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Joh_1:29-51
On the occasion referred to yesterday, John, in that public audience, was content to declare the presence of the mightier Teacher of whom he had spoken, without designating the individual. But as he next day stood surrounded by his followers, and saw Jesus approaching, he did not hesitate to point Him out distinctly; explaining the grounds, furnished by what occurred at his baptism, on which he knew Jesus to be the Messiah. The terms in which he described Him are very remarkable: “Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sins of the world.” It has been suggested, and is altogether likely, that the expression was founded upon a circumstance then actually passing before their eyes; being the passage, at this ford, of flocks of sheep and lambs, from the rich pastures beyond the Jordan, on their way to Jerusalem, to supply the daily sacrifice, or to meet the demands of the Passover. Recollecting that the Messiah had been predicted by Isaiah (Isaiah 53) as a lamb led to the slaughter, to show his patience under suffering, and his readiness to die for man’s redemption, the allusion was perfectly natural, whether suggested or not by such a circumstance. Besides, it gave John occasion to protest against the common notion of the Messiah’s office, of which the lion, rather than the lamb, would have been the fit, and, to the nation generally, the more acceptable emblem. It is impossible to understand these words in any other sense than that John understood that Christ was to die for the sins of the world; for a lamb could only bear sin by a sacrificial death. It has, indeed, been objected, that a lamb is not a sin-offering under the law. But Lev_4:32-35 shows this to be it mistake. Were it otherwise, however, the real sense is illustrated by the use of the analogous term in other parts of the New Testament; as where Christ is described by analogies drawn from the paschal lamb, Note: Joh_19:14; 1Co_5:7. and is represented as “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” It would thus appear that John possessed a more exact conception of the objects for which Christ came into the world than has usually been ascribed to him. If these words mean anything, they mean the doctrine of the atonement for sin by the death of Christ—the true evangelical view, which was not understood even by the apostles themselves until after the resurrection. Whether John had been led to this view by the study of that chapter in Isaiah to which he apparently refers, or had received special enlightenment from on high, must be left to conjecture.
The next day, John stood with only two of his disciples; and, seeing Jesus pass by, he repeated the indication which he had given the day before to a larger assembly, “Behold the Lamb of God.” Impressed no less by the deep import of these words, than by the look of fixed attention and reverent regard which the speaker fixed upon the person who went by, and encouraged, doubtless, by an approving smile from their master; they left his side, and followed the Stranger’s steps. One of these two was Andrew, the brother of Peter. The other is not named; but the narrator being John, it is usually understood that the one whom he designates as “the other disciple” was himself, as on other occasions this evangelist does not expressly point to himself, but modestly refrains from making his personal relations conspicuous.
Jesus walked thoughtfully on; and the two young men, though they followed Him closely, respectfully forbore to accost Him, or were perhaps reluctant to break in upon his meditations. But perceiving that He was followed, He turned round and asked them what they wished. They were too modest to obtrude themselves at once as his companions; and, therefore, merely requested to know where He dwelt, that they might at another time call upon Him. But Jesus, full of love, took them immediately along with Him. It was then four o’clock; and, attracted by his blessed discourse, they remained with Him till the close of the day. He then dismissed them, in order to allow the seed which He had quietly sown, to develop itself within them.
This was the real beginning of the Christian Church.
Andrew knew that his brother Simon was among those who earnestly “waited for the consolation of Israel.” He therefore hastened to impart to him the joyful tidings that the Messiah had indeed come; and, together, the two brothers then repaired to Jesus. As soon as the Lord beheld Simon, and without waiting for Andrew to introduce him, He accosted him by his name—“Thou art Simon, the son of Jonas: thou shalt be called Cephas.” This means a stone, or rock; and “Peter,” as he is otherwise called, is a Greek word of the same meaning. The analogy is not seen in our language; but it is in French, in which pierre means both “Peter” and “stone.” Of this custom of changing names we have formerly spoken; and it now only remains to add, that the Jewish rabbis were also in the habit of giving to their disciples certain by-names. In the present instance, Jesus, knowing perfectly what was in man, looks at once through Peter, and sees in him a reckless boldness, combined with an undue measure of confidence in himself. His character, however, purified and sanctified by the Holy Spirit, Jesus foresaw would be peculiarly serviceable in the establishment of the Christian Church; and hence the significant application of the name He bestowed.
These three had been directed to Jesus. The next was summoned by himself. This was Philip, a townsman and probably a friend of Andrew and Peter—all, indeed, being fishermen of the Lake of Tiberias, a body of water in which fish are still most abundant. It is likely that Philip had already heard what the two brothers had to impart, and was hence prepared to follow Jesus, when He called to him, “Follow Me!” Philip sought out a friend of his named Nathaniel, and announced to him exultingly, that he had found the long promised Messiah in the person of “Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Nathaniel started at this, and in all sincerity asked, “Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?” a very emphatic expression of the ill-repute in which this place was held. Philip, who was a man of few words and blunt manners, did not think it worth while to argue against this prejudice, but said to him just the very best thing possible, “Come and see.” So they went together; and as they drew nigh, Jesus saluted Nathaniel with the emphatic and memorable words, “Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile.” Astonished and perplexed, Nathaniel inquired from what source Jesus derived his knowledge of him; on which our Lord, casting on him a look of divine complacency, said, “Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig-tree, I saw thee.” It is known that in this age pious Jews, contrasted with the Pharisaical hypocrites, who loved to pray in the public streets and market-places, sought the privacy of their high-walled gardens, where, under the shade of spreading trees, they would pour out their souls before God. Convinced by this, that all things were open and known to those eyes which now looked so benevolently upon him, Nathaniel at once cast off all his first doubts, and cried out with fervor, “Rabbi, Thou art the Son of God; Thou art the King of Israel!”
The name of Nathaniel does not occur in the list of the apostles: but he is universally supposed to be the one who, in that list, is distinguished by his father’s name, Bartholomew, which signifies, “son of Tolmai,”—a designation which leaves a vacancy for his own proper name, which we shall probably not err in supplying by that of “Nathaniel.”