John 1:35-51
Jesus' First Disciples
35The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. 36When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, "Look, the Lamb of God!"
37When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. 38Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, "What do you want?"
They said, "Rabbi" (which means Teacher), "where are you staying?"
39"Come," he replied, "and you will see."
So they went and saw where he was staying, and spent that day with him. It was about the tenth hour.
40Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, "We have found the Messiah" (that is, the Christ). 42And he brought him to Jesus.
Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas" (which, when translated, is Peter).
Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael
43The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, "Follow me."
44Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. 45Philip 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.
47When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, "Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false."
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."
49Then Nathanael declared, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel."
50Jesus said, "You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You shall see greater things than that." 51He then added, "I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."
Luke 4:14-30
Jesus Rejected at Nazareth
14Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. 15He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.
16He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. 17The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
18"The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
19to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."
20Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, 21and he began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."
22All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. "Isn't this Joseph's son?" they asked.
23Jesus said to them, "Surely you will quote this proverb to me: 'Physician, heal yourself! Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.' "
24"I tell you the truth," he continued, "no prophet is accepted in his hometown. 25I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah's time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. 26Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. 27And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian."
28All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. 29They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him down the cliff. 30But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.
St. John writes about Jesus calling His first disciples...There are seven people in this writing of St. John...John the Baptist is ministering about and then seeing Jesus, John, the author of this text, and the other first four disciples...Six people and Jesus are in our story...These six become quick converts and believers...
The first disciples that St. John writes about are Andrew, Peter, Philip, and Nathanael...Andrew was listening to John the Baptist...John the Baptist saw Jesus passing and said "Look, the Lamb of God."...Andrew, goes to his brother Peter, and tells him, we have found the Messiah...He does not say I have found Him, but we have found Him...Andrew had found something good, he had found the Truth...Andrew felt very good about this...When we feel good about something, we want to share it with someone we love...This is how God created us...The first person Andrew wants to share this charismatic Messiah with, is with his brother Simon...Jesus picked humble men to lead His ministry...Simon Peter, known for his quick, spontaneous tongue, his boldness, and his great humbleness (in Peter's first meeting with our LORD, Peter falls to his knees and says, "Go away from me LORD, I am a sinful man." (Luke 5:8)...Peter would be a favorite of the disciples and a favorite later in the early church for who he was...And who he was is a courageous, ordinary unschooled man, (Acts 4:13), a fisherman who people took a liking to, and would believe...
Then Philip (who must have been the other disciple with John the Baptist), goes and shares his meeting with Jesus to Nathanael...When Jesus tells him that he was under a fig tree, Nathanael is quickly converted (how could have He known this?)...Jesus even makes a promise to Nathanael...The promise is that he would see greater things, and they would include heaven opening, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man...What a promise!!!...
All four of these men are very quickly converted...We know the author John was a quick convert (he is mentioned in St. Matthew's gospel as one of the first disciples, with his brother James (Matthew 4:22)...And John the Baptist was also a believer from very early in his life...All six men were believers and followers of Christ, who for the most part did not know Him like the people of Nazareth, where He was from...In St. Luke's gospel we are told, at a time in His early ministry, He goes to Nazareth and is rejected by those who knew Him best...He read Scripture in His local synagogue and would tell His people that the Scripture was now fulfilled...They rejected Him and His statement...
We have people who knew Him best reject Him, and we have people who meet Him for the first time and recognize who He is....Nathanael, who even had a prejudice against Nazareth, was willing to listen, but many of those from Nazareth were not...Why did this happen?...First of all John the Baptist is important here...John a great, simple minister had followers...John the Baptist was first to recognize the Lamb of God...His preaching quickly helped the others see the Truth...At every opportunity he asks his listeners to repent and was leading them to Jesus...Also, the excitement from John the Baptist spilled over to Andrew and Philip and they wanted to share their newly found Messiah with Simon and Nathanael...No doubt, the zeal of Andrew and Philip, was part of the convincing and converting process of Simon Peter and Nathanael...
Like the people of Nazareth, sometime things right in front of us, we don't see...Like the earth we walk on, and the sky above...We know that grass is a beautiful green, and above the sky is so beautifully blue...But we just do not see it sometimes... Jesus teaches us in the four gospels to be on guard, to be aware...Sometimes, I think part of this teaching is about our complacency with beautiful things...Why do so many, many people marry the most important person in their lives and a few years later wind up thinking that person wasn't that important...Love is gone, or changed in their minds...Many think the grass is greener on the other side...Some of us think that I am from this town and there cannot possible a person in this town as smart or wise as one in another or bigger town...Maybe we take some of the best things for granted, when things are going right for us...Well, Jesus was from Nazareth, and how could anything good come from there?...It was good because God put Him there at that exact place at that exact time...In St. Paul's great sermon on Mars Hill (Areopagus), he tells us God has set the exact time for us and the exact places where should live (Acts 17:26)...We are here and where we are for a reason, His reason...
Those He chose would have weaknesses, be sinners, deny Him, and be imperfect...But the men He chose would teach the entire Roman Empire about Christianity and convert that large empire to Christianity...Considering that most of the world was the Roman Empire during their lives their accomplishments are another miracle of God...