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

37 The two disciples heard him say this and followed Jesus. 38 When Jesus turned and noticed them following him, he asked them, “What are you looking for?”

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

39 “Come and you’ll see,” he replied. So they went and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day. It was about four in the afternoon.[a]

40 Andrew,(B) Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard John and followed him. 41 He first found his own brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah”[b](C) (which is translated “the Christ”),(D) 42 and he brought Simon to Jesus.

When Jesus saw him, he said, “You are Simon, son of John.[c] You will be called Cephas”(E) (which is translated “Peter”[d]).

Philip and Nathanael

43 The next day Jesus[e] decided to leave for Galilee. He found Philip(F) and told him, “Follow me.”

44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida,(G) the hometown of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael(H) and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the law (and so did the prophets(I)): Jesus the son of Joseph,(J) from Nazareth.”(K)

46 “Can anything good(L) come out of Nazareth?” Nathanael asked him.

“Come and see,” Philip answered.

47 Then Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said about him, “Here truly is an Israelite(M) in whom there is no deceit.”

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

“Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you,” Jesus answered.

49 “Rabbi,”(N) Nathanael replied, “You are the Son(O) of God; you are the King of Israel!” (P)

50 Jesus responded to him, “Do you believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this.” 51 Then he said, “Truly I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God(Q) ascending and descending(R) on the Son of Man.”(S)

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Footnotes

  1. 1:39 Lit about the tenth hour
  2. 1:41 Both Hb Messiah and Gk Christos mean “anointed one”
  3. 1:42 Other mss read “Simon, son of Jonah
  4. 1:42 Both Aramaic Cephas and Gk Petros mean “rock”
  5. 1:43 Lit he

The First Disciples

35 The following day John was again standing with two of his disciples. 36 As Jesus walked by, John looked at him and declared, “Look! There is the Lamb of God!” 37 When John’s two disciples heard this, they followed Jesus.

38 Jesus looked around and saw them following. “What do you want?” he asked them.

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

39 “Come and see,” he said. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon when they went with him to the place where he was staying, and they remained with him the rest of the day.

40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of these men who heard what John said and then followed Jesus. 41 Andrew went to find his brother, Simon, and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means “Christ”[a]).

42 Then Andrew brought Simon to meet Jesus. Looking intently at Simon, Jesus said, “Your name is Simon, son of John—but you will be called Cephas” (which means “Peter”[b]).

43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Come, follow me.” 44 Philip was from Bethsaida, Andrew and Peter’s hometown.

45 Philip went to look for Nathanael and told him, “We have found the very person Moses[c] and the prophets wrote about! His name is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.”

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

“Come and see for yourself,” Philip replied.

47 As they approached, Jesus said, “Now here is a genuine son of Israel—a man of complete integrity.”

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

Jesus replied, “I could see you under the fig tree before Philip found you.”

49 Then Nathanael exclaimed, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God—the King of Israel!”

50 Jesus asked him, “Do you believe this just because I told you I had seen you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this.” 51 Then he said, “I tell you the truth, you will all see heaven open and the angels of God going up and down on the Son of Man, the one who is the stairway between heaven and earth.[d]

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Footnotes

  1. 1:41 Messiah (a Hebrew term) and Christ (a Greek term) both mean “anointed one.”
  2. 1:42 The names Cephas (from Aramaic) and Peter (from Greek) both mean “rock.”
  3. 1:45 Greek Moses in the law.
  4. 1:51 Greek going up and down on the Son of Man; see Gen 28:10-17. “Son of Man” is a title Jesus used for himself.