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DISCIPLES
John 1:43-51
43 The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.”44 Philip,
like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. 45 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.”46 “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked.“Come and see,”
said Philip.47 When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom
there is no deceit.”48 “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were
still under the fig tree before Philip called you.” 49 Then Nathanael declared “Rabbi, you are the Son of
God; you are the king of Israel.” 50 Jesus said, “You believe[a] because I told you I saw you under the fig
tree. You will see greater things than that.” 51 He then added, “Very truly I tell you,[b] you[c] will see
‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on’[d] the Son of Man.”

John 1:43-51
Background:
In the 4 gospel books, the book of John focuses on introducing to the readers who
Jesus Christ is. In the first few verses, the author introduced Christ as the Word, the
true light that gives life, the Word that became flesh, the Only Son. Also through the
testimonies of the eye witnesses they claimed that Christ is the only one who is
Worthy, the Lamb of God, the one who baptize with the Holy Spirit, the Son of God,
and from our previous session he is our Rabbi, and the Messiah. In this verses, we
will dive in the testimonies of 2 of the disciples of Christ.
 01 02
Pointers
The Testimony of Philip The Testimony of
Nathanael

03

Greater Things
The Testimony of Philip
• After Christ called the 2 disciples of John the Baptist, by which one of this
2 disciples which was Andrew shared it to Peter, Christ decided to go to
Galilee
• Christ then proceed by telling Philip to follow Him
• Philip then went to Nathanael and shared what he witnessed. He claimed
that they have found the one written in the scriptures
43 The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.”44 Philip,
like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. 45 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.”46 “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked.“Come and see,”
said Philip.47 When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom
there is no deceit.”48 “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were
still under the fig tree before Philip called you.” 49 Then Nathanael declared “Rabbi, you are the Son of
God; you are the king of Israel.” 50 Jesus said, “You believe[a] because I told you I saw you under the fig
tree. You will see greater things than that.” 51 He then added, “Very truly I tell you,[b] you[c] will see
‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on’[d] the Son of Man.”

John 1:43-51
Application and self reflection

We can only speculate what happened before Christ called Philip to follow
Him. It may because Andrew, Peter, and the other disciple are testifying just
like John the Baptist, then after seeing and knowing the heart of Philip, Christ
told Philip to follow Him. But the point is after having that personal encouter
with Christ, Philip shared it to someone. Again, how about us? Are we sharing
who Christ is not just to our family but also to our neighbors?
The Testimony of Nathanael

• After hearing the testimony of Philip, he then quickly questioned it by

saying is there something good in Nazareth.
• Jesus claimed that Nathanael is a true Israelite with no deceit
• Christ saw Nathanael under the fig tree
• Nathanael claimed that Christ is the Son of God, the King of Israel
43 The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.”44 Philip,
like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. 45 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.”46 “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked.“Come and see,”
said Philip.47 When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom
there is no deceit.”48 “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were
still under the fig tree before Philip called you.” 49 Then Nathanael declared “Rabbi, you are the Son of
God; you are the king of Israel.” 50 Jesus said, “You believe[a] because I told you I saw you under the fig
tree. You will see greater things than that.” 51 He then added, “Very truly I tell you,[b] you[c] will see
‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on’[d] the Son of Man.”

John 1:43-51
Application and self reflection

In our sessions, it has been repeatedly pointed out that the disciples have that
personal encounter with God. In this verse, it showed the personal encounter of
Nathanael. In his case, Christ showed his power by saying that He knew where
Nathanael was before they even met. Now how about us? After having that
personal encounter what is our first response? Do we declare who God is?
Greater Things

• After the testimony of Nathanael, Christ then said that he will see greater
things.
• Christ then referenced the vision of Jacob
43 The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.”44 Philip,
like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. 45 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.”46 “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked.“Come and see,”
said Philip.47 When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom
there is no deceit.”48 “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were
still under the fig tree before Philip called you.” 49 Then Nathanael declared “Rabbi, you are the Son of
God; you are the king of Israel.” 50 Jesus said, “You believe[a] because I told you I saw you under the fig
tree. You will see greater things than that.” 51 He then added, “Very truly I tell you,[b] you[c] will see
‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on’[d] the Son of Man.”

John 1:43-51
Application and self reflection

Christ is saying to Nathanael that the power that he experience when Christ
told him here he was before they met was nothing. Jesus was showing what
will happened. He will become the ladder/ connector/way between the heaven
and the earth, God and man. We saw how this happened. God sacrificed
Himself for us.