January 3-John 1:29-51
Were some of Jesus disciples, John the Baptist’s disciples first? Looks like it. Andrew for one (see Jn 1:40). He went and found his brother Simon and told him “We have found the Messiah.” Then Andrew brought Simon to Jesus and Jesus sized him up and changed his name to Peter.
In verse 40, John the writer of the Gospel is probably the other disciple of John the Baptist who followed Jesus. This would explain his knowledge of these events, and it is typical of the way he cloaks himself in the shadows in his Gospel.
The call of Nathanael is profound. Jesus first finds Philip and says to him “Follow me.” Philip, like Andrew and Peter, (vs. 44) are from the town of Bethsaida. Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, (see Deuteronomy 18:15ff.) and about whom the prophets also wrote–Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Nathanael shrieks, “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?”
Then Nathanael meets Jesus, who gives this assessment of Nate, “Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false.” In other words Jesus, compliments him as “One who pulls no punches, but speaks his mind.” This causes Nathanael to ask, “How do you know me?” Jesus answers, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”
Immediately Nathanael recognizes that Jesus has supernatural knowledge–like the Psalmist said of God in Psalm 139:2, “You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.” Now Nathanael accepts Philip’s testimony. He exclaims, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God.” Jesus tells him he will see greater things–even the fulfilment of the ladder which Jacob saw at Bethel in his dream (Genesis 28:12ff) of heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending. Only here the stairway or ladder is Jesus himself–the Son of Man.
Consider Jesus call to us today to follow him. Does he give us a new name like he did to Simon? Certainly he changes our lives and gives us new direction. Does he demonstrate that he knows our heart as he did to Nathanael? Certainly he convicts us and brings us to new beliefs.
Again I welcome your questions or comments.
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Neat to think that Nathaniel would probably have made the connection to the psalm 139, or perhaps even other OT references to God as knowing our thoughts. I don’t often realize how well the first century Jews knew the history and the writings of their people.