Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of John 1:45
Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.
45. Nathanael ] = ‘Gift of God.’ The name occurs Num 1:8; 1Ch 2:14; 1Es 1:9; 1Es 9:22. Nathanael is commonly identified with Bartholomew; (1) Bartholomew is only a patronymic and the bearer would be likely to have another name (comp. Barjona of Simon, Barnabas of Joses); (2) S. John never mentions Bartholomew, the Synoptists never mention Nathanael; (3) the Synoptists in their lists place Bartholomew next to Philip, as James next his probable caller John, and Peter (in Matt. and Luke) next his caller Andrew; (4) all the other disciples mentioned in this chapter become Apostles, and none are so highly commended as Nathanael; (5) All Nathanael’s companions named in Joh 21:2 were Apostles (see note there). But all these reasons do not make the identification more than probable. The framers of our Liturgy do not countenance the identification: this passage appears neither as the Gospel nor as a Lesson for S. Bartholomew’s Day.
We have found him, of whom, &c.] “A most correct representation of the current phraseology, both in regard to the divisions of the O.T., and the application of the Messianic idea.” S. p. 35.
Moses ] viz. in Deu 18:15 and in all the Messianic types, promises to Adam, Abraham, &c.
Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph ] The words are Philip’s, and express the common belief about Jesus. It was natural to say He was ‘of’ or ‘from Nazareth,’ as His home had been there; still more natural to call him ‘the son of Joseph.’ The conclusion that the Evangelist is ignorant of the birth at Bethlehem, or of the miraculous nature of that birth, cannot be drawn from this passage. Rather, we may conclude that he is a scrupulously honest historian, who records exactly what was said, without making additions of his own.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Moses, in the law – Moses, in that part of the Old Testament which he wrote, called by the Jews the law. See Deu 18:15, Deu 18:18; Gen 49:10; Gen 3:15.
And the prophets – Isa 53:1-12; Isa 9:6-7; Dan 9:24-27; Jer 23:5-6; etc.
Jesus of Nazareth … – They spoke according to common apprehension. They spoke of him as the son of Joseph because he was commonly supposed to be. They spoke of him as dwelling at Nazareth, though they might not have been ignorant that he was born at Bethlehem.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 45. Nathanael] This apostle is supposed to be the same with Bartholomew, which is very likely, for these reasons
1. That the evangelists who mention Bartholomew say nothing of Nathanael; and that St. John, who speaks of Nathanael, says nothing of Bartholomew.
2. No notice is taken any where of Bartholomew’s vocation, unless his and that of Nathanael mentioned here be the same.
3. The name of Bartholomew is not a proper name; it signifies the son of Ptolomy; and Nathanael might have been his own name.
4. St. John seems to rank Nathanael with the apostles, when he says that Peter and Thomas, the two sons of Zebedee, Nathanael, and two other disciples, being gone a fishing, Jesus showed himself to them, Joh 21:2-4.
Moses in the law] See Ge 3:16; Ge 22:18; Ge 49:10; De 18:18.
And the prophets] See Isa 4:2; Isa 7:14; Isa 9:5; Isa 40:10; Isa 53:1, c.; Jer 23:5; Jer 33:14-15; Eze 34:23; Eze 37:24; Dan 9:24; Mic 5:2; Zec 6:12; Zec 9:9; Zec 12:10.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Philip having himself discovered Christ, is not willing to eat his morsels alone, but desires to communicate his discovery to others; he finds (whether casually, or upon search, is not said) one Nathanael, he was of Cana in Galilee, Joh 21:2. (The name is a Hebrew name, signifying, The gift of God; some think it the same with Nethaneel, 1Ch 15:24.) Having found him, he tells him with great joy, that they had found him of whom Moses had wrote in the law, the Shiloh, mentioned Gen 49:10, the Prophet, mentioned Deu 18:15, the Branch of the Lord, mentioned Isa 4:2, the Messiah, mentioned by Daniel, Dan 9:25,26, and all the other prophets, him whom they usually called Jesus of Nazareth, ( there he was conceived, there he was bred, Luk 2:4,51, though he was born in Bethlehem of Judah, Luk 2:4), and who was commonly thought to be the son of Joseph. If Philip did only cum vulgo loqui, speak as was commonly said, though himself knew and believed other things, he is not to be blamed; but the most think Philip discovered here his own weakness, both in thinking Christ the son of Joseph, and to have been born at Nazareth. It is certain that the apostles themselves at first, yea, and till Christs resurrection from the dead, had a very imperfect notion of Christ as the true Messiah. Grace may consist with great weakness as to knowledge.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
45. Nathanael(See on Mt10:3).
Moses(See Joh5:46).
son of Josephthecurrent way of speaking. (See Lu3:23).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Philip findeth Nathanael,…. Who was of Cana of Galilee,
Joh 21:2 and where, it is very likely, Philip found him; since we quickly read of Jesus, and his disciples being there. This man is thought, by some, to be the same with Bartholomew; and so he is called Bartholomew, in a Syriac dictionary o; and the rather, since he and Philip are always mentioned together in the account of the apostles, Mt 10:3. And certain it is, from the above mentioned place, that Nathanael was among the apostles after our Lord’s resurrection; and it is highly probable was one of them? his name might be Nathanael bar Tholmai, the son of Tholmai, Ptolomy, or Tholomew. It is the same name with Nethaneel, and which is read Nathanael, as here, in:
“And of the sons of Phaisur; Elionas, Massias Israel, and Nathanael, and Ocidelus and Talsas.” (1 Esdras 9:22)
and by the Septuagint on 1Ch 2:14
Ne 12:36; and signifies one given of God; and is the same with Theodore in Greek, and Adeodatus in Latin; a doctor of this name, R. Nathaniel, is mentioned in the Jewish writings p:
and saith unto him, we have found him of whom Moses, in the law, and the prophets, did write. He does not say, that he, and Andrew, and Simon, had found the Messiah; though he designs him by this circumlocution; Nathanael being, as is generally thought, a person well versed in the law, and the prophets, and so would at once know who Philip meant: for Moses, in the law, or Pentateuch, in the five books written by him, frequently speaks of the Messiah as the seed of the woman, that should break the serpent’s head; as the seed of Abraham, in whom all nations should be blessed; and as the Shiloh to whom the gathering of the people should be; and as the great prophet, like to himself, God would raise up among the children of Israel, to whom they were to hearken: and as for the prophets, they wrote of his birth of a virgin; of the place of his birth, Bethlehem; of his sufferings, and the glory, that should follow; of his resurrection from the dead, his ascension to heaven, and session at the right hand of God; and of many things relating to his person, and office, and work. And Philip having given this general account of him, proceeds to name him particularly; and affirms him to be
Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph; that his name was Jesus, which signifies a saviour; and answers to the promises, and prophecies, and character of him in the Old Testament; that he was of Nazareth, a place not above three hours walk from Cana, as Adrichomius says, where Philip and Nathanael were: Nazareth was the place where Christ had lived almost all his days hitherto, and therefore is said to be of it; though Bethlehem was the place of his birth, which Philip might not as yet know; as Capernaum afterwards was his city, or the more usual place of his residence: and that he was the son of Joseph; this Philip says, according to the common opinion of people, for he was supposed to be the son of Joseph; he having married his mother Mary.
o Bar Bahlui apud Castell Lex. Polyglott. col. 2437. p Pirke Eliezer, c. 48.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Philip findeth ( ). Dramatic present again. Philip carries on the work. One wins one. If that glorious beginning had only kept on! Now it takes a hundred to win one.
Nathaniel ( ). It is a Hebrew name meaning “God has given” like the Greek (Gift of God). He was from Cana of Galilee (Joh 21:2), not far from Bethsaida and so known to Philip. His name does not occur in the Synoptics while Bartholomew (a patronymic, Bar Tholmai) does not appear in John. They are almost certainly two names of the same man. Philip uses (verse 41) also to Nathanael and so unites himself with the circle of believers, but instead of describes him “of whom ( accusative with ) Moses in the law (De 18:15) and the prophets (so the whole O.T. as in Luke 24:27; Luke 24:44) did write.”
Jesus of Nazareth the son of Joseph ( ). More exactly, “Jesus, son of Joseph, the one from Nazareth.” Jesus passed as son (no article in the Greek) of Joseph, though John has just described him as “God-only Begotten” in verse 18, but certainly Philip could not know this. Bernard terms this part “the irony of St. John” for he is sure that his readers will agree with him as to the real deity of Jesus Christ. These details were probably meant to interest Nathanael.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
1) “Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him,” (huriskei Philippos ton Nathanael kai legei auto) “Philip finds Nathanael and told him,” reported to him. The name Nathanael means “given of God.” He was a native of Cana of Galilee, near where Jesus was brought up, Joh 21:2. Jesus found Philip and Philip found Nathanael, thus the torch of light and truth is passed on, as one torch of faith and truth lights another to lead to Jesus, Mat 5:15-16.
2) “We have found him,” (hon heurekamen) “We have found, discovered, or located him;- Those who seek Him with all their hearts shall find Him, always, Joh 7:17; Isa 55:6-7; Deu 4:29.
3) “Of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, (hon egrapsen Mouses en to nomo kai hoi prophetai) “Of or about whom Moses wrote in the law and the prophets,” Deu 18:15-17; Luk 24:27; Luk 24:44-45. Philip was familiar with the writings of the law and the prophets and believed the scriptures, as Peter later certified, regarding the promised Messiah, Act 10:43.
4) “Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” (lesoun huion tou loseph ton apo Nazareth) “Jesus from Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” What a find! To find Jesus is life’s most desired quest for every human being. Jesus was of Nazareth, the city where He grew up, after His return from Egypt, that the Scriptures might be fulfilled, Mat 2:23. This Nathanael is also believed to be that same person identified as Bartholomew, one of the twelve apostles, Mat 10:3; Act 1:13.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
45. Philip findeth Nathanael. Though proud men despise these feeble beginnings of the Church, yet we ought to perceive in them a brighter display of the divine glory, than if the condition of the Kingdom of Christ had been in every respect, from the outset, splendid and magnificent; for we know to how rich a harvest this small seed afterwards grew. Again, we see in Philip the same desire of building which formerly appeared in Andrew. His modesty, too, is remarkable, in desiring and seeking nothing else than to have others to learn along with him, from Him who is a Teacher common to all.
We have found Jesus. How small was the measure of Philip’s faith appears from this circumstance, that he cannot utter a few words about Christ without mingling with them two gross errors. He calls him the son of Joseph, and says, that Nazareth was his native town, both of which statements were false; and yet, because he is sincerely desirous to do good to his brother, and to make Christ known, God approves of this instance of his diligence, and even crowns it with good success. Each of us ought, no doubt, to endeavor to keep soberly within his own limits; and, certainly, the Evangelist does not mention it as worthy of commendation in Philip, that he twice disgraces Christ, but relates that his doctrine, though faulty and involved in error, was useful, because it nevertheless had this for its object, that Christ might be truly known. He foolishly says that he was the son of Joseph, and ignorantly calls him a native of Nazareth, but yet he leads Nathanael to no other than the Son of God who was born in Bethlehem, (Mat 2:1,) and does not contrive a false Christ, but only wishes that they should know him as he was exhibited by Moses and the Prophets. We see, then, that the chief design of doctrine is, that those who hear us should come to Christ in some way or other.
There are many who engage in abstruse inquiries about Christ, but who throw such darkness and intricacy around him by their subtleties that they can never find him. The Papists, for example, will not say that Christ is the son of Joseph, for they distinctly know what is his name; but yet they annihilate his power, so as to hold out a phantom in the room of Christ. Would it not be better to stammer ridiculously, like Philip, and to hold by the true Christ, than by eloquent and ingenious language to introduce a false Christ? On the other hand, there are many poor dunces in the present day, who, though ignorant and unskilled in the use of language, make known Christ more faithfully than all the theologians of the Pope with their lofty speculations. This passage, therefore, warns us that, if any unsuitable language has been employed concerning Christ by ignorant and unlearned men, we ought not to reject such persons with disdain, provided they direct us to Christ; but that we may not be withdrawn from Christ by the false imaginations of men, let us always have this remedy at hand, to seek the pure knowledge of him from the Law and the Prophets.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
EXPLANATORY AND CRITICAL NOTES
Joh. 1:45-51. Nathanael = Theodorus. The gift of God (). Probably this is the disciple mentioned afterward as Bartholomew (Mat. 10:3). How quickly did those early followers of Jesus discover the marks of true discipleship! Philip was no sooner convinced than he sought Nathanael. Jesus from Nazareth.It is not implied that the Evangelist was ignorant of the fact that Jesus was born in Bethlehem: he is only reporting Philips words.
Joh. 1:46. Nazareth was not apparently a place particularly distinguished, whilst the religious character of the inhabitants seems to have been a sort of unreasoning, not to say bigoted, Jewish orthodoxy (Luk. 4:29). But probably a little of the scorn of an inhabitant of a neighbouring village, which plumed itself on being as good or better than Nazareth, may account for this language of Nathanael. But see also Joh. 7:52.
Joh. 1:47. No guile.Not a Jacob, a supplanter, a man of guile; but an Israel, one who recognises his condition, and through prayer prevails with God (Hos. 12:4-5). As Jacobs character was changed, so his true descendants have no affinity with that side of his character by which he was known as the Supplanter.
Joh. 1:48. Whence knowest Thou me?The reply shows that Nathanael was not prepared to receive Jesus without some further testimony than that of Philip. The fig tree (1Ki. 4:25; Zec. 3:10).Equivalent to home. Under the fig tree in garden or vineyard was probably a place sacred to meditation (Luk. 13:6). I saw thee, etc. (Joh. 1:49).Nathanael realised that his most secret and sacred thoughts were known by this Person in whose presence he stood. Who could He be but the very Searcher of hearts Himself? Thou art the Son of Godtherefore the King of Israel, the promised Messiah-King (Psa. 2:2; Psa. 2:6-7; Psa. 2:12).
Joh. 1:50. Jesus answered, etc.This is not a question; it is rather a recognition by our Lord of the fact of Nathanaels faith, leading Him to give the assurance to Nathanael and the other disciples present that their faith would be still more fully and gloriously confirmed.
Joh. 1:51. Verily, verily ().This formula is found twenty-five times in this Gospel. Thence is derived the title of Jesus, the Amen (Rev. 3:14). This word (from firmum fuit) is, properly speaking, a verbal adjective, firm, worthy of faith the repetition implies a doubt to be overcome in the mind of the hearer (Godet). Angels, etc.Angels are instruments of divine power in the domain of nature (see the angel of the waters, Rev. 16:5; of the fire, Joh. 14:18). This saying refers therefore to phenomena which, while passing in the domain of nature, are due to a causality superior to the laws of nature. Can Jesus characterise His miracles more clearly without naming them? (Godet). The reference is evidently to Jacobs dream (Gen. 28:12-13). But we must not exclude the appearance of angelic visitants in Gethsemane, at the Resurrection, and the Ascension.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Joh. 1:45-51
Nathanael, the guileless disciple.Philip of Bethsaida, on receiving the divine call, at once obeyed. And like all true disciples of Jesus, the longer he companied with Him, the more blessed did His intercourse become, until he found Jesus clearly revealed to him as He of whom Moses in the law and the prophets did write. And like all other true disciples, he found that it was impossible to keep this good news to himself alone. He must make it known to others. Meeting with a friend, one Nathanael, an inhabitant of the village to which Jesus was goingCanahe told. him the joyful news. In this Nathanael a type of man meets us different from any of the other disciples yet mentioned. He was a man of pious disposition and devotional feeling, perhaps with a considerable leaning toward Rabbinic and Pharisaic ideas concerning Messiah and His kingdom (Joh. 1:46). Above all, he seems to have been a man transparently honest and open, an Israelite indeed without guile. Probably he is the same as Bartholomew (see Explanatory Notes). It is easy to understand that his surname might be son of Ptolemus. Under the name Nathanael he is mentioned only once again (Joh. 21:2). From the narrative we learn that Nathanael was:
I. A true Israelite waiting and praying for the consolation of Israel (Luk. 2:25).
1. Before Philip called him (Joh. 1:48) he was engaged, apparently in prayerful meditation, under the fig tree. This fig tree was most likely in a retired spot in his garden or vineyard (Luk. 13:6), under whose shade he retired in the hot March day for uninterrupted communion.
2. What his thoughts were precisely, what turn they took on that particular day, is not directly revealed; but if it may be surmised from Philips words, then it must have been on that supreme subject which the Mosaic economy with its sacrifices, and the prophets in their predictions, all pointed to. In spite of training and prepossessions, he may have been coming to realise that the Messianic hopes of his time were little in accord with what was revealed in the law and prophets concerning the Messiah. It may have cost him a pang to break even in thought with traditional opinion; but he was a man too honest and sincere not to follow the guidance of truth, when it was clearly revealed.
3. There may have been other and personal thoughts and feelings, personal dealings with God, secret and solemn; but this question of questions to the pious Jew would not, it may be safely assumed, be far away.
II. Nathanael was further careful in discriminating the claims of one described to him as the Messiah.
1. While revolving these thoughts in his mind his friend Philip, evidently brimful of intelligence of some sort, met him. After exchange of greetings, and inquiry as to each others doings, Philip, no doubt without delay, spoke on the subject of which his mind and heart were full.
2. Strange, was this a reply to his prayers, a clearing up of his difficulties, the realisation of his hopes? What did Philip say? Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph! Oh, impossible! Where was there any promise regarding Messiah connected with Nazareth?above all places Nazareth, unnoted in the sacred writings, not even equal to his own Cana! Hence his in part disappointed and melancholy, in part pitying, reply to his more simple friend: Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?
3. But his simply believing friend is not to be daunted. He is aware of his own inability to reason this Nathanael into belief. But there is a better way, a way sure of success. So he says to his friend, Come and see! The best counsel that could have been given. The weightiest proof of Christianity is personal experience of the blessedness of personal knowledge of Christ, and of participation in His life. In knowing Him in reality we know all. Nathanael, being an earnest man really seeking for truth, did not answer: What need! He, whatever He is, cannot be Messiah if He is from Nazareth. Is not Christ to be born at Bethlehem? Like the honest man he was, he would not take information on so momentous a subject on second hand, he would see for himself. There might be a mistake somewhere; his friends information might prove to be defective. He would see this new claimant of the Messiahship. The wonderful things related by Philip as having been said by John the Baptist (an upright, incorruptible man, a true prophet!) might be the prelude to some extraordinary revelation. If however this Jesus were not what He apparently claimed to be, it would be a friends duty to seek to rescue Philip from his delusion.
III. Nathanaels earnest confession.
1. As the two friends came into the presence of Jesus, Nathanael was astonished at the greeting which fell on his ears: Behold an Israelite indeed, etc. He saw his character laid bare in a sentence. We are not to think that there was anything like a want of modesty in Nathanael accepting without disclaimer this description of himself. It was the goal of character he had set before him, to be an earnest, candid seeker after truth. There was no false modesty about the man, any more than there was about the apostle Paul when he said, I have lived in all good conscience, etc. (Act. 23:1). Whence knowest Thou me? is his astonished inquiry.
2. The answer fills him with still deeper surprise, even with awe, finally deepening to conviction. Who was this whose eye marked him in his most secret moments, who penetrated into the recesses of his thought, and read at a glance character and life (Joh. 1:47)? This must be none other than the Searcher of hearts (1Sa. 16:7; 1Ch. 28:9; Jer. 17:10). Philips words, this strange greeting and stranger reading of his life, and the personal authority Jesus exerted on all good and earnest men who came under His influence, combined with overwhelming force to carry home conviction to the mind and heart of Nathanael, so that in assurance and reverence he cried, Rabbi, Thou art the Son of God, etc. (Joh. 1:49).
3. The answer of Jesus is a gracious promise of a higher revelation still of His Messiahship to all His disciplesa promise first made in type at Bethel. Through Christs incarnation the stairway uniting earth and heaven, humanity and God, was completed, and through the new and living way all blessings, angelic and others, would come to man (Joh. 1:51).
HOMILETIC NOTES
Joh. 1:48. Spiritual conflict.The Jews, like other Easterns, loved to meditate and study the sacred word under the shadow of some spreading tree; to engage in prayer and spiritual conflict (as our great Example did, Luk. 22:39), or in intercourse with friends in some quiet retreat, under the open heaven, and surrounded by the sights and sounds of nature.
1. There must have been some special conflict, or the debating of some special question, in the mind of Nathanael on this particular occasion, as the sequel showssomething known to himself and to God alone.
2. Every earnest honest man will, like Nathanael, have his fig tree, or its equivalent, some haven of quiet retreat in which the momentous questions of life, of time and eternity, may occupy the mind in meditation and prayer. And it is well for men to be honest, thoroughly guileless and honest, with themselves at such times; for there is Another present, though unseen, who marks each secret thought, etc.
He sees my wants, allays my fears,
And counts and treasures up my tears.
So it was with Nathanael, and how blessed was the result!
3. But whether men follow Nathanaels example or not, the Searcher of hearts can read their secret thoughts. What would He say to us were we to come before Him now? what will He say when we do stand before Him? In view of this, what manner of persons ought ye to be, etc. (2Pe. 3:10-14).
Joh. 1:45-49. Natural and spiritual growth.
1. The law of nature is said to be development; in the spiritual world it is called the new birth. In the stillness, but not without pain, does the New Man behold the light of a new day. On Nathanaels forehead, as he tarried in loneliness under the fig tree, there lay the rosy beams of a new day, the light of eternity.
2. It must have been a great hour that then struck for him, when the Lord, reminding him of an inward condition, and not of an external circumstance merely, unveiled to himself the astonished and agitated man: I saw thee, etc. No, it was no hour occupied by vain dreaming, by impure imaginings or burning desires for honour, that had passed there, under the fig tree, beneath the watchful gaze of the Lord. The greeting, Behold an Israelite, etc., points to a sacred, decisive occurrence in the breast of Nathanael.
3. The name Israelite, when all called Israel were not really of Israel, speaks of a spiritual affinity with Jacob.
4. The phrase In whom is no guile refers to such as follow the footsteps of David, as the latter from individual experience cried, Blessed is the man whose transgression is forgiven, etc. (Psa. 32:1-5), because the secret curse is removedall guile freely and fully confessed and repented of. Nathanael was an Israelite indeed because in solitariness he had striven like Israel, confessed and repented like David. And behold the greeting of the Lord is the assurance of forgiveness, is the proclamation of a new condition in truth, freedom, and activity. Brethren, the Israelite indeed finds, acknowledges, and prays to the true King of Israel, Rabbi, Thou art the Son of God, Thou art the King of Israel!Dr. R. Kgel.
Joh. 1:50-51. Ancient visions realised.Jesus said to Nathanael, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, etc. Jacobs dream of the heavenly ladder has become a reality. The Son of man unites and reconciles heaven and earth; His angels carry the needs and prayers of believers up, and bring answers and aid down, this ladder. How the water becomes wine? No, thou wilt see greater things than these! Thou wilt see how Jesus comes with water and blood; how He who dies on the cross rises from the grave and ascends into heaven! And greater still than this, thou wilt at last be like Him, changed into His image from one degree of glory to another. With such sacred prospects Nathanael begins his public career. And Nathanaels outward activity as an apostle would have been neither so hidden nor so fruitful, had not his life as a disciple been so retiring and receptive.Idem.
ILLUSTRATIONS
Phases of discipleship.The closing verses of this chapter carry us back to the early dawn of Christianity, and it is there we shall learn much concerning the true method of regarding it and the law of its progress. And one of the first things that strikes us is that while each disciple was led to Jesus in a different way, while each had different peculiarities of temperament and forms of belief, yet they each found in Christ Him for whom their souls had been longing. John and Andrew, the two disciples of the Baptist, heard their master speak of Christ as the Lamb of God, and at once followed Him. The words of the stern prophet of the wilderness having roused in them the sense of sin, they sought the Sin-bearer, and believed in Jesus as the One who should fulfil that deep necessity. On the other hand, the impetuous Peter, expecting the Messiah, and eager for His advent, was led by his brother to Christ, and with characteristic ardour followed Him. Philip, called by Christ Himself, feeling His mighty and mysterious influence, advanced in faith beyond them all, and proclaimed that that was He of whom prophecy for ages had been telling. And Nathanael, with his reflective, devout, guileless nature, found One who had read his devotional thoughts, and confessed Him to be the Son of God. Led by such different experiences, their faith was simply this: He whom their own spirits had been looking for had come, and because He fulfilled their necessities they believed He was the Christ. Marked by these strong differences of temperament, which always give rise to different forms of belief, they had yet one faith in commonfaith in the living Christ. It was in that quiet simplicity, with that simple belief in a personal Saviour, that the great Christian age began.E. L. Hull, B.A.
Thou shalt see greater things than these.And He said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, etc. The reference here seems to be to the vision of Jacob, and that vision helps us to understand Christs meaning. Christ declares the ancient dream to be fulfilled by faith in Him. The patriarch at Bethel found God near to him as his friend and guide, found the earth where he lay a dreadful place, and found the spiritual world close to him. These three things are actually realised by Christian faiththese are the greater things that follow its dawning:
1. The felt presence of God.As to Jacob heaven was opened and the Eternal near, so to the Christian heaven is unveiled and God revealed. To the eye of faith the Son of man becomes the ladder between earth and heaven on which the angels of God ascend and descend. This is the consummation of faith. It does not come suddenly, but as the soul advances in the divine life, sins harsh discords die, the clouds which once veiled the heaven roll away, disclosing the smile of love and pity in the eternal countenance, and the believer walks with God as with a friend.
2. The sacredness of life.And Jacob was afraid and said, etc. The dream vision made him feel the sacredness of life. Again, this suggests a result of faith. Man naturally feels his nature defiled; faith in Christ, who wore it, transforms it into a sacred thing. In the light of that faith all life becomes glorified.
3. Union with the angelic world.The angels of God ascending, etc. To the unbeliever that world is a mythhe sees nothing beyond the material sphere; but were he convinced of its existence the belief would be terrible. We feel instinctively that sin has excluded us from that glorious brotherhood. But Christ brings us into it once more. Faith sees in Him the Son of man as our brother and representative there, uniting us with the principalities and powers in the heavenly places.
We have greater things yet to see. Another world is dawning, its sights and sounds are near. Nothing but the veil of the body hides us from its scenes. We long sometimes for the land of constant spring, of mountain grandeur, and southern beauty. My friends, great lands are coming. We long for the glorious companionships of the past, of the great dead, of our own friends; we shall know them if we are counted worthy to obtain that world. Therefore fight on. There are many weary conflicts before you yet, but add to your faith patience, and you shall see the greater things when the lamps of faith and hope expire in the eternal light of heaven.Idem.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(45) Philip findeth Nathanael.See Joh. 1:41; Joh. 1:44. Nathanael is the Hebrew of the Greek word Theodorus, Gods gift. The former is found in Num. 1:8; 1Ch. 2:14. The latter is preserved in the names Theodore and Dorothea. He belonged to the town to which Jesus was going (Cana of, Galilee, Joh. 21:2). Philip then probably went with Jesus and found Nathanael at or near Cana (Joh. 1:48). He is, perhaps, the same person as Bartholomew; but on this, see Joh. 21:2, and Note on Mat. 10:3. The more formal statement of the proof in this case, as compared with that of the two brothers (Joh. 1:41), agrees with the general character of Philip and with the less close relationship.
Of Nazareth.Better, from Nazareth. Nothing can be argued from these words, or those which follow, as to ignorance of the fact of, or the events attending, the birth at Bethlehem. It is to be noted that the words are Philips, not the writers. Very possibly, one who had been in the company of Jesus for a few hours only was then unacquainted with these incidents. In any case he expresses the common belief of the neighbourhood and the time, and it is an instance of St. Johns dramatic accuracy that he gives the words as they were spoken, and does not attempt to interpret them by later events or by his own knowledge. (Comp. Joh. 7:42; Joh. 7:52; Joh. 8:53, et al.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
45. We have found A celebrated mathematician of antiquity, while meditating, suddenly solved one of the profoundest problems of geometry. Such was his rapture at the discovery, that he instantly ran through the street clapping his hands and exclaiming, Eureka, I have found. Philip here joyfully uses the same word, We have found. He had discovered the great problem of salvation.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘Philip finds Nathaniel and say to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses, in the Law, and the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph”.’
Philip then seeks out Nathaniel (probably the same as Bar-tholomew, who is elsewhere linked with Philip (Mat 10:3)) and tells him that they have found the One of Whom Moses and the prophets spoke, ‘Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph’. It was quite common in those days for people to have two or three names, Hebrew, Greek or Aramaic.
‘Moses — and the prophets.’ The prophets are linked with Moses not with the Law. Philip says that both Moses and the prophets wrote of Jesus, Moses doing so in the Law (the Torah). Thus he is claiming that Jesus is One Whom God has constantly prophesied will come, even in the Torah. He would have in mind such verses as Gen 49:10 ff.; Num 24:17. It is clear that Nathaniel assumes that he means the Messiah (see Joh 1:49). The full title of Jesus is given to stress his royal descent through Joseph to help to substantiate the claim. All would know of Joseph, for in Jewish eyes he was heir to the throne of David.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Joh 1:45. Of whom Mosesand the prophets, did write, Whom, &c. have described. The verb is frequently used in the same sense elsewhere; and in particular is justly rendered thus, Rom 10:5. It seems, Peter and Andrew, in their conversation with Philip, had persuaded him to believe on Jesus, byshewing him how the types and predictions of the law and the prophets were fulfilled in him. Perhaps, this was the method which Jesus himself had taken to confirm Peter and Andrew, Philip’s instructors, in the good opinion they had conceived of him, by means of the testimonywhich their master, John the Baptist, had given concerning him; though the evangelist has not thought fit to mention this circumstance. Nathanael is thought, as we have observed on Mat 10:2-4 to have been the same with Bartholomew, that is the son of Tholomew; and the supposition is probable, were it for no other reason but this, that all the other persons who became acquainted with Jesus at Jordan, when he was baptized, and who believed on him there, were chosen to be his apostles.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
DISCOURSE: 1602
SIGHT OF JESUS, A SOURCE OF JOY
Joh 1:45. Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.
A GENERAL expectation of the Messiah prevailed in Israel at the time of our Saviours advent: and when his forerunner, John the Baptist, was sent, very wonderful were the effects produced by his ministry. Though he did no miracle, yet he excited the attention of the whole Jewish nation. The sanctity of his character, and the power of his words, soon gained him the name of a prophet: and, as there had been no prophet in Israel for the space of about four hundred years, his labours were hailed as a return of Gods love to his people; and persons of all ranks and orders flocked to him, and submitted to his baptism. Many began to suppose that he was the Messiah himself. That, however, he disclaimed: but he avowed himself to be the person spoken of by the Prophet Isaiah eight hundred years before, as sent of God to make known the Messiah, who was already come. Accordingly, he pointed out the Lord Jesus Christ to them, as the Lamb of God that should take away the sin of the world [Note: ver. 29.]. This testimony of his, supported by the visible descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Lord Jesus at his baptism, gained credit with some. We do not read that Jesus had yet awhile wrought any miracle: but there was in his appearance what seemed amply sufficient to justify Johns testimony respecting him; and those who were introduced to the knowledge of him were very desirous to impart to others the benefit they had received. The first to whom the discovery of the Messiah was made, was Andrew; and he immediately communicated the glad tidings to his brother Peter. The next to whom Jesus made himself known was Philip: and he also, like Andrew, sought some friend to whom to impart this joyful intelligence; and, on finding Nathanael, endeavoured to make him a partaker of his joy, saying, We have found him of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.
That you, also, may be partakers of the same joy, I will shew,
I.
How amply the Lord Jesus Christ is described in the writings of the Old Testament
We may notice it,
1.
More generally in the writings of Moses
[At the very beginning of the world, even whilst man was yet in Paradise, Moses informs, that the Messiah was foretold, as the seed of the woman who should bruise the serpents head, and deliver men, though not without grievous sufferings to himself, from the fatal effects of Adams transgression [Note: Gen 3:15.]. He, at a period far distant from that, announces the Saviour as a descendant of Abraham; and as one in whom all the nations of the earth should be blessed [Note: Gen 12:3; Gen 22:18.]. Afterwards, he comes more fully to declare both the time of his advent, and the character he should sustain. He informs us that this Almighty Shiloh should come into the world before the power vested in the tribe of Judah should have departed from it. All the other scribes should long since have been reduced to a dependence on foreigners: but Judahs dominion should remain, and not be utterly destroyed, till the Messiah should have appeared in the world [Note: Gen 49:10.]. Moreover, he should come as a prophet; as a prophet like unto Moses [Note: Deu 18:18.]; uniting in himself the offices of a Legislator, an Instructor, a Mediator, a Governor, a Saviour.
Thus fully did Moses speak of him, independently of all the types which most accurately and minutely delineated the whole of his work and office.]
2.
More particularly, in the writings of the prophets
[Nothing can be conceived more ample or minute than the descriptions given of the Messiah in the prophetic writings. The family from which he should spring was restricted to that of David [Note: Psa 132:11. Act 2:30. Isa 11:1.]. Yet he should not be born in a way of natural generation, but of a pure Virgin [Note: Isa 7:14.]. The place of his birth was distinctly foretold: it should be Bethlehem: and not the Bethlehem in the land of Naphtali, but Bethlehem Ephratah in the land of Judah [Note: Mic 5:2.]. The time also was fixed; for he must come whilst the second temple was yet standing [Note: Mal 3:1.]. In his appearance, however, he should be so mean, that it should raise many doubts amongst his followers, and prove a stumbling-block to many: he should be as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he should have no form nor comeliness in the eyes of those who beheld him, nor any beauty for which he should be desired [Note: Isa 53:2.]. In consequence of his having none of the attractions of carnal men, he should be despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: men should hide their faces from him, as one despised and held in no esteem [Note: Isa 53:3.]. The end of his coming was also very fully declared: he should come to bear the sins of many, to be wounded for our transgressions, and bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was to be upon him; and by his stripes we were to be healed [Note: Isa 53:5-6.]. The mode in which he should conduct himself under all these trials, was also made known: He should be led as a lamb to the slaughter; and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so should he not so much as open his mouth [Note: Isa 53:7.]. The manner in which he should be put to death was to be by crucifixion [Note: Zec 12:10.]; though that was not a Jewish, but a Roman punishment. And yet he should be exempted from that which was a customary attendant on itthe breaking of his legs: for, though pierced in his hands, his feet, his side, not a bone of him was to be broken [Note: Exo 12:46.]. Time would fail me to speak of the incidents which were foretold relative to his treatment whilst yet upon the cross, the insults they offered him [Note: Psa 22:7.], the giving him vinegar to drink [Note: Psa 69:21.], the casting lots on his vesture [Note: Psa 22:18.], their putting him to death between two malefactors [Note: Isa 53:12.]; or the mode of his interment in the tomb of a rich man, though in his death he was numbered with the most abject of the human race [Note: Isa 53:9.]:I will pass over these things, and only mention his resurrection, with the precise time it should take place, even the third day, before his body should have seen corruption [Note: Psa 16:10.]; and his ascension, also, to the highest heavens [Note: Psa 68:18.]; and his sending down of the Holy Spirit, to testify of him, and to qualify his Disciples for the work of propagating his Gospel, and establishing his kingdom in the world [Note: Joe 2:28-29.]. Let all these things be considered; and you will say, there was such a body of evidence relating to the Messiahship of Jesus, as, in any considerate mind, must preclude a possibility of doubt.]
The joy expressed at the finding of Jesus will lead me to shew,
II.
What an acquisition He is to all who can truly say, We have found him
A distant prospect of him, from the remotest ages, had been a ground of very exalted joy
[We cannot doubt but that our first parents rejoiced much in the promise given them relative to the seed of the woman; and that Abel also felt rich consolation in his soul, whilst offering up a firstling of his flock, in token of his dependence on him. But in the case of Abraham we are not left to conjecture: we know infallibly, that he did foresee the day of Christ; and that, in the prospect of it, he greatly rejoiced [Note: Joh 8:56.]. Indeed the designation given him by the prophet, as the Desire of all Nations [Note: Hag 2:7.], clearly shews in what light he was regarded by those who had any insight into his proper character.]
At the time of his advent, and during his sojourning on earth, the discovery of him was deemed a subject of self-congratulation
[As announced by the angelic choir to the shepherds, we behold him in this view: Behold, I bring you glad tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people: for unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord [Note: Luk 2:10-11.]. And how his Virgin Mother gloried in him, you well know: My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour [Note: Luk 1:46-47.]. In truth, all who waited for his coming, looked for him as the Consolation of Israel [Note: Luk 2:25.]. The delight expressed by Andrew and Philip, on their introduction to him, has been already noticed: and we cannot doubt but that all his Apostles, who so willingly left their all to follow him, found in him an ample compensation for all that they had lost [Note: Mar 10:28-29.]. In truth, the experience of Zaccheus must have pervaded multitudes, whilst they listened to his words of grace, and felt, in their bodies and in their souls, the mighty working of his power [Note: Luk 19:5-6.] ]
The joy of his servants, after the publication of his Gospel, was yet greater, in proportion to the clearer discoveries which they had of his transcendent excellence
[Behold the thousands on the day of Pentecost! What a change was wrought on them by the revelation of Christ to their souls! In the morning, their hearts were as full of all malignity as that of Satan himself: in the evening, you find them eating their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, blessing and praising God [Note: Act 2:41; Act 2:46.]. The people of Samaria, the Ethiopian Eunuch, the Jailor and his family, all, as soon as they heard of him, found the sure accompaniment of faith in him [Note: Act 8:8; Act 8:39; Act 16:34.]. And what shall I say of the Apostle Paul? No man ever had so much of his own to glory in as he: yet did he account it all but loss for Christ; yea, he counted all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus his Lord [Note: Php 3:4-8.].]
And is there any difference in the experience of his servants at this day?
[None at all. I will appeal to all who know him. I will ask, Whether, in their estimation, he do not fully answer to the treasure hid in a field; and to the pearl of great price, which every one who finds, will sell all that he has to purchase [Note: Mat 13:44-46.]? What, though we behold him not with our bodily eyes, is our joy the less on that account? No: for though we see him not, we love him: yea, though now we see him not, yet, believing, we rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory; receiving even now the end of our faith, even the salvation of our souls [Note: 1Pe 1:8-9.].]
In conclusion, I would beg to ask two questions:
1.
Have you attained this happiness yourselves?
[The Lord Jesus Christ has been fully made known among you, and has even been set forth, as it were, crucified before your eyes [Note: Gal 3:1.]. Observe on what slight evidence of his Messiahship his first Disciples rejoiced. Neither he, nor John his Forerunner, had wrought any miracle: yet, because the Holy Ghost had descended in a visible shape upon him at his baptism, both John and others believed on him. They, moreover, could have but very indistinct views of his character; and yet they rejoiced in him. How strong, then, should be your faith, and how exalted your joy, now that you have a full discovery of his glory; a discovery, which not even the angels in heaven enjoyed, till it was given to them through the medium of the Christian Church [Note: Eph 3:10.]! Surely you have cause to be ashamed, if, amidst all your privileges, you remain ignorant of the Saviours love, or strangers to the salvation which he has obtained for you.]
2.
Are you endeavouring to impart it to others?
[You find not any in the days of old, who, having found the Saviour themselves, did not endeavour to make him known to others. It is indeed impossible to feel our need of him, and to be experimentally acquainted with the blessedness of his salvation, and not to labour, according to our ability, to make others partakers of our joy. I know full well, that a zeal for his glory, and for the salvation of our fellow-men, will entail upon us a considerable measure of reproach, as enthusiastic, and righteous overmuch. But why should we regard such a contemptible imputation as that? It is remarkable, that Philip was under a mistake, when he announced Jesus as of Nazareth; for he was not of Nazareth, but of Bethlehem. Yet because Philip supposed him to be of Nazareth, where he was not born, but had only sojourned, he willingly proclaimed his Master as of that place, notwithstanding the obloquy universally attached to it [Note: ver. 46.]. So let us never be ashamed of Christ, because of the odium that attaches to a profession of his name. We should not indeed, by ignorance and inadvertence, put a stumbling-block in the way of any: but, if despised for the sake of Christ, we should welcome the shame, and rejoice that we are counted worthy to bear it. No consideration whatever should intimidate us: but, having found Christ precious to our own souls, we should confess him openly before all, and commend him to all around us, as all our salvation, and all our desire.]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
45 Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.
Ver. 45. Philip findeth Nathanael ] Whom some make to be the same with Bartholomew. I affirm nothing.
We have found ] The Greek word imports the sudden and unexpected finding of such a community as he looked not for. See Isa 65:1 . . , lucrum insperatum, et repente oblatum.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
45. ] On the futility of Mr. Greswell’s distinction between as signifying mere habitation , and , nativity , see reff. and note on ch. Joh 11:1 . This is Bethsaida on the Western bank of the lake of Gennesareth; another Bethsaida (Julias) lay at the top of the lake, on the Jordan. See note on Luk 9:10 .
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Joh 1:45 . . This is inserted to explain how Jesus happened to meet Philip: he was going home also; and to explain how Philip’s mind had been prepared by conversation with Andrew and Peter. The exact position of Bethsaida is doubtful. There was a town or village of this name (Fisher-Home) on the east bank of Jordan, slightly above its fall into the Sea of Galilee. This place was rebuilt by Philip and named Julias, in honour of the daughter of Augustus. Many good authorities think that this was the only Bethsaida (see Dr. G. A. Smith’s Hist. Geog. of Palestine , p. 457). Others, however, are of opinion that the manner in which Bethsaida, here and in Joh 12:21 , is named with an added note of distinction, “the city of Andrew,” “of Galilee,” requires us to postulate two Bethsaidas. This is further confirmed by the movements recorded in Joh 6:16-22 . Cf. Mar 6:45 . Those who accept two Bethsaidas locate the one which is here mentioned either opposite Bethsaida Julias and as a kind of suburb of it or farther south at Ain Tabigha (see Rob Roy on the Jordan , 342 392).
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
John
THE FIRST DISCIPLES: IV. NATHANAEL
Joh 1:45 – Joh 1:49
The words are often the least part of a conversation. The Evangelist can tell us what Nathanael said to Jesus, and what Jesus said to Nathanael, but no Evangelist can reproduce the look, the tone, the magnetic influence which streamed out from Christ, and, we may believe, more than anything He said, riveted these men to Him.
It looks as if Nathanael and his companions were very easily convinced, as if their adhesion to such tremendous claims as those of Jesus Christ was much too facile a thing to be a very deep one. But what can be put down in black and white goes a very short way to solve the secret of the power which drew them to Himself.
The incident which is before us now runs substantially on the same lines as the previous bringing of Peter to Jesus Christ. In both cases the man is brought by a friend, in both cases the friend’s weapon is simply the expression of his own personal experience, ‘We have found the Messias,’ although Philip has a little more to say about Christ’s correspondence with the prophetic word. In both cases the work is finished by our Lord Himself manifesting His own supernatural knowledge to the inquiring spirit, though in the case of Nathanael that process is a little more lengthened out than in the case of Peter, because there was a little ice of hesitation and of doubt to be melted away. And Nathanael, starting from a lower point than Peter, having questions and hesitations which the other had not, rises to a higher point of faith and certitude, and from his lips first of all comes the full articulate confession, beyond which the Apostles never went as long as our Lord was upon earth: ‘Rabbi, Thou art the Son of God; Thou art the King of Israel.’ So that both in regard to the revelation that is given of the character of our Lord, and in regard to the teaching that is given of the development and process of faith in a soul, this last narrative fitly crowns the whole series. In looking at it with you now, I think I shall best bring out its force by asking you to take it as falling into these three portions: first, the preparation-a soul brought to Christ by a brother; then the conversation-a soul fastened to Christ by Himself; and then the rapturous confession-’Rabbi, Thou art the Son of God; Thou art the King of Israel.’
I. Look, then, first of all, at the preparation-a soul brought to Christ by a brother.
‘We have found Him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write: Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of Joseph.’ Philip knows nothing about Christ’s supernatural birth, nor about its having been in Bethlehem; to him He is the son of a Nazarene peasant. But, notwithstanding that, He is the great, significant, mysterious Person for whom the whole sacred literature of Israel had been one long yearning for centuries; and he has come to believe that this Man standing beside him is the Person on whom all previous divine communications for a millennium past focussed and centred.
I need not dwell upon these words, because to do so would be to repeat substantially what I said in a former sermon on these first disciples, about the value of personal conviction as a means of producing conviction in the minds of others, and about the necessity and the possibility of all who have found Christ for themselves saying so to others, and thereby becoming His missionaries and evangelists.
I do not need to repeat what I said on that occasion; therefore I pass on to the very natural hesitation and question of Nathanael: ‘Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?’ A prejudice, no doubt, but a very harmless one; a very thin ice which melted as soon as Christ’s smile beamed upon him. And a most natural prejudice. Nathanael came from Cana of Galilee, a little hill village, three or four miles from Nazareth. We all know the bitter feuds and jealousies of neighbouring villages, and how nothing is so pleasant to the inhabitants of one as a gibe about the inhabitants of another. And in Nathanael’s words there simply speaks the rustic jealousy of Cana against Nazareth.
It is easy to blame him, but do you think that you or I, if we had been in his place, would have been likely to have said anything very different? Suppose you were told that a peasant out of Ross-shire was a man on whom the whole history of this nation hung. Do you think you would be likely to believe it without first saying, ‘That is a strange place for such a person to be born in’? Galilee was the despised part of Palestine, and Nazareth obviously was a proverbially despised village of Galilee; and this Jesus was a carpenter’s son that nobody had ever heard of. It seemed to be a strange head on which the divine dove should flutter down, passing by all the Pharisees and the Scribes, all the great people and wise people. Nathanael’s prejudice was but the giving voice to a fault that is as wide as humanity, and which we have every day of our lives to fight with; not only in regard to religious matters but in regard to all others-namely, the habit of estimating people, and their work, and their wisdom, and their power to teach us, by the class to which they are supposed to belong, or even by the place from which they come.
‘Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?’ ‘Can a German teach an Englishman anything that he does not know?’ ‘Is a Protestant to owe anything of spiritual illumination to a Roman Catholic?’ ‘Are we Dissenters to receive any wisdom or example from Churchmen?’ ‘Will a Conservative be able to give any lessons in politics to a Liberal?’ ‘Is there any other bit of England that can teach Lancashire?’ Take care that whilst you are holding up your hands in horror against the prejudices of our Lord’s contemporaries, who stumbled at His origin, you are not doing the same thing in regard to all manner of subjects twenty times a day.
That is one very plain lesson, and not at all too secular for a sermon. Take another. This three-parts innocent prejudice of Nathanael brings into clear relief for us what a very real obstacle to the recognition of our Lord’s Messianic authority His apparent lowly origin was. We have got over it, and it is no difficulty to us; but it was so then. When Jesus Christ came into this world Judaea was ruled by the most heartless of aristocracies, an aristocracy of cultured pedants. Wherever you get such a class you get people who think that there can be nobody worth looking at, or worth attending to, outside the little limits of their own supercilious superiority. Why did Jesus Christ come from ‘the men of the earth,’ as the Rabbis called all who had not learned to cover every plain precept with spiders’ webs of casuistry? Why, for one thing, in accordance with the general law that the great reformers and innovators always come from outside these classes, that the Spirit of the Lord shall come on a herdsman like Amos, and fishermen and peasants spread the Gospel through the world; and that in politics, in literature, in science, as well as in religion, it is always true that ‘not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called.’ To the cultivated classes you have to look for a great deal that is precious and good, but for fresh impulse, in unbroken fields, you have to look outside them. And so the highest of all lives is conformed to the general law.
More than that, ‘Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of Joseph,’ came thus because He was the poor man’s Christ, because He was the ignorant man’s Christ, because His word was not for any class, but as broad as the world. He came poor, obscure, unlettered, that all who, like Him, were poor and untouched by the finger of earthly culture, might in Him find their Brother, their Helper, and their Friend.
‘Philip saith unto him, Come and see.’ He is not going to argue the question. He gives the only possible answer to it-’You ask Me, can any good thing come out of Nazareth?’ ‘Come and see whether it is a good thing or no; and if it is, and if it came out of Nazareth, well then, the question has answered itself.’ The quality of a thing cannot be settled by the origin of the thing.
As it so happened, this Man did not come out of Nazareth at all, though neither Philip nor Nathanael knew it; but if He had, it would have been all the same. The right answer was ‘Come and see.’
Now although, of course, there is no kind of correspondence between the mere prejudice of this man Nathanael and the rooted intellectual doubts of other generations, yet ‘Come and see’ carries in it the essence of all Christian apologetics. By far the wisest thing that any man who has to plead the cause of Christianity can do is to put Christ well forward, and let people look at Him, and trust Him to produce His own impression. We may argue round, and round, and round about Him for evermore, and we shall never convince as surely as by simply holding Him forth. ‘I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto Me.’ Yet we are so busy proving Christianity that we sometimes have no time to preach it; so busy demonstrating that Jesus Christ is this, that, and the other thing, or contradicting the notion that He is not this, that, and the other thing, that we forget simply to present Him for men to look at. Depend upon it, whilst argument has its function, and there are men that must be approached thereby; on the whole, and for the general, the best way of propagating Christianity is to proclaim it, and the second best way is to prove it. Our arguments do fare very often very much as did that elaborate discourse that a bishop once preached to prove the existence of a God, at the end of which a simple old woman who had not followed his reasoning very intelligently, exclaimed, ‘Well, for all he says, I can’t help thinking there is a God after all.’ The errors that are quoted to be confuted often remain more clear in the hearers’ minds than the attempted confutations. Hold forth Christ-cry aloud to men, ‘Come and see!’ and some eyes will turn and some hearts cleave to Him.
And on the other side, dear brethren, you have not done fairly by Christianity until you have complied with this invitation, and submitted your mind and heart honestly to the influence and the impression that Christ Himself would make upon it.
II. We come now to the second stage-the conversation between Christ and Nathanael, where we see a soul fastened to Christ by Himself.
That is to say, here is a man who truly represents that which was the ideal of the whole nation. The reference is, no doubt, to the old story of the occasion on which Jacob’s name was changed to Israel. And we shall see a further reference to the same story in the subsequent verses. Jacob had wrestled with God in that mysterious scene by the brook Jabbok, and had overcome, and had received instead of the name Jacob, ‘a supplanter,’ the name of Israel, ‘for as a Prince hast thou power with God and hast prevailed.’ And, says Christ: ‘This man also is a son of Israel, one of God’s warriors, who has prevailed with Him by prayer.’ ‘In whom is no guile’-Jacob in his early life had been marked and marred by selfish craft. Subtlety and guile had been the very keynote of his character. To drive that out of him, years of discipline and pain and sorrow had been needed. And not until it had been driven out of him could his name be altered, and he become Israel. This man has had the guile driven out of him. By what process? The words are a verbal quotation from Psa 32:1 – Psa 32:11 : ‘Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.’ Clear, candid openness of spirit, and the freedom of soul from all that corruption which the Psalmist calls ‘guile,’ is the property of him only who has received it, by confession, by pardon, and by cleansing, from God. Thus Nathanael, in his wrestling, had won the great gift. His transgression had been forgiven; his iniquity had been covered; to him God had not imputed his sin; and in his spirit, therefore, there was no guile. Ah, brother! if that black drop is to be cleansed out of your heart, it must be by the same means-confession to God and pardon from God. And then you too will be a prince with Him. and your spirit will be frank and free, and open and candid.
Nathanael, with astonishment, says, ‘Lord, whence knowest Thou me?’ Not that he appropriates the description to himself, or recognises the truthfulness of it, but he is surprised that Christ should have means of forming any judgment with reference to him, and so he asks Him, half expecting an answer which will show the natural origin of our Lord’s knowledge: ‘Whence knowest Thou me?’ Then comes the answer, which, to supernatural insight into Nathanael’s character, adds supernatural knowledge of Nathanael’s secret actions: ‘Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee. And it is because I saw thee under the fig-tree that I knew thee to be “an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile.”‘ So then, under the fig-tree, Nathanael must have been wrestling in prayer; under the fig-tree must have been confessing his sins; under the fig-tree must have been longing and looking for the Deliverer who was to ‘turn away ungodliness from Jacob.’ So solitary had been that vigil, and so little would any human eye that had looked upon it have known what had been passing in his mind, that Christ’s knowledge of it and of its significance at once lights up in Nathanael’s heart the fire of the glad conviction, ‘Thou art the Son of God.’ If we had seen Nathanael, we should only have seen a man sitting, sunk in thought, under a fig-tree; but Jesus had seen the spiritual struggle which had no outward marks, and to have known which He must have exercised the divine prerogative of reading the heart.
I ask you to consider whether Nathanael’s conclusion was not right, and whether that woman of Samaria was not right when she hurried back to the city, leaving her water-pot, and said, ‘Come and see a man that told me all that ever I did.’ That ‘all’ was a little stretch of facts, but still it was true in spirit. And her inference was absolutely true: ‘Is not this the Christ, the Son of God?’ This is the first miracle that Jesus Christ wrought. His supernatural knowledge, which cannot be struck out from the New Testament representations of His character, is as much a mark of divinity as any of the other of His earthly manifestations. It is not the highest; it does not appeal to our sympathies as some of the others do, but it is irrefragable. Here is a man to whom all men with whom He came in contact were like those clocks with a crystal face which shows us all the works. How does He come to have this perfect and absolute knowledge?
That omniscience, as manifested here, shows us how glad Christ is when He sees anything good, anything that He can praise in any of us. ‘Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile.’ Not a word about Nathanael’s prejudice, not a word about any of his faults though no doubt he had plenty of them, but the cordial praise that he was an honest, a sincere man, following after God and after truth. There is nothing which so gladdens Christ as to see in us any faint traces of longing for, and love towards, and likeness to, His own self. His omniscience is never so pleased as when beneath heaps and mountains of vanity and sin it discerns in a man’s heart some poor germ of goodness and longing for His grace.
And then again, notice how we have here our Lord’s omniscience set forth as cognisant of all our inward crises and struggles, ‘When thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.’ I suppose all of us could look back to some place or other, under some hawthorn hedge, or some boulder by the seashore, or some mountain-top, or perhaps in some back-parlour, or in some crowded street, where some never-to-be-forgotten epoch in our soul’s history passed, unseen by all eyes, and which would have shown no trace to any onlooker, except perhaps a tightly compressed lip. Let us rejoice to feel that Christ sees all these moments which no other eye can see. In our hours of crisis, and in our monotonous, uneventful moments, in the rush of the furious waters, when the stream of our lives is caught among rocks, and in the long, languid reaches of its smoothest flow, when we are fighting with our fears or yearning for His light, or even when sitting dumb and stolid, like snow men, apathetic and frozen in our indifference, He sees us, and pities, and will help the need which He beholds.
‘Think not thou canst sigh a sigh,
And thy Saviour is not by;
Think not thou canst weep a tear,
And thy Saviour is not near.’
III. One word more about this rapturous confession, which crowns the whole: ‘Rabbi, Thou art the Son of God; Thou art the King of Israel.’
‘Thou art the King of Israel,’ John had been preaching, ‘The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.’ The Messiah was to be the theocratic King, the King, not of ‘Judah’ nor of ‘the Jews,’ but of ‘Israel,’ the nation that had entered into covenant with God. So the substance of the confession was the Messiahship of Jesus, as resting upon His special divine relationship and leading to His Kingly sway.
Notice also the enthusiasm of the confession; one’s ear hears clearly a tone of rapture in it. The joy-bells of the man’s heart are all a-ringing. It is no mere intellectual acknowledgment of Christ as Messiah. The difference between mere head-belief and heart-faith lies precisely in the presence of these elements of confidence, of enthusiastic loyalty, and absolute submission.
So the great question for each of us is, not, Do I believe as a piece of my intellectual creed that Christ is ‘the Messiah, the Son of God, the King of Israel’? I suppose almost all my hearers here now do that. That will not make you a Christian, my friend. That will neither save your soul nor quiet your heart, nor bring you peace and strength in life, nor open the gates of the Kingdom of Heaven to you. A man may be miserable, wholly sunk in all manner of wickedness and evil, die the death of a dog, and go to punishment hereafter, though he believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the King of Israel. You want something more than that. You want just this element of rapturous acknowledgment, of loyal submission, absolute obedience, of unfaltering trust.
Look at these first disciples, six brave men that had all that loyalty and love to Him; though there was not a soul in the world but themselves to share their convictions. Do they not shame you? When He comes to you, as He does come, with this question, ‘Whom do ye say that I am?’ may God give you grace to answer, ‘Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God,’ and not only to answer it with your lips, but to trust Him wholly with your hearts, and with enthusiastic devotion to bow your whole being in adoring wonder and glad submission at His feet. If we are ‘Israelites indeed,’ our hearts will crown Him as the ‘King of Israel.’
Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren
Nathanael = the gift of God. Hebrew. Nethane’el
; as in Num 1:8. 1Ch 2:14. Generally identified with Bartholomew (Aramaic. App-94.)
Law . . . Prophets. See notes on Luk 24:44.
did write = wrote. See App-47. Nazareth. App-169.
the son of Joseph. The words are Philip’s, and expressed the popular belief. Compare App-99.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
45.] On the futility of Mr. Greswells distinction between as signifying mere habitation, and , nativity, see reff. and note on ch. Joh 11:1. This is Bethsaida on the Western bank of the lake of Gennesareth; another Bethsaida (Julias) lay at the top of the lake, on the Jordan. See note on Luk 9:10.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Joh 1:45. , findeth) Philip, after being called, immediately sets himself to gain another [makes a gain on his talent, lucrifacit].- , Nathanael) It is probable that he was admitted among the apostles, and that he was the same person as he who is called Bartholomew, by a secondary name derived from his father, Tolomus, as Simon from Jona [Bar-Jona], James and John from Zebedee [the sons of Zebedee]: For Judas also was called Lebbus or Thaddus. Certainly at Mat 10:3 [the list of the apostles], he is joined to Philip; and at Joh 21:2, Nathanael is put down in the midst of the apostles, immediately after Thomas; comp. Act 1:13, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew: and it seems likely, that his name would have been submitted to the apostles casting of lots [as a candidate for the vacant apostleship, to which Matthew was elected by lot], Act 1:23, [whereas Barsabas and Matthias were the only two submitted to it], had he not been already among the apostles. lie was certainly a friend of the Lord equally dear [to Him], as a friend can be dear to a prince, though not employed on his embassies.-, saith) with a loud voice, Joh 1:48,[43] and a joyous voice. [, Moses) Joh 5:39; Joh 5:46, Search the Scriptures, for, etc., and they are they which testify of Me:-Had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed Me; for he wrote of Me.-V. g.]-, we have found) I, Andrew, and Peter.
[43] Before that Philip called thee, , raised his voice to thee.-E. and T.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Joh 1:45
Joh 1:45
Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.-So soon as Philip had found Jesus his first impulse seemed to be to bring others to him. This is the essential spirit of Christ. No one imbued with his spirit can know Christ and be indifferent to others, all others knowing him. First, Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, but stops not until it reaches the uttermost parts of the earth. Converting your family stimulates the desire and leads you to convert your neighbor, your countryman-all who sit in the valley and shadow of death. The spirit of Christ will let man enjoy no good alone. Jesus could not enjoy the glory of heaven unless man could have an opportunity to share it with him. Good is multiplied to us as we divide it with others.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Luk 24:27, Luk 24:44
Nathanael: Joh 21:2
of whom: Joh 5:45, Joh 5:46, Gen 3:15, Gen 22:18, Gen 49:10, Deu 18:18-22
and the: Isa 4:2, Isa 7:14, Isa 9:6, Isa 53:2, Mic 5:2, Zec 6:12, Zec 9:9
Jesus: Joh 18:5, Joh 18:7, Joh 19:19, Mat 2:23, Mat 21:11, Mar 14:67, Luk 2:4, Act 2:22, Act 3:6, Act 10:38, Act 22:8, Act 26:9
the son: Mat 13:55, Mar 6:3, Luk 4:22
Reciprocal: Deu 18:15 – a Prophet Deu 31:9 – Moses Jer 23:5 – Branch Zec 3:10 – shall Mat 16:20 – Jesus Luk 1:26 – a city Luk 2:11 – which Luk 6:14 – Philip Luk 11:9 – seek Luk 16:16 – Law Luk 18:37 – Jesus Joh 1:41 – first Joh 4:42 – for Joh 5:39 – they which Joh 6:69 – we believe Joh 11:28 – and called Act 10:43 – him Act 17:11 – more Act 17:12 – many Act 24:14 – in the law Act 26:22 – the prophets Rom 3:21 – being
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
EXPERIENCE THE TEST OF TRUTH
Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found Him, of Whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, etc.
Joh 1:45-46
Philip, believing in Christ himself, immediately endeavours to make a believer of Nathanael.
I. The man who has lighted on heavenly treasure has found that, the direct tendency of which is to the overcoming selfishness; the man who has discovered a remedy for his spiritual maladies has discovered that which, on being applied, transforms the character and produces solicitude for the well-being of others. The wealth acquired by the believer in Christ is a wealth which, so to speak, is kept through being disbursed; the cure accomplished through the blood of the Redeemer is a cure which is radical only in proportion as it seeks its own extension.
II. Note well the reception which the gospel is likely to meet with, even from men of openness and sincerity. Nathanael says to Philip, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Nathanael is the representative of a large body of men who, having taken up a prejudice, whose justice they perhaps never examined, act on it as a principle, whilst they seem scarcely to suspect that they may be opposing or rejecting the truth. Let all who have been accustomed to take up some taunt against the Gospel, till they have virtually made the taunt itself gospel, or turned the proverb into a textlet them learn that, though they may be candid, for so was Nathanael, they may, like him, risk the loss of what is worth more than thought can measure, out of adherence to a surmise or a saying, which they have only to investigate to prove it erroneous.
III. Notice once more the treatment which a prejudiced man should receive from a believer.It is very observable that Philip declined all controversy with Nathanael, though a fairer opening could hardly have been offered. His only anxiety was to bring Nathanael into personal communication with Jesus; this was the method which had succeeded with himself, and he felt as though it could not possibly fail with another.
Rev. Canon Melvill.
(SECOND OUTLINE)
PREJUDICE OVERCOME
It is sometimes a hard task to bring preconceptions and prejudices to the touchstone of fact. But it is a religious duty.
I. In regard to Christian missions there is often the kind of conflict seen in the case of Philip and Nathanael. Philip speaks from personal conviction and experience: We have found Him Jesus of Nazareth. Nathanael replies with a natural prejudice: Can any good thing come out of Nazareth? Natural, as expecting a Messiah to hail from Bethlehem, a religious teacher from Jerusalem; neither from so unpromising an origin as Nazareth of Galilee. Thus prejudice commonly has something behind it, and must be dealt with accordingly. Philip meets prejudice with the right answer: Come and see. Fact is the best antidote to fancy.
II. Prejudice keeps many from seeing and doing their duty in regard to Christian missions.Can any good thing, Does any good thing come of all their work?
III. The best answer: Come and see.Consider the facts fairly and dispassionately. Observe the independent testimony of sound observers. The profit to the Church at home must not be forgotten. The relation of missions to colonisation may be recalled. But our chief interest is in the spiritual results, which so amply vindicate the faith which says, Come and see.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
5
I have consulted half a dozen standard works of reference, and all of them say Nathanael was another name for Bartholomew, one of the apostles. The information will be useful when we get to verse 51. Philip told Nathanael the news of, finding the person whom the prophets and Moses had predicted. This announcement would have been unmingled good news for Nathanael, had it stopped there. But Philip next specified the person he meant, by saying he was Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Joh 1:45. Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him of whom Moses in the law and the prophets did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. It was in all probability on the journey from Bethany beyond Jordan to Cana of Galilee that Jesus had found Philip. As on the journey recorded in Luk 24:13, the conversation turned on the things concerning the promised Saviour which were contained in Moses and all the prophets; and to this conversation the particular form of conviction impressed upon the mind of Philip was due. He does not speak of Jesus simply as the Messiah (Joh 1:41), but as the fulfilment of the law and the prophets. There is an advance in fulness on the confession of Joh 1:41, and the special character of the advance is important; it helps to explain the words of the following verse. There is nothing accidental in the finding of Nathanael. Philip had gone in search of him in particular. Can we doubt that it was because he knew him to be specially fitted and ready to be a follower of Jesus?
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
The last person mentioned in this chapter, who was called to own and embrace Christ for the Messiah, is Nathanael: who this Nathanael was, doth not certainly appear; but it is evident, he was a sincere, good man, though prejudiced for the present against Christ, because of the place of his supposed birth and residence, Nazareth: Can any good thing come out of Nazareth? That is, can any worthy or excellent person, much less the promsied and long-expected Messias, come out of such an obscure place as Nazareth is? Whereas Almighty God, whenever he pleases, can raise worthy persons out of contemptible places.
Observe farther, How mercifully and meekly Christ passes over the mistakes and failings, the prepossessions and prejudices, of Nathanael; but takes notice of and publicly proclaims his sincerity: Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile! that is, no guile imputed, no guile concealed, no prevailing guile. It being only true of Christ, in a strict and absolute sense, that there was no guile found in his lips; but, in a qualified sense, it is true of Nathanael, and every upright man: they are true Israelites, like their father Jacob, plain men; men of great sincerity and uprightness of heart, both in the sight of God and man. And whereas our Saviour speaks of him with a sort of admiration, Behold an Israelite in whom is no guile!
We learn, That a person of great sincerity and uprightness of heart towards God and man, a true Nathanael, an Israelite indeed, is a rare and worthy sight, Behold an Israelite indeed!
Learn, 2. That such indeed as are Nathanaels, need not commend themselves; Christ will be sure to do it for them. Nathanael conceals his own worth: Christ publishes and proclaims it, and calls upon others to take notice of it. Behold, &c.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Joh 1:45-46. Philip findeth Nathanael Nathanael is supposed by many to have been the person, who, in the catalogue of the apostles, is called Bartholomew, that is, as the word signifies, the son of Tholomew, for Matthew joins Bartholomew with Philip, chap. Joh 10:3; and John places Nathanael in the midst of the apostles, immediately after Thomas, (chap. Joh 21:2,) just as Bartholomew is placed, Act 1:13. And saith, We have found him of whom Moses did write It seems Peter and Andrew, in their conversation with Philip, had induced him to believe on Jesus, by showing him how the predictions of the law and the prophets were fulfilled in him, a method which, perhaps, Jesus himself had taken to confirm Peter and Andrew, Philips instructers, in the good opinion they had conceived of him, by means of the testimony which their master, John the Baptist, had given concerning him. Can any good thing come out of Nazareth? A proverb, by which the rest of the Israelites ridiculed the Nazarenes. Nathanael, on this occasion, applied it the rather, because the Messiahs nativity had been determined by the Prophet Micah to Bethlehem. As if he had said, Have we ground from Scripture to expect the Messiah, or any eminent prophet, from Nazareth? As Nathanael was a native of Galilee, it appears from hence that the Galileans themselves had but an ill opinion of Nazareth, as worse than the rest of that country; and, indeed, by the figure its inhabitants make in the evangelists, they seem to have deserved it. Philip saith, Come and see Come talk with him thyself, and thou wilt soon be convinced that he is the Messiah. How cautiously should we guard against popular prejudices! When these had once possessed so honest a heart as even that of Nathanael, they led him to suspect the blessed Jesus himself for an impostor, because he had been brought up at Nazareth. But his integrity prevailed over that foolish bias, and laid him open to the force of evidence, which a candid inquirer will always be glad to admit, even when it brings the most unexpected discoveries.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
1:45 {18} Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.
(18) God uses the good endeavours of the unlearned such that he makes them teachers of the learned.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Philip then brought his friend Nathanael (meaning "God has given" or "given of God," modern Theodore) to Jesus. Some commentators identify Nathanael with Bartholomew (cf. Mat 10:3; Mar 3:18; Luk 6:14). However there is no convincing reason to equate these two men. The witness continued to spread through the most normal lines of communication, namely, friend to friend, as it still does.
The prophecies to which Philip referred may have included Deu 18:15-19; Isaiah 53; Dan 7:13; Mic 5:2; and Zec 9:9. These and others spoke of the Messiah. This suggests that the early disciples understood messiahship in the light of the Old Testament background rather than only in a political sense. [Note: Harris, p. 188.] Philip described Jesus as Joseph’s son, which is how people knew Him before they learned that He was the Son of God (Joh 1:49).
"In one sense it is legitimate to view Jesus’ disciples in the gospel of John (with the exception of Judas Iscariot) as believers in Him from near the beginning of His public ministry. In another sense, however, it is also clear that the disciples’ faith in Jesus grew and developed as they observed the progress of His public ministry. The course of this development may be traced in the gospel of John." [Note: Ibid., p. 215.]