Saturday after the Festival of the Epiphany of our Lord
Posted on January 7, 2023 by under
Scripture: St. John 1:43-51 (NKJV)
1:43 The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and 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 And Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”
Philip said to him, “Come and see.”
47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!”
48 Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?”
Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”
49 Nathanael answered and said to Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”
50 Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And He said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”
Devotion
“The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, ‘Follow Me.’” Many people talk about our need to “ask Jesus into our heart.” But here we see that Philip wasn’t even looking for Jesus! It was Jesus who was looking for and finding Philip. Philip is found by the direct and deliberate will of God. In other words, Philip is found in the same way as you and I. It is the only way by which sinful man can be saved.
Then Jesus gives the imperative, “Follow Me.” In Greek that means, “right now, and don’t stop following.” How does Philip respond? Not with words, but by action: “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.’” Philip is so convinced, so convicted, that he immediately shares his newfound faith with his friend Nathanael. The found becomes a finder. One lit torch serves to light another.
Note that Philip doesn’t try to “hook” Nathanael by using some trick bait. He doesn’t try to convince Nathanael by what he has “experienced.” Philip’s testimony to his Galilean friend has nothing to do at all with Philip. Rather, it has everything to do with the tangible, objective Word of God and its linking to the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the promised fulfillment of the Old Testament Word of God.
Prayer: O God, Who by the leading of a star didst manifest Thine Only-begotten Son to the Gentiles: Mercifully grant, that we, who know Thee now by faith, may after this life have the fruition of Thy glorious Godhead; through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
