04 Jesus calls the First Disciples (John 1:34-51)

Krisan Marotta: Welcome back to the Wednesday in the Word podcast. I'm Krisan Marotta, and this is my podcast about what the Bible means and how we know. This is the fourth talk in my series on the Gospel of John. Today we'll be studying John chapter 1, verses 35 through 51. I'm so glad you joined us. In this study, we are focusing on the overarching structure and the big themes of the Gospel of John. We're not going into the kind of detailed micro exegesis of each story that I usually do. Like all authors, John made choices about how he presented this material. I think he put the stories together in a certain way and included certain details while omitting others because he had particular goals. And in this study, we're trying to uncover those goals to figure out what John intended to communicate by those choices. This is the kind of study we often forget to do when we're doing Bible study. It's easy to get so into the details, the word studies, the phrasing, and all the particulars of each story that we forget to step back from time to time and look up and say, what's the big picture? What are all these details coming together to teach us? And that's what we're focusing on in this study. I've been arguing that the fundamental assertion of the Gospel of John is those who believe the testimony that Jesus is the Christ will find eternal life in heaven. John in his gospel is exploring this whole set of issues associated with belief. So far we've seen three related themes. First, the importance of testimony. Why should we believe what we have not seen for ourselves? And John is answering, we believe because of the testimony of those who did see it. Second, believing in Jesus is the only way to receive eternal life. What's the point of all this testimony? Well, the point is that we believe in Jesus. And why is believing in Jesus so important? Because he's the only one who can grant us eternal life. The third thing we've seen is the nature of belief. How do you even become a person who believes in Jesus at all? We have to be born of God. We have to have the supernatural activity of the Spirit working in us. And especially as we go forward, John is going to contrast those who believe with those who do not believe. And the difference between them is the activity of the Spirit of God. Last week we looked at the testimony of John the Baptist. We saw that John the Baptist gave both a positive and a negative testimony. He emphatically denied that he was the Messiah. That's his negative testimony. On the positive side, he identified Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah. John the Baptist testified that as a prophet of God, God told him how he would recognize the Messiah. God told John the Baptist that when he baptized the Messiah, he would see the Spirit descend on that person and remain on him. And John testifies that's exactly what happened when he baptized Jesus. The story we're looking at today comes close on the heels of last week's story. Today's story is the first of three related stories that involve the disciples of Jesus who will eventually become his apostles. And the stories we're looking at, the next three stories, revolve around their role in this theme of testimony and belief. The disciples will play an important part in testimony and belief. First, the apostles have firsthand knowledge of the evidence that Jesus is the Messiah or Jesus is the Christ. Second, the apostles themselves believe that Jesus is the Messiah. So they are models of people who respond to this evidence with belief. And finally, it is their testimony, ultimately, that you and I must believe. We didn't see the events of Jesus' earthly ministry happen. Instead, we respond to the testimony of the apostles. So we need to know who they are and that they're reliable. The apostles play a big role in John's gospel, and he highlights that their job is to testify to what they saw and heard. Today's story and the next two are tied together by this common theme. I debated covering all of them in one big podcast, but it just was getting too long. So I'm going to give you three shorter podcasts instead, but I think they're all related. The story we're looking at today goes from chapter 1, verse 35 to verse 42. This is the story of how the first apostles meet and come to believe in Jesus. Now, speaking of John the Baptist, author John writes, The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, Behold the Lamb of God. The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, What are you seeking? And they said to him, Rabbi, which means teacher, where are you staying? He said to them, Come and see. So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, We have found the Messiah, which means Christ. He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, You are Simon, the son of John. You shall be called Cephas, which means Peter. The first story then begins the day after John the Baptist gave his testimony concerning Jesus. That's the story we talked about in the last podcast. What we're seeing now are the ripples that kind of spiral out from John's testimony. John the Baptist is standing with two of his disciples. We're told one is Andrew, and the second disciple is not named. Many people suspect that second disciple to be our author, John, because he has a habit of not mentioning himself by name in the book. Now, John the Baptist was their rabbi at this time. They are his disciples, his students. And students followed their rabbi wherever their rabbi went. They listen to his teaching, they serve him, and they try to learn from him. These two believe John the Baptist when he says that he's a prophet from God. They believe him when as a prophet he says the Messiah is coming. And now he has said to them, You see that man over there? He's the one. He's the Messiah I've been saying is coming. On the basis then of John the Baptist's testimony, Andrew and probably author John become followers of Jesus. Let's look at 38 and 39 again. Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, What are you seeking? And they said to him, Rabbi, which means teacher, where are you staying? He said to them, Come and see. So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. Jesus' invitation to join him where he's staying has implications. It's really the start of a new phase of their lives. The whole idea of being a disciple of a rabbi was that you would stay with him, follow him around, and learn from him and be taught from him. And that's what's happening here with Andrew and this other disciples. They stay with Jesus and ultimately they follow him and he becomes their rabbi. Then 40 to 42, one of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, We have found the Messiah, which means Christ. He, that's Andrew, brought him, Peter, to Jesus. Jesus looked at him, that's Peter, and said, You are Simon, the son of John, you shall be called Cephas, which means Peter. So the picture we have here is Andrew is so excited that they found the Messiah that before he goes to where Jesus is staying and fought begins following him, he runs to tell his brother. So he runs to his brother Simon and he says, We found the Messiah. Now at this point, the only evidence Andrew has is the testimony of John the Baptist and maybe a little bit of time he's spent in Jesus' company as Jesus was around John the Baptist. But basically, he's heard John the Baptist and he's convinced. John the Baptist said, This is the Messiah, so this is the Messiah. I'd better go tell my brother we found him. At this point, then Andrew's brother Simon joins in. Simon is there because of Andrew's testimony, and Andrew's testimony is primarily what John the Baptist said. Simon goes to meet Jesus and Jesus gives him a new name. His given name is Simon, but Jesus nicknames him Peter or Petros, which in Greek means rock. Cephas is the Aramaic word which means rock. Sometimes you'll see Simon Peter referred to as Cephas in the New Testament. Sometimes he's Peter, sometimes he's Simon Peter. It's all the same men. What author John is interested in, though, is this chain of belief. John the Baptist tells Andrew, Jesus is the Christ, Andrew believes, Andrew tells his brother Simon Peter, Jesus is the Christ, and Peter believes. Next comes Philip and Nathaniel. This is John chapter 1, 43 to 44. The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, Follow me. Now Philip was from Beth Seda, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathaniel and said to him, We have found him of whom Moses and the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. Now what does Philip have to go on? Philip has the person of Jesus standing in front of him, but he hasn't had much firsthand experience with Jesus yet. John tells us Philip is from the same city as Andrew and Peter. That suggests that he knows Andrew and Peter. They're his neighbors and his friends. He sees that they believe this man Jesus is the Messiah, and so he believes too. Presumably Andrew and Peter told Philip that the prophet John the Baptist announced to them that Jesus is the Messiah. They believe it, they've started following Jesus, and Philip believes on the basis of their testimony. We know that Philip believes because he goes to tell Nathaniel, we have found the one that Moses and the prophets wrote about. Now, so far in this story, Author John has not told us anything about what Jesus has said or done. Author John has not told us much at all about Jesus himself that would convince all these people that he is the Messiah. The main evidence that we have so far is the testimony of John the Baptist. Now Philip goes to Nathanael, and this is where we see the influence of testimony break down, because Nathaniel is skeptical. This is chapter one, forty-five through fifty-one. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, We have found him of whom Moses and the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. Nathaniel said to him, Can anything good come out of Nazareth? Philip said to him, Come and see. Jesus saw Nathaniel coming toward him and said of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit. Nathanael said to him, How do you know me? Jesus answered him, Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree I saw you. Nathanael answered him, Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are the king of Israel. Jesus answered him, Because I said to you I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these. And he said to him, Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man. There's a lot we could talk about there, but I am going to try to stay focused on these big themes. Philip tells Nathaniel Jesus is the Christ, but Philip also tells Nathaniel that Jesus is from Nazareth. Nathaniel is skeptical. Shouldn't the Messiah come from Bethlehem or Jerusalem? Nazareth is this little hole in the wall place in Galilee. Galilee is not the center of religious life. Jerusalem in Judea is the center of religious life. I think that's what's behind his question. How could anything good come out of Nazareth? Nathaniel is from Galilee, which is the region where Nazareth existed. He knows Nazareth and he's suspicious and he says so bluntly. And Philip says, Well, come and see. If you won't buy my testimony, come and see for yourself. So John is developing this theme of belief. Why would I believe this message about Jesus? Well, if I don't believe your testimony, I need to come and check it out for myself. As Nathaniel approaches Jesus, Jesus says something that blows him away. Let's look at 47 through 49 again. Jesus saw Nathaniel coming toward him and said of him, Behold an Israelite in whom there is no deceit. Nathanael said to him, How do you know me? Jesus answered him, Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree I saw you. Nathanael answered him, Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are the King of Israel. Now I've read various discussions about this exchange between Jesus and Nathaniel. There are various interpretations and theories about exactly what's going on. And if we were doing a detailed study, we'd dig into all those theories and try to figure out why one is more persuasive than the other. But I want to stay focused on the big picture, so I'm just going to tell you what makes the most sense to me. I think Jesus is commenting on what Nathaniel just said to Philip. Nathaniel responded to his friend's enthusiasm: this is the Messiah with this blunt statement, you've got to be kidding me, nothing good can come out of Nazareth. And Jesus says about him, here is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit or guile. Basically, I think he's saying something like, Well, there's a real Israelite for you. This guy tells you what he's thinking straight out. He doesn't mince any words, he doesn't use any guile or sneakiness. If he thinks you're wrong, he just says, Yep, you're wrong. I think the intent of Nathaniel's statement is, how could Jesus be the Messiah? The Messiah is not going to come from Nazareth. I think that's what he means by nothing good can come out of Nazareth. So Nathaniel responds rather bluntly to Philip, and I think Jesus' statement is not a general sort of, oh, here comes a good guy, here's someone without deceit. He's commenting on what Nathaniel had just said, but he wasn't there. How did Jesus know what Nathaniel said when he wasn't present when Nathaniel said it? In fact, how does he know anything about Nathaniel at all? That's why Nathaniel wonders, how do you know me? Nathaniel recognizes that Jesus has correctly described him. I suspect Jesus might also have repeated his words. But Author John doesn't give us that detail, so that's just my speculation. At any rate, Nathaniel says, How do you know anything about me? We've never met. Then Jesus makes it clear that he knows about the whole episode with Philip under the fig tree. Either Jesus saw this episode, but he was too far away to hear what they were saying, or he wasn't anywhere nearby and he just knows about it. Either way, Nathaniel's blown away by his comment. Jesus has performed a kind of minor miracle for Nathaniel's benefit. Jesus apparently wasn't anywhere near the place, but he knows exactly what happened. And that's why Nathaniel responds, This is amazing. Philip tells me this is the Messiah and he's from Nazareth. I don't believe the Messiah would come from Nazareth, but then I meet the man and he tells me what I said and did when he wasn't there. So Nathaniel responds with belief. He was skeptical before, but now he believes. When he says you are the Son of God, you are the King of Israel, he means you are the Messiah. Now what is John, Author John, added to the chain of belief? First, he gave us the testimony of John the Baptist that Jesus is the Christ. The first apostles believe on the basis of John the Baptist's testimony. They and we haven't seen Jesus do anything yet to convince us that he's the Messiah. And eventually that chain of belief breaks down. Nathanael says, No, no, your word alone isn't good enough for me. The Messiah is not going to come from Nazareth. Now, for the first time, we see Jesus act in a way that proves he's the Messiah. He knows things he couldn't know unless God told him. That's a sign that Jesus is the Messiah, and Nathaniel believes because of this sign. So now we have both the testimony of John the Baptist and firsthand knowledge of Jesus bringing about belief. I talked about this a little in the last podcast, but just to remind you, the Son of God and the King of Israel are both two different ways of saying this is the Messiah. The Hebrew word Messiah means the anointed one. The king of Israel was the anointed one, the one person anointed to be king and to rule in God's place as his firstborn son would rule. So the king acts like the firstborn son, ruling and acting with his father's authority. After the exile, when there was no king on David's throne, the prophets predicted a new king, a new anointed one, the Messiah, would come and sit on David's throne forever, ruling over all the earth with justice and righteousness. This new king, this new son of God, will be the anointed one, the Messiah. So Messiah, Son of God, King of Israel were all three terms which came to refer to this one coming king that the prophets predicted. Notice that Philip describes Jesus as the one written about by Moses and the prophets. He's the one we've been waiting for, the one predicted in the Old Testament by the prophets. And now we see Nathaniel is no longer suspicious, he believes, and Jesus makes a comment on that belief. Let's look at fifty and fifty-one. Jesus answered him, Because I said to you I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these. And he said to him, Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man. I think the way that Jesus responds to Nathaniel is significant to one of the main themes of this book. Author John could have included this story because it's an interesting little story and shows a different kind of miracle that Jesus can do. But Author John doesn't stop with the miracle. He goes on to record another comment Jesus makes about the fact that he did this miracle, and that comment is on the nature of belief, which as we'll see is a big theme in this gospel. John's gospel is all about believing that Jesus is the Christ, why we believe in, and what the nature of belief involves. We're going to see that a central theme in this book is what will it take to make you believe? Why people believe is a central question that John explores. Now Jesus comments on why Nathaniel believes. He says, Nathaniel, you believe because you saw this sign. You have no idea what's coming. You're going to see much greater signs. You believe because you saw this small but rather striking sign. Just wait. You're going to see much greater displays of God's power. I understand this little event is impressive to you, but you haven't seen anything yet. I think Jesus is commending Nathaniel that he believes on the basis of this small sign. This minor miracle pushed Nathaniel from skepticism to belief, but Nathaniel is going to see much greater signs that will reinforce his belief later on. Author John is exploring this question: what does it take for someone to believe? And we're going to see this come up a lot in the gospel. Sometimes he'll give us cases of people refusing to believe despite a mountain of evidence literally staring them in their face. Other times, people race to belief on the basis of a third-party report with no firsthand knowledge. John is very interested in the fundamental basis of belief and why some believe and others don't. The question Jesus asks Nathaniel challenges him and us really to stop and ask why do we believe what we believe? What moved Nathaniel from skepticism to belief? And as we go through the gospel, we'll see a lot of times evidence alone is not enough. Many people are going to see greater miracles than what Nathaniel saw, and they are going to walk Away. Becoming a person of faith involves an internal battle. Evidence is an important piece of the battle. Testimony is an important piece of the battle. But even more important is our spiritual state. The Spirit of God has to prepare a person to hear and believe. Jesus tells Nathaniel he will see greater things than this little sign, and he makes this comment about he'll see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man. What is that all about? Well, first, the Son of Man is another messianic title. Jesus refers to himself that way a lot. In fact, all but three times that this title occurs in the New Testament, Jesus is the one saying it. Son of Man refers back to the Old Testament vision recorded in Daniel 7. Daniel had a vision of the heavenly court of God where he saw the ancient of days, which I believe to be God the Father, enthroned, and judgment is set, and then enters one like a son of man. This is Daniel seven, thirteen and fourteen. I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the ancient of days and was presented before him, and to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed. Now you'll notice we don't have a title here. The phrase in Daniel is there came one like a son of man, and this phrase son of man is used frequently in the Old Testament just to mean simply a human being, a son of man, a human being. But in this vision, we see one like a human being is given dominion, authority, glory, and an everlasting kingdom. All the peoples and nations serve him. Now we tend to think that when Jesus calls himself the Son of Man, he's expressing a kind of humility. But I think, in fact, that this is a claim to divine authority. This coming Son of Man is the Messiah, and this term Son of Man came to refer to this person in Daniel's vision who is going to be given all authority, dominion, and glory in an everlasting kingdom, and that person is the Messiah. And when Jesus claims to be Son of Man, I think he's claiming messianic authority. He's saying, I am the one who will sit on David's throne forever and rule over all creation and justice and righteousness. But he's claiming to be the Messiah in a kind of quiet and subtle way. Many people might hear him call himself the Son of Man and think, oh, he just means he's human. And this phrase can simply refer to a human being. But those who have paid attention to the Old Testament and are familiar with Daniel would see that this phrase has a richer meaning. It could refer to the one coming Son of Man from Daniel's vision who will be given all authority and dominion. So Jesus can use that phrase and not provoke charges of blasphemy because many would think he's simply calling himself a man. But to those who have the ears to hear, he is revealing, I think, that he is the Messiah. But he doesn't reveal his identity so blatantly that he starts a revolution where people try to install him as king in some kind of political revolution. That's not the plan he wants to fulfill. Now, what's going on with this image of the angels of God ascending and descending from the open heavens? It's likely here a lot of scholars agree that Jesus is alluding to the Old Testament story of Jacob's ladder, which is recorded in Genesis 28. Jacob is one of the patriarchs. He is the son of Isaac, who is the son of Abraham. Jacob is on a journey. He stops for the night and makes a camp outside. That night he has a dream where God tells him that his family will inherit the land that he's sleeping on. And in this dream, he sees a ladder going from heaven to earth with angels ascending and descending on the ladder. I think the image here of the angels on the ladder is that they're descending to do the work of God and then they return to God to get further instructions. And if Jesus is in fact alluding to this story, I think he's cryptically saying that one day the disciples are going to see Jesus as the focus of all this heavenly activity. Instead of many angels on the ladder doing the work of God, we will have the Messiah. The Messiah has metaphorically come down the ladder to do the will of his Father. God's plan is now focused on the life and work of the Messiah. And as you see Jesus speaking, teaching, healing, doing miracles, it's like you're metaphorically watching the angels descending and ascending on Jesus. Something like that's going on. I'm not sure I've got that exactly right, but I think Jesus is talking about his ultimate revelation as the Messiah, which is often described in terms of him coming with angels. And he's telling Nathaniel, you're going to see an open display from heaven. One day God is going to show you in a great and wonderful way that I am the Messiah. I think he's got the resurrection in mind there. But this little miracle you saw today, this is nothing compared to what's coming. Even if he isn't referring to the resurrection, if he's got something else in mind, I think his main point is clear. Now let me wrap this story up. Andrew, Peter, Philip, and Nathaniel, plus this unnamed disciple, who I believe is probably the author John, they come to believe first through the testimony of John the Baptist, and then through Jesus' miraculous knowledge of Nathaniel, even when he wasn't there. The disciples had the testimony from John the Baptist about how God told John that he would recognize the Messiah, and now they've seen their first miracle, and that's why they believed, and that's why they testify to us that Jesus is the Christ. So what John has shown us so far is that we have a number of men who have decided that Jesus is the Christ based on the testimony of John the Baptist, and we have this event with Nathaniel. These men will become part of the twelve. They will be apostles who were given the job to teach us about Jesus after the resurrection and ascension. The apostles serve as eyes and ears for all believers that follow them, including you and me. John wants us to know how they became convinced that Jesus is the Christ. The progress of their understanding is important because they're the ones who will explain to us what this gospel is all about. And author John is one of those disciples. He's telling us these stories because he was there. He participated in the events, he saw and heard them firsthand. He wants us to know why he and the others are so convinced the gospel is true and Jesus is the Messiah. What the apostles see and hear and how it affects them is a very important theme we're going to see throughout this book. Now I would argue that John is telling us these things because we have to decide for ourselves whether we will believe their testimony. That's what the Gospel of John is all about. It's about telling us what happened, what they saw, what they know, what they can testify to, so that we can decide what we're going to do about it. They looked at all the evidence and decided Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah. What are you going to decide? That's ultimately what this gospel is about. You've been listening to the Wednesday in the Word podcast. My mission is to explain not only what a passage means, but how to figure it out. The blog version of this episode is on the link below this podcast, or you can find it at Wednesdayintheword.com slash John 4. If you've been blessed by this podcast, please support the show by subscribing and leaving a positive rating on your favorite podcast platform. But most importantly, tell a friend what you learned and where you learned it. My theme music is graciously provided by my friend and favorite musician Reggie Coates of Heartfeltmusic.org. If you want to find out more or hear all the episodes in this series or find in many other series, please go to my website Wednesdayintheword.com. Thank you for joining me today. I'm Krisan Marotta, and I'll see you next week at Wednesday in the Word.