Scripture: John 1:43-51
Date: July 10, 2011
Speaker: Sean Higgins
John’s gospel aims to foster faith in Jesus Christ. The evangelist writes that we may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and that by believing we may have life in His name.
The life is eternal, it is abundant, it is Trinitarian. The Logos, Jesus Christ, was God was with God. In Him was life and He took on flesh in order to bring light and life to all those who receive Him.
The first witness in John’s gospel is John the Baptist. The Baptist pointed men to the Messiah and pointed his own disciples to Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. As Andrew, John, and Peter follow Jesus (1:35-42), all attention turns to Jesus as He gathers a small group of followers.
In this paragraph, 1:43-51, Jesus calls two more disciples and we learn that when you follow the revelation, you end up on Jesus. Philip tells Nathanael that the Law and the prophets point to Jesus. Nathanael recognizes that Jesus reveals things only known to God. And Jesus tells the disciples to watch Him because God will center His revelation on Jesus. If you follow the revelation, then you follow Jesus.
We’re invited to come along during the first week of Jesus’ ministry. It is the fourth day, the next day (v.43), the day after two of John’s disciples left John and followed Jesus, when Jesus renamed Simon (vv.35-42), which was the day after John the Baptist declared Jesus to be the Lamb of God (vv.29-34), which was the day after John responded to the religious delegation sent from Jerusalem (vv.19-28).
Jesus decided to go to Galilee. No decision or movement of Jesus is unimportant, though not all of His movements are recorded for us. Jesus and His (now) three followers leave Bethany (see 1:28) and head west to find Philip in Bethsaida, the “House of Fish” or “Fishertown,” on the north east side of the Sea of Galilee.
According to verse 44, Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. It seems unlikely that this is a coincidence. Instead, it likely explains the purposeful movement. Andrew and Peter already knew Philip and they probably told Jesus about him. Philip also may have been a disciple of John the Baptist, and even if not, he had been looking for the Messiah (verse 45).
When Jesus found Philip He said to him, “Follow me.” The command is simple and bold. It defines discipleship and challenges many models of ministry today, an upfront call for commitment.
Philip puts up no resistance, no argument. Again, I think it’s because the background info in verses 44 and 45 provide context: Philip was looking for the Messiah and he already knew Andrew and Peter who were also looking for the Messiah and who were now following Jesus.
Immediately, Philip found Nathanael, just as Andrew found Simon the previous day. The name “Nathanael” isn’t found in Matthew, Mark, or Luke. Nathanael is probably the personal name of Bartholomew (a family name which means “son of Tholomaios”), who is linked with Philip in all three Synoptic lists of the apostles (see Matthew 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:14). The name Bartholomew isn’t found in the fourth gospel, so it’s likely the same person.
There is something about following Jesus that you can’t keep to yourself. Philip’s witness brings us to our first point.
Philip says,
We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. (verse 45)
The Law and the prophets was a shorthand way to refer to the Jewish Scriptures, what we call the Old Testament. A few things stand out about Philip’s comment.
It affirms Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch, the Law. The doubts and denials about Moses writing the first five books of the Old Testament are too many. Philip affirms the perspective of a first century Jew.
It accents the Christ-pointing purpose of the Old Testament. Christians have no reason to be nervous about, and certainly must not neglect, the first 39 books of the Bible. If Christ is our Christ then all the inspired books about Christ are our books. Do be careful, though, “finding” Christ in every verse. He’s not hidden in every verse, though the narrative arc points us to the Messiah and would be incomplete without Jesus.
It acknowledges the Incarnation as historical, not mythical. Philip calls Him, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. Though born in Bethlehem, Jesus grew up in Nazareth. And though no man impregnated Mary, her husband Joseph was still Jesus’ legal father. Besides, at this point, most people wouldn’t have known about the virgin birth anyway. Details about His hometown and His dad demonstrate historical reality.
To summarize, when Moses wrote about a seed who would crush the serpent’s head, the seed is Jesus. When Isaiah promised a sufferer who would bear the iniquities of God’s people, the sufferer is Jesus. Look no further than Jesus as the fulfillment of God’s revelation in the OT Scriptures. Philip said, We have found him.
Nathanael gives Philip grief and said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (verse 46b) Nazareth was a small town with probably no more than 2000 citizens. The cause for Nathanael’s reaction is unclear. Perhaps he was a bigot. Perhaps Nazareth and Cana, both Galilean cities (with Cana being Nathanael’s hometown, John 21:2), were rivals of some sort. Perhaps he was just being skeptical, especially since there’s nothing in the OT about Nazareth. Regardless, Philip doesn’t try to answer that question. He responds, “Come and see.” That’s exactly how Jesus responded to the questions of Andrew and John the previous day.
Some discipleship wisdom comes here. Not every question requires a fight. Philip could have debated with Nathanael, he could have admonished Nathanael for his prejudice or thoughtlessness. Instead, Philip offers Nathanael the best defense: Jesus Himself.
We can do that, too. We have the Old Testament and the New, including the Gospels that are full of stories about Him, who He is and what He did and what He said. Cynicisms and criticisms take on a life of their own, they look large if we don’t put them in Jesus’ light. Take them to the revelation, it leads to Jesus.
Jesus can handle the questions, the doubts, the scrutiny. Every believer was an unbeliever at some point. We get so nervous about scoffers. What did we expect our witness would be good for if no witnesses were necessary?
Not only does Jesus fulfill divine revelation, He gives it.
Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” 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.” Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” (verses 47-49)
As Philip and Nathanael approached, Jesus said, Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit. He said this to Andrew, John, and Peter, and apparently within earshot of Philip and Nathanael. Jesus reveals not only that He knew Nathanael’s location prior to meeting him, but also that He knew Nathanael’s heart. Only God knows where men are, outside and in.
Jesus states that Nathanael has no “guile” (KJV), no deceit. There was nothing duplicitous about this Israelite, nothing underhanded or cunning about him, ironic since the original “Israel,” Jacob came “with deceit” (δόλος, the same Greek word as here, Genesis 27:35-36). That must have been refreshing; it’s refreshing today. How much more enjoyable to meet a man where what you see is what you get. Religious deceit is so ugly and so damaging. An honest, sincere person is observable, but Jesus knew and revealed the condition of Nathanael’s heart because He was God.
Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” It would be startling to have someone tell you your heart, and Jesus’ reply was no less startling. Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” We don’t know what Nathanael was doing under the tree, but Jesus displays divine knowledge, a sight only possible to God. God sees what men don’t see. God sees men when they don’t think He’s looking.
While Jesus didn’t utilize all of His divine prerogative and abilities, He did not stop being God when He became a man. It’s one of the reasons Jesus is so compelling, some to awe and others to hate, because He is God and He lived like it. If you follow Jesus, you see divine revelation.
Nathanael’s tune changes immediately. Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel! Even more titles are added to Jesus’ already impressive resume in chapter one. The Son of God means Jesus is God, of the same character as God. King of Israel refers to the promised, anointed One. Jesus fulfills these promises, though not in the ways many Jews expected. For all that Nathanael didn’t know, his resistance was overcome as Jesus imparted divine revelation.
The display of divinity to Nathanael, Jesus says, is nothing compared to the revelation still to come.
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.” 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.”
Nathanael was impressed by Jesus’ initial display of sovereign knowledge. Now Jesus promises that he would see much greater things.
Jesus begins with Truly, truly, a double “ἀμήν” that indicates the pay-attention-to-this-edness of what follows. And here Jesus broadens His point to all five disciples, Truly, truly, I say to you (all) [plural].
To see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending goes back to Genesis 28:10ff and Jacob’s ladder vision. Jacob saw angels ascending and descending as God affirmed His faithfulness. Jacob called that place Bethel, which means, “house of God,” and he said “this is the gate of heaven.”
When you see heaven opened you see God. According to Jesus, “No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man” (John 3:13). For Jesus to say that all the five disciples would see heaven opened and angels ascending and descending on Himself, He says that they would witness God’s ongoing presence and work in Jesus. Jesus embodies, Jesus is the “house of God” in flesh. Jesus Himself is the “gate of heaven,” the way to God, not at a certain time, but always. “What the disciples shall see is heaven permanently open over Jesus” (Lenski). Follow the revelation and you see Jesus.
It’s interesting that Jesus identified Nathanael as an Israelite, and Jacob’s name became Israel. Also, Jacob, the deceiver (Genesis 27), renamed Israel (Genesis 28), a passage referenced by Jesus in verse 51. Nathaniel was not a deceiver, and an Israelite.
Jesus provides the final title of chapter one as He refers to Himself as the Son of Man. Not “a” son of (some specific) man or the son of “men.” Jesus is a man, identified as a human, but more than that. In fact, the title originates in Daniel 7 in a prophecy about a coming international ruler, one given universal authority by the Ancient of Days.
I saw in the night visions,
and behold, with the clouds of heaven
there came one like a son of man,
and he came to the Ancient of Days
and was presented before him.
And to him was given dominion
and glory and a kingdom,
that all peoples, nations, and languages
should serve him;
his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away,
and his kingdom one
that shall not be destroyed.
Daniel 7:13-14
He would be King of Israel, but He would be the Lord or lords and King of all kings. “Son of Man” is Jesus’ favorite reference for Himself, found on Jesus’ lips some 80 times and over 10 times in the Gospel of John.
He is the Savior, the promised one. He fulfills the Law (Genesis 28) and the prophets (Daniel 7). Believe Him and have life in Him. Divine revelation points to Him, comes from Him, and centers on Him.
The apostle John provides some insight about the call of discipleship in this paragraph. The first five followers of Jesus are now known, and we see some about that process. We have a great God to see and become like:
Our God is not threatened by small beginnings. The incarnation itself argues the point, but it’s been 30 or so years of obscurity for the God-man before He calls any followers. Even now, the followers are few in number and not glorious in occurrence. His coming out party is not really much of a party.
Plant seeds and let God grow them. It only takes a spark to get a fire going.
Our God is not threatened by questions and criticisms. He’s not afraid to engage, He’s not afraid to be doubted and disbelieved. Truth can handle itself in the ring; it doesn’t need protection.
Shine your light in the dark. Darkness can’t overcome His light no matter how much it complains.
Our God is not threatened by personal exposure. Again, consider the incarnation and Jesus’ invitations. He invites the observation. Come and see.
Make disciples like this. Making disciples is personal, at least the way Jesus did it.
He is creating a certain sort of people because He is a certain sort of person.
If you are here and skeptical of Jesus, come and see. Follow the revelation. It leads to Jesus.