From invitation to transformation – Terry Nightingale
How many disciples did Jesus have?
It’s not 12!
At least not at the beginning…
In the chapter after today’s reading Jesus will go to a wedding, and His disciples will attend with him, but as we will see in today’s passage, only a few would have been there. Because Jesus called his disciples gradually, over time.
Here’s how it all started. The first two we meet are in 1 v 35–37:
The next day John (the Baptist) was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus.
Jesus almost seems surprised because he asks, “What do you want?” (John 1:38)
Come and you will see
It’s a good question but John’s disciples don’t answer it–instead they ask one: “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?” (John 1:38)
And Jesus goes with that. He doesn’t press them further. He just says, “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.” (John 1:39)
What is going on here?
In the first-century Israel, asking where someone was staying was a polite way of requesting the opportunity to spend time with them. In other words, “may we spend time with you and learn from you?” And by saying Come and you will see, Jesus effectively says, “Yes”.
And so, time passes. No doubt with some food and lots of talking, listening and asking questions.
My brother needs to hear this
Until one of them, Andrew, gets up. We are told that, the first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus. (John 1:41-42). But we don’t know anything about any subsequent conversations. Only the comment Jesus makes about Simon: “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter) (John 1:42).
You probably know that Peter means a small rock, a stone, which symbolizes strength permanence, and reliability. Sometime later, Jesus will say the same thing to Simon after his famous declaration “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (Matt 16:16).
That’s three so far; two more to go
A further two disciples were called after this.
First, Philip from the same town as Andrew and Simon Peter−Bethsaida. Did they know each other? We don’t know.
Why did Jesus choose him to be a disciple? We don’t know.
Why did God choose you to be a disciple? We don’t know, but this was one of the amazing truths that hit me when I first became a Christian: God has a purpose for me!
What is Philip’s response? We assume he does follow Jesus, because the next thing we know is he is telling someone else about Him. Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote —Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” (John 1:45)
This is a huge declaration. We put a lot of emphasis on Peter’s later revelation, but Philip is saying a lot here right at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry.
- This is the one Moses predicted would come
- This is the one the Prophets prophesied about
I love Nathanael’s response (only because it makes me laugh) “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” (John 1:46)
That’s your takeaway from this Nathanael?!!
It looks like Nathanael has completely missed the point, but look what happens next. It is so unexpected.
When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.” (in other words, this man has no filter)
“How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.
Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”
Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.” (John 1:47-49)
Now, where did that come from?
Perhaps he is just reiterating what Philip said to him? (in a different kind of way)
Maybe this is divine revelation from God?
Or perhaps it is something else. The fig tree often symbolized peace, prayer, or Torah study in Jewish culture and a healthy tree with fruit symbolised God’s people living rightly in obedience to Him. A person sitting under a healthy fig tree symbolised them sitting under the blessing of God in obedience to Him.
When Jesus said to Nathanael, I saw you while you were still under the fig tree, Nathanael might have heard that as “you are a faithful Israelite”. In other words, God has seen me.
He has seen who I am.
How did Jesus first get your attention?
When Jesus called you, he knew who you are too. He saw the good and the bad, including the broken and dark parts, but he also saw who you could become.
Jesus told Peter what he would become in his first meeting with him−a rock. And Peter became the very person Jesus said he would be.
Jesus is in the process of transforming you for His purposes.
An invitation from Jesus always leads to transformation. And transformation is for purpose.
Discovering God in a Crazy World
4-min Devotions this year invites you to join us on a guided journey through the Gospel of John.
You can also discover more of this ministry by visiting terrynightingale.com. For new subscribers to my website, I am offering a free gift. A sample from my book More bite-size devotions for the busy Christian – 10 Devotions from the Psalms.
All my books can be found on Amazon – my latest is called Sleeping in a Sinking Boat: finding peace in the middle of the storm (pub: Ark House Press), released this year.
