37 and the two disciples heard him speaking, and they followed Jesus. 38 And Jesus having turned, and having beheld them following, saith to them, 'What seek ye?' and they said to them, 'Rabbi, (which is, being interpreted, Teacher,) where remainest thou?' 39 He saith to them, 'Come and see;' they came, and saw where he doth remain, and with him they remained that day and the hour was about the tenth. 40 Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two who heard from John, and followed him; 41 this one doth first find his own brother Simon, and saith to him, 'We have found the Messiah,' (which is, being interpreted, The Anointed,) 42 and he brought him unto Jesus: and having looked upon him, Jesus saith, 'Thou art Simon, the son of Jonas, thou shalt be called Cephas,' (which is interpreted, A rock.)

The Call of Philip and Nathanael

43 On the morrow, he willed to go forth to Galilee, and he findeth Philip, and saith to him, 'Be following me.' 44 And Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter; 45 Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith to him, 'Him of whom Moses wrote in the Law, and the prophets, we have found, Jesus the son of Joseph, who 'is' from Nazareth;' 46 and Nathanael said to him, 'Out of Nazareth is any good thing able to be?' Philip said to him, 'Come and see.' 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming unto him, and he saith concerning him, 'Lo, truly an Israelite, in whom guile is not;' 48 Nathanael saith to him, 'Whence me dost thou know?' Jesus answered and said to him, 'Before Philip's calling thee—thou being under the fig-tree—I saw thee.' 49 Nathanael answered and saith to him, 'Rabbi, thou art the Son of God, thou art the king of Israel.' 50 Jesus answered and said to him, 'Because I said to thee, I saw thee under the fig-tree, thou dost believe; greater things than these thou shalt see;' 51 and he saith to him, 'Verily, verily, I say to you, henceforth ye shall see the heaven opened, and the messengers of God going up and coming down upon the Son of Man.'

Matthew Henry's Commentary on John 1:37-51

Commentary on John 1:37-42

(Read John 1:37-42)

The strongest and most prevailing argument with an awakened soul to follow Christ, is, that it is he only who takes away sin. Whatever communion there is between our souls and Christ, it is he who begins the discourse. He asked, What seek ye? The question Jesus put to them, we should all put to ourselves when we begin to follow Him, What do we design and desire? In following Christ, do we seek the favour of God and eternal life? He invites them to come without delay. Now is the accepted time, 2 Corinthians 6:2. It is good for us to be where Christ is, wherever it be. We ought to labour for the spiritual welfare of those related to us, and seek to bring them to Him. Those who come to Christ, must come with a fixed resolution to be firm and constant to him, like a stone, solid and stedfast; and it is by his grace that they are so.

Commentary on John 1:43-51

(Read John 1:43-51)

See the nature of true Christianity, it is following Jesus; devoting ourselves to him, and treading in his steps. Observe the objection Nathanael made. All who desire to profit by the word of God, must beware of prejudices against places, or denominations of men. They should examine for themselves, and they will sometimes find good where they looked for none. Many people are kept from the ways of religion by the unreasonable prejudices they conceive. The best way to remove false notions of religion, is to make trial of it. In Nathanael there was no guile. His profession was not hypocritical. He was not a dissembler, nor dishonest; he was a sound character, a really upright, godly man. Christ knows what men are indeed. Does He know us? Let us desire to know him. Let us seek and pray to be Israelites indeed, in whom is no guile; truly Christians, approved of Christ himself. Some things weak, imperfect, and sinful, are found in all, but hypocrisy belongs not to a believer's character. Jesus witnessed what passed when Nathanael was under the fig-tree. Probably he was then in fervent prayer, seeking direction as to the Hope and Consolation of Israel, where no human eye observed him. This showed him that our Lord knew the secrets of his heart. Through Christ we commune with, and benefit by the holy angels; and things in heaven and things on earth are reconciled and united together.