Copy of John 1:43-46, Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael

43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, "Follow me." 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." 46 Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see."

If not for John’s gospel, we would know little about Philip. One of the lesser known and less prominent disciples, he often appears in association with Andrew, which makes sense. They are both from Bethsaida on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee near the entry of the Jordan River. (Bethsaida means “the house of fishing” or “hunting.”) Philip usually appears out of his depth, which is perhaps why Jesus took the initiative in calling him to himself. This is good news for all of us. As Leon Morris writes, “It is encouraging to reflect that Jesus went out of his way to find this perfectly ordinary Philip and to enlist him in the apostolic band.” After meeting Jesus, Philip goes to find Nathanael to bring him in as well.

Philip has few lines in John, but what he says to Nathanael is remarkable. He understands Jesus to be the fulfillment of the whole Old Testament in the writings of Moses and the prophets. Philip uses this line with Nathanael because he must have known the Scriptures well. While Nathanael’s response seems rather prejudicial in putting down Nazareth, it probably has more to do with his own knowledge that the Messiah is to come from Bethlehem, not Nazareth. Regardless, Philip encourages him to try Jesus out anyway. Again, this is encouraging. We don’t have to be a superstar or a super-apostle to be used by Jesus. He uses our very ordinariness and our simple connections with friends for his good purposes.

Has Jesus gone out of his was to call you as well? Think about your ordinary connections with friends who you could bring to Jesus. Pray to the Lord about these people and ask Jesus to use you for his purposes.