NOTES for Joh 1:35-51

The first disciples come to Christ, and we see different ways of coming to Him that would recur over the millennia. Trusting John's words, the first disciples leave him for the One to whom he has pointed. John himself did not go to Him, but neither did he jealously hold his disciples back: for him, serving God, even in a way different from his own, mattered more than personal ambition. Philip followed Christ in response to His call addressed directly to him, while Nathanael came after hearing the preaching of Philip, who had believed before him, though Nathanael's initial reaction was distrustful. Yet it was precisely this skeptic—critically minded, but capable of 'coming and seeing'—whom Christ called 'without guile.' Honest doubt does not prevent faith from being born.

The first two disciples do not begin by trying to resolve great overarching problems. They are interested in a simple question: where do You live? They receive a simple answer: come, and you will see. One can spend a long time theorizing and pondering verbal constructions, trying to grasp theological subtleties, but all this, important and necessary in itself, will be meaningless unless one follows Christ. Yet to everyone willing to go, He will also give the opportunity to 'see'—to see and experience what cannot be reached by thought alone.

Life with Christ is the unity of inner conviction and action.