48) Nathaniel says to him,
"From where do you know me?"
Jesus answered,
and he said to him,
"Before Philip called you, while being under the fig tree, I saw you."
(49) Nathaniel answered him,
"Rabbi, you are the Son of God.
You are the King of Israel.
(50) Jesus answered,
and he said to him,
"Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree , do you believe?"
Greater things than these you will see,"
(51) and he says to him,
Truly, truly, I say to you, you (plural) will see the heaven having become open,
and God's angels ascending and descending to/upon the Son of Man.
