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The first seven events in His early ministry are recorded only in the Gospel of John. This portion begins with the arrival of some very distinguished visitors from Jerusalem. They were Priests and Levites, members of the council, men of learning and authority. John the Baptist himself was a priest of the seed of Aaron, therefore it was fit that he should be examined by his own kind. They had been sent by the "Jews of Jerusalem", probably the members of the Great Sanhedrim, who were representatives of the Jewish Church, who took cognizance of all matters relating to religion. They went to Bethany (Bethabara) beyond the Jordan, some 70 miles from Jerusalem.
Notice the nature of their visit. They were sent to identify John and to see who he was. They certainly were aware of the prophesied coming of the Messiah. They had heard of the act of Herod to eliminate that possibility, they also had heard of the effectiveness of John's witness. They were aware of the baptism that he practiced but they believed it to be a Jewish ritual which, in fact, was being used by Jewish authorities on proselytes to Judaism. So the visitors question him as to his identity. Was he a Prophet or perhaps the Christ?
John identifies himself as a voice, a messenger of God to prepare the "way". "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness." He was preparing the way for one whom they did not know, whose shoes he was not worthy to tie. Here we see something of the "one track" mind set of these visitors, having established to their own satisfaction that John was not the Christ, they inquired no further concerning this excellent person of whom John spoke.
We have two testimonies of John concerning Jesus Christ. The first one we just covered, his testimony to the Priests and Levites which we believe occurred during the 40 days that Jesus fasted prior to the Temptation. The second one occurred after the Temptation as John saw Jesus approaching.
There are 4 things testified by John the Baptist concerning Jesus:
The next day after the visit of the Priests and Levites, John the Baptist and two of his followers were standing and talking when they see Jesus approaching. John repeats the same testimony that he had given the day before, this time for the benefit of his followers. Notice the two followers of John turn and followed Jesus. The ones identity is lost to us, but the other was, in fact, the first disciple that Jesus called to follow Him. His name was Andrew and he went the next day and brought his brother, Simon, to Jesus. Jesus called Simon, Cephas, which means Peter. These three names are often used interchangeably, for the big fisherman. Notice Andrew is already aware of Jesus' identity for he tells Peter to come for he had found the Messiah.
Notice that Jesus is aware of the identity of Peter calling him Simon, son of Jona (John). The literal translation of these three names are interesting if not inappropriate:
In verses 43 to 51, we have the calling of two more disciples, Philip and Nathanael, sometimes called Bartholomew. Philip was the first to be called by Christ Himself, Andrew being directed to Christ by John the Baptist and Peter who was, in turn, directed to Christ by Andrew. The name Philip is of Greek origin and note that Christ does not change it. We are directed to observe this calling of Philip for we believe that Christ calls us before we seek Him.
So Andrew, Peter and Philip were His first three disciples and all three came from Bethany, an exceedingly wicked place. Nathanael was directed to Christ by Philip. Notice the joy and enthusiasm of Philip as he tells Nathanael that he had found Him of whom the Prophets wrote, "At last, He had come, this Jesus of Nazareth." Now Philip would have done well not to have made his last statement for Nathanael picked up on it immediately and inquired, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" In a way, Nathanael was right, the Messiah was prophesied to be born in Bethlehem. Notice Philip does not answer nor argue the matter, he simply says, "Come and see." A great lesson for us here, all we are asked to do is witness that He had come.
Notice that as Nathanael approaches Jesus, our Lord remarks "Behold an Israelite indeed." Now Jesus was not being sarcastic but was commending him for his knowledge of scripture for he knew that Nathanael was a sincere professor of the Jewish faith. Nathanael was astonished at the knowledge that Jesus had of him. Jesus commented on him, sometime in the past, having set under a fig tree presumably meditating and communing with God. Jesus liked what he knew and saw about Nathanael and had chosen him before Philip ever approached him. Christ's knowledge of Nathanael convinced him that Jesus was the Messiah for he confesses, "Truly thou art the Son of God."
Then Jesus told them, as we end this chapter of John's Gospel, of the "wonders" they would witness. He foretold of the heavens opening up and Angels ascending and descending upon the "Son of Man". This was a title that only Jesus used for Himself. His ascension was a great display of the "wonders" mentioned by Jesus.
From this point on, Jesus entered a time of miracles.
Perhaps it might be well at this time to learn a few things about these first 4 disciples of Jesus.
ANDREW - THE FIRST MISSIONARY.
Andrew was the brother of Peter. He was a disciple of John the Baptist. He led Peter to Christ and thus became the first home missionary. Later he would find the little boy with 5 barley loves and 2 small fishes with which Jesus would feed 5,000. Later he would bring some Greeks to Christ to become the first foreign missionary. Little else is recorded in the Bible about Andrew but other sources record many travels always preaching the Gospel. Some say he was crucified in Greece on an "X" shaped cross. The Order of St. Andrew is an association of Church Ushers. One fact remains indisputable, he was an ordinary fisherman transformed by Christ.
PETER - THE ROCK
His name was Simon, sometimes called Simon Peter. Jesus called him Cephas. He was the leader of the disciples. He is believed to have been a large man, quick of tongue and temper and impulsive. He is best known for having denied Jesus three times for which he later repented and was forgiven. He became an Apostle to the Jews. He was one of the "heads" of the mother church in Jerusalem. He always tempered the Gospel with Judaism. It is believed that he was crucified as Christ was. Peter and his brother Andrew were fishing partners. Contrary to belief, Peter was married and his mother-in-law and Andrew lived with him (1st. Cor. 9:5). A great deal has been written about Peter being the "rock" upon which Christ would build his church, but most Protestants believe it was Peter's statement that "Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God", that Jesus was referring to as the "rock" upon which He would build His church. Some believe that this statement was inserted at a later date by those who disapproved of the "conservatism" of James, the half brother of Jesus, and the "liberalism" of Paul and rather believed in the "middle of the road" approach to the Gospel. Many books, letters and other writings have been attributed to Peter but in fact actually were written by admirers of him who held him in great esteem, even at times, almost worshipping him.
PHILIP
Very little is known about Philip, other than his calling. One incident is recorded and that was at the "Last Supper" when Philip asked the Lord, "Lord, show us the Father", and Jesus answered, "He that has seen me had seen the Father." There is no record or tradition concerning his death.
NATHANAEL OR BARTHOLOMEW
His name meant "God has given". He was a "mystic", inclined to meditate, which probably accounts for the reference of Christ to him sitting under the fig tree. He was "open minded", not bigoted. He was of a frank and honest spiritual nature which probably accounted for his accepting and understanding more readily the mission of Christ and His resurrection. Nothing is known of his death.
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