Come and see

 

 The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, "Follow Me."  Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.  Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote -- Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."  And Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?"  Philip said to him, "Come and see."  Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!"  Nathanael said to Him, "How do You know me?"  Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you."  Nathanael answered and said to Him, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God!  You are the King of Israel!"  Jesus answered and said to him, "Because I said to you, 'I saw you under the fig tree,' do you believe?  You will see greater things than these."  And He said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man."

 

- John 1:43-51

 

Yesterday we read about the second and third day given in the Gospel of St. John.  On this day John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold!  The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!  This is He of whom I said, 'After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.'  I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water."  And John bore witness, saying, "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him.  I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.'  And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God."  Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples.   And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, "Behold the Lamb of God!"  The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.  Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, "What do you seek?"  They said to Him, "Rabbi" (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), "where are You staying?"  He said to them, "Come and see."  They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour).  One of the two heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.  He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which is translated, the Christ).  And he brought him to Jesus.  Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, "You are Simon the son of Jonah.  You shall be called Cephas" (which is translated, A Stone).

 

 The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, "Follow Me."  Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.  Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote -- Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."  And Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?"  Philip said to him, "Come and see."  Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!"  My study Bible comments here that no deceit means both having a pure heart and being straightforward with others.  

 

  Nathanael said to Him, "How do You know me?"  Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you."  Nathanael answered and said to Him, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God!  You are the King of Israel!"  It is not given to us what exactly happened under the fig tree (just as Christ's introduction to Philip is not detailed either).  According to St. John Chrysostom, my study Bible reports, this was the meeting place of Philip and Nathanael, and Jesus here is praising Nathanael for being so diligent and careful in is search for the Messiah.  (See also Psalm 32:2, for this phrase of praise.)  Christ's foreknowledge and His ability to see into Nathanael's heart stir him to this confession of faith.  

 

Jesus answered and said to him, "Because I said to you, 'I saw you under the fig tree,' do you believe?  You will see greater things than these."   And He said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man."  My study Bible explains that the title Son of Man is a title of the Messiah that had a level of mystery in its meaning, indicating a man of heavenly origin who would usher in the Kingdom of God (Daniel 7:13-14).  In an Old Testament prophecy, Jacob saw in a dream a ladder connecting earth to heaven, upon which the angels of God were ascending and descending (Genesis 28:12-15).  Jesus is this "ladder" uniting earth and heaven, and is therefore this Son of Man.  In today's reading, we are given the fourth day of Christ's public ministry.  Jesus calls Philip and Nathanael, who see Christ as the true Light; the One who was revealed in the Old Testament, a lesser light.  According to my study Bible, this is a parallel to the fourth day of creation, in which was established the lesser and greater lights governing the night and the day respectively in Genesis 1:14-19.  

 

Jesus says of Nathanael, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!"  As we begun reading St. John's Gospel on Monday, from its beginning (the Prologue, or the first 18 verses; see Monday's reading and commentary) we have remarked upon the power of identity that is present as a theme in this Gospel.  Important, and essential, is not just Jesus' identity as Christ, both fully human and fully divine, but also the understanding necessary to our faith that Jesus has come Incarnate into the world in order to restore us to our true identity, our true humanity -- for, as St. Gregory Nazianzus teaches, what His divinity touches is healed, restored.  And this, in a nutshell, is the key to salvation.  It, in fact, is our salvation.  For even death, the last enemy, was trampled by Christ's death, crucified on the Cross for us so that we might be with Him (John 17:24).  Key to Christ's identity as Son of Man, and also to our identity -- which is only true found in Him and through Him -- is that He is the "knower of hearts" (John 2:23-25; Acts 1:24).  For, as Creator, who has made us in God's image and likeness, He has come to restore our true nature to us, lost through what is termed the "fallenness" of our world; that is, the effects of sin in our world and the struggles we therefore inherit and are born into.  But through the Incarnation, He brings His divinity to our humanity to restore us, to "save" us.  And this is what He sees in Nathanael.  When we hear Nathanael ask, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" it may sound like an off-hand insult to us, but in reality Nathanael knows that the Christ was not prophesied to come from Nazareth, or even the region of Galilee, and this is what his question is given in reference to.  But Nathanael is also one not to be pulled into something without discerning what it's all about first; he's what we might call a "straight shooter."  That is, one who's mouth speaks from the heart.  And this is a kind of purity that Jesus admires, calling Nathanael "an Israelite indeed."  Interestingly, Philip responds with just the words that will appeal to a straight shooter who needs to see for himself, "Come and see."  (Also intriguing is that these are Christ's words to Andrew, Simon, and the unnamed disciple from yesterday's reading, when He's asked by them where He's staying, "Come and see.")  Coincidentally, today is the Feast of the Transfiguration, in which Jesus plainly showed to His disciples who He truly is, His divine identity in all His glory.  In this perhaps we can all understand that every one of us is invited to "come and see," to find the life in Christ for ourselves, to be touched by His grace and healed, even as these disciples will grow into greater faith and dependence upon Christ throughout the rest of their lives.  For the Lord has come to dwell with us (and within us), so that we may learn to depend upon Him and grow into the grace that grows in us, weaning away what does not serve God's purposes and building in us that true image and likeness He has come to lead us into through participation in His life.  Let us also "come and see" for ourselves.