Homily 20 — John 1, verses 43 to 48

“The next day Jesus decided to go out into Galilee, and he found Philip and said to him, ‘Follow me.’ Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.” [a]

“To everyone who thinks carefully there is gain” (Proverbs 14, verse 23, in the Greek Old Testament), says the proverb. And Christ meant more than this when he said, “He who seeks finds” (Matthew 7, verse 8). That is why it no longer surprises me that Philip followed Christ. Andrew was persuaded after hearing John, and Peter in the same way after hearing Andrew. But Philip had learned nothing from anyone except Christ, who said only this to him, “Follow me,” and he obeyed at once. He did not turn back; he even became a preacher to others. For he ran to Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law, and the Prophets, wrote.” Do you see how thoughtful a mind he had, how diligently he pondered the writings of Moses and waited for the one who was to come? For the words “we have found” always belong to people who are in some way searching.

“The next day Jesus went out into Galilee.” Until some had joined him, he called no one. And he did this not without reason, but in keeping with his own wisdom and understanding. If he had drawn them to himself when no one had come to him of their own accord, they might perhaps have shied away; but as it was, having chosen this for themselves, they stood firm afterward. He calls Philip, a man who knew him better; for Philip had been born and raised in Galilee, and so knew him more than others did. So, having taken these disciples, he next sets out to capture the others, and draws Philip and Nathanael to himself.

In Nathanael’s case this was not so remarkable, because the fame of Jesus had spread through all Syria (Matthew 4, verse 24). The remarkable thing was about Peter and James and Philip: not only that they believed before the miracles, but that they did so though they were from Galilee, out of which “no prophet arises,” nor “can any good thing come.” For the Galileans were somehow more rustic and dull than others. But even in this Christ showed his power, by choosing his finest disciples from a land that bore no fruit.

It is likely, then, that Philip followed because he had seen Peter and Andrew and heard what John had said; and it is likely too that the voice of Christ worked something in him, for Christ knew who would be of use. But the evangelist cuts all these points short. That the Christ was to come, Philip knew; that this was the Christ, he did not know. This, I say, he heard either from Peter or from John. And the evangelist John names his village as well, so that you may learn that “God has chosen the weak things of the world” (First Corinthians 1, verse 27).

Verse 45: “Philip found Nathanael and said to him, ‘We have found him of whom Moses in the Law, and the Prophets, wrote: Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.’”

He says this to make his preaching believable, as it must be if it rests on Moses and the Prophets as well, and by this to overawe his hearer. For Nathanael was a precise man, one who looked at everything in the light of truth, as Christ also bore witness and as the outcome showed. So Philip had good reason to refer him to Moses and the Prophets, so that he might receive the one they had proclaimed. And Philip was not troubled at calling him “the son of Joseph,” for he was still thought to be Joseph’s son.

“But how is it plain, Philip, that this is the one? What proof do you offer us? It is not enough simply to assert it. What sign have you seen, what miracle? It is not without danger to believe without good cause in such matters. What proof, then, do you have?”

“The same as Andrew,” he replies. For Andrew, though he could not show the wealth he had found or describe his treasure in words, once he had discovered it, led his brother to it. Philip did the same. How this is the Christ, and how the prophets proclaimed him beforehand, he did not say; he draws Nathanael to Jesus, knowing that he would not fall away afterward if he once tasted his words and teaching.

Verses 46 and 47: “And Nathanael said to him, ‘Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?’ Philip said to him, ‘Come and see.’ Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and said of him, ‘Look, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit.’”

He praises and approves the man because he had said, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” And yet should he not have been blamed for it? Not at all. These are not the words of an unbeliever, nor do they deserve blame; they deserve praise. “How so? In what way?” Because Nathanael had studied the writings of the Prophets more than Philip had. He had heard from the Scriptures that the Christ must come from Bethlehem, from the village where David lived. This belief at least was current among the Jews, and the prophet had proclaimed it long before, saying, “And you, Bethlehem, are by no means the least among the princes of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will feed my people Israel” (Matthew 2, verse 6; Micah 5, verse 2). So when he heard that Jesus was “from Nazareth,” he was thrown into confusion and doubt, since he found that Philip’s announcement did not agree with the prophet’s prediction.

But notice his wisdom and fair-mindedness even in his doubting. He did not at once say, “Philip, you are deceiving me and telling lies. I do not believe you; I will not come. I have learned from the prophets that the Christ must come from Bethlehem, and you say ‘from Nazareth.’ So this is not that Christ.” He said nothing like this. What does he do instead? He goes to Jesus himself. By not admitting that the Christ was “of Nazareth,” he showed his accuracy about the Scriptures and a character not easily deceived; and by not rejecting the one who brought the news, he showed the great longing he felt for the Christ’s coming. For he thought to himself that Philip was probably mistaken about the place.

And notice, I beg you, how gently he raises his objection, and in the form of a question. He did not say, “Galilee produces nothing good.” What did he say? “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” Philip too was very sensible. He does not act like a man at a loss, angry and annoyed, but keeps at it, wanting to win the man over, and shows us from the very start of his preaching the firmness that becomes an apostle. That is why Christ says, “Look, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit.” So there is such a thing as a false Israelite; but this man is not one. His judgment, Christ says, is impartial: he says nothing out of favor or out of ill will. [d]

Yet the Jews, when they were asked where the Christ would be born, replied, “In Bethlehem” (Matthew 2, verse 5), and produced the evidence, saying, “And you, Bethlehem, are by no means the least among the princes of Judah” (Micah 5, verse 2). Before they had seen him, they bore this witness; but when they did see him, out of malice they hid the testimony, saying, “But as for this man, we do not know where he comes from” (John 9, verse 29). Nathanael did not do this. He kept to the opinion he had held from the beginning, that he was not “of Nazareth.”

How, then, do the prophets call him a Nazarene? From his being brought up there and living there. And he does not say, “I am not ‘of Nazareth,’ as Philip told you, but of Bethlehem,” so as not to make the account seem doubtful at once; and besides, because even if he had been believed, he would not have given enough proof that he was the Christ. For what was to prevent him from being of Bethlehem without being the Christ, like the others who were born there? So he leaves this out, but does what had the most power to win him over: he shows that he was present when they were talking.

Verse 48: For when Nathanael said, “How do you know me?” he replied, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”

See a man firm and steady. When Christ had said, “Look, an Israelite indeed,” he was not made vain by this approval. He did not run after this open praise, but keeps on seeking and searching more closely, and wants to learn something certain. He was still asking as though of a man, but Jesus answered as God. For he said, “I have known you from the first” — the man and the honesty of his character he knew, not as a man knows, from having followed him closely, but as God, from the first — “and just now I saw you by the fig tree,” when no one was there except Philip and Nathanael, who said all these things in private.

It is recorded that he said, “Look, an Israelite indeed,” on seeing him a long way off, to show that Christ spoke these words before Philip came near, so that the testimony might not be suspected. For this reason too he named the time, the place, and the tree. If he had said only, “Before Philip came to you, I saw you,” he might have been suspected of having sent Philip, and of saying nothing wonderful. But as it was, by naming the place where Nathanael was when Philip spoke to him, and the kind of tree, and the time of the conversation, he showed that his foreknowledge was beyond question.

Nor did he only show him his foreknowledge; he taught him in another way too. He brought him to recall what they had said then, such as, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” And it was above all for this reason that Nathanael received him: because when he had spoken these words, Christ did not condemn him but praised and approved him. So he was convinced that this was indeed the Christ — from his foreknowledge; from his having searched out his thoughts exactly, which was the act of one who meant to show that he knew what was in his mind; and besides, from his not having blamed but rather praised him when he had seemed to speak against Christ himself. He said, then, that Philip had “called” him; but what Philip had said to him, or he to Philip, he left out, leaving it to Nathanael’s own conscience and not wishing to rebuke him further.

Was it, then, only “before Philip called him” that he “saw” him? Did he not see him before this with his eye that never sleeps? He saw him, and no one could deny it; but this is what needed to be said at the time. And what did Nathanael do? When he had received unquestionable proof of Christ’s foreknowledge, he hurried to confess him, showing his caution by his earlier delay and his fairness by his assent afterward. For the evangelist says, [e]

Verse 49: “He answered and said to him, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.’”

Do you see how his soul is filled at once with overflowing joy, and embraces Jesus with words? “You are,” he says, “the one we have waited for, the one we have been seeking.” Do you see how amazed he is, how he marvels, how he leaps and dances for joy?

This is how we too ought to rejoice, we who have been counted worthy to know the Son of God: to rejoice not in thought alone, but to show it by our actions as well. And what must those who rejoice do? Obey the one who has been made known to them. And those who obey must do whatever he wills. For if we are going to do what angers him, how will we show that we rejoice?

Do you not see in our own houses, when a man entertains someone he loves, how gladly he exerts himself, running about in every direction, sparing nothing, even if he has to spend all he has, so long as he pleases his guest? But if the host did not attend to his guest and did not do what would make him comfortable, then even if he said ten thousand times that he was glad he had come, the guest could never believe him. And rightly so, for this must be shown by actions.

So since Christ has come to us, let us show that we rejoice, and do nothing that may anger him. Let us adorn the house he has come to, for this is what people who rejoice do. Let us set before him the meal he wants to eat, for this is what people keeping a feast do. And what is this meal? He tells us himself: “My food is to do the will of him who sent me” (John 4, verse 34).

When he is hungry, let us feed him; when he is thirsty, let us give him a drink. Even if you give him only a cup of cold water, he accepts it; for he loves you, and to one who loves, the gifts of the beloved seem great even when they are small. Only do not be lazy. Even if you put in only two pennies, he does not refuse them, but accepts them as great riches. For since he needs nothing, and accepts these offerings not because he needs them, it is reasonable that all the difference should lie not in the size of the gifts but in the intention of the giver.

Only show that you love the one who has come, that for his sake you are making every effort, that you rejoice at his coming. See how he is disposed toward you. He came for you, he laid down his life for you, and after all this he does not refuse even to plead with you. “We are ambassadors for Christ,” says Paul, “as though God were pleading with you through us” (Second Corinthians 5, verse 20).

“And who is so mad,” someone says, “as not to love his own Master?” I say so too, and I know that not one of us would deny it in word or in intention. But one who is loved wants love to be shown not by words only, but also by deeds. For to say that we love, and not to act like those who love, is ridiculous, not only before God but even in the eyes of men. Since, then, to confess him in word only while opposing him in deed is not only useless but actually harmful to us, let us, I beg you, make our confession by our works as well, so that we too may receive a confession from him on that day, when before his Father he will confess those who are worthy, in Christ Jesus our Lord, through whom and with whom be glory to the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and always, and forever and ever. Amen.