Jesus Chooses Philip and Nathanael

⁴³ The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.”

⁴⁴ Philip was from the town of Bethsaida. So were Andrew and Peter. ⁴⁵ Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one whom Moses wrote about in the Law. The prophets also wrote about him. He is Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

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

“Come and see,” said Philip.

⁴⁷ Jesus saw Nathanael approaching. Here is what Jesus said about him. “He is a true Israelite. Nothing about him is false.”

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

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

⁴⁹ Nathanael replied, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God. You are the king of Israel.”

⁵⁰ Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.” ⁵¹ Then he said to the disciples, “What I’m about to tell you is true. You will see heaven open. You will see the angels of God going up and coming down on the Son of Man.”

Jesus Appoints the Twelve Disciples

¹³ Jesus went up on a mountainside. He called for certain people to come to him, and they came. ¹⁴ He appointed 12 of them so that they would be with him. He would also send them out to preach. ¹⁵ And he gave them authority to drive out demons.

¹⁶ So Jesus appointed the 12 disciples.