BIBLE
STUDY NOTES
GOSPEL OF JOHN, CHAPTER 1 - JAN 2017 (Part 2)
The
Witness of John the Baptist of the Incarnate Word
(verses
14-18)
14. And the Word became flesh, and dwelt
among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only
begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Question: Why did Jesus
have to become flesh; why did He have to come into this world
as a man?
Answer: God is
perfect love, God is perfect justice. For God’s perfect
justice to be satisfied, someone had to pay the blood
penalty of death to atone for the sin nature we have inherited
as a result of Adam’s sin. Man
sinned. Animals were temporal atonement. Perfect Man paid
the debt in full.
Hebrews 2:17: ”Therefore,
He had to be
made like His brethren in all things, so
that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest
in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for
the sins of the people.”
15. John
testified about Him and cried out, saying, "This was He of
whom I said, 'He who comes after me has a higher rank than
I, for He existed before me.'"
John the Baptist is
witnessing that Jesus Christ is eternal and therefore He is God. John’s life began when he
was conceived in his mother Elizabeth’s womb - which was six
months before Jesus was conceived in the womb of her cousin,
Mary. John the Baptist
is saying that, before I was conceived, Jesus already existed,
eternally.
16. For of His
fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.
17. For the
Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were
realized through Jesus Christ.
God, by His grace,
gave the Law to the Israelites through Moses. This was the
dispensation (era) of the Law and was temporary. It was to show them a “type”
of Christ through their blood sacrifices. Full grace came through
Jesus Christ as the new dispensation or new era of salvation
through Grace (Ephesians 2:8). Grace and Truth were
fully realized through Jesus Christ.
The Law given to
Moses was the standard, or measurement, of God’s
righteousness; which He knew that man could not meet. The gift of salvation
whereby we are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8)
was bought for us by the blood of Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 3:5-6 tells
us, "Now Moses was
faithful in all His house as a servant,
for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken
later; but Christ was
faithful as a Son over His house - whose
house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and the boast
of our hope firm until the end."
Question: Does this mean that no
one had salvation before the New Testament era of Grace? Were
all the Old Testament people not saved?
Answer: No. People in the Old Testament were also
saved by faith. Genesis 15:6 tells us of Abraham’s faith, “Then
he believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as
righteousness.”
Job,
born 50 years after
Abraham, through his faith in God was accounted
righteous. Look at
Job 42:7-10, "It came
about after the LORD had spoken these words to Job, that the
LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, 'My wrath is kindled
against you and against your two friends, because you have
not spoken of Me what is right as My servant Job has. Now therefore, take for
yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, and go to My servant
Job, and offer up a burnt offering for yourselves, and
My servant Job will pray for you.
For I will accept
him so that I may not do with you according to your folly,
because you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My
servant Job has.' So
Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the
Naamathite went and did as the LORD told them; and the LORD
accepted Job. The
LORD restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for
his friends, and
the LORD increased all that Job had twofold."
How about Noah? Genesis 6:6-9 says, “(6)The LORD
was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was
grieved in His heart. (7) The
LORD said, 'I will blot out man whom I have created from the
face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and
to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them.’ (8) But
Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. (9) These
are the records of the generations of Noah. Noah was a
righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with
God."
Genesis 6:9 says that Noah
was blameless in his time - it did not say that he
was sinless. “For all
have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”
(Rom 3:23). But, Noah,
like Abraham and Job, was counted righteous by God. Why were
they counted righteous? Romans
1:17 tells us, "For in
it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith;
as it is written, 'BUT
THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.'" Paul is quoting the Old
Testament, Habakkuk 2:4,
"Behold, as for the proud one, His soul is not right within
him; But the
righteous will live by his faith."
So, back to our question,
how were the people in the Old Testament saved? They were saved by
faith in the Lord, just as we are today. However, they lived before
the dispensation of Grace bought by the blood of Jesus Christ. You may look at the history
of man as made up of three periods:
The first period is
from Adam to Moses where the sin of Adam brought death
and separation from God upon all men.
The second period is from Moses to Jesus
where man lived under the Law. The
purpose of the Law was to make man aware of his sin nature. You might say that the Law
is God’s spotlight which shines on our sins, so that we cannot
deny or ignore them.
The third period, the
period of Grace, was brought in by Jesus Christ and that
is where we live today.
The sacrifices under the Law of Moses
was a temporary band-aid for their sins. They had to keep putting on
new band-aids with continuous blood sacrifices to cover their
sins. But, under the
dispensation of Grace, given us by Jesus Christ, His blood
covers the sins of all true believers, once for all, and
they are never seen again by God.
Romans 5:12-21: “(12)Therefore,
just as through
one man sin entered into the world, and death
through sin, and so death spread to all men, because
all sinned -- (13) for
until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not
imputed when there is no law. (14) Nevertheless death
reigned from Adam until Moses, even over
those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of
Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come. (15) But
the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by
the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the
grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one
Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many.
(16) The
gift is not like that which came through the one who
sinned; for on the one hand the judgment arose from
one transgression resulting in condemnation, but on
the other hand the free gift arose from many
transgressions resulting in justification. (17) For if by the
transgression of the one, death reigned through the one,
much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of
the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the
One, Jesus Christ.
(18) So
then as through one transgression there resulted
condemnation to all men, even so through one act of
righteousness there resulted justification of life to all
men. (19) For as through
the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners,
even so through the obedience of the One the many
will be made righteous.
(20) The
Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but
where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, (21) so
that, as sin
reigned in death, even so grace would reign through
righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our
Lord.”
Question: So, what does all
this say about man and their curse of sin?
Answer: Through Adam,
sin entered the world, and through sin came death, both physical and
spiritual. But, before Moses,
even though man was under the condemnation of death, sin was not imputed or
attributed to him (Romans 6:13).
Question: Does this mean that
man, before Moses, did not have sin?
Answer: The sin of Adam, disobeying a command from God to not eat
of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Right and Wrong,
brought the condemnation of death upon all men. However, that command
was given to Adam and he disobeyed. Until Moses, God had not
given any commands or ordinances to man, so man could not sin by
disobeying any command not given.
In his book, “The Epistle of Paul
to the Romans,” Charles R. Erdman, Professor Emeritus of
Practical Theology, Princeton Theological Seminary, wrote of
Paul’s writing in Romans 5:12-21, “Paul pauses to
demonstrate the fact that sin is universal. He does so by
stating that ‘until the law sin was in the world.’ This sin, however,
was not in the nature of actual disobedience to a command as
in the case of Adam, or of his descendants who received the
law of Moses. Nevertheless,
between Adam and Moses there was real sin; because death
reigned like a cruel tyrant. All were subject to his power. There must,
therefore, have been disobedience to law, not the law of
Moses but the law written on he human heart.”
Louis T. Talbot, first president of
Biola University, and the namesake for Biola’s Talbot Seminary,
wrote in his book “Addresses on Romans,”In verses 13 and 14
Paul mentions briefly what he has already made clear in the
opening chapters of the epistle, that before the law
was given by Moses, men were judged by the law of
conscience which was written in their hearts. . . And
only by faith in “Him that was to come.” the second Adam, even
the Lord Jesus, were sinners saved, from Adam to Christ.”
So, once
again, back to our question, how were the people in the Old
Testament, before
Moses and after Moses, made aware of their sins and saved?
Those before Moses were convicted by
their consciences; those after Moses were convicted
by the Law; we are convicted by the Holy Spirit. We all are saved through
FAITH - faith in God, faith in His promised Messiah,
faith in our Lord Jesus Christ!
When Moses introduced the Law given by God,
man now is made aware of his sins and is therefore accountable
for them. He has to
continually make atonement for his sins through the temporary
sacrifices defined under the Law. Jesus Christ brought us
salvation through grace by faith. In other words, Jesus Christ
paid the blood debt created by Adam, once for all.
18. No one has
seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the
bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.
No mortal man has ever
seen God. God
is spirit and does not have a human body. Even though some TV evangelists
describe Him as 6'3" and about 200 pounds. Abraham saw the burning
bush; Moses saw the hand of God writing the tablets of the Law
upon stone. Moses was
told that no man could look upon the face of God and live
(Exodus 33:20).
Question: So, how do WE, the
present day church, know God?
Answer: Through Jesus
Christ.
John 14:7-10, "If
you had known Me, you would have known My Father also;
from now on you know Him, and have seen Him. Philip said
to Him, ‘Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for
us.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been so long with you,
and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He
who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can
you say, “Show us the Father”? Do you not
believe that I am in the Father, and
the Father is in Me? The words that I say to
you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father
abiding in Me does His works.’”
John’s Witness of Himself (19 - 28)
19. This is
the testimony of John, when the Jews sent to him priests
and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?"
Question: What do we know about
John?
Answer: 1. All we know of John
is the short piece given at the beginning of each Gospel. He was born of the
priest, Zacharias, and his wife, Elizabeth, who is the
cousin of Mary. Both
Zacharias and Elizabeth are born of the priestly line. John was born in the
village of Ain Karim (according to the Zondervan Compact
Bible Dictionary © 1993) in the hill country of Judea, which was
1-2 days walk from Nazareth, for Mary walked to visit Elizabeth.
2. John’s birth, like Jesus, was foretold by the visitation from the angel Gabriel.
3. John was born six months before Jesus and was filled with the Holy Spirit while in his mother’s womb (Luke 1:15).
4. John was fore-ordained
to be a Nazarite before his birth (Luke 1:15). A
Nazarite is an Israelite who is consecrated and live the vow of
separation and total abstinence, usually for the purpose of a
special service. Only
three in the Bible took the vow of a Nazarite for life: Samson,
Samuel, and John the Baptist. (Zondervan
Compact Bible Dictionary).
5. John lived a life of
separation in the desert, subsisting on a diet of
locust and honey, wearing a garment of camel’s hair with a
leather strap or belt, much like many of the Old Testament
prophets dressed.
6. In John’s preparation
for his special ministry, secular writers suggest
that John lived with the sect of the Essenes, where he studied
their works. The
Essenes were a monastic, very strict, sect of Jews during the
time of Christ who mostly lived in a commune separated from the
outside world. They were
very similar to the Nazarite in their life of abstinence,
devotion, and labor.
7. John’s special ministry
to which he was fore-ordained was two-fold: One was to preach
repentance and baptism of repentance in preparation for the
coming of the Messiah. The
other was to proclaim Jesus Christ as the Messiah.
8. After the proclamation
of Jesus Christ and His baptism, John’s ministry
was effectively completed. As
John told his disciples, “He must
increase, but I must decrease.
He who comes from above is above all, he who is of
the earth (meaning John) is from
the earth and speaks of the earth. He who comes from
heaven is above all.” (John 3:30-31).
20. And he
confessed and did not deny, but confessed, "I am not the
Christ."
21. They asked
him, "What then? Are you
Elijah?" And he said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?"
And he answered, "No."
22. Then they
said to him, "Who are you, so that we may give an answer
to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?"
When John the Baptist
began his preaching ministry, the Jews had not had a
prophet from God for 400 years, what we call the interbiblical
years. The last was
Malachi - then 400 dry years without any word from God - now
John the Baptist came out preaching like an Old Testament
prophet. The people
thronged to hear him. And
he was preaching, “Repent, be baptized, the kingdom of God is
at hand!”
Naturally,
the people wanted verification of who he was; the Old
Testament prophets always declared, “Thus saith the Lord!” John came yelling,
“Repent, be baptized, the kingdom of God is at hand!” Of course, John the
Baptist meant that the Messiah, Jesus Christ was about to
begin His ministry on earth.
Question: At such a time in the
Jewish history, John the Baptist, could have been “king of the
hill” if he would have said that he was the Christ, or Elijah,
or the Prophet. Why
did he not claim one of these titles?
Answer: They were wondering if
John was the Christ:
According to “The
Expositor’s Bible Commentary” by Merrill C. Tenney, “Christ,
or Christos, is
the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew word “Messiah” which
means “Anointed.” It
was the title of the prophesied deliverer, who would bring
renewal and political freedom to Israel (cf John 4:25). John the Baptist
disclaimed the title because it had political implications
that would have made him appear to the Romans as a potential
insurrectionist.”
I do not totally agree with that statement. I believe that John the
Baptist, first, knew that the real Messiah was about to
appear; and that John was a strong, totally humble, person
who would not try to claim the adoration he could have had,
had he said, “Yes, I am the Christ.” There had been others
in the Jews’ history who had claimed to be the Messiah; but
John the Baptist was not interested in building himself up
or glorifying himself. His
ministry was to prepare the way and announce the real
Messiah, very soon.
They asked if he was
Elijah:
God,
through His prophet, Malachi, had said, "Behold,
I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the
coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD. He will restore the
hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts
of the children to their fathers, so that I will not
come and smite the land with a curse." (Malachi 4:5).
In Matthew 11:13-14 Jesus says,
"For
all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John. And if you are
willing to accept it, John himself is
Elijah who was to come."
Is Jesus saying that John the
Baptist is truly Elijah? You
must look at these verses alongside Luke 1:16-17 which says,
"And
he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord
their God. It is
he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and
power of Elijah, TO TURN THE HEARTS OF THE FATHERS
BACK TO THE CHILDREN, and the disobedient to the
attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people
prepared for the Lord."
The way I
read this is that Jesus is saying to the disciples
that, if you want, you can think of John the
Baptist as Elijah. However
- remember, Scripture supports Scripture - when these
other Scripture verses are compared to what Luke wrote in
his Gospel of Luke, that John was the forerunner
before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, we see
that this is what Jesus was alluding to also.
Then the Jews wanted to know if John was the Prophet? In Deuteronomy 18:11
Moses is telling the Israelites, "The
LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me
from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen
to him.” Moses,
like many Old Testament prophets is giving a near term
and a long term prophecy. The near term prophet
which the Lord would raise up for the Israelites way
Joshua, Moses’ replacement.
However, and more importantly, Moses is talking
about the future, THE Prophet, Jesus Christ. This is confirmed
in Peter’s second sermon in Acts 3:22 where Peter is
speaking of the recently crucified Jesus Christ, quotes
Moses from this same passage in Deuteronomy, "Moses
said, 'THE LORD GOD WILL RAISE UP FOR YOU A PROPHET
LIKE ME FROM YOUR BRETHREN; TO HIM YOU SHALL GIVE HEED
to everything He says to you.”
23. He said,
"I am A VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, 'MAKE
STRAIGHT THE WAY OF THE LORD,' as Isaiah the prophet
said."
24. Now they had
been sent from the Pharisees.
25. They asked
him, and said to him, "Why then are you baptizing, if you
are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?"
26. John
answered them saying, "I baptize in water, but among you
stands One whom you do not know."
27.
"It is He
who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not
worthy to untie."
John the Baptist is making
it very clear who he is - A voice of one crying in the
wilderness! One unworthy to untie His sandals.
Question: Why are the Pharisees
asking these questions of John the Baptist?
Answer: Just as the Pharisees will
attempt to trap Jesus with their questions and words, they are
trying to trap John the Baptist.
But, John, in his great humility, tells them, “I am not worthy; I am
merely a man who will baptize you in water. But One much greater is
standing among you right now.”
John’s Witness of Jesus (29 - 34)
28. These
things took place in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where
John was baptizing.
This was not
the town of Bethany where Lazarus and his sisters, Martha and
Mary, lived. It was
another town on the east side of the Jordan river.
29. The next
day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, "Behold, the
Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
Jesus
initially came to be the sacrificial Lamb for our sin. This is what John the
Baptist is alluding to here when he declares, “Behold, the Lamb of
God.” The Jews
sacrificed lambs from the time of Abel, a keeper of flocks, when he “brought
forth of the firstlings of his flock . . . And the Lord
had regard for Abel and for his offering.”
(Genesis 4:4). Isaiah
53:7 says, “. .
.Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep
that is silent before it shearers, So He did not open His
mouth.” Here,
in the Old Testament, Isaiah is telling us of the type of
death Jesus came to earth to suffer for us.
John the
Baptist, very knowledgeable of the OT Scriptures, is very
aware of this prophesy when he declares, “Behold, the Lamb of
God.”
30. "This is
He on behalf of whom I said, 'After me comes a Man who
has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.'"
Question: What is John the Baptist
saying in this verse?
Answer: He is reaffirming what
the apostle John wrote in John 1:1 - that Jesus Christ is
eternal and that He is deity, He is God.
31. "I did not recognize Him, but so that He
might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in
water."
32. John
testified saying, "I have seen the Spirit descending as a
dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him.
33. "I did not
recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said
to me, 'He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and
remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the
Holy Spirit.'
34. "I myself
have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of
God."
Question: Jesus and John the
Baptist were cousins. Why
did John the Baptist say that he did not recognize Him?
Answer: John was the cousin of
Jesus and must have known Him as they were growing up. There has been
speculation that John went to live and study with the Essenes;
which would probably have been in his teen years. So, as a man, John
probably knew Jesus.
Question: But, did John know that
Jesus was the Messiah?
Answer: Luke 1:15 tells us, “. . .
and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, while yet in
his mother’s womb.”
Then, Luke
1:41 says, "When
Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her
womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit."
John the
Baptist was definitely a chosen man, even from the womb and
the angel Gabriel in Luke 1:17 told Zacharias, “And it
is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit
and power of Elijah. . .”
It would
appear that John, from the womb, knew that Jesus was a very
special being from God, but did not necessarily tie that to
Him being the Messiah.
You will
notice that the apostle John does not even mention the baptism
of Jesus, except indirectly when he speaks of the Spirit
descending upon Jesus. The
events we are looking at now were at least 40 days or more
after the baptism of Jesus; for we know that after His baptism
Jesus went into the wilderness for 40 days and nights where He
was tempted by Satan.
The apostle
John goes from John the Baptist declaring Jesus to be deity;
then to John the Baptist declaring that he, himself, was only
a man, the “Voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make
straight the way of the Lord.’” John the Baptist is referring
them to Isaiah 40:3 in their Scripture.
And then in
these verses, John the Baptist declares that Jesus is the Son
of God based upon what God told him directly and we see in
verse 33, “He
upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon
Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.”
Jesus Begins Calling His Disciples (35 - 42)
35. Again the
next day John was standing with two of his disciples,
36. and he
looked at Jesus as He walked, and said, "Behold, the Lamb
of God!"
37. The two
disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.
Once
more we see John the Baptist turning his disciples from
himself and toward Jesus. He
is again reminding them that this man, Jesus, is the Lamb of
God, the Son of God. John
the Baptist has told them about the Messiah, now it is their
turn to go to the Messiah. Although,
at this time, I believe that even though they have been told
that He is the Messiah, they have not yet really grasped this
completely. To them,
he is Rabbi, Teacher, Master - names they also called John the
Baptist. They accept
that He is greater than John, but have not yet grasped that He
is THE Messiah.
38. And Jesus
turned and saw them following, and said to them, "What
do you seek?" They
said to Him, "Rabbi (which translated means Teacher ),
where are You staying?"
39. He said to
them, "Come, and you will see." So they came and saw
where He was staying; and they stayed with Him that day,
for it was about the tenth hour.
It was about
4:00 in the afternoon. Jesus
turned to the two and asked, “What do you want?” In other words, “Are you
just curious? Or do
you seek the Truth?”
And they
answered, “Teacher, where are you staying?” Most likely meaning,
“Where are you staying that we might come and talk with You?”
Jesus, at
that time, was in the beginning of His ministry and was like
an itinerant preacher - no real place to call home. We have to assume that
He was living outdoors or borrowing a room from someone, maybe
a friend.
However,
Jesus gave them the same answer He gives us today, “Come,
and you will see.”
40. One of the
two who heard John speak and followed Him, was Andrew,
Simon Peter's brother.
One of the
two disciples of John the Baptist who followed Jesus was, as
we are told, Andrew. The
other, although it is not said, is assumed to be the apostle
John.
41. He found
first his own brother Simon and said to him, "We have
found the Messiah " (which translated means Christ).
42. He brought
him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon
the son of John; you shall be called Cephas " (which is
translated Peter).
This is a great example
of Jesus’ command in Acts 1:8, “. .
and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in
all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of
the earth." Where is our Jerusalem? It is in our own family,
our own friends, our own community. Where did Andrew go? He went to his
brother, Simon - and the Scriptures say, “He brought him to
Jesus.”
Herschel
Hobbs, in his commentary “An Exposition of The Gospel of John”
says of Andrew, “Before
Andrew did anything else, he sought out his brother in order
to tell him the good news. He
did not even pause to eat his evening meal. This mission towered
above all others in his life, as indeed it should for every
follower of Jesus.”
Again,
Herschel Hobbs, in his commentary, speaking of Andrew wrote, “He had an experience
with Christ, and he shared it.
This is the very essence of Christian witnessing.”
This is just an
assumption, based upon the reading above and looking at
Scripture verses, I believe that Andrew and John were the two
disciples of John the Baptist who first followed Jesus.
In Matthew
4:18-22, Jesus sees Andrew and Simon (Peter) and then
the two brothers, James and John, and calls them, “Follow
Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
Then in Mark 1:16-20, He saw Simon
and Andrew, the fishermen. Then He saw James
and John. And
He calls them, “Follow
Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
In John
2:43-51, Jesus calls Philip and Nathanael.
In Matthew
10:1-4 we are given the names of the twelve: Simon Peter
and Andrew - James and John -- Philip and
Bartholomew (Nathanael) - then Thomas and Matthew
- James the son of Alphaeus and Thaddaeus - and
finally Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot.
Based upon my
assumption of the first four: Andrew and John talked
with Jesus. Andrew
brings his brother, Simon, to Jesus. John also brings his
brother, James, to Jesus. There
is a great example for soul-winning - Family, Friends,
Associates,
Neighbors.
Philip and Nathanael Follow Jesus (43 - 51)
43. The next
day He purposed to go into Galilee, and He found Philip.
And Jesus said to him, "Follow Me."
44. Now Philip
was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter.
45. 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."
46. Nathanael
said to him, "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?"
Philip said to him, "Come and see."
Once again,
we have the great example of witnessing and soul-winning. Immediately upon knowing
Jesus Christ and accepting His invitation to, “Follow Me” - Philip
found his friend, Nathanael and said, “We have found the One. Come and see.”
Nathanael was
doubtful, perhaps a little sarcastic, in his reply to Philip. Obviously, Nazareth was
not consider a great place. This is a beautiful
example of witnessing. How
many times have you tried to witness to someone and have
him/her give you a negative response? What do you do? Do you hit them over the
head with your Bible? Do
you lay some heavy Scripture quotation on them? What did Philip do? He merely said, “Come and see.”
Once more, in
his commentary, Hobbs writes, “First it was Andrew
finding Simon; then perhaps John finding James; then likely
Andrew and Peter finding Philip, their fellow-townsman, and
now Philip finding Nathanael.
And so he gospel spreads.” Can you imagine what
would happen in our church if we all followed this same
formula with the same enthusiasm?
47. Jesus saw Nathanael
coming to Him, and said of him, "Behold, an Israelite
indeed, in whom there is no guile!"
48. Nathanael said to Him,
"How do You know me?" Jesus answered and said to him,
"Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig
tree, I saw you."
49. Nathanael answered
Him, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of
Israel."
50. Jesus answered and
said to him, "Because I said to you that I saw you under
the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things
than these."
51. And He said to him,
"Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens
opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on
the Son of Man."
Question: What is Jesus really
saying to Nathanael?
Answer: All these men are well versed in the Old Testament writings of Moses in the Pentateuch (meaning five books, also called the Torah). In verse 47, Jesus’
comment, “Behold,
an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile!”
was easily recognized by Nathanael as a comparison between
himself and Jacob. You
recall in Genesis 27 Jacobs steals his father, Isaac’s,
blessing from his brother, Esau, by cunning and deceit. Jesus is using this
comparison to say to Nathanael that He knows Nathanael to be
an honest man. He is
not like Jacob.
Then, Jesus
puts the icing on the cake by telling Nathanael that, “While
you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” The Greek word used in
this instance for “I saw” is eidon. This Greek word means
more than to just physically see a person. It means to know, to be
aware, to perceive. In
other words, it meant that Jesus not only saw Nathanael
sitting under the fig tree, he saw into Nathanael’s soul. And Nathanael understood
what Jesus was saying to him, “I know you, Nathanael. I know who you are and
what you are.” Just
as Jesus knows who and what we are.
Is it any
wonder that Nathanael was the first disciple to declare, “Rabbi,
You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel.”
Then Jesus
ties it all together for Nathanael with another reference to
Jacob when He said,"Truly, truly, I say
to you, you will see the heavens opened and the angels of
God ascending and descending on the Son of Man." In
Genesis 28 when his father, Isaac, sends Jacob to Laban, his
mother, Rebekah’s, brother, he stops at Bethel to sleep. And in his dream Jacob
sees a ladder reaching from earth to heaven, and angels of God
were ascending and descending on the ladder.
