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The first disciples

35 The following day John was again standing there, with two of his disciples. 36 He saw Jesus walking by, and said, “Look! There goes God’s lamb!”

37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus.

38 Jesus turned and saw them following him.

“What do you want?” he asked.

“Rabbi,” they said (the word means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”

39 “Come and see,” he replied.

So they came, and saw where he was staying, and stayed with him that day. It was late in the afternoon.

40 One of the two who heard what John said and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 The first person he found was his own brother Simon.

“We’ve found the Messiah!” he said (that means “the anointed one,” like our word “Christ”). 42 He brought him to Jesus.

Jesus looked at him.

“So,” he said, “you’re Simon, John’s son, are you? We’d better call you Cephas!” (That means “the Rock,” like our word “Peter.”)

Philip and Nathanael

43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee, where he found Philip.

“Follow me,” he said to him.

44 Philip came from Bethsaida, the town where Andrew and Peter hailed from. 45 Philip found Nathanael.

“We’ve found him!” he said. “The one Moses wrote about in the law! And the prophets, too! We’ve found him! It’s Jesus, Joseph’s son, from Nazareth!”

46 “Really?” replied Nathanael. “Are you telling me that something good can come out of Nazareth?”

“Come and see,” replied Philip.

47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming towards him.

“Here he comes,” he said. “Look at him! He’s a real Israelite. Genuine through and through.”

48 “How did you get to know me?” asked Nathanael.

“Oh,” replied Jesus, “I saw you under the fig tree, before Philip spoke to you.”

49 “Rabbi,” replied Nathanael, “you’re the son of God! You’re the king of Israel!”

50 “Wait a minute,” said Jesus. “Are you telling me that you believe just because I told you I saw you under the fig tree? You’ll see a lot more than that!

51 “In fact,” he went on, “I’m telling you the solemn truth. You’ll see heaven opened, and God’s angels going up and down upon the son of man.”

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John’s Disciples Follow Jesus(A)

35 The next day John(B) was there again with two of his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”(C)

37 When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. 38 Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?”

They said, “Rabbi”(D) (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”

39 “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.”

So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon.

40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ).(E) 42 And he brought him to Jesus.

Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called(F) Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter[a]).(G)

Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael

43 The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip,(H) he said to him, “Follow me.”(I)

44 Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida.(J) 45 Philip found Nathanael(K) and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law,(L) and about whom the prophets also wrote(M)—Jesus of Nazareth,(N) the son of Joseph.”(O)

46 “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?”(P) Nathanael asked.

“Come and see,” said Philip.

47 When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite(Q) in whom there is no deceit.”(R)

48 “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.

Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”

49 Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi,(S) you are the Son of God;(T) you are the king of Israel.”(U)

50 Jesus said, “You believe[b] because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.” 51 He then added, “Very truly I tell you,[c] you[d] will see ‘heaven open,(V) and the angels of God ascending and descending(W) on’[e] the Son of Man.”(X)

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Footnotes

  1. John 1:42 Cephas (Aramaic) and Peter (Greek) both mean rock.
  2. John 1:50 Or Do you believe … ?
  3. John 1:51 The Greek is plural.
  4. John 1:51 The Greek is plural.
  5. John 1:51 Gen. 28:12