WE HAVE FOUND THE MESSIAH

John 1:35-51

Key verse 41

The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, "We have found the Messiah" (that is, the Christ).

This passage presents who Jesus is through the testimonies of John the Baptist and of Jesus’ first disciples. May God open our eyes to the glory of who Jesus is through this passage.

1. How did John help his disciples follow Jesus? (35-36)

ANSWER:

Joh 1:35-36  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!"

John the Baptist presented Jesus as someone worthy of following. He taught them:

Jesus was the Lamb, the one God promised in the OT who would take away the sins of the world.

Jesus was the Lamb whom John had been preparing people to receive. 

Jesus was their Lamb who loved them and would die for their sins.

The entire purpose of John the Baptist’s ministry was to prepare people to become the followers of the Lamb. 

Why did they follow Jesus? (37)

ANSWER:

Joh 1:37  When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus.

These disciples of John the Baptist now wanted to be the disciples of this great rabbi of whom John spoke. 

They wanted to see for themselves who Jesus really was.

When Jesus saw them following, what did he ask them? (38a) 

ANSWER:

Joh 1:38  Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, "What do you want?"  They said, "Rabbi" (which means Teacher), "where are you staying?"

He asked, "What do you want?"

These are the first words of Jesus in this Gospel.

Why did he ask this question? 

ANSWER:

He desired that they should seek him for the right reasons, rather than impure ones (cf. Jn 6:26; Mat 20:21).

2. How did they respond? (38b) 

ANSWER:

Joh 1:38  Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, "What do you want?"  They said, "Rabbi" (which means Teacher), "where are you staying?"

They said, "Rabbi, where are you staying?"

Why did they respond that way? 

ANSWER:

They were now asking “Rabbi” Jesus if they could be his disciples. In those times, a disciple (talmid) would live twenty-four hours a day with his rabbi, learning from him, noting everything he did or said, with the goal to become like his rabbi (cf. Mar 3:14).

They wanted to be his disciples that they might learn of God through him and see for themselves who Jesus really was.

What did Jesus mean when he said, “Come, and you will see”? (39a)  

ANSWER:

Joh 1:39  "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.

They wanted to see if Jesus really was the Lamb of God. So, Jesus promised to open their eyes and reveal the glory of who he was. 

They wanted to learn of God through him. So, Jesus promised to open their eyes to God and reveal him. They would see because:

He is the Word through whom God expresses himself and makes himself known (1, 18).

He is the Son who reveals his Father exactly and thereby teaches us who the Father is.

He is the Light who gives light to men that they may see (9, 8:12).

3. Who were these two disciples? (40) 

ANSWER:

Joh 1:40  Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus.

Andrew and probably John, “the disciple whom Jesus loved”, the author of this book.

What did Andrew discover about Jesus? (41)

ANSWER:

Joh 1:41  The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, "We have found the Messiah" (that is, the Christ).

He now knew that Jesus was the Christ. It was like discovering buried treasure.

Andrew spent only a short time with Jesus before coming to this realization.

How did he come to this realization? (39b-40)

ANSWER:

Joh 1:39b-40  So they went and saw where he was staying, and spent that day with him. It was about the tenth hour.  40  Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus.

Because Jesus revealed himself to Andrew through his words (Jn 4:41, 6:63).

He is pleased to show himself to those who come to him, seeking to know him (38, 14:21; Jer 29:13; Pro 2:1-6).

Because they had spent time with Jesus as his students, making the effort to learn from him and find out if Jesus really was the Lamb as John had said.

What was the first thing he did? (41-42a)

ANSWER:

Joh 1:41-42a  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.

He excitedly brought his brother to meet Jesus. He could not keep the good news to himself.

How was Jesus going to change Simon? (42b)

ANSWER:

Joh 1:42b  Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas" (which, when translated, is Peter).

Through knowing Jesus and his love, Simon's inner person would become rocklike (Peter means rock).

Simon could not change himself but Jesus was going to display his power and glory by changing such an unstable person (1Co 1:26-31). 

Jesus is the Rock (Isa 28:16; Dan 2:45). He changes us into his likeness as we follow him (Mat 4:19; Gen 12:1-2).

4. Where did Jesus decide to go? (43a)

ANSWER:

Joh 1:43  The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee.

Jesus decided to leave for Galilee.

Jesus’ itinerary was set by his Father (Jn 5:19, 2:4, 4:4).

How did Philip become a disciple of Jesus? (43b)

ANSWER:

Joh 1:43b  Finding Philip, he said to him, "Follow me."

Jesus found him and chose him (Jn 15:16, 6:70, 13:18).

The words "follow me" were an invitation to be Jesus' disciple  – to be with him and learn from him.

What did Philip discover about Jesus? (45) 

ANSWER:

Joh 1:45  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."

He found that Jesus was the promised Messiah, the one written about in so many passages of Scripture. 

Jesus shows himself to those who follow him (8:12, 14:21).

He gave precise details in his testimony about Jesus (6:7 also shows that he is a precise person) and yet his details were not too accurate:

Jesus found Philip (45) and all the disciples (6:70) yet Philip said, “We have found...Jesus”.

Jesus was not really the son of Joseph but rather the Son of God (14; Mat 1:18; Luk 3:23).

Jesus was not really from Nazareth but from Bethlehem. 

Nevertheless, Jesus used Philip to bring Nathaniel. Jesus can use us despite our faulty understanding.

Why was Nathanael not convinced about Jesus at first? (46) 

ANSWER:

Joh 1:46  "Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?" Nathanael asked.  "Come and see," said Philip.

Because of Jesus' hometown – his supposed origin. Nazareth had a bad reputation.

How did Philip help him overcome his prejudice?

ANSWER:

He invited Nathaniel to come and see Jesus for himself. 

Jesus was working through Philip and Philip’s words echo those of Jesus in verse 39, “Come, and you will see.”

5. How did Jesus amaze Nathanael? (47-49) 

ANSWER:

Joh 1:47-49  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."

Jesus showed that he knew Nathaniel from long before Philip called him (10:14, 10:3, 13:18, 3:25). Jesus saw Nathaniel while he was engaged (probably) in secret communion with God under the shade of the fig tree.

Nathaniel immediately realized who Jesus was. He confessed that Jesus was the “Son of God” (1Chr 17:13; 2Sa 7:14-15), the promised “King of Israel” who would sit on David’s throne and reign forever. This was the same as Philip’s confession (45) and Andrew’s (41).

What does this show about Jesus? 

ANSWER:

He is the one who seeks us and finds us and chooses us even through the agency of other people (Jn 6:70, 1:13b, 5:21).

We are very important and precious to him.

What promise did he make to him? (50-51) 

ANSWER:

Joh 1:50-51  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."

Gen 28:12  He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.

Nathaniel would see the glory of God revealed in Jesus. He would see Jesus on the cross as the stairway to heaven (Gen 28:12; Jn 14:6; Heb 10:20).

The End.

 In a sense, Philip was correct. According to the custom of the time, a person was identified by his hometown to distinguish him from others who had that same name (e.g. Joseph of Arimathea, 19:38). But when Nathaniel had doubts about Jesus on hearing that he was from Nazareth (46), Philip did not tell him that Jesus’ place of birth was Bethlehem in fulfillment of Mic 5:2. So, it seems that Philip did not know about it.