Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael

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

44 Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida.(C) 45 Philip found Nathanael(D) and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law,(E) and about whom the prophets also wrote(F)—Jesus of Nazareth,(G) the son of Joseph.”(H)

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

“Come and see,” said Philip.

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

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,(L) you are the Son of God;(M) you are the king of Israel.”(N)

50 Jesus said, “You believe[a] 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,[b] you[c] will see ‘heaven open,(O) and the angels of God ascending and descending(P) on’[d] the Son of Man.”(Q)

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Footnotes

  1. John 1:50 Or Do you believe … ?
  2. John 1:51 The Greek is plural.
  3. John 1:51 The Greek is plural.
  4. John 1:51 Gen. 28:12

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[a] 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.[b]

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Footnotes

  1. 1:45 Greek Moses in the law.
  2. 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.