Lesson #05

• The disciples follow Jesus, the Lamb of God:
• Andrew and John, the author of this gospel, were disciples of John the Baptist. When John the Baptist pointed people to Jesus as the Messiah, they became followers of Jesus.
• This is the amazing thing about the character of John the Baptist. He was not possessive of his disciples. He was not jealous of Jesus.
• John the Baptist understood very well God’s purpose for his life.
• Read Joh 3:30
• Andrew and John did exactly what John the Baptist wanted them to do…follow Jesus.
• Simon Peter, Andrew’s brother became a disciple of Jesus from the testimony of his brother.
• After spending a day with Jesus, Andrew finds his brother to tell him that they had found the Messiah.
• The term Messiah has the same meaning as the term Christ:
• Both of these words mean = the anointed one. (Isa 61:1)
• The word Messiah is Hebrew.
• The word Christ is Greek.
• Andrew was an evangelist for we see him bring others to Christ later in the book of John. (6:4-9) (12:20-22).
• Why did Jesus change Simon’s name to Peter (Cephas)?
• In Bible times, names were very important, more so than now. A name was an extension of a person’s character or personality. A name was also a type of life message or prophecy. We see that in the case of Simon Peter.
• The name Simon meant = hearing.
• The name Peter (Cephas) meant = rock.
• Peter’s personality was not stable and rock-like until after the day of Pentecost. Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit changed him into a strong rock for the Lord on which the early church could depend.
• Peter and other disciples were pillars of the early church. (Mat 16:16-18 Gal 2:9 Eph 2:20).
• Jesus sought Philip and invited him to be a disciple.
• Because Philip, Peter, and Andrew were from the same town, Bethsaida, they probably knew each other before they began to follow Jesus. Perhaps Andrew and Peter recommended Philip to Jesus.
• Nathanael found the Lord because of the testimony of Philip.
• Philip’s testimony:
• Jesus is the one described in the law and the prophets.
• In other words, the law, which is the first 5 books of the Bible tell us about the coming Messiah. How?
• In the first 5 books of the Bible there are many types and prefigures that point to Jesus Christ.
• For example, Abraham’s sacrifice of his son, Isaac, is a prefigure of the crucifixion. (Gen 22)
• In the first 5 books of the Bible there are direct prophecies about the coming of the Messiah.
• For example, Deu 18:15-18 speaks about a prophet greater than Moses.
• There are hundreds of prophecies in the books of the Old Testament prophets about Jesus Christ.
• For example, Isa 53 is a major prophecy about the crucifixion.
• “…Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

(45)

• Jesus was commonly known among the people as being from the family of Joseph even though He was in reality the Son of God, not the physical son of Joseph.
• Philip brings Nathanael to Jesus just as Andrew brought Peter to Jesus.
• Who was Nathanael?
• In Mat 10:3 and Mar 3:18 Philip and Bartholomew are mentioned together while in the gospel of John Philip and Nathanael are mentioned together.
• Therefore, Bartholomew and Nathanael are the same person.
• However, on meeting Jesus, Nathanael was somewhat skeptical.

• “…Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?”

(46)

• A Roman army garrison was located in Nazareth and therefore hated by many Jews.
• The prophets never said the Messiah would come from Nazareth. Instead they said He would come from Bethlehem.
• While Jesus was born in Bethlehem, he was raised and lived in Nazareth in Galilee. Jews from the area of Jerusalem looked down on those from Galilee as being crude and uneducated.
• Jesus’ response to Nathanael:

• “Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!”

(47)

• How did Jesus know Nathanael was an open, honest man with no deceit? He had no characteristics like those of Jacob in the Old Testament.
• When we remember that Jesus was fully man and fully God, we can understand that He knew the heart of Nathanael supernaturally.
• This amazed Nathanael and was what drew him to Jesus.
• Jesus knows the heart and meets people were they are. This is true of us today. He knows everything about us.
• “Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.”

(48)

• Jesus reveals His omniscience to Nathanael.
• The phrase “under the fig tree” was a common saying that referred to reading and meditating on the scriptures.
• Here was a man who loved the Word of God. He knew the scriptures and the prophecies about the Messiah. With an honest heart and a knowledge of the scriptures, he would be able to recognize who Jesus really was.
• Nathanael immediately recognizes that Jesus is the King and the Son of God. How did he know that?
• Read Zep 3:15
• When a person knows the scriptures like Nathanael and has an open heart to God, God will reveal Himself to that person. Then, the more you learn of Him in His Word, the more of Him you will experience in your personal life. The more you experience Him personally, the more fully you will know Him
• This is what happened to the disciples who walked with Jesus for 3 ½ years. They had the opportunity to experience Him and to know Him.
• This is why Jesus says to Nathanel, “thou shalt see greater things than these” (50). He will experience greater manifestations of God’s power.
• The revelation of Jesus:
• “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.”

(51)

• What did Jesus mean by this reference to Jacob in Genesis?
• Read Gen 28:12

• Jacob’s ladder
• It is called Jacob’s ladder in English, but in fact it was not a ladder at all but a stairway stretching from earth to heaven. On the stairway going up and down were angels. Angels are god’s messengers.

• The stairway is a bridge between heaven and earth. Jesus is subtly saying that He is the stairway and the disciples will see him bridge the gap between man and God when He goes to the cross to pay for man’s sin. (1Tim 2:5)
• The reference to Gen 28 is a statement to the disciples concerning the purpose for His coming.

• “…the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.”

(51)

• The angels are God’s messengers. They were under the command of Jesus. (Mat 26:53)

• The angels ministered to Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane just before the crucifixion. (Luk 22:43)

• Summary:
• We have discussed the calling of some of the original 12 disciples in John chapter 1. However, the other gospels have an apparent difference from John’s gospel. John indicates an early call of Andrew, Peter, Philip, and Nathanel while the other gospels indicate a later calling of these men. (Mat 4:18-32 Mar 1:16-20 Luk 5:1-11)
• How do we explain this apparent discrepancy?
• The gospel of John refers to the initial contact between Jesus and these disciples. They did not immediately leave their jobs and former lives to follow Him. That complete commitment came later according to the accounts in the other gospels.
• In John chapter 1 we have seen the first proofs that Jesus is in fact God:
• #1 = The Son of God in eternity (1:1-2)
• #2 = The Son of God at creation (1:3-5, 9, 12-13)
• #3 = The Son of God incarnated (1:10-13)
• #4 = The Son of God sinless (1:14,16-18)
• Application:
• What do we learn about witnessing?
• God has given the job of spreading the gospel to man. It is accomplished by word of mouth and one’s life style that the gospel spreads from one believer to one non-believer. We see this pattern with Andrew who drew his brother Simon Peter to Jesus, and with Philip who drew Nathanael to Jesus.
• God’s plan of evangelism:
• A majority of people come to the Lord because someone close to them told them about Jesus Christ just as Andrew told his brother Simon Peter.
• We see different styles of witnessing among John the Baptist and the disciples:
• Andrew and John (1:35-39)
• Their approach was the mass evangelism method.
• Their message was, “behold the lamb of God.”
• The result was that they followed Jesus.
• Peter (1:40-42)
• His approach was a personal evangelism method.
• His message was, “we found him.”
• The result was that Jesus gave him hope.
• Philip (1:43-44)
• His approach was the contact evangelism method.
• His message was, “follow me.”
• The result is implied. He followed.
• Nathanael (1:45-51)
• His approach was a world evangelism method.
• His message was, “we found him, come and see.”
• The result was that he did not argue.
• What do we learn about discipleship?
• Part of God’s plan is for believers to disciple or mentor others in the faith. Why?
• Discipling or mentoring helps to point people to the way.
• Believers are to do this by becoming models or teachers of the Christian life.
• Believers are to do this by getting involved in the lives of new believers.
• Discipling helps to establish people in the faith so they do not get discouraged and fall away.
• Discipling helps to establish people in the faith so they are not deceived by false doctrines.
• Discipling means we are pointing people to Christ just as John the Baptist did.
• This means we are not to put ourselves on the pedestal in the place where Christ is to occupy.
• This means the time will come when we must be willing to let the disciple move on to work out his own way in the Lord.
• Discipleship means you have a heart toward God. (1:38)
• Discipleship means you are obedient to God’s call. (1:39)
• What do we learn about Jesus Christ?
• We learn the purpose why Jesus came, to bridge the gap between sinful man and a holy God.
• We see Him give a hint of His omniscient (all knowing) ability to know the heart of man and to deal with individuals right where they are.

HOMEWORK
John 2:1-11
This is a Self-Study. Please do not send homework answers to the teacher for correction.