John 1:35-51 (The First Followers)

4TH and 1
Part 4: The First Followers

35 The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” 37 When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. 38 Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?” They said, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” 39 “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and spent that day with him. It was about the tenth hour.

1. This is the account of when certain individuals began to follow Jesus (literally). It comes prior to the account in the synoptic gospels when Jesus calls them to full-time discipleship (Matt 4:18-22, Mark 1:16-20, Luke 5:1-11).
2. On a surface level reading this passage appears quite mundane, but there are probably double meanings intended in many of the phrases.

40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter).

1. Andrew, who is a bit more prominent in the 4th Gospel, illustrates the evangelistic nature of faith in this text.
2. For Jesus to change Simon’s name to Cephas/Peter not only demonstrates his authority, but also speaks to his thorough knowledge of a person’s character & potential
43 The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.” 44 Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. 45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46 “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” said Philip.

1. Philip, like Andrew, is more prominent in the 4th Gospel than in the Synoptics. He, too, is evangelistic.
2. Nathanael is usually equated with the disciple Bartholomew.
3. Nathanael’s response may demonstrate a prejudice against the town of Nazareth and/or skepticism due to the lack of prophecies connecting the Messiah to such a place.

47 When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false.” 48 “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.” 49 Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.” 50 Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You shall see greater things than that.” 51 He then added, “I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

1. Once again, Jesus showed that he possessed intimate knowledge of his seemingly new acquaintance.
2. Jesus’ statement in v. 51 refers back to the story in Genesis 28:10-22. Thus, he is either saying he is the bridge between heaven & earth, or the head of the newly constituted Israel. In either case, he is Jacob’s dream come true.

Next Week: Water to Wine (John 2:1-11)