John 1:35-51 - Jesus' First Converts

In this passage, we find the calling of the following believers:
Andrew, John (probably), Simon Peter, Philip, and Nathanael.  

Andrew and John (the author of this gospel) were apparently disciples of John the Baptist.  In v. 36-37, we see John the Baptist saying "Behold, the Lamb of God!" to which the two disciples (ie: Andrew & John) responded by following Jesus.  

In v. 36, John the Baptist calls Jesus the "Lamb of God" and in v. 41, Simon says that they have found the "Messiah" thus making clear who Jesus was.  The phrase "Lamb of God" is only found in the Bible in v. 29 and v. 36 of John 1.  It certainly implies a sacrifice given how lambs were treated in the old testament.

v. 41 records that the first thing Andrew did was find his brother, Simon Peter, to tell him of Jesus.  Maybe that was the most appropriate thing to do in Jewish culture, but I think it's noteworthy that that was the first thing he did.  He didn't go to the synagogue or the market to somehow brag that he had found the Messiah - he wanted to share his joy with his brother.  Maybe we can consider that as an exhortation to share the joy of Christ with those in our immediate circle of influence.  Maybe we can be challenged by this to recognize who it is that God's placed in our immediate context and to share the love/joy/faith/whatever of Christ with them first and foremost.

The first thing Jesus says to Simon Peter in v. 42 is to rename him Cephas (Aramaic) or Peter (Greek), which means rock.  The footnote of my bible points out that Peter was not rock-like throughout the Gospels, but he certainly was in Acts in the early church.  Jesus calls him and renames him not based on who he was, but based on who he would become.  What sort of name would we hope Jesus would give us in that sense?  Who is in our lives that we can give a name to?

Then, Jesus goes to Galilee and calls Philip (who was from the same town as Andrew and Peter, Bethsaida).  Philip seems to have responded positively without much trouble.  Philip apparently knew Nathanael who he then told, but Nathanael was skeptical and even said "can any good thing come out of Nazareth?".  However, when Nathanael comes to Jesus, Jesus makes a few statements about Nathanael and then Nathanael testifies that Jesus truly is the "Son of God" and "King of Israel".  Then, Jesus takes it a step further and makes a seemingly odd statement (v. 51) that he (the disciples) will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending & descending on the Son of Man.  That statement points back to the story of Jacob's dream (ie: ladder = Jesus) which indicates that Jesus was the true Israelite, the one through whom redemption would come to the world.  So, Nathanael started out as skeptical but certainly was converted upon contact with Jesus.  It's almost as through Jesus uses Nathanael's skepticism to make a strong statement about Himself.