John 1:45, commentary and pictures

Philip told Nathanael that the promised Deliverer foretold by Moses in the law and by the prophets had been found in Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. His way of naming Him by His town and His earthly father showed an understanding still incomplete and not yet fully settled on His divinity, even though the treasure he had found was that the Son of God was among them. Nathanael was at that moment praying in secret under the fig tree for light on whether Jesus was the promised Saviour, and when Jesus showed He had seen him there his prejudice gave way to confession of Him as the Son of God and King of Israel. A true finding of Jesus gives a new convert an irrepressible desire to tell relatives, friends, and neighbors, with Philip's prompt personal search for Nathanael standing as the pattern for all followers. When that witness meets prejudice it is to be met not by argument but by the invitation to come and see, and those who thus share the light they have receive still more, while every earnest seeker who prays for truth will receive light as Nathanael did.

Philip's Words Explained

Philip announced to Nathanael that they had found Him of whom Moses in the law and the prophets wrote, the promised Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. His joyful announcement invited Nathanael, who had been pondering the prophecies of the Messiah and praying for light whether Jesus was the promised deliverer who would save Israel, to come and see. In telling his friend so that he too could know Him, Philip showed how sharing the discovery of Christ with someone nearby can draw that person to the Saviour. His hopeful testimony led Nathanael to meet Jesus, and seeing Him dispelled prejudice and unbelief and gave way to firm faith.

Philip's way of describing Jesus as from Nazareth and as Joseph's son showed his understanding was still incomplete. His added human description carried a measure of doubt, for though he had joined himself to Christ he was not yet fully convinced of Jesus' divinity. Yet his certainty was confident and not mere supposition, for it came from hearing Jesus expound the Scriptures and recognizing their fulfillment in Him. His testimony was therefore personally experienced living truth.

The treasure Philip had found was the knowledge that Christ, the Son of God, was among them. Having found the Lord and fully believed in Him, his joy led him promptly to seek Nathanael and share the news. In this way the verse holds together Jesus' humble human origins and His identity as the promised deliverer.

Nathanael Seeking Truth

When Philip found him, Nathanael was apart under the fig tree pondering the prophecies of the Messiah and praying in secret for light and truth to know whether Jesus was the promised deliverer who would save Israel. He had heard Jesus proclaimed as Redeemer, he had weighed what Moses in the law and the prophets had written, and he was asking God for confirmation whether this Jesus of Nazareth, called the son of Joseph, was truly the Christ. Philip came to him as a messenger with the announcement that they had found Him of whom Moses and the prophets wrote, inviting him to come and see. He was not satisfied to grope in darkness but held fast unyieldingly to the light he had while pleading with his Father in heaven for clearer light.

He had considered the prophecies about the Messiah and prayed for confirmation, and the Spirit convinced him that Jesus was the promised deliverer. His inherited prejudice against Nazareth and his doubt did not hold when he met Jesus face to face. When Jesus revealed that He had seen Nathanael praying under the fig tree, prejudice and unbelief gave way to firm faith. He then confessed Jesus as the Son of God and King of Israel, and Jesus promised him greater evidence, including heaven opened and God's angels ascending and descending upon the Son of man.

That Jesus saw Nathanael before Nathanael saw Him shows that Christ knows and calls His followers before they notice Him. He sympathizes with suffering people, gives grace, and does not forsake them. Nathanael represents sincere seekers and thousands in humble homes who have grace but less light, who grope in the darkness of error yet hold fast to what they have. They offer sincere and contrite prayer under a weight of oppression for the dishonor done to God, cherish every ray of light that shines upon them, and pray for clearer light and the revealings of the Holy Spirit. Such souls will be accepted of God and will not be left in darkness.

First Disciples Confirmed

The verse belongs to the choosing of the first five disciples at the entering upon Jesus' earthly work, John, Andrew, Simon, Philip, and Nathanael. They were called from humble occupations to accompany Jesus in His ministry, to receive His divine teachings and to witness His mighty miracles, that they might publish them to the world. These newly called disciples accompanied Jesus to Cana, addressing Him with reverence as Master.

At Cana they told Mary, on the basis of wonderful things they had witnessed at His baptism and on other occasions and of what they had seen and heard at the baptism and elsewhere, that they had found Jesus of Nazareth, the long-looked-for Messiah written of by Moses in the law and by the prophets. Their united testimony and assurance confirmed to Mary that her hope treasured for thirty years and cherished for many years was not in vain. It confirmed that her son is the Son of God and the promised Saviour of the world, strengthening her long-held hope in Jesus and making her heart glad with deep and holy joy.

Their open acknowledgment of faith in Jesus by telling what they had seen and heard at the Jordan awakened hope that God had raised up a deliverer. That testimony led the priests and elders to search the prophecies concerning Christ.

Messiah Foretold in Scripture

Jesus of Nazareth is the One of whom Moses in the law and the prophets wrote, come as the world's Redeemer and Saviour from the bondage of sin. His testimony is in harmony with Scripture. Paul's conversion and encounter with the risen Christ confirmed this truth. The prophecies pointed to a humble Christ, and not to a Messiah arriving in royal pomp.

The disciples came to know this fulfillment more fully after the resurrection, when Jesus explained how the Scriptures testified of Him. He opened to them the symbols and shadows of the law and the Old Testament prophecies concerning Himself. Then they recognized with fuller understanding and assurance that the Scriptures had been fulfilled in Jesus. Their hope and faith rested on God's accomplished word as well as on His personal testimony.

Sharing Christ Personally

Finding Jesus creates in the new convert the natural desire of first love to tell others what a precious Friend has been found, for saving and sanctifying truth cannot be shut up in the heart. Philip recognized Jesus as the Messiah of whom Moses in the law and the prophets wrote, and joyfully told his friend Nathanael so that he too might know Him, and that personal witness led Nathanael to seek and find Jesus. Sharing the good news with someone nearby can thus draw that person to the Saviour, and once people know Jesus they are to tell others, bearing witness to His attractions and to the unseen realities of the world to come. This work belongs to every follower of Christ, young or old.

Philip personally searching for Nathanael and bringing him to Christ is the pattern for direct personal effort to reach relatives, friends, neighbors and acquaintances. That first disciples' pattern of leading others to Jesus laid the foundation of the Christian church, and it belongs to church members as well as to ministers. When first love stirs the soul as it did Philip, the believer is filled with earnest anxiety to tell others he has found Jesus, and hunts up relatives and friends to bring the news to them. Philip hunting for Nathanael is the pattern for seeking out others, and Nathanael shows the kind of people sought, those seeking God and inquiring for light and truth.

When Philip received light about Jesus he promptly went and called Nathanael without waiting for more opportunities, preparation, privileges or advantages. Receiving truth leads at once to communicating it and to practicing it by spending strength and means to bring others from darkness to Christ. Those who already know the truth practice the truth by sharing it in the highways and hedges of the world to do a special work for the Master, rather than holding back until they have had more advantages.

Those who walk in Christ as the light of the world become light-bearers whose hearts are illuminated by His grace, who are charmed by the beauty of His light, whose light shines more and more unto the perfect day, and who are filled with desire to share it with others. Philip could not keep to himself the knowledge he had found but went to Nathanael declaring Jesus of Nazareth to be Him of whom Moses in the law and the prophets wrote. In sharing what he had found he received increased light. Those who accept Christ thus share the joy and knowledge they have received with others.

When witness to Christ stirs prejudice and unbelief, as Nathanael's prejudice against Nazareth made him doubt, it is not to be combated by argument but met by the invitation to come and see. Philip did not stop to argue but in faith said Come and see, and as he thus showed his faith in the Saviour he received increased light. Giving Philip's testimony with earnestness for the Master leads hearers to look and live.

All, whatever their circumstances and though not all are called to preach, can be laborers together with God by telling those around them of the wonderful love of Jesus and presenting the attractions of Christ and the unseen realities of the world to come, seeking especially those who have not had the same privileges and light. Christ's lightbearers must not be unfaithful but must labor for the thousands in humble homes who have never heard the truth yet offer sincere and contrite prayer, carry a weight of oppression for the dishonor done to God, cherish every ray of light, and pray in darkness of error for light and for the revealings of the Holy Spirit, for they will be accepted of God. Light comes to every earnest seeker for truth as it came to Nathanael, whom Jesus saw in secret prayer under the fig tree while Philip came as messenger declaring Jesus of Nazareth the son of Joseph to be the One Moses and the prophets wrote about to lead him to Christ the Source of all light.

Those who would know truth must come to the Word not to fit it to preconceived ideas but as learners with eager interest and fervent prayer to understand the foundation principles of the faith of Christ, with earnest seeking and unyielding hold on the light already given. Nathanael was sincere, pleading with his Father in heaven for light to know the truth, having grace but less light yet holding fast unyieldingly to the light he had and to the truth he believed, not satisfied to grope in darkness but wanting clearer light, and the Lord did not leave him in darkness. The declaration of having found Him of whom Moses and the prophets wrote describes those who claim to see great light and to have received transforming truth, and it lays on them the duty to be missionaries and laborers together with God in diffusing light, so that coldness and indifference in them while making that claim amazes the heavenly angels. True conversion is proved by readiness to make any sacrifice and do all possible to make the world better so that others for whom He died may share the heavenly gift, with intensity of desire to follow the path Jesus trod and earnest longing for others to behold Him as the One who takes away sin.