A Ladder and a Cross

The account that we read in John’s Gospel of Jesus calling the disciples adds some helpful detail to the stories in the Synoptic Gospels, in which Jesus calls them from their fishing boats (e.g. Mark 1:16-20). Those stories make more sense if we understand that the disciples had met Jesus previously. Philip is mentioned only four times in the Gospels, and in two of them he is introducing people to Jesus–Nathanael here (46), and then the Greeks who wanted to see Jesus (12:21,22). He has learned from Jesus’ “Come and see” (39).

Like Simon in yesterday’s reading, Nathanael is drawn by Jesus’ insightful knowledge of him. Nathanael is not mentioned anywhere else in the Gospels, but he is probably the same person as Bartholomew (Luke 6:14). Bartholomew is a patronymic (“son of Tholemew”) and he would have had a personal name as well. In a few concise sentences, John records Nathanael’s complete turnaround in his view of Jesus. One minute he is saying, “Can any good come from there?” and the next he confesses Jesus as the Son of God. What has happened?

John has condensed a lot into a few words, and possibly has put into the text here something that happened later. In Matthew’s Gospel, it is Peter who first recognizes Jesus as the Messiah, much later in Jesus’ ministry (Matt. 16:16). But, be that as it may, in John’s account here Nathanael recognizes Jesus’ special insight into his character. Perhaps he was reading the story of Jacob while he was sitting in the shade. It was Jacob who saw the ladder up to heaven: Jacob was later known as “Israel,” in him there was plenty of deceit. In his dream Jacob saw heaven and earth meet (Gen. 28:10-17). Nathanael will see the same thing. It will be a cross.

What is your personal attitude toward telling others about Jesus? What do the examples of John, Andrew, and Phillip, teach you about witnessing for Christ?