FIRST FOLLOWERS – John 1:35-51

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on February 22, 2012 under PM Bible Study |

PM Home Bible Study Group; February 22, 2012

John 1:35-51

Theme: This passage helps us to appreciate the variety of ways that Jesus Himself convinced others of His identity.

(Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are taken from The Holy Bible, New King James Version; copyright 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc.)

This evening’s passage tells us the story of how some of Jesus’ first followers were drawn to Him. It tells the story specifically of four who were drawn into His circle of followers.

Now; to be perfectly accurate, there were five followers mentioned in this passage. One of them appears to be John himself—the writer of this Gospel. He was most likely the unnamed disciple of John the Baptist who left to follow Jesus with Andrew (1:35-37). As was typical of the apostle John (see John 13:4; 18:15-16; 19:26; 20:3, 4, 6, 8,, 10; 21:7-8, 20-23, 24), he tends to shy away from speaking about himself—not even giving his name. Some have even speculated that John went away to bring his brother James to Jesus—just as Andrew went away to bring his brother Peter. And if that was the case, then this may actually be a story of six new followers! But however many there actually were that are involved in this passage, we’re only told the specific stories of four—Andrew, his brother Peter, Philip and Nathaniel. Some speculate that the last disciple mentioned—Nathaniel—was one of the twelve disciples who also went by the name Bartholomew in Matthew 10:3, Mark 2:18, Luke 3:18, and Acts 1:13 (see the attached diagram, “Lists of The Twelve”). (If Nathaniel—mentioned again in John 21:3 by that name—is actually the same man as the disciple Bartholomew; then it’s interesting to note that in all the Gospel references above, he is closely associated with Philip. )

This passage is not only important for the fact that it tells us the story of Jesus’ first few disciples, but also because it demonstrates to us the unique ways that our Lord draws people to Himself even today. Each of us are different in our personalities—just as these four were different in their personalities. But each of them was captivated by the Savior in ways that were unique to them. He invited each one to come and follow Him; but His ways of introducing Himself to them and persuading them to follow were different.

Note how we’re told . . .

I. THE STORY OF ANDREW (vv. 35-40).

A. The story of Andrew is told in the context of the ministry of John the Baptist. In Matthew 3:5-6, we’re told, “Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him, and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins. ” John began to have a group of disciples that followed him—and still had some of them even after the ministry of Jesus began. Some of them came to Jesus and asked why it was that they fasted while Jesus’ disciples didn’t (Matthew 9:14). Jesus’ disciples once came to Him and asked, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples” (Luke 11:1). Andrew and another unnamed man (probably John the Gospel writer) were among those who were John the Baptist’s disciples at the time that John the Baptist declared Him to be the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).

B. The day after he had made that great declaration of Jesus (see vv. 29-34)—in which he testified clearly that Jesus is the Son of God—John the Baptist was standing with these two disciples (v. 35). We’re told, “And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, ‘Behold the Lamb of God!’” (v. 36). There was something about Jesus—even just in the way He walked—that demonstrated who He is. What an awesome experience that must have been—to stand by as the One who was declared by the testimony of God Himself to be His own beloved Son, the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world—walked by. How wonderful it must have been to behold Him! And we’re told, “The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus” (v. 37). John the Baptist did not come to declare himself. He came to declare Another. And when that One that he came to declare walked by, how could John’s disciples not leave him to follow the One he came to declare? This would have been perfectly acceptable to John the Baptist. Chapter 3 tells us that some of the Jews came to John and said, “Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified—behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!” (3:26). More were turning to Jesus than were turning to John. “John answered and said, ‘A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, “I am not the Christ,” but, “I have been sent before Him. ” He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease’” (3:27-30).

C. So; these two disciples of John left John and walked were Jesus walked. We’re told, “Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, ‘What do you seek?’” (v. 38). It’s obvious, of course, what they sought. They sought Him. They had seen Him walk, and they wanted to know more about Him. But His question from Jesus was intended to draw out from them that this was what they truly wanted. This was Jesus’ way with others. The two blind men who cried out to Jesus said, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David”; and when Jesus stood still and called for them, He asked, “What do you want Me to do for you?”. They said, “Lord, that our eyes may be opened” (Matthew 20:29-34). Surely Jesus knew what they wanted too. But He made them come out and say it. Perhaps He means for us today—who are drawn to Him—to say to Him that we really desire to know more about Him. These two disciples said, “’Rabbi’ (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), ‘where are You staying?’” (v. 39). They wanted not only to see how He walked, but where and how He lived. They couldn’t get enough of Him. And He graciously said, “Come and see” (v. 39a). They came and saw where He was staying—He of whom it would later be said that He had no place to lay His head (Matthew 8:20)! How differently He lived! We’re told that they stayed with Him for a while.

D. One of the things that we learn from the story of Philip—and, of course, from this other disciple (John?)—is that Jesus sometimes draws people to Himself through stages. They hear a little about Him in bits and pieces—much like Apollos in the book of Acts; who we’re told had an imperfect knowledge of Jesus, having only known “the baptism of John” (Acts 18:25). But it whets their appetite for Him; and they desire to leave those lesser levels of knowledge when they encounter Him in a more complete degree. They get to know Him in such a way that makes them hunger for more. They hear His call—”What do you seek? . . . Come and see!”

II. THE STORY OF PETER (vv. 39b-42).

A. In the providence of God, Andrew was called to Jesus in one way . . . and his brother Peter was called in another. We’re told that Andrew and the other disciple “remained with [Jesus] that day” until the “tenth hour” (that is, around 4:00 pm; see v. 39). What a wonderful time that must have been! What wonderful things they must have talked about. We can tell something of what the conversation must have been because one of these two—”Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother” (v. 40)—first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated, the Christ) (v. 41). In other words, the conversation had to have included Jesus’ identity as the promised Christ. (By the way; do you notice that this is the second time in this passage that John had to translate a Hebrew word into a Greek one? First, it was “Rabbi”; now it is “Messiah”. That’s because John’s Gospel isn’t just for the Jew, but also for the Gentile. )

B. Andrew had the right priority. There were lots of people that he could have gone to; but he went “first” to find his own brother. He loved Peter; and wanted him to know about the Messiah. The conversation he had with Jesus convinced him of His identity as the Christ. And so he went and found Peter, and “he brought him to Jesus” (v. 41). What an historic encounter! We’re told that “when Jesus looked at him, He said, ‘You are Simon the son of Jonah. . You shall be called Cephas’ (which is translated, A Stone)” (v. 42). (There’s another translation! Cephas is the Hebrew word for stone. ) Jesus—who sizes up a man immediately and accurately, and declares what it is that a man will be—changed Simon’s name. This man Simon was an unstable and sometimes unreliable man. He was not “stone-like”. But Jesus would change him. He would become “Peter”—the stone. Solid! Reliable! It would be this very man who would one day say to Jesus, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16); and to whom in return, Jesus would say, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (vv. 17-18).

C. What we learn from Jesus’ call of Peter, then, is that our Lord sometimes draws people to Himself through the ministry of another. The two disciples of John saw Jesus directly; and left John to follow Him. But someone close to Peter needed to go and get him and bring Him to Jesus. And what fixed Peter’s heart to Jesus was the Lord’s promise of what Peter himself would one day be. Peter certainly knew that he was no “stone”. But Jesus sometimes draws someone to Himself—not because of what they are when they come to Him, but by what He will by-and-by make them to be. Our Lord’s invitation to such people is a wonderful and encouraging one: “You are one thing; but you shall be called another!”

III. THE STORY OF PHILIP (vv. 43-44).

A. “The following day”—that is, the day after Philip and the unnamed disciple and Peter were called”—we’re told that “Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, ‘Follow Me’” (v. 43). Why did our Lord want to go to Galilee? We’re told that—on the day after this—”there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee” (2:1); and Jesus was intending to be there in order to perform His first miracle. But before He traveled, He extended an invitation to Philip to travel with Him. How He knew Philip is suggested to us in verse 44—”Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. ” Perhaps the talk from Philip and Peter drew this other man from their home-town to find out more about Jesus for himself.

B. What a wonderful invitation it must have been—to go with this One that keeps on giving evidence that He is the Son of God! And here’s another way that Jesus seems to draw some to Himself—to just learn about Him along the way; to walk with Him and see first-hand what He is like. To these, Jesus gives the invitation, “Follow Me”.

IV. THE STORY OF NATHANAEL (vv. 45-51).

A. An encounter with Jesus creates a wonderful chain-reaction, doesn’t it? One person tells another about Him. Perhaps the day was still young; and as he got ready to make the trip with Jesus to Galilee, Philip had time to run and tell his friend Nathanael about the wonderful Person that he and Andrew and Peter have come to know. “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’” (v. 45). By the way; Philip wasn’t saying something that denied the virgin birth of our Savior. As Luke 3:23 has it, He was “(as was supposed) the son of Joseph . . . ” But as soon as Nathanael heard the word “Nazareth”, he was skeptical. “And Nathanael said to him, ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’” (v. 46). Nazareth was a small ‘hick’ town that was looked down on. It was not where someone would expect anything good to come from at all—and least of all the Messiah! It would have been like telling someone that the hope of the ages has just been found in “Hootersville”. Philip, however, was showing himself to be a wise evangelist. He didn’t argue with Nathanael’s skepticism. He just said, “Come and see. ” And apparently Nathanael did so.

B. Now; let’s use a little “sanctified imagination”. Let’s suppose that Nathanael had been doing a lot of thinking about the rumors he had heard about Jesus. He might have been like a lot of folks today in that way. And as he walked along and thought, he may have eventually come to rest beneath the shade of a fig tree. All his thoughts about the Messiah may have brought to his memory the ancient scriptural story of Jacob—the man later named Israel, from whom his own people had descended.

1. Jacob, as you remember, was the man through whom God had promised to send the Messiah to the nation of Israel. The hopes of a future Redeemer were wrapped up that man Jacob. And yet, Jacob was a rascally man who, sadly, proved often to be a deceiver. Jacob was the youngest of two brothers. He was able, however, to deceive his older brother out of his birthright, and was eventually able to deceive his own father into blessing him over Esau. Even Jacob’s own father told Esau; “Your brother came with deceit and has taken away your blessing” (Gen. 27:35); and Esau responded by saying, “Is he not rightly named ‘Jacob’ [which means “one who takes by the heal” or “one who deceives”], because he has supplanted me these two times” (v. 36). So much of Jacob’s story was built on deceit; yet, he nevertheless was an object of God’s grace, and proved to be the man through whom God fulfilled His promise to Abraham.

2. A godly man longs for holiness—both in his own heart and in the hearts of those around him. I believe Nathanael sat beneath the fig tree and reflected on these things, because he was frustrated with the deceit of those around him—and perhaps even the deceit he felt within himself. He longed for the day when the Messiah would come and finally remove all deceit from the hearts of his fellow countrymen, and would bring about God’s righteous rule upon the earth from the place that God had promised to Abraham, Isaac and—yes—even Jacob.

3. As this longing arose in Nathanael’s thoughts, he remembered the story of one of the most important turning point in Jacob’s life. Eventually, because he had so deceived his own brother that his life came to be in danger, Jacob left his father’s house and journeyed to the east —to the land from which his family had originated. But on the way, God revealed Himself to Jacob and reaffirmed to him the covenant promise He made with his grandfather Abraham. Jacob had come to rest from his travels at a certain place and prepared to sleep for the night. He placed a stone at his head, and went to sleep. And as he slept, God gave him a dream in which he saw a marvelous ladder that was set up on the earth—a ladder so high that it reached up to heaven. Angels of God were ascending and descending upon that ladder; and the God of Israel Himself stood above it. He spoke to Jacob in this dream; and said,

“I am the LORD God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; an in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. 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 spoken to you” (Gen. 28:13-15).

Jacob awoke from this dream. It had been so startlingly real that he was terribly afraid. He thought, “The Lord Himself is in this place; and I didn’t even know it!” He named the place “Bethel”, which means “The House of God”; because he said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!” (v. 17). He arose in the morning, set up the stone he slept on as a monument, anointed it with oil, and vowed himself to God.

C. As I said, we’re somewhat speculating about the thoughts of Nathanael, of course. But it could be that, as he sat under the fig tree, he thought to himself, “Oh, when will the Messiah finally come? Where will He come from? Will He descend down from heaven? Will He present Himself to the nation from the temple? Perhaps He will make His appearance in the royal palace in Jerusalem. If only these rumors about the Messiah that I’ve been hearing lately were true!” These thoughts may have still been fresh in his mind as he came with Philip to Jesus. We’re told, “Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, ‘Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!’” (v. 47). And it seemed that those words had a tremendous impact on Nathanael. Did he just have the shocking experience of having his deepest thoughts suddenly revealed to him by this complete Stranger who Philip was calling the Messiah? Here’s what we can be sure about the situation:

1. We can be sure that Jesus knows our thoughts and the longings of our hearts. When Jesus saw Nathaniel—a man who had never met Him before—He immediately disclosed the thoughts of his heart. “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!” (v. 47). Nathaniel was shocked! His words, “How do You know me?” meant (v. 48), “How did You know what I was thinking? Did Philip tell you? But that’s impossible! How could You have possibly known what was going on in my mind?” And Jesus told him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you” (v. 48). How like Jesus this is! In the next chapter, we’re told that Jesus “knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man” (2:24-5).

2. We can also be sure that Jesus is that long awaited Messiah. Nathaniel responded to Him by proclaiming, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” (v. 49). And Jesus didn’t deny this. Instead, He affirmed it. He said, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these” (v. 50). And indeed, Nathaniel would see them; because He would witness the miracles and healings; and he would eventually even see Jesus rise from the dead.

3. We can also be sure that Jesus is the way to God. Nathaniel had been meditating on the marvelous “ladder” that Jacob saw in a dream—the ladder that made the connection between heaven and earth. And now, Jesus was presenting Himself as that ladder. He said, “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” (v. 51). Later, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him. ” Philip—the man who introduced Nathaniel to Jesus—said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father and it is sufficient for us. ” And Jesus told him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father . . . ” (John 14:6-9).

D. So; here’s yet another way that Jesus draws some to Himself. He welcomes them to Himself in the midst of their skepticism and frustration, and reveals Himself to them gloriously—in just the way that person needs. Our Lord even prepares them beforehand through the reflections of their own hearts! We don’t have to answer all the questions such people may have. All we need to say is, “Come and see for yourself. ” It’s up to Jesus to then tell them, “You will see greater things than these. “