Text: John 1:35-51<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I. On the day following John’s testimony that Jesus was the Christ (John 1:35-42) <\/p>\n A. John was standing with two disciples when Jesus walked by. John pointed him\nout and said, “Behold the Lamb of God.” \n
B. This was sufficient for these two. <\/p>\n 1. John had been announcing the coming of one greater than he and this\nperson had now arrived. \n
2. They immediately began to follow Jesus.<\/p>\n C. Perhaps knowing the greatness of Jesus from John they did not speak to him, but\nsimply followed him. \n
1. Jesus eventually turns and ask what it was that they sought. <\/p>\n 2. Though they had yet to met Jesus personally, they addressed him as\nteacher. \n a. With this, they are humbly asking Jesus to instruct them and they\nwished to know where they might go and receive that instruction. \n b. As a side note: the fact that John interprets the Hebrew word rabbi,\nshows that John’s target audience might not be familiar with\nHebrew.\n 3. It was late in the day, being about four o’clock in the afternoon, so Jesus\ninvites them to follow him and see where he is staying. \n
4. They remain the rest of the day with him, though little of it was left.<\/p>\nII. We learn that one of the two who came to Jesus was named Andrew, which of course\nleaves us wondering who was the other one. \n A. The most likely answer is John who rarely names himself (see John 20:2-3, 8 as\nan example). \n B. However, his presence is implied in his detailed knowledge of the events (even\nrecalling the hour of the day).\n C. Andrew’s conversation with Jesus, combined with John’s testimony, convinced\nhim that the Messiah had truly come. \n 1. He went to his brother Simon, told him of his find, and brought him to\nJesus, probably that same evening. \n 2. Simon’s name means unloved or hated (Genesis 29:33) others translate the\nname as meaning fearful or timid, \n a. But Jesus said he would be called Cephas (Syriac) or Peter (Greek)\nwhich means a stone or rock. \n
b. Here Jesus demonstrates power beyond men. <\/p>\n c. He knew both Simon’s name, his father’s name, and greater he\ngave him a name which would be more suitable for him in later\nlife. \n d. In other words, at their meeting Jesus knew Simon’s current and\nfuture character. \n e. Notice that Simon accepts and begins using his new name\nimmediately.\n
III. On the following day, began journeying toward Galilee and met Philip – John 1:43-51<\/p>\n
A. Philip was from Bethsaida, the same home town of Andrew and Peter. <\/p>\n
1. Bethsaida is on the north edge of the Sea of Galilee. <\/p>\n 2. Since people travel together for safety, it is logical that others from the\nGalilee area would join together for a long journey.\n
B. Philip in turn found Nathanael. <\/p>\n 1. Nathanael’s other name appears to be Bartholomew (which means “son of\nPtolomy”). \n a. John consistently calls him Nathanael while the other writers call\nhim Bartholomew. \n b. Due to the way Luke records the names of the apostles later in\nLuke 6:14, it is likely that Philip and Nathanael are related or are\nclose friends. \n
2. While Philip is from Bethsaida, Nathanael is from Cana (John 21:2).<\/p>\n C. Philip is also convinced that Jesus is the one prophesied by the Scriptures\n(Deuteronomy 18:18). \n 1. He excitedly tells Nathanael that Jesus of Nazareth is the one for whom\nthe nation of Israel has been long looking. \n
2. Nathanael is not particularly impressed. <\/p>\n a. Nazareth is not a town from where you would expect a great king\nto hail. \n b. Nathanael, being from a neighboring town, was particularly\nunimpressed by someone who calls Nazareth home. \n
3. However, Philip insists he must see for himself. <\/p>\n D. Notice how often people are not asked to accept another’s statement, but to come\nand see for themselves whether the statement is true.\n
E. Jesus greets Nathanael in a very unusual way. <\/p>\n
1. He declares to those around him that here was an honest man. <\/p>\n 2. Jesus calls him “an Israelite indeed,” or here was a man who actually\ndeserves to be called an Israelite (Psalm 32:2; Romans 2:28-29; 9:6).\n 3. Nathanael doesn’t deny the assessment; instead, he is puzzled how a man\nhe doesn’t recall meeting knows his character. \n 4. Jesus tells him that before Philip found him Jesus saw him under the fig\ntree. \n a. By saying he saw him, Jesus is not claiming to have physically\nseen him, but had seen him as God sees all (Psalms 139:1-2). \n b. The wording is a bit odd. It is common for people to sit under the\ndense foliage of the fig tree for shade\n (1) But Jesus didn’t say he saw Nathanael under a fig tree but\nunder the fig tree. \n (2) Something notable happened under that particular fig tree\nof which we are not made aware \n (3) But Nathanael is startled that Jesus knew what he was\ncertain no one else could have known. \n 5. Nathanael jumps to the logical conclusion that this man must be deity. He\nmust be the long awaited king.\n F. Evidently Jesus found it amusing how easily Nathanael reached the right\nconclusion\n 1. But he assures him that greater things would be seen that would confirm\nwhat Nathanael now knows. \n 2. In particular, Jesus states that they would see into heaven and see God’s\nangels coming to and going from Jesus. \n
a. This is an allusion to Jacob’s vision (Genesis 28:12). <\/p>\n
b. Angels are God’s ministering spirits (Hebrews 1:14). <\/p>\n c. Thus, Jesus is stating that Nathanael would witness God’s care for\nHis Son.\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPrior Lesson\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tA Study of John\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNext Lesson\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The First Followers of Jesus Text: John 1:35-51 I. On the day following John’s testimony that Jesus was the Christ (John 1:35-42) A. John was standing with two disciples when Jesus walked by. John pointed him out and said, “Behold the Lamb of God.” B. This was sufficient for these two. 1. John had been announcing the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":21925,"menu_order":5,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-22987","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":21925,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/a-study-of-john\/","url_meta":{"origin":22987,"position":0},"title":"A Study of John","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 29, 2001","format":false,"excerpt":"A Study of John by Jeffrey W. Hamilton, 2001 The Gospel of John An Overview of John An Introduction to the Christ\u00a0(John 1:1-18) The Witness of John the Baptist\u00a0(John 1:19-34) The First Followers of Jesus\u00a0(John 1:35-51) Miracle at Cana\u00a0(John 2:1-12) Cleansing of the Temple\u00a0(John 2:13-25) Nicodemus Visits Jesus\u00a0(John 3:1-21) The\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":23145,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/a-study-of-john\/the-second-testimony-of-john\/","url_meta":{"origin":22987,"position":1},"title":"The Second Testimony of John","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 3, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"The Second Testimony of John Reading: John 3:22-36 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Jesus and his disciples leave Jerusalem and travel once again in the Judea area near the Jordan river. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Jesus was here before when he was baptized. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Many people fail to notice what Jesus and his disciples were doing. 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(Several answers) Was Jesus only\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":65149,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/a-study-of-john\/jesus-final-words\/","url_meta":{"origin":22987,"position":3},"title":"Jesus’ Final Words","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 28, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Jesus' Final Words Text: John 21:15-25 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0After the breakfast that Jesus prepared for his disciples, Jesus asks Peter a question \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0He asked, \u201cDo you love me more than these?\u201d \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The statement doesn\u2019t translate well. 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