45 Philip came across Nathanael and said to him, We have made a discovery! It is he of whom Moses, in the law, and the prophets were writing, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.
And he made clear to them all the things in the Writings, from Moses and from all the prophets, which had to do with himself.
I will give them a prophet from among themselves, like you, and I will put my words in his mouth, and he will say to them whatever I give him orders to say. And whoever does not give ear to my words which he will say in my name, will be responsible to me. But the prophet who takes it on himself to say words in my name which I have not given him orders to say, or who says anything in the name of other gods, will come to his death. And if you say in your hearts, How are we to be certain that the word does not come from the Lord? When a prophet makes a statement in the name of the Lord, if what he says does not take place and his words do not come true, then his word is not the word of the Lord: the words of the prophet were said in the pride of his heart, and you are to have no fear of him.
And he came and was living in a town named Nazareth: so that the word of the prophets might come true, He will be named a Nazarene.
And he said to them, These are the words which I said to you when I was still with you, how it was necessary for all the things which are in the writings of Moses and the prophets and in the Psalms about me, to be put into effect.
So again he put the question to them, Who are you looking for? And they said, Jesus the Nazarene.
Their answer was, Jesus the Nazarene. Jesus said, I am he. And Judas, who was false to him, was there at their side.
For I, truly, was of the opinion that it was right for me to do a number of things against the name of Jesus of Nazareth.
And I, answering, said, Who are you; Lord? And he said to me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are attacking.
But Peter said, I have no silver or gold, but what I have, that I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up on your feet.
Men of Israel, give ear to these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man who had the approval of God, as was made clear to you by the great works and signs and wonders which God did by him among you, as you yourselves have knowledge,
And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we have seen? How is it then that he now says, I have come down from heaven?
Nazareth! said Nathanael, Is it possible for any good to come out of Nazareth? Philip said to him, Come and see. Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him and said of him, See, here is a true son of Israel in whom there is nothing false. Nathanael said to him, Where did you get knowledge of me? In answer Jesus said, Before Philip was talking with you, while you were still under the fig-tree, I saw you.
And Joseph went up from Galilee, out of the town of Nazareth, into Judaea, to Beth-lehem, the town of David, because he was of the house and family of David,
And seeing Peter warming himself by the fire, she gave him a look, and said, You were with this Nazarene, even Jesus.
And the people said, This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.
Is not this the woodworker's son? is not his mother named Mary? and his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?
Be full of joy, O daughter of Zion; give a glad cry, O daughter of Jerusalem: see, your king comes to you: he is upright and has overcome; gentle and seated on an ass, on a young ass.
And say to him, These are the words of the Lord of armies: See, the man whose name is the Branch, under whom there will be fertile growth.
For his growth was like that of a delicate plant before him, and like a root out of a dry place: he had no grace of form, to give us pleasure;
For to us a child has come, to us a son is given; and the government has been placed in his hands; and he has been named Wise Guide, Strong God, Father for ever, Prince of Peace.
In that day will the young growth of the Lord be beautiful in glory, and the fruit of the earth will be the pride of those who are still living in Israel.
And your seed will be a blessing to all the nations of the earth, because you have done what I gave you orders to do.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on John 1
Commentary on John 1 Matthew Henry Commentary
An Exposition, With Practical Observations, of
The Gospel According to ST. John
Chapter 1
The scope and design of this chapter is to confirm our faith in Christ as the eternal Son of God, and the true Messiah and Saviour of the world, that we may be brought to receive him, and rely upon him, as our Prophet, Priest, and King, and to give up ourselves to be ruled, and taught, and saved by him. In order to this, we have here,
Jhn 1:1-5
Austin says (de Civitate Dei, lib. 10, cap. 29) that his friend Simplicius told him he had heard a Platonic philosopher say that these first verses of St. John's gospel were worthy to be written in letters of gold. The learned Francis Junius, in the account he gives of his own life, tells how he was in his youth infected with loose notions in religion, and by the grace of God was wonderfully recovered by reading accidentally these verses in a bible which his father had designedly laid in his way. He says that he observed such a divinity in the argument, such an authority and majesty in the style, that his flesh trembled, and he was struck with such amazement that for a whole day he scarcely knew where he was or what he did; and thence he dates the beginning of his being religious. Let us enquire what there is in those strong lines. The evangelist here lays down the great truth he is to prove, that Jesus Christ is God, one with the Father. Observe,
Jhn 1:6-14
The evangelist designs to bring in John Baptist bearing an honourable testimony to Jesus Christ, Now in these verses, before he does this,
Jhn 1:15-18
In these verses,
Jhn 1:19-28
We have here the testimony of John, which he delivered to the messengers who were sent from Jerusalem to examine him. Observe here,
Jhn 1:29-36
We have in these verses an account of John's testimony concerning Jesus Christ, which he witnessed to his own disciples that followed him. As soon as ever Christ was baptized he was immediately hurried into the wilderness, to be tempted; and there he was forty days. During his absence John had continued to bear testimony to him, and to tell the people of him; but now at last he sees Jesus coming to him, returning from the wilderness of temptation. As soon as that conflict was over Christ immediately returned to John, who was preaching and baptizing. Now Christ was tempted for example and encouragement to us; and this teaches us,
Jhn 1:37-42
We have here the turning over of two disciples from John to Jesus, and one of them fetching in a third, and these are the first-fruits of Christ's disciples; see how small the church was in its beginnings, and what the dawning of the day of its great things was.
Jhn 1:43-51
We have here the call of Philip and Nathanael.