The disciples of John were not the only men who began following Jesus. Andrew continued to bring other friends to Jesus. This incident preceded Jesus' formal appointment of the Twelve, but it shows Him preparing those who would become His disciples.
1:43-44 The next day appears to be the day after John the Baptist identified Jesus as the Lamb of God and two of his disciples, one of whom was Andrew, started following Jesus. John was evidently baptizing in Perea and Judea around the Jordan River (cf. Matt. 3:1, 5-6; Mark 1:5).90Now someone--the subject is absent in the Greek text--purposed to head north into Galilee. Probably this person was Andrew rather than Jesus. There are two reasons for this conclusion. Everyone else in this chapter who came to Jesus came on the invitation of someone other than Jesus. Moreover John seems to have been stressing the importance of witnessing for Jesus.
Andrew found Philip (a Greek name meaning "lover of horses") somewhere along the way or, most likely, in Galilee. Philip was from Bethsaida Julius in the region of Galilee (12:21). Having come to Jesus on Andrew's invitation, Philip accepted Jesus' invitation to follow Him. Andrew and Peter had also lived in Bethsaida evidently before they moved to Capernaum (Mark 1:21, 29). These men were all undoubtedly friends before they became Jesus' followers.
1:45 Philip then brought his friend Nathanael (meaning "God has given"or "given of God,"modern Theodore) to Jesus. Some commentators identify Nathanael with Bartholomew (cf. Matt. 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:14). However there is no good reason to equate these two men. The witness continued to spread through the most normal lines of communication, namely friend to friend, as it still does.
The prophecies to which Philip referred may have included Deuteronomy 18:15-19; Isaiah 53; Daniel 7:13; Micah 5:2; and Zechariah 9:9. These and others spoke of the Messiah. This suggests that the early disciples understood messiahship in the light of the Old Testament background rather than only in a political sense.91Philip described Jesus as Joseph's son, which is how people knew Him before they learned that He was the Son of God (v. 49).
"In one sense it is legitimate to view Jesus' disciples in the gospel of John (with the exception of Judas Iscariot) as believers in Him from near the beginning of His public ministry. In another sense, however, it is also clear that the disciples' faith in Jesus grew and developed as they observed the progress of His public ministry. The course of this development may be traced in the gospel of John."92
1:46 Nazareth had an insignificant reputation, at least for Nathanael, who came from Cana, a neighboring town (21:2). Nathanael doubted that the Messiah could come from such a lowly place as that. He did not yet understand Jesus' condescension. Philip wisely did not argue with him. He just invited him to "come and see"Jesus (cf. v. 39). John doubtless intended that the repetition of this invitation would encourage his readers to witness similarly. People just need to consider Jesus. Many who do will conclude that He is the Son of God (cf. v. 12).
"Honest inquiry is a sovereign cure for prejudice."93
1:47 Jesus declared that Nathanael was an Israelite in whom there was no deceit. Nathanael was the opposite of the original Israel, namely Jacob, who was very deceitful (Gen. 27:35-36; 28:12; cf. John 1:51). Therefore Jesus virtually said that Nathanael was an Israelite in whom there was no Jacob. Jesus evidently knew about Nathanael before Philip brought him to Him as He knew the other men whom He later formally called to be His disciples.
1:48 Nathanael acted surprised that Jesus knew who he was. Evidently they had not met previously. Jesus explained that He had seen Nathanael under a fig tree where he had been before Philip had called him to come and see Jesus. Some commentators have interpreted Jesus' reference to this fig tree figuratively as an allusion to Nathanael's house. Ancient Near Easterners sometimes referred to peaceful habitation figuratively as resting under one's vine and fig tree (1 Kings 4:25; Isa. 36:16; Zech. 3:10). However there seems to be no good reason to prefer a figurative over a literal meaning here.
1:49 Jesus' simple statement elicited the most dramatic reaction from Nathanael. He concluded that the only way Jesus could have seen him when he was under the fig tree was if Jesus had supernatural knowledge. Evidently Nathanael knew that he was completely alone and that no one could see him when he was under the fig tree.
Nathanael's reaction appears extreme at first since even prophets had knowledge of things other people knew nothing about. Why did Nathanael think Jesus was the Son of God and not just a prophet? The answer seems to be that even the title "Son of God"did not mean deity to all the Jews in Jesus' day. It meant that the person in view bore certain characteristics of God (cf. Deut. 3:18; 1 Sam. 26:16; Ps. 89:22; Prov. 31:5; Matt. 5:9; John 17:12). Nathanael appears to have regarded Jesus as the Messiah who had supernatural knowledge (cf. v. 45; 2 Sam. 7:14; Ps. 2:6-7; Isa. 11:1-2). However, Nathanael spoke better than he knew. Jesus was the Son of God in a fuller sense than he presently understood.
"In recording this estimate John is adding to the evidence accumulated throughout this chapter that Jesus is indeed the Messiah. Nathanael expresses this truth differently from the others, but the essential meaning is the same . . . Nor should we overlook the fact that Nathanael has just been called an Israelite."In calling Jesus King of Israel' he is acknowledging Jesus to be his own King: he is submitting to him."94
1:50 Jesus replied that Nathanael had not seen anything yet. This demonstration of supernatural knowledge was small compared to what Nathanael would see if he continued to follow Jesus as his rabbi (v. 49). This straightforward Jew had believed that Jesus was the Messiah because of very little evidence. Jesus would give him a more solid basis for his faith in the future (cf. 20:29). John did the same for his readers by recording several of these "greater things"in the chapters that follow.
1:51 Jesus then made a very important statement that He identified as such with the phrase "Truly, truly, I say to you"or "I tell you the truth"(Gr. amen amen lego humin). This phrase occurs 25 times in John's Gospel, and it always introduces a specially important affirmation.
Jesus used the imagery of Jacob's dream at Bethel to describe the greater revelation that Nathanael and his fellow disciples--the "you"in the Greek text is plural--would receive. The opening of the heavens pictures the insight that people on earth receive into what God is doing in heaven (cf. Acts 10:11; Rev. 4:1; 19:11). Jesus would reveal heavenly things, a theme that John developed throughout this Gospel. The angels of God are His agents that assist humans by taking their communications up to God above and by bringing knowledge of divine things down to them (cf. Heb. 1). The role of the Son of Man, Jesus' favorite title of Himself that He used over 80 times (Dan. 7:13), was to make this contact possible.95Similarly a staircase makes travel and communication between two physical levels possible. Jesus was promising Nathanael that He would prove to be the key to access to God and communication with God (cf. 1 Tim. 2:5). God had revealed Himself to Israel, the man and the nation, in a dream at Bethel previously. Now God would reveal Himself to a true Israelite, Nathanael, to all Israel, and to the world, directly through Jesus.
This first sub-section in the body of the fourth Gospel (vv. 19-51) contains the prelude to Jesus' public ministry. John stressed John the Baptist's witness to Jesus' identity, first in a veiled manner and then openly. Then he recorded the response of some of John's disciples, which was to follow Jesus. Philip's witness resulted in Nathanael's declaration of faith in Jesus, limited as it was, and Jesus' claim to be the revealer of God and the way to God. The "greater things than these"that Jesus promised (v. 50) follow providing an even more solid foundation for faith in Him (cf. 20:31).
At least 16 different names and titles of Jesus appear in chapter one: the Word (vv. 1, 14), the light (vv. 7-9), the only begotten of the Father (v. 14), Jesus Christ (v. 17), the only begotten God (v. 18), the Lord (v. 23), the Lamb of God (vv. 29, 36), a man (v. 30), the Son of God (v. 34), Rabbi (Teacher, vv. 38, 49), Messiah (v. 41), Jesus of Nazareth (v. 45), the son of Joseph (v. 45), the Son of God (v. 49), the King of Israel (v. 49), and the Son of Man (v. 51).
