John 1:43-51
The next day Jesus left the vicinity of where John was baptizing and went to
the region of Galilee. Since we know from the other gospels that Andrew and
Simon were fishermen in Galilee, we might infer they traveled with Him. Or
perhaps He even went with them at their request. Jesus finds Philip, who then
finds his brother Nathanael. When Philip announces that he has found the
Messiah who was promised by the prophets, and mentions that He is from Nazareth,
the son of Joseph, Nathanael's immediate comment seems to be, "How can
this be?" Nazareth had a reputation. It wasn't that Messiah was supposed
to come from Bethlehem and be of David's seed that caused Nathanael's doubts,
it was the reputation of Nazareth. How could something good come out of
Nazareth?
The
Old Testament is replete with the stories of people who came out of the most
humble or oppressive circumstances to be mighty workers for God. We must be
careful not to think that God can't possibly work in any given set of
circumstances. God deals with every person's heart, and their response,
although it may be colored by their surroundings, is ultimately the condition
that matters to God.
Jesus'
response to Nathanael's comment is telling. Nathanael openly expressed his
misgivings about anything coming out of Nazareth. No dissimulation or false
fronts. He called it as he saw it. Jesus complimented him on being forthright.
The conversation continues. Nathanael asks Jesus how He could know him. Jesus
gives a prophetic word - that Philip had met Nathanael under the fig tree, but
that He (Jesus) knew him before that. Nathanael is stirred to realize that
indeed, Jesus is God's anointed one, and says so. Jesus responds that if he
believed because of this simple revelation, he will see much greater things, including
angels ascending and descending on Him, Jesus, the son of man. This appears to
be an allusion to Jacob's dream (Genesis 28:12). Unfortunately the fulfillment
of this promise is not recorded in scripture. In fact, the only other reference
to Nathanael is in John 21:1, in which he went fishing with the other apostles
after Jesus' resurrection. So we only know that Nathanael remained a disciple
of Jesus throughout and after His ministry. He is not named as one of the
twelve apostles in Luke 6:13-16, unless he was named with a new name as Simon
Peter was.
What
is the difference between a disciple and an apostle? The Greek word for
disciple, mathetos, implies a learner. The Greek word
for apostle, apostolos, which has been transliterated into English, means
one who is sent. Although we often colloquially refer to the twelve disciples,
it appears that there were many others who followed Jesus at one time or
another and learned from Him. But He called twelve that He named as apostles,
who ultimately (less Judas) became the nucleus of the church. But it is clear
from Acts 1:21-23 that both Matthias and Joseph called Barsabbas had been with
Jesus throughout His ministry.
Obviously,
in the Acts, and subsequent church history, it is not possible for people to have
physically been with Jesus as a preparation for ministry or leadership in God's
kingdom. But the conditions for leadership, as for example being an elder, are
spelled out in I Timothy 3 and Titus 1:7-9. These conditions imply a lifestyle
of discipleship, in the sense that in order to be qualified for a leadership
position, a person must exhibit characteristics that show they not only have
learned what Jesus taught, but have actually applied themselves to practice His
teachings. In other words, they have changed their lifestyle through the
practice of self-discipline and any other exercises that cause their
psychological makeup to be conformed to His teachings. On the other hand, the
apostles or the sent ones are called by Jesus to go. Besides the twelve that
Jesus originally called (Luke 6:13-16), it is clear that Paul was also called
(as he states in the first verse of most of his epistles) and sent, because
Luke refers to him in Acts 14:14 as an apostle along with Barnabas, and Acts
9:15 records the actual words that The Lord told Ananias about Saul being sent.
Others are mentioned as apostles; besides Barnabas (Acts 14:14), Andronicus and
Junias (Romans 16:7), and Jesus Himself is referred to as the Apostle (Hebrews
3:1).
The
key point of this passage is that the earliest followers of Jesus were so
immediately aware of who He was that they followed Him. And they went right
away and told those close to them who were also sincerely seeking God that
Messiah had come. They became disciples and from this group of disciples, some
became apostles. We speak of "the twelve" but it is clear that the
twelve Jesus called and named as apostles were by no means His only followers.
He made a call to each individual person based on His own judgment of their
proper place in the kingdom of God. He calls everyone similarly - to a unique
place in His kingdom. This is symbolized elsewhere (I Cor 12:14-30, I Cor 3:16,
2 Cor 6:16, Rev 3:12)
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