Do you remember yesterday we learned about the first disciples of Jesus? Today we’ll learn about some new disciples in John 1:43-51.
43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. 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 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 there is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 50 Jesus answered 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, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
We know that Andrew and Simon Peter are disciples of Jesus. Now Jesus is on his way to Galilee and finds Philip. Do you note that it doesn’t say he went looking for him, or accidentally met him along the way, he FOUND Philip. He said “follow me” and Philip did. Then Philip found Nathanael and told him the news “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph“. Nathanael, being a typical Jewish man (I’m assuming Jewish though I’m not specifically told here), asked if anything good could come out of Nazareth. This article points out some reasons why Nazareth had negatives overtones to it.
Philip’s only response to him was “come and see”.
Ah look.. Nathanael is Jewish… Jesus calls him “an Israelite in whom there is no deceit”. CAn you imagine it? Imagine if Christ greeted you saying “Look, it’s Annette… a Canadian in whom there is no deceit”. I would be FLABBERGASTED! Seriously. It’s not like Nathanael had met Jesus before this, and before Nathanael had even been introduced to Jesus, Jesus called that greeting out. It’s no small wonder that Nathanael asked how Jesus could know that detail…and note… Nathanael didn’t deny what Jesus said. No false modesty, no blushing, just how did you know?
Now catch this remarkable thing….Jesus knew who Nathanael was because he saw him under a fig tree. Can you picture the shock? Knowing this, Nathanael’s faith blossomed. To me it seems like he blurted out “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” For someone to know that much about you without being there? A mind blowing experience for Nathanael.
Jesus makes him a promise that he will see far greater things than this. Nathanael will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man. Quite the promise eh? I wonder what that meant for him?
Have you noticed two things?
In our last reading Andrew brought the next disciple to Jesus. In this passage, Philip brought the next disciple to Jesus. Two men, convinced of who Jesus was, and they both brought someone to the Lord. I see that truth and it makes me sad…. I haven’t done this I think. I know a child in VBS, I talked to that child about the Lord and he made a commitment, but I don’t know what happened beyond that. But as adult, have I brought someone to the Lord, to introduce them to the Saviour and then have the Lord change their life. I’ve become too insulated I think… to fearful of being honest about my faith, to afraid to face the hard questions from people who need to know the Lord and will ask questions I don’t know the answer to, or will be too sure of myself in my faith that I come across too harsh or unmoving. These days are the days of asking questions, of helping people see the truth that God hides within us.
The questions before me today (and before you perhaps) is this: how can I be more like Philip and Andrew? Knowing that Christ is Lord, who can I bring to meet him? How will I do so? It’s not like I can say Hey.. come meet this guy. So how can I introduce people to Christ? How do I let them see Christ living in me?
How can I be more like Simon Peter and Nathanael. Seeing Christ in action and knowing who he is. Acknowledging that fact. Living out a day to day existence with Jesus and letting that exposure change who I am and how I relate to the people around me. Let my heart be open eh?
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