19 And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou? |
20 And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ. |
21 And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No. |
22 Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself? |
23 He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias. |
24 And they which were sent were of the Pharisees. |
25 And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet? |
26 John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not; |
27 He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose. |
28 These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing. |
29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. |
30 This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me. |
31 And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water. |
32 And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. |
33 And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. |
34 And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God. |
35 Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples; |
36 And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God! |
37 And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. |
38 Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou? |
39 He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour. |
40 One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. |
41 He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ. |
42 And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone. |
43 The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me. |
44 Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. |
45 Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. |
46 And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see. |
47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! |
48 Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee. |
49 Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel. |
50 Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these. |
51 And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man. |
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1:19 The Jews - Probably the great council sent.
1:20 I am not the Christ - For many supposed he was.
1:21 Art thou Elijah? - He was not that Elijah (the Tishbite) of whom they spoke. Art thou the prophet - Of whom Moses speaks, Deu 18:15.
1:23 He said - I am that forerunner of Christ of whom Isaiah speaks.I am the voice - As if he had said, Far from being Christ, or even Elijah, I am nothing but a voice: a sound that so soon as it has expressed the thought of which it is the sign, dies into air, and is known no more. Isa 40:3.
1:24 They who were sent were of the Pharisees - Who were peculiarly tenacious of old customs, and jealous of any innovation (except those brought in by their own scribes) unless the innovator had unquestionable proofs of Divine authority.
1:25 They asked him, Why baptizest thou then? - Without any commission from the sanhedrim? And not only heathens (who were always baptized before they were admitted to circumcision) but Jews also?
1:26 John answered, I baptize - To prepare for the Messiah; and indeed to show that Jews, as well as Gentiles, must be proselytes to Christ, and that these as well as those stand in need of being washed from their sins.
1:28 Where John was baptizing - That is, used to baptize.
1:29 He seeth Jesus coming and saith, Behold the Lamb - Innocent; to be offered up; prophesied of by Isaiah, Isa 53:7, typified by the paschal lamb, and by the daily sacrifice: The Lamb of God - Whom God gave, approves, accepts of; who taketh away - Atoneth for; the sin - That is, all the sins: of the world - Of all mankind. Sin and the world are of equal extent.
1:31 I knew him not - Till he came to be baptized. How surprising is this; considering how nearly they were related, and how remarkable the conception and birth of both had been. But there was a peculiar providence visible in our Saviour's living, from his infancy to his baptism, at Nazareth: John all the time living the life of a hermit in the deserts of Judea, Luk 1:80, ninety or more miles from Nazareth: hereby that acquaintance was prevented which might have made John's testimony of Christ suspected.
1:34 I saw it - That is, the Spirit so descending and abiding on him.And testified - From that time.
1:37 They followed Jesus - They walked after him, but had not the courage to speak to him.
1:41 He first findeth his own brother Simon - Probably both of them sought him: Which is, being interpreted, the Christ - This the evangelist adds, as likewise those words in Joh 1:38, that is, being interpreted, Master.
1:42 Jesus said, Thou art Simon, the son of Jonah - As none had told our Lord these names, this could not but strike Peter.Cephas, which is Peter - Moaning the same in Syriac which Peter does in Greek, namely, a rock.
1:45 Jesus of Nazareth - So Philip thought, not knowing he was born in Bethlehem. Nathanael was probably the same with Bartholomew, that is, the son of Tholomew. St. Matthew joins Bartholomew with Philip, Mat 10:3, and St. John places Nathanael in the midst of the apostles, immediately after Thomas, Joh 21:2, just as Bartholomew is placed, Act 1:13.
1:46 Can any good thing come out of Nazareth? - How cautiously should we guard against popular prejudices? When these had once possessed so honest a heart as that of Nathanael, they led him to suspect the blessed Jesus himself for an impostor, because he had been brought up at Nazareth. But his integrity prevailed over that foolish bias, and laid him open to the force of evidence, which a candid inquirer will always be glad to admit, even when it brings the most unexpected discoveries. Can any good thing - That is, have we ground from Scripture to expect the Messiah, or any eminent prophet from Nazareth? Philip saith, Come and see - The same answer which he had received himself from our Lord the day before.
1:48 Under the fig tree I saw thee - Perhaps at prayer.
1:49 Nathanael answered - Happy are they that are ready to believe, swift to receive the truth and grace of God. Thou art the Son of God - So he acknowledges now more than he had heard from Philip: The Son of God, the king of Israel - A confession both of the person and office of Christ.
1:51 Hereafter ye shall see - All of these, as well as thou, who believe on me now in my state of humiliation, shall hereafter see me come in my glory, and all the angels of God with me.This seems the most natural sense of the words, though they may also refer to his ascension.