Second Sunday after the Epiphany He wanted to go by the book all the time. Not just that Jesus could see him under a fig tree. Or I know that you praise me all the way to work, 49 Then Nathaniel declared, Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.. To be a leader, you have to have a sense of vision. Who are you? His prejudice caused him to be skeptical when Phillip told him that the messiah was the Nazarene. Bartholomew is a Hebrew surname meaning "son of Tolmai.". Early church records suggest that he ministered in Persia and India and took the gospel as far as Armenia. Start for FREE. Some people won't listen to a female minister. Your changed life, your verbal witness, your faith evident in your lifethis becomes a witness to others. So When Jesus tested his faith, Phillip responded with unbelief. This recalls the story of Jacobs ladder. Philip preached the Faith in Greece and he was martyred at Hierapolis in Persia in the year 62. Nathanael (Bartholomew) was called after Philip told him about the Lord. Now what does Philip do next? Come and see. Come and see if you too wont encounter the Messiah, the Savior sent from God, in this person Jesus I want you to meet.. The fact that people will meet Jesus here at St. Matthew Lutheran Churchthat is what this church is all about. Let me tell you about him. Heaven and earth meet in him. 'Come and see,' said Philip." John 1:43-46 NIV, The Story: The Bible as One Continuing Story of God and His People, NIV, Story of Jesus: Experience the Life of Jesus as One Seamless Story, NIV, Chronological Study Bible, Comfort Print: Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV, Beautiful Word Bible Journal, Revelation, Paperback, Comfort Print, NIV, Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible, Red Letter Edition: Bringing to Life the Ancient World of Scripture, NIV, Verse Mapping Bible, Comfort Print: Find Connections in Scripture Using a Unique 5-Step Process. Indeed, in the Sacrament of the Altar, heaven and earth come together. Nathanael recognizes Jesus as "the Son of God" and "the King of Israel". That being said, we know Nathanael went on to play an important role in the formation of the early church, taking the gospel to the ends of the earth, as Jesus had commissioned His disciples to do before His ascension (Matthew 28:19-20). Learn how your comment data is processed. Phillip was the first one to hear those words and obey them. Go to Romans 9:6-7, the apostle Paul says, "For they are not all Israel who are of Israel, nor are they all children because they are deceit and Abraham.". The Apostles Philip and Nathanael. It was inconceivable to Nathaniel that the messiah would come from a tacky place like Nazareth. 50 Jesus said, You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. . 46 Nazareth! This Philip is explicitly identified as the evangelist and one of the Seven. If this were Philip the Apostle, it would be odd for Luke to provide two distinguishing details and not call him the apostle. He was a founding Father of the early church and among the first to be martyred. It was. Now was late in the day, and there were no fast food franchises. Whether Philips statement was foolish or simply bold, it gave Jesus another opportunity to directly assert his divinity, and help us understand his relationship to the Father. Though not much is known about Nathanael beyond the gospels, church history suggests that Nathanael traveled beyond Judea to minister to parts of Persia and India, perhaps going as far as Armenia, whose church claims him as their saint and founder to this day. Nathanael means "gift of God." El, e-l, is the name of God. I suppose we would be equally surprised if Jesus said, I know what a faithful servant you are because I know that you get up every morning at 6:30 and go into the family room to pray. We see that Philip and Nathanael were faithful servants of Jesus who had questions and concerns, doubts and fears. In the Gospel of John, Nathanael is introduced as a friend of Philip, from Bethsaida (1:43-44). Its worth noting that Nathanael is rarely mentioned apart from the listing of the twelve disciples. He had the ability to read Nathaniel's heart. Now remember I just told you Jesus went to Phillip and said follow me, and then Phillip turns around and tells his buddy we found him. Nathanael makes a second appearance in John 21:2, where he is included in a list of disciples who saw the resurrected Christ by the Sea of Tiberias. After Philip finds Nathanael and tells him they have found the Messiah, the One who was promised in the Law of Moses and the Prophets, Nathanael makes his way to see this Jesus. The latter is preserved in the names Theodore and Dorothea. Why do you think the Greeks would seek out Phillip? Blind and dead in our sins, enemies of Godthat is our natural state. The New Testament lists all twelve apostles four timesMatthew 10:2-4, Mark 3:14-19, Luke 6:13-16, and Acts 1:13-16. Join our email list, and well send you some of our best free resourcesplus well tell you whenever we make something new. Some people won't hear a minister of a different race. In John 1:46-50, Nathanael is introduced to Jesus for the first time. To challenge his friends blind bigotry, Philip responded with a simple invitation. Phillip, Nathaniel and Thomas were fishermen from Galilee. But Phillip is the first disciple whom Jesus physically sought out, as well as the first one to whom Jesus actually said, "follow me". Or crucified upside down. He said, 45 Philip found Nathaniel and told him, We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wroteJesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.. In other translations, Jesus refers to him as the one in whom there is no guile.. Next group comes James, Lebbaeus or Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot. In Johns gospel, the author mentions that Jesus had sought out Philip shortly after calling Peter, Andrew, James, and John to be His disciples (John 1:43). Philips personality, led him to say, I don't think we can do that., 7 Philip answered him, Eight months wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!. And so Jesus not only is the King of Israel, he is the king who ushers in the everlasting kingdom of heaven in our midst. In the verses before ours, John tells us that Andrew was one of two men who had been John the Baptist's disciples. And here's Nathaniel meeting Jesus for the first time and Jesus says this about him. Nathanael was one of the 12 original apostles of Jesus Christ. By all accounts he was martyred like the rest of the apostle's, except John. Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. 21 They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. There he is called, "Nathanael of Cana in Galilee.". Peoples ears are closed to the gospel by many kinds of prejudice. And presumably, if he did not use distinguishing details, the early church wouldve assumed he meant Philip the Apostlethe most well-known Philip. Our final look at Phillip comes a short time after the Last Supper on the eve of the crucifixion. Today I want you to see yourself as a Philip. In fact, Jesus sees Nathanael approaching and he says, Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit! Nathanael can tell that this Jesus somehow knows something about him, that he has divine insight. Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. Aside from the lists of apostles in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and Acts, Philip appears in four narratives in the Gospel of John. Philip found Nathanael and told him, "We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wroteJesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." "Nazareth! So dont be afraid or ashamed to invite your friends and neighbors, your family membersanyone who needs Jesusinvite them to come and see. Come and meet Jesus here at St. Matthews. No doubt Phillip had already begun counting heads. It was Jesus who found Philip! Rather, Nathanael had developed a regional prejudice and bias against those from a nearby town, perhaps in the same way crosstown rivals might deride each other, or residents of Los Angeles and San Francisco might disparage each other. 48How do you know me? Nathanael asked. John's gospel is the only one that mentions a man named Nathanael, who appears to be an apostle (John 1:43-51).John also never mentions Bartholomew. Nathaniel is also called Bartholomew, which is a Hebrew name meaning God has given". Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. Fun fact: Johns desire to tell us who said what is the reason Thomas got stuck with the infamous moniker, Doubting Thomas. For some reason Practical Philip didnt catch on, though. Knowing Nathanaels heart, Jesus greeted His would-be disciple, not with chastisement or contempt, but rather, with a remarkable compliment of his character. Try Bible Gateway Plus free today! Philip and Bartholomew are frequently mentioned together in the Synoptic Gospels, although Nathanael is never mentioned. And like the other apostles, Nathaniel stands to prove that God can use anyone, from any place, provided he has an open heart to build his kingdom. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. Still, there are some things we can learn about Philip the Apostle from the Bible, and we can glean a few insights from the early church as well. Now of course, there are many things about our congregation we can talk about, positive things, the various aspects of our life together: the camaraderie and the fellowship, the friendliness of our members, the potlucks and the friendships we enjoy. These men were called the 12 Disciples. How can we get there., The disciples think theyre going to the Fathers house soon, and Jesus responds, If you really know me, you will know my Father as well., Philips basically trying to demonstrate his faith by saying, I dont even care about the details. And by his resurrection from the dead and ascension into heaven, he guarantees our own resurrection and eternal life in heaven. But the important fact is that Philip followed Jesus and he went immediately to invite his brother Nathanael to follow Him. When Jesus spoke out against the religious establishment in Jerusalem, the religious leaders just chalked that up to his coming from lowly Nazareth. The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee and He found Philip and said to him, Follow Me. Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Nathanael was from Cana in Galilee ( John 21:2) and was brought to Jesus by his friend, Philip, who also became one of Jesus' disciples. Now Phillip had seen Jesus created wine out of water in Cana. "Come and see," said Philip. . If anything will put some excitement and joy into your life, this will. That's group two. What you saw was what you got. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We can conclude that he interpreted it literally because it was so easy for him to believe that Jesus was the messiah. Despite these thoughts and feelings, however, they continued to be positive instruments in the hands of God. He would walk with Jesus during His subsequent forty days on earth, witness His miracle on the Sea of Galilee (John 21:1-8), eat breakfast with Jesus on the shores of Galilee (John 21:9-14), receive Christs great commission (Matthew 28:19-20), and observe Jesus final ascension into heaven (Acts 1:9-11). They were both disciples of John the Baptist who preached to Israel of the coming deliverer. Its easy to read the gospels and Acts and not even notice that there are two different Philips. Jesus calls us, even as he called Philip. 6 He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do. We know this because after the resurrection these apostles returned to Galilee with Peter and resumed their fishing trade (John 21 ). What we do know is this: as one of the Twelve, Philip certainly held an important role in the early church, and he likely played a key part in spreading the gospel somewhere in ancient Eurasia. God knows just what it takes to reach each of us. Hes one of four people named Philip in the Bible, and hes often confused with Philip the Evangelist, who plays a minor role in Acts. The Acts of Philip provides the earliest, most detailed account of his martyrdom, but again, its hard to say how much we can trust it. Meaning:God has given. Of course, no reliable record exists of how Nathanael died. You know what life is all about. [8] The earliest reference to this theorywhich is based on Bartholomew being properly a surnameis found in Ishodad of Merv (c.850). How does he respond? That's why Jesus asked Phillip where they could buy bread. But ultimately, above all, when we talk about our church, we want to talk about the one who is the very heart and center of our church, the churchs whole reason for existence. His response, displays Nathaniel's character. You would have no meaning, no purpose in life. Philip answered him, It would take more than half a years wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite! John 6:57, Jesus already knew exactly what he was going to do, but he asked Philip what it would take to feed these peopleperhaps as a joke, or possibly, to illustrate that it would take a miracle to feed this many. Notice that: Jesus finds Philip, and then Philip finds Nathanael. In fact, it is your life! Cana wasn't a prestigious town. Though flawed, Nathanael was as honest and sincere as they come, and for his eagerness and willingness to embrace Jesus as his lord and king, Christ performed a mighty work in his life, taking an ordinary man and turning him into an outspoken leader and pillar of His church. They walked with Jesus while he was upon earth. Nathanael, probably the personal name of Bartholomew, is later referred to in John 21:1-3 as Nathanael of Cana when seven of the disciples were together and went . 46 Nazareth! From now on, you do know him and have seen him. Philip and Nathanael were brothers as were Andrew and Peter. At this point Phillip speaks up and says, 8 Philip said, Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us., How could Phillip say such a thing immediately after Jesus had just told them that he and the father were one? He is speaking to you today. Jesus wasn't physically present to see Nathaniel under the fig tree, and Nathaniel knew that. Matthew received his calling as Jesus was leaving Capernaum. The twelve apostles opted out of this position, and then a man named Philip was chosen to be one of the Seven (Acts 6:5). This is where people will meet Jesus, their Savior, the author of life and the giver of salvation. After this, Nathanael would return with the remaining apostles to the upper room in Jerusalem, joining with them in prayer as they selected Matthias as a replacement for Judas Iscariot, who had recently hung himself (Acts 1:12-26). Does that have to do with Martin Luther King? Church? By the grace of God, Nathanael was chosen to follow Christ. Phillip, like the other apostles was a man of weak faith and imperfect understanding. His first response after meeting Jesus was to find his friend Nathaniel and tell him about a messiah. Ive already said that Phillip was a student of the Old Testament. The earliest reference in the West is in Rupert of Deutz (d. 1129). Furthermore, both Philip and Nathanael had studied the Word of God on their own. Little is written about him the Gospels and book of Acts. Trust in God; trust also in me. I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see!. Despite Nathanaels initial prejudice, Jesus saw through the sinful, the imperfect, and the ordinary to the eager heart of one who was willing to leave everything behind to follow Him. Jesus answered, I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you., 49Then Nathanael declared, Rabbi,(L) you are the Son of God;(M) you are the king of Israel.(N), 50Jesus said, You believe[a] because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. Jesus was a common name. Jesus is quickening faith in his heart. It was then that Jesus made a statement concerning his own death, using the grain of wheat dying in order to spring forth to bear much more grain: He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. (John 12:25).Philips request, Show us the Father brought forth a mild rebuke: Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known me, Philip? Maybe he didnt think very highly of that town, we dont know. Did the fig tree reference indicate his occupation, as a fig-gatherer? A second difficulty is the way in which Philip's name is introduced. For less than $5/mo. Well, thats all right. You are the King of Israel! Jesus replies: Because I said to you, I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? John says this was to test him because Jesus already knew what he would do. . Stromata. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth." Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see." Sir, they said, we would like to see Jesus.. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves.
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