THE FOLLOWING DAY John again pointed out Jesus to two disciples who were with him. “Behold the Iamb of God,” he said. Forthwith the two disciples followed Jesus, who turned to them and said:
“What is it you seek?”
“Rabbi,” they said, “where dwellest Thou?” And Jesus replied:
“Come and see.”
Thereupon these two, Andrew and John, followed Jesus to His dwelling and remained with Him.
The next day Andrew sought out his brother, Simon, and told him excitedly that they had found the Messiah. Then he brought his brother to Jesus, who said to him:
“Thou art Simon, the son of John; thou shalt be called Cephas.”
Jesus found a fourth disciple the following day, as He was about to leave Bethany for Galilee; and He invited him also:
“Follow Me.”
The new recruit was Philip, a native of Bethsaida in Galilee, as were also Andrew, Simon, and John. Like those who had preceded him into Christ’s following, he was eager to share his discovery, and he hastened to inform his friend Nathanael.
Nathanael was skeptical that the Messiah could come from Nazareth, but Philip told him to come and see for himself.
When Jesus saw Nathanael coming, He said:
“Behold a true Israelite in whom there is no guile.”
And revealing His preternatural knowledge, He added:
”Before Philip called thee when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.”
Nathanael then avowed his faith, but Jesus said:
“Because I said to thee that I saw thee under the fig tree, thou dost believe. Greater things than these shalt thou see. Amen, amen, I say to you, you shall see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”
Meditation: Christ calls each of us to be His disciple. My role may not seem to be so important, and indeed may not he so striking, as another’s; but in the plan of God each man has a distinct vocation. Am I sufficiently aware of this, and do I endeavor to use my talents to the best of my ability in the circumstances in which I have been placed by God?
Information from The Life of Christ “Our Lord’s Life with Lesson in His Own Words for Our Life Today” The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959. 21-22. © 1954 edited by Reverend John P. O’Connell, MASTD and Jex Martin, following mainly A Chronological Harmony of the Gospels by Stephen J Hartdegen OFM NIHIL OBSTAT John A McMahon; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago August 1, 1953. Print. Drawing by Albert H Winkler.
Jesus Attends a Wedding at Cana – Next Page
The Devil Tempts Jesus – Previous Page