john 1:43-51 We have found Him

We have found Him

John 1:35–42 NKJV

Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, “Behold the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. 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?” 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). One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated, the Christ). 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.”

1:37 “The two disciples.” One of these was Andrew (v. 40), who brought Peter to Jesus. The other was probably John, the author of this Gospel. We only see Andrew three times as a main character; in each of them, he is bringing someone to Jesus (here, and in John 6:8–9, and John 12:22). 1:41 “We have found the Messiah … the Christ.” Whatever was discussed that afternoon and evening (v. 39) had convinced Andrew that Jesus was the Messiah. 1:42 “You are Simon … You shall be called Cephas.” The word “Cephas” is Aramaic. We get “Peter” from the Greek word, petros, which also means a “rock” or “stone.” This “nick-name” from Jesus anticipates the prominent role Peter would play among the disciples. 1:43 “The following day … Jesus … found Philip.” This theme of the early disciples seems to be stressing that Jesus found some, but the early disciples then found others. It is a picture of how discipleship works. 1:44 “Bethsaida … the city of Andrew and Peter.” Peter and Andrew knew James and John (Mark 1:16–20). They most likely would also have known Philip and Nathanael. 1:45–46 “Philip found Nathanael.” Nathanael is not mentioned in the other Gospels, and we believe he is the same as Bartholomew (Matt. 10:3; Mark 3:18). “We have found Him of whom Moses … wrote—Jesus of Nazareth.” Here, Philip is referring to the prophecy of Deuteronomy 18:15 about the “Prophet” (see v. 21). This shows early on that the disciples believed in Jesus as the promised Messiah and Savior. “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” The village of Nazareth was a small, out-of-the-way village in Galilee, also a scorned area. In Nathanael, He found a man like the one spoken of in Psalm 32:2. “Before Philip called you … I saw you.” Jesus allows the disciples a glimpse into His ability to know all things. 1:49 “Rabbi, You are the Son of God.” Nathanael uses the Old Testament title for Messiah to proclaim his faith in Jesus (2 Sam. 7:14–16; Psalm 2:7; Dan. 7:13–14). 1:50–51 “You will see greater things than these.” The Gospel of John is composed around seven “signs” Jesus performs to demonstrate His identity and power. These “signs” culminate in the eighth great “sign,” which is Jesus’ resurrection from the dead (2:18–19). “You shall see heaven open.” This may refer back to the vision of Jacob (Gen. 28:12–17).

John 1:35 Again the next day John was standing with two of his disciples. This occurs after the baptism of Jesus and after the temptations in the wilderness. Jesus ministered in both Jerusalem, Judea, and Galilee prior to calling his disciples to follow Him fully in Matthew 4, Luke 5, and Mark 1. When it says JOHN WAS STANDING, this is an idiom for preaching. John was doing what he was called to do. Preach the gospel of the Kingdom to people. Two of his disciples, Andrew and John (the writer of this Gospel), were with John the Baptist

1. The first thing Jesus says in the Gospel of John is a question . what do you seek.

2. But the ones to whom it is asked do not answer. They respond with another question that is really not to the point.

3. They were not sure what they were seeking but they were following Jesus Christ the Lamb of God.

4. Turn to John 21:22 here we have the last words of Jesus Christ in the Gospel of John: Jesus said to him . You follow Me! So the first words: What do you seek. The final words: You follow me.

5. Between these two statements we have the Gospel of John, the good news about Jesus Christ. We find out what we are to seek and we find out about the one we are to follow. Gospel of John 24

6. Like many young believers, Andrew and John did not know what they were seeking, but they were following Jesus Christ.

1. They were from widely different backgrounds and had very different personalities.

2. They spent nearly three years together and they fought, argued, and made a lot a mistakes.

3. Yet they stuck together because of their common relationship to Jesus Christ.

4. Jesus saw something in this band of misfits that was of value and that there differences would be a strength, an asset and not a weakness. Proverbs 27:17. Iron sharpens iron, So one man sharpens another

5. The word FOUND is a perfect tense, we have found and we continue in the present to find the Messiah. The word itself means to find something good after seeking it

Andrew and John had been disciples of John the Baptist and when they heard their teacher proclaim that Jesus was the unique lamb of God, they followed Him and sought out the Savior

So Jesus sought him out and upon finding him said, “Follow Me”. FOLLOW ME is a verb and a pronoun: Active voice imperative. A command which gave Philip a volitional decision to respond. The word is significant in many ways.

1. It comes from a very old word that means PATH. And in following Jesus Philip set his foot upon a new path of life.

2. It is generally used in the Bible to follow the earthly Jesus and establishing a personal relationship with Him.

3. Jesus did not wait for volunteers when issuing this invitation. He sought out those who would follow Him.

4. One who sets his foot upon this new path gives up other paths upon which his life was set. To follow Jesus was to embark upon a new adventure on a new path.

5. Since the one who follows shares in the life of the one he is following, he shares in His joy as well as His suffering. To “follow the Lord” is much more than a mere physical act of following someone. It is following Him on a new pathway of life. We can see at verse 45 that Philip understood the significance of the offer to follow the Lord Jesus because, he did not follow him . Not in a physical sense. He followed Him by going out and finding someone else just as Jesus had found him

John 1:46 And Nathanael said to him, Can any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip said to him, Come and see. There are a number of things we need to see in this verse.  Nathanael, who is also called Bartholomew, was from Cana of Galilee.  There was a sense of superiority and even bigotry in his question of whether or not anything good could come out of insignificant Nazareth.  The word “good”, however, is agathos, which would also indicate that Nathanael is thinking in terms of divine good, and failing to understand why the Messiah, sent from God, would end up in Nazareth. This is not too unlike people today who identify places as more important than people. Who have a bias or even a bigotry regarding where a person came from and fail to see the person, his message, and that God often chooses the weak things of the world to confound the wise. Micah 5:2 But as for you, Bethlehem Ephratah, Too little to be among the clan of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity. Philip did not have an answer for this so he did what perhaps all of us should do more often . he told his friend Come and see. BEFORE WE LOOK FURTHER AT Nathanael, let’s look more closely at Philip. Philip is a Greek name which would tell us that his parents were probably not devote Jews but influenced by the Hellenistic (Greek) culture. His description of the Messiah to his friend shows us that he was a student of the Word. He knew what the Bible said about the promised Messiah from both the Law and the Prophets. Philip is also seen as a man who finds himself out of his depth at times. When Nathanael questions him, he says Come and see. When Jesus feed the multitude, Philip’s response was that even 200 denarii would not feed that many. When the Greeks came to find Jesus they came first to Philip but he did not know what to do so he took them to Andrew. While some of the disciples were of exceptional ability, Philip is seen as a perfectly ordinary man. And it is encouraging to see that Jesus went out of His way to find this most ordinary disciple. And we see a virtue in Philip. When he did not know what to say or do, he took the ones with questions to those who had the answers. He did not mind saying: I don’t know but come and see . As a result of this “virtue”, Nathanael came to Jesus Christ.

John 1:47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and said of him, Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! The word GUILE was used at one time for bait in a trap. The word came to refer to those who used cunningness to deceive. Homer used this word for the Trojan Horse. In the Greek Old Testament it was used of Jacob, the chiseler. So Jesus said of Nathanael that he was not a man who used deceit or cunningness to trap others. Hence a man who was open, honest, said what he meant and meant what he said

The term King of Israel is important for two reasons.

1. Jesus had called Nathanael an Israelite and now Nathanael claims that Jesus is the King of Israel . his king.

2. While Nathanael offers this title out of respect, others would come to use it out of derision. Mark 15:32 Let this Christ, the King of Israel, now come down from the cross, so that we may see and believe! And those who were crucified with Him were casting the same insult at Him.

John 1:50 Jesus answered and said to him, Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You shall see greater things than these. It was Jesus knowing Nathanael was under the fig tree that brought Nathanael to faith in Christ. For Philip, it was Jesus, seeking him. For Andrew and John, the testimony of John the Baptist. And for Peter, his brother bringing him to Christ. There are many roads that are traveled, but only one gate and that is the only way to salvation, Jesus Christ.

 the Word,

 eternal God,

 the true light and the light of men,

 the only begotten of the Father,

 the only begotten God,

 the Lord,

 the Lamb of God,

 the Messiah,

 the Son of God,

 Rabbi, and

 the King of Israel.

His eternal pre-existence as God, His deity, His humanity, His sovereign authority is proclaimed by man. Yet He calls Himself, “THE SON OF MAN.” That is the title Jesus used for himself exclusively and more than any other title. He was the Son of Man, who came as man to serve, who came to save, who came to deliver us from hell and death . to be the man Jesus, whom we can follow. AND HE SAID . FOLLOW ME