Study of John - Week 13

g. Verses 43-51 “The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Phillip he said to him, “Follow me.” Phillip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. Phillip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and whom the prophets also wrote – Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” said Phillip. When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here is a true Isrealite, in whom there is nothing false.” “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Phillip called you.” Then Nathanael declared “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Isreal.” Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You shall see greater things than that.” He then added, “I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

Jesus finds Phillip, in a town along the way and says simply “Follow me.” He did and also went to find someone right away and brought him to Jesus. This is a natural reaction when someone is excited about something. They want to show everybody while they are still excited. With Jesus, it is something that we have always longed for and were built to long for. It is natural for us to share this “pearl of great price” that we have found.

Simple testimony is the best. We really don’t need to know lots of scripture to win others to Christ; we just need to bring them to Him. In other words, it is the story of the cross and how it impacts our own life that is likely to win others to Christ, not our superior arguments or vast knowledge. He starts out talking about Moses and the prophets, but that isn’t really anything that impresses Nathanael. Phillip doesn’t argue with Nathanael, he just says “Come and see.”

Jesus does the same look over that he did with Peter and the result is the same. Nathanael’s name is not mentioned in the other gospels. It is presumed that he is the same person called Bartholomew in the other Gospels. The fig tree is also somewhat symbolic to Jews at the time and is a symbol of peace. Jesus speaks to Nathanael’s heart when he says that he saw him under the fig tree. It was as much about his inner longings as it was about his actual physical location.

Question: When is the last time you felt like Jesus was your treasure.