Bible Study Notes ~ Gospel of John, Chapter 1 - Jan 2017 (Part 2)

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.