Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of John 1:41
He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messiah, which is, being interpreted, the Christ.
41. He first findeth, &c.] The meaning of ‘first’ becomes almost certain when we remember S. John’s characteristic reserve about himself. Both disciples hurry to tell their own brothers the good tidings, that the Messiah has been found: S. Andrew finds his brother first, and afterwards S. John finds his; but we are left to infer the latter point.
S. Andrew thrice brings others to Christ; Peter, the lad with the loaves (Joh 6:8), and certain Greeks (Joh 12:22); and excepting Mar 13:3 we know scarcely anything else about him. Thus it would seem as if in these three incidents S. John had given us the key to his character. And here we have another characteristic of this Gospel the lifelike way in which the less prominent figures are sketched. Besides Andrew we have Philip, Joh 1:44, Joh 6:5, Joh 12:21, Joh 14:8; Thomas, Joh 11:16, Joh 14:5; Joh 20:24-29; Nathanael, Joh 1:45-51; Nicodemus, Joh 3:1-12, Joh 7:50-52, Joh 19:39; Martha and Mary, 11, Joh 12:1-3.
We have found ] This does not prove that S. John is still with him, only that they were together when their common desire and expectation were fulfilled.
Messias ] The Hebrew form of this name is used by S. John only, here and Joh 4:25. Elsewhere the LXX. translation, ‘the Christ,’ is used. Here ‘the’ before ‘Christ’ should be omitted.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
He first findeth – He found him and told him about Jesus before he brought him to Jesus.
We have found the Messias – They had learned from the testimony of John, and now had been more fully convinced from conversation with Jesus, that he was the Messiah. The word Messiah, or Messias, is Hebrew, and means the same as the Greek word Christ, anointed. See the notes at Mat 1:1. From the conduct of Andrew we may learn that it is the nature of religion to desire that others may possess it. It does not lead us to monopolize it or to hide it under a bushel, but it seeks that others also may be brought to the Saviour. It does not wait for them to come, but it goes for them; it seeks them out, and tells them that a Saviour is found. Young converts should seek their friends and neighbors, and tell them of a Saviour; and not only their relatives, but all others as far as possible, that all may come to Jesus and be saved.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 41. Findeth his own brother Simon] Every discovery of the Gospel of the Son of God produces benevolence, and leads those to whom it is made to communicate it to others. Those who find Jesus find in him a treasure of wisdom and knowledge, through which they may not only become rich themselves, but be instruments, in the hand of God, of enriching others. These disciples, having tasted the good word of Christ, were not willing to eat their bread alone, but went and invited others to partake with them. Thus the knowledge of Christ became diffused-one invited another to come and see: Jesus received all, and the number of disciples was increased, and the attentive hearers were innumerable. Every man who has been brought to an acquaintance with God should endeavour to bring, at least, another with him; and his first attention should be fixed upon those of his own household.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
It should seem that both the disciples (after their converse with Christ at the place where he lodged) went together to look for Peter, Andrews brother. Andrew first found him, and tells him (with great joy) that he and that other disciple had found the Messiah, prophesied of by Daniel, and in the expectation of whom the disciples and the Jews lived. The term Messiah in Hebrew is the same with Christ in Greek, and both signify the same with Anointed in English. The article in this place is emphatic, not merely prepositive, as in other places, but signifying, that Anointed; for other kings, and priests, and prophets were also anointed, and Gods people are called anointed; but he was anointed with the oil of gladness above his fellows, having the Spirit not given him by measure.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
41. have found the MessiasTheprevious preparation of their simple hearts under the Baptist’sministry, made quick work of this blessed conviction, while othershesitated till doubt settled into obduracy. So it is still.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
He first findeth his own brother Simon,…. Either before the other disciple, or before he found any other person: after he and the other disciple departed from Christ, being affected with the grace bestowed upon him, and his heart warm with the conversation he had had with him, and transported with joy at finding the Messiah, goes in all haste in search of his relations, friends, and acquaintance, to communicate what he had seen and heard, in order to bring them to the knowledge of the same; for such is the nature of grace, it is very communicative, and those that have it, are very desirous that all others should be partakers of it: and the first person he lighted on was Simon, who was afterwards called Peter, who was his own brother; not a brother-in-law, but his own brother, by father and mother’s side, and so dear unto him by the ties of nature and blood:
and saith unto him; with all eagerness imaginable, and in a rapture of joy:
we have found the Messias; I, and a fellow disciple have had the Messiah, so often foretold by the prophets, and so long expected by our fathers, pointed out to us; and we have followed him, and have had conversation with him, and are well assured he is that illustrious person:
which is, being interpreted, the Christ; which, as in Joh 1:38, are the words of the evangelist, and not Andrew, and are therefore left out in the Syriac version; the word Messiah needing no interpretation in that language, and which was the language in which Andrew spoke. This name, Messiah, was well known among the Jews, for that who was promised, and they expected as a Saviour and Redeemer; though it is not very often mentioned in the books of the Old Testament, chiefly in the following places, Ps 2:2; but is very much used in the Chaldee paraphrases: Elias Levita g says, he found it in more than fifty verses; and Buxtorf h has added others to them, and the word appears in “seventy one” places, which he takes notice of, and are worthy of regard; for they show the sense of the ancient synagogue, concerning the passages of the Old Testament, respecting the Messiah: this Hebrew word is interpreted by the Greek word, “Christ”; and both signify “anointed”, and well agree with the person to whom they belong, to which there is an allusion in So 1:3, “thy name is as ointment poured forth”: he is so called, because he was anointed from everlasting, to be prophet, priest, and king; see Ps 2:6 Pr 8:22, and he was anointed as man, with the oil of gladness, with the graces of the Spirit, without measure, Ps 45:7. And it is from him the saints receive the anointing, or grace in measure; and are from him called Christians, and are really anointed ones; see 1Jo 2:27, hence it is a name precious to the saints, and savoury to them. These words were delivered by Andrew, in a very exulting strain, expressing great joy; as indeed what can be greater joy to a sensible soul, than to find Christ? which in a spiritual sense, is to have a clear sight of him by faith, to go unto him, and lay hold on him, as the only Saviour and Redeemer: who is to be found in the Scriptures of truth, which testify of him; in the promises of grace, which are full of him and in the Gospel, of which he is the sum and substance; and in the ordinances of it, where he shows himself; for he is not to be found by the light of nature, or by carnal reason, nor by the law of Moses, but by means of the Gospel, and the Spirit of God attending that, as a spirit of wisdom and revelation, in the knowledge of him: and happy are those souls that find Christ under his direction; for they find life, spiritual and eternal, in him; a justifying righteousness; free and full pardon of their sins; spiritual food for their souls; and peace, comfort, joy, and rest, and eternal glory: wherefore this must needs be matter of joy unto them, since such a finding is a rich one, a pearl of great price, riches durable and unsearchable; and which a man that has found, would not part with for all the world; but parts with all he has for it; and is what can never be lost again; and, particularly to two sorts of persons, finding Christ must give a peculiar pleasure, and an inexpressible joy; to such as are under a sense of sin and damnation, and to such who have been under desertion. The phrase of “finding” a person, twice used in this text, and hereafter in some following verses, is frequent in Talmudic and Rabbinic writings; as
“he went, , “and found him with Rab” i.”
g Prefat ad Methurgemen, & in voce . h Lexicon Talmud p. 1268. i T. Bab. Sabbat, fol. 108. 1. Zohar in Lev. fol. 15. 3.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
He findeth first ( ). “This one finds (vivid dramatic present) first” (). (adverb supported by Aleph A B fam. 13) means that Andrew sought “his own brother Simon” ( ) before he did anything else. But Aleph L W read (nominative adjective) which means that Andrew was the first who went after his brother implying that John also went after his brother James. Some old Latin manuscripts (b, e, r apparently), have for Greek (early in the morning). Bernard thinks that this is the true reading as it allows more time for Andrew to bring Simon to Jesus. Probably is correct, but even so John likely brought also his brother James after Andrew’s example.
We have found the Messiah (H ). First aorist active indicative of . Andrew and John had made the greatest discovery of the ages, far beyond gold or diamond mines. The Baptist had told about him. “We have seen him.”
Which is ( ). Same explanatory neuter relative as in verse 38, “which word is.” This Aramaic title Messiah is preserved in the N.T. only here and 4:25, elsewhere translated into , Anointed One, from , to anoint. See on Mt 1:1 for discussion.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
1) “He first findeth his own brother Simon,” (heuriskei houtos proton ton adelphon ton idion Simona) “This one (Andrew) first finds Simon, his own brother,” in the flesh, his family or fraternal brother. Note, Andrew had primacy in finding Jesus, before Simon Peter did, though Romanism assigns primacy to Peter. Though little is recorded of Andrew’s labors, he will reap rewards for having brought his soul-winning brother, mighty preacher, and New Testament writer, to the Lord, Joh 4:35-38.
2) “And saith unto him, We have found the Messias,” (kai egei auto heurekamen ton messian) “And tells him (personally) we have found the Messiah,” the most blessed find or discovery of their lives; Our Lord specifically and directly declared Himself to be “that Messias” who was to come, about whom the Samaritan woman gave testimony, Joh 4:25-26.
3) “Which is being interpreted, the Christ.” (ho estin methermeneuomenon Christos) “Which is properly translated the Christ,” the anointed one of God, Luk 4:18; As also later affirmed by Peter and all the other apostles, Mat 16:15-16.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
41. We have found the Messiah. The Evangelist has interpreted the Hebrew word Messiah ( Anointed) by the Greek word Christ, in order to publish to the whole world what was secretly known to the Jews. It was the ordinary designation of kings, (39) as anointing was observed by them as a solemn rite. But still they were aware that one King would be anointed by God, under whom they might hope to obtain perfect and eternal happiness; especially when they should learn that the earthly kingdom of David would not be permanent. And as God raised their minds, when subdued and weighed down by various calamities, to the expectation of the Messiah, so he more clearly revealed to them that his coming was at hand. The prediction of Daniel is more clear and forcible than all the rest, so far as relates to the name of Christ; for he does not, like the earlier Prophets, ascribe it to kings, but appropriates it exclusively to the Redeemer, (Dan 9:25.) Hence this mode of expression became prevalent, so that when the Messiah or Christ was mentioned, it was understood that no other than the Redeemer was meant. Thus we shall find the woman of Samaria saying, the Messiah will come, (Joh 4:25😉 which makes it the more wonderful that he who was so eagerly desired by all, and whom they had constantly in their mouths, should be received by so small a number of persons.
(39) See Harmony of the Three Evangelists, volume 1 page 92, n. 2; and page 142, n. 2.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
[(2) JESUS MANIFESTS HIMSELF TO INDIVIDUALS (John Joh. 1:41 to Joh. 2:11):
(a)
To the first disciplesthe witness of man (Joh. 1:41-51);
(b)
At Cana of Galileethe witness of nature (Joh. 1:1-11).]
(41) He first findeth his own brother.The probable explanation of this verse, and the only one which gives an adequate meaning to first and his own, is that each of the two disciples in the fulness of his fresh joy went to seek his own brother, that Andrew found Peter first, and that John records this, and by the form in which he does so implies, but does not state, that he himself found James. To have stated this would have been to break through the personal reserve which he imposed upon himself. (Comp. Mat. 4:18-21; Mar. 1:16-19; Luk. 5:1-10.)
We have found.Implying a previous seeking, and that both were under the impulse of the general movement leading men to expect the Messiah. It is implied, too, that Simon was near, and therefore probably a hearer of the Baptist.
Messias.The Hebrew form of the name occurs in the New Testament only here and in Joh. 4:25, in both cases in a vivid picture of events fixed in the memory. Elsewhere, John, as the other sacred writers, uses the LXX. translation, Christ, and even here he adds it (comp., e.g., in this John Joh. 1:20; Joh. 1:25). Both words mean anointed (see margin, and comp. Psa. 45:8).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
41. Findeth his own brother Simon A circle of friends, it would seem, from Galilee, mostly from Bethsaida, are now at the Jordan, drawn by the ministry of the Baptist, and in more or less close connection with him. Of these Jesus will now form the nucleus of his apostolic college. But they are special disciples rather than apostles.
The Messias the Christ Inasmuch as our Evangelist writes for Gentiles, in a city distant from Palestine, he interprets the term.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘He first finds his own brother Simon and says to him, “We have found the Messiah (which is being interpreted ‘the Christ’)”.
Andrew then seeks out his brother Simon (Peter) and declares that they have found ‘the Messiah’. Once someone has truly found Christ they cannot help but seek to tell others. That is a proof of their genuineness.
At this stage, in their first enthusiasm, it is clear that they consider Jesus to be the expected Messiah. That was what John was pointing to. Such was the expectancy of God’s coming deliverance in those days that it was almost inevitable. But as time goes by that belief will fade, for as they go about with Him they will find that He does not behave as they expect the Messiah to behave. He does not even claim to be the Messiah when speaking to Jews, or in public. Indeed everyone will be puzzled. Even John the Baptiser will begin to have his doubts (Mat 11:2-6; Luk 7:19-20). It is thus not surprising that less enlightened men (at the time) will feel the same.
But Jesus is aware that He has to re-educate them. He has not come with force of arms but with force of words. He has not come to achieve earthly success but to gain a heavenly victory (something brought out in the other Gospels by His Temptation). Thus He will continue on His way and let them watch Him and gradually come to an understanding of Who and What He is. The Messianic claim in the way that they understood it would not only have been dangerous, it would have been wrong. He was not an enemy of Rome. In His purposes Rome was an irrelevance, and He would not die for a cause He was not interested in. He had come to seek and to save the lost and to establish a heavenly kingdom, a kingdom ‘not of this world’ (Joh 18:36). But this as yet was something that they could not understand.
The final certainty that Jesus is the Messiah will in fact come later, when Jesus will redefine the term in terms of the suffering Son of Man (Mat 16:16 and parallels and Joh 6:69). So here His response will be to speak of Himself as ‘the Son of Man’, stressing His oneness with humanity (v. 51), but with the later intention of revealing a deeper meaning for that title too as the One Who comes out of suffering to receive the throne of God and enter into glory (Dan 7:13-14). The writer, however, brings in Andrew’s use of the term Messiah because he wants his readers to know that Jesus is indeed the Messiah. (In fact even after Peter’s confession of Jesus as Messiah his disciples are having difficulty with the subject (Mar 10:35). They still have the wrong idea).
‘First finds’. Does this mean ‘first’ before doing anything else? Or first before finding others? It is probably the former. (There are variant readings, but the differences are not really important).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Joh 1:41. He first findeth his own brother Simon, Hence it should seem that both these disciples sought St. Peter different ways. He may perhaps be called Andrew’s own brother, to distinguish him from some other who belonged to the family, and who possibly might be his brother-in-law, or was related to him only in half-blood. St. Peter was so remarkable a person, that it might be proper to tell us who was the first instrument of bringing him acquainted with Christ; and if St. John was the other disciple here referred to, he might mean this as a humble intimation, that St. Andrew’s zeal in this respect was greater than his own. We may observe here, by the way, that St. Peter was not the first of Christ’s disciples,in which the Papists would have been ready to have gloried; but that another was the occasion of bringing him to an acquaintance with Jesus. The great king whom the Jews expected, is called Messiah by none of the prophets but Daniel; who has named him, Ch. Joh 9:25. Messiah the Prince: wherefore, as by the present, and many other passages of the gospels, it appears that this name was now familiar to the Jews; it shews how much their attention was turned towards Daniel’s prophesy of the seventy weeks, and how firmly they expected the arrival of their king, according to the time fixed in that prop
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Joh 1:41-43 . Still on the same day (not on the following, as, after the early expositors, De Wette, Baur, Luthardt, Ewald, and most others suppose; see, on the contrary, the which again appears, but not till Joh 1:44 ), Andrew first meets his brother Simon.
] We must understand the matter thus: Both disciples go out from the lodging-place (at the same time, or perhaps Andrew first), still in the first fresh glow of joy at having found the Messias, [122] in order that each of them may seek his own brother (we must assume that both brothers were known to be in the neighbourhood), in order to inform him of the new joy, and to bring him to Christ. Andrew is the first ( , not , an inelegant change adopted by Lachmann, after A. B. M. X. **) who finds his brother. John, however, does not say that he also sought his brother James , found him, and brought him to Jesus; and this is in keeping with the delicate reserve which prevents him from naming either himself or those belonging to him (even the name of James does not occur in the Gospel). Still this may be clearly seen from the , and is confirmed by the narrative of the Synoptics, in so far that both James and John are represented as being called at the same time by Jesus (Mar 1:19 and parallels). Bengel, Tholuck, De Wette, Hengstenberg, wrongly say that Andrew and John had both sought out Simon . The is against this; as it neither here nor elsewhere (comp. Joh 5:18 ) occurs as a mere possessive (against Lcke, Maier, De Wette, and others), but in opposition to that which is foreign. Any antithetic relation to the spiritual brotherhood in which John as well as Andrew stood to Simon (Hengstenberg), is quite remote from the passage.
] placed emphatically at the beginning of the clause, and presupposing the feeling of anxious desire excited by the Baptist. The plural is used because Andrew had in mind the other disciple also.
, . . .] This fixed look (Joh 1:36 ) on the countenance of Simon pierces his inner soul. Jesus, as the Searcher of hearts (Joh 2:25 ; Weiss, Lehrbegr. p. 263), sees in him one who should hereafter be called to be the rock of the church, and calls him by the name which he was henceforth to bear as His disciple (not first in Mat 16:18 , as Luthardt thinks). A rock is the emblem of firmness as early as Homer ( Od . xvii. 463); comp. Eze 3:9 . There is no contradiction here with Mat 16:18 (it is otherwise with Mar 3:16 ), as if John had transferred the giving of the name to this place (Hilgenfeld, comp. Baur and Scholten), for in Mat 16:18 the earlier giving of the name is really presupposed, confirmed , and applied . See on Matt.
, . . .] This belongs to the circumstantiality of the solemn ceremony of the name-giving; it is first said who he is , and what in future he should be called . Comp. Gen 32:28 ; Gen 35:10 ; Gen 17:5 . is not, as Ewald thinks, a question; and there is no ground whatever for supposing that Jesus immediately recognised him (Cyril, Chrysostom, Augustine, Aretius, Maldonatus, Cornelius a Lapide, Bengel, Luthardt, and many, comp. Strauss), for Andrew introduced his brother to Jesus. Grotius and Paulus [123] give arbitrary explanations of the reading , but see the critical notes. For the rest, we must not say, with Hilgenfeld, “Peter here attains the pre-eminence of the first called disciple;” but Peter is first given this pre-eminence in the synoptical accounts (Mat 4:18 and parallels); the personal recollection of John, however, must take precedence of these. See especially the note following Joh 1:51 .
[122] John’s use here and in Joh 4:25 of ( ) is accounted for by the depicting of the scene exactly as it occurred; whereas in Joh 1:20 ; Joh 1:25 , when he simply writes historically, he uses the ordinary translation . The genre picture is specially minute; so here. According to Baur, N. T. Theol. p. 393, the author has given an antiquarian notice, as it were, of this Hebrew name which occurs nowhere else in the N. T.
[123] The fantastic play upon the words in Lange’s L. J. II. 469, is of this sort. He renders: “Now thou art the son of the timid dove of the rock; in future shalt thou be called the sheltering rock of the dove (the church).” According to the true reading of the passage, the name of Peter’s father contained in which occurs in Matthew, must be regarded as an abbreviation for John , and has nothing whatever to do with dove . See on Mat 16:17 .
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
41 He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ.
Ver. 41. He first findeth ] Yet afterwards Peter outstripped Andrew in faith and forwardness for Christ; as likewise Luther did Staupicius, &c. So the first become last, and the last first. But charity is no churl; Andrew calleth Simon, and Philip, Nathanael, &c.; as a loadstone draws to itself one iron ring, and that another, and a third, so, &c.
We have found the Messiah ] Little it was that he could say of Christ’s person, office, value, virtue, &c., but brings him to Christ. So let us do ours to the public ordinances. Do the office of the sermon bell at least, we know not what God may there do for them. Bring them as they did, the palsy man upon his bed, and lay them before the Lord for healing.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
41. ] Who the other disciple was, is not certain: but considering (1) that the Evangelist never names himself in his Gospel, and (2) that this account is so minutely accurate as to specify even the hours of the day, and in all respects bears marks of an eye-witness , and again (3) that this other disciple, from this last circumstance, certainly would have been named , had not the name been suppressed for some especial reason , we are justified in inferring that it was the Evangelist himself . And such has been the general opinion. Euthymius gives an alternative which is hardly probable: , .
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Joh 1:41 . . One of the two who thus first followed Christ was Andrew, known not so much in his own name as being the brother of Simon is here proleptic. We are left to infer that the other disciple was the evangelist.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
he = This one.
first findeth. Andrew is the first to find his brother, and afterwards John finds his. The Latin Version (Cod. Vercellensis, Cent. 4) must have read Greek. prof = early [in the morning]; not protos, as in the Rec. text. Not primum = first, as in the Vulgate.
the Messias = the Messiah. App-98. Occurs only here, and Joh 4:25.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
41.] Who the other disciple was, is not certain: but considering (1) that the Evangelist never names himself in his Gospel, and (2) that this account is so minutely accurate as to specify even the hours of the day, and in all respects bears marks of an eye-witness, and again (3) that this other disciple, from this last circumstance, certainly would have been named, had not the name been suppressed for some especial reason, we are justified in inferring that it was the Evangelist himself. And such has been the general opinion. Euthymius gives an alternative which is hardly probable: , .
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Joh 1:41. , findeth) With the festival-like [joyous] freshness of those days beautifully corresponds the word findeth, which is used here more frequently [than elsewhere].-, first) It is to be presumed, that both of them sought Simon by different roads.[40]- , his brother) He afterwards became superior to Andrew, who, it is probable, was the elder born; Joh 1:44 [the order there is, Andrew and Peter].-, we have found) Joh 1:45, We have found Him, of whom Moses in the law and the prophets did write [Philip to Nathanael]. A great and joyful , treasure-found, expected by the world for about forty centuries. They had learned from John, that He was close at hand.-, which) This is an addition of the Evangelist, as at Joh 1:42.
[40] Rather, as Andrew first of the two disciples found his own brother and brought him to Jesus; so the other disciple, who was probably John, did the same, and brought his brother, James, to the Saviour.-E. and T.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Joh 1:41
Joh 1:41
He findeth first his own brother Simon,-So moved by a natural and fleshly feeling he first sought Simon. The teaching of Jesus does not destroy the ties of the flesh, but sanctifies them. Andrew first sought his own brother. Every Christian should act on this principle. The person who is indifferent to the salvation of his own kindred and people, but who is zealous of the salvation of strangers, does not follow the example of either Jesus or his disciples. Jesus first preached to his own people then to others.
and saith unto him, We have found the Messiah (which is, being interpreted, Christ).-Messiah is the Hebrew term for Christ in the Greek, then chiefly spoken, or anointed in English. He was anointed by the Spirit which descended upon and abode with him [at his baptism].
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
first: Joh 1:36, Joh 1:37, Joh 1:45, Joh 4:28, Joh 4:29, 2Ki 7:9, Isa 2:3-5, Luk 2:17, Luk 2:38, Act 13:32, Act 13:33, 1Jo 1:3
the Messias: Joh 4:25, Dan 9:25, Dan 9:26
Christ: or, Anointed, Psa 2:2, Psa 45:7, Psa 89:20, Isa 11:2, Isa 61:1, Luk 4:18-21, Act 4:27, Act 10:38, Heb 1:8, Heb 1:9
Reciprocal: Jdg 13:10 – Behold Isa 10:27 – because Dan 9:24 – and to anoint Mat 16:20 – Jesus Mar 8:29 – Thou Mar 13:3 – Peter Luk 2:11 – which Luk 2:26 – the Lord’s Luk 5:3 – which Luk 9:20 – The Joh 6:69 – we believe Joh 7:41 – This is Joh 11:28 – and called Joh 12:22 – Andrew Joh 20:25 – We Act 10:24 – and had Act 13:8 – for Act 18:5 – was Christ 1Pe 1:1 – Peter
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1
First is from PROTOS according to the commonly-used Greek text, but Moffatt says it is really from PROI. Thayer’s definition of that word is, “in the morning, early,” and it is so translated in Mat 16:3, and Moffatt so renders it in our verse, making it read, “In the morning,” as being the time when Andrew went in search of his brother Peter. That is a reasonable conclusion, for we have seen that it was near the end of the day when the two disciples made their call upon Jesus with whom they spent the rest of the day. Then early the next morning, Andrew went in search of his brother, and told him the good news of finding the Messiah.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ.
[He findeth his brother.] So “Rab Nachman Bar Isaac found him with Rab Houna “: and many such-like expressions, in the Talmudic authors, as also We have found!
Fuente: Lightfoot Commentary Gospels
Joh 1:41. He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messiah (which is, being interpreted, Christ). The peculiar language of this verse leads directly to the conclusion that each of the two disciples mentioned in the previous verse had gone in search of his brother, and the fact is not without interest as confirming the supposition that the second of the two disciples was John. Andrew and his brother, John and his brother, seem to have been the only two pairs of brothers in the apostolic band. The finding was not accidental. Andrew had gone in search of Peter, John of James. When Andrew found the object of his search, his joyful announcement was, We have found the Messiah. This Hebrew termoccurring only twice in the New Testament, here and at Joh 3:25, in the mouth of the woman of Samariadenotes the Anointed One; and is immediately interpreted by the Evangelist, the Greek word Christ having the same meaning. One of the great hopes of Israel was fulfilled.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Vv. 41, 42. Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard John’s words and followed Jesus. 42. As the first, he findeth his own brother Simon, and saith to him: We have found the Messiah (which means: the Christ).
At this point of the narrative, the author names his companion Andrew. It is because the moment has come to point out his relationship to Simon Peter, a relationship which exercised so decisive an influence on the latter and on the work which is beginning. The designation of Andrew as Simon Peter’s brother, is so much the more remarkable, since Simon Peter has not as yet figured in the narrative, and since the surname Peter did not as yet belong to him. This future apostle, is, therefore, treated from the first as the most important personage of this history. Let us remark, also, that this manner of designating Andrew assumes a full acquaintance already on the part of the readers with the Gospel history. Did Peter’s visit to Jesus take place on the same evening? Weiss and Keil declare that this is impossible, because of the expression that day (Joh 1:40), which leaves no place for this new visit.Westcott, on the contrary says: All this evidently happened on the same day. This second view, which is that ofMeyer and Bruckner, seems to me the only admissible one. It follows, by a kind of necessity, from the exact enumeration of the days in this passage. See: the next day, Joh 1:29; Joh 1:35; Joh 1:44, and also Joh 2:1. Towards evening, the two disciples left Jesus for some moments, and Peter was brought by Andrew to Him while it was not yet night.
How are we to explain the expressions first (or in the first-place) and his own brother? These words have always presented a difficulty to interpreters. They contain, in fact, one of those small mysteries with which John’s narrative, at once so subtle and so simple, is full. The Mjj. which read the adverb or the accusative , are six in number, among them the Vatican: He finds his own brother first (or in the first-place). But with what brother would he be contrasted by this first? With the disciples who were found later, Philip and Nathanael? But it was not Andrew who found these; Jesus found Philip, and Philip Nathanael. And yet this would be the only possible sense of the accusative or the adverb . The nominative , therefore, must necessarily be read, with the Sinaitic MS. and the majority of the Mjj.: As the first, Andrew finds his own brother. This might strictly mean that they both set about seeking for Simon, and that Andrew was the first to find him, because, Simon being his brother, he knew better where to seek him; this would in a manner explain the , his own, but in a manner very far-fetched. As it is impossible to make this very emphatic expression a mere periphrasis of the possessive pronoun his, the author’s thought must be acknowledged to have been as follows: On leaving, each one of them seeks his own brother: Andrew seeks Simon, and John his brother James; and it is Andrew who first succeeds in finding his own. The may have been substituted for under the influence of the four following words in .
The term Messiah, that is, the Anointed, from maschach, to anoint, was very popular; it was used even in Samaria (Joh 4:25). The Greek translation of this title, , again implies Greek readers. John had twice employed the Greek term in the preceding narrative (Joh 1:20; Joh 1:25); but here, in this scene of so personal a character, he likes to reproduce the Hebrew title (as he had done at Joh 1:39, as he is to do again in Joh 4:25), in order to preserve for his narrative its dramatic character. If we have properly explained this verse, we must conclude from it that James, the brother of John, was also among the young Galilean disciples of John the Baptist, and that John is not willing to name him any more than he is to name himself, or afterwards to name his mother, Joh 19:25.
Fuente: Godet Commentary (Luke, John, Romans and 1 Corinthians)
1:41 He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the {u} Christ.
(u) That is, anointed, and king after the manner of the Jewish people.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Andrew sought to bring his own brother to Jesus and was successful in doing so. Obviously both of them wanted to discover the Messiah whom the Old Testament prophets had predicted and whom Daniel’s timetable encouraged them to believe would appear soon (Dan 9:25). We should not conclude, however, that because Andrew believed that Jesus was the Messiah he also believed that He was God. He may have believed this, but all the evidence in the Gospels points to the disciples learning of Jesus’ deity after they had been with Him for some time (cf. Mat 16:16; Mar 8:29; Luk 9:20). Probably Andrew thought of Jesus as a great prophet who was the messianic deliverer of Israel.
The title "Messiah" means "anointed one." The anointed one in Israel was originally any anointed priest or king who led the people. As time passed God gave prophecies of a coming Davidic king who would liberate the Israelites and establish God’s rule over the whole earth (e.g., 2 Samuel 7; Psalms 2; Psalms 110). Thus the idea of a coming anointed one crystallized into the title "Messiah."