(43-06a)
For this week’s study:
- Any time you read or study the Bible, always start with prayer, asking God to guide you, so you understand God’s message and learn His methods for living.
- Read John 1:35-42 several times using your Bible, and the two translations provided below, to understand the boundaries, content and flow of the study passage. (Reading the passage once a day from any of those translations is recommended.)
- Then, explore the “Study Guide” and “Study Resources” provided below.
Read the Passage
Berean Standard Bible
(BSB)
The First Disciples
(cp. Matthew 4:18–22; Mark 1:16–20;
Luke 5:1–11)
<35>The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. <36>When he saw Jesus walking by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” <37>And when the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus.
<38>Jesus turned and saw them following. “What do you want?” He asked.
They said to Him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are You staying?”
<39>“Come and see,” He replied. So they went and saw where He was staying, and spent that day with Him. It was about the tenth hour.1
<40>Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard John’s testimony and followed Jesus. <41>He first found his brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated as Christ).
<42>Andrew brought him to Jesus, who looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which is translated as Peter).
Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael
<43>The next day Jesus decided to set out for Galilee. Finding Philip, He told him, “Follow Me.” <44>Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the same town as Andrew and Peter.
<45>Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the One Moses wrote about in the Law, the One the prophets foretold—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
<46>“Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Nathanael asked.
“Come and see,” said Philip.
<47>When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, He said of him, “Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is no deceit.”
<48>“How do You know me?” Nathanael asked.
Jesus replied, “Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.”
<49>“Rabbi,” Nathanael answered, “You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”
<50>Jesus said to him, “Do you believe just because I told you I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.” <51>Then He declared, “Truly, truly, I tell you, you will all see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”2
Word Come Alive
(WCA)
(An extended translation)*
Jesus’ first apprentices
<35>The next day John was with two of his followers. <36>When John saw Jesus walking by, John called out, ‘Look, it’s the Lamb of God!’
<37>When the two followers heard what John said, they immediately went along with Jesus. <38>Jesus turned round to them, saw them coming after him and asked them, ‘What are you looking for? What do you really want?’
They answered him, ‘Rabbi’ (which means ‘Teacher’), ‘where are you staying? We want to spend some time with you to get to know you more.’
<39>Jesus told them, ‘Come with me right now and you will see. You can find out for yourselves.’
They went with him and saw where he was staying. They enjoyed his company so much that they spent the rest of the day with him, from about 4 o’clock in the afternoon onwards.
<40>Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two men who heard what John said and followed Jesus. <41>The first thing Andrew then did was to find his brother Simon and told him, ‘We’ve found the Messiah (that is, the Christ).’ <42>Andrew brought Peter to Jesus.
Jesus looked closely at Peter and said, ‘I know who you are. You’re Simon, son of John. I’m going to call you by a new name, Cephas.’ (When translated from the Aramaic, this name is Peter, which means ‘rock’.)
‘Come and meet him for yourself’
<43>The next day, as Jesus was getting ready to go to Galilee, he found Philip and called him directly, ‘Follow me.’
<44>Philip, like Andrew and Peter, came from the town of Bethsaida. <45>Philip found Nathanael and couldn’t hide his excitement. He told him, ‘Nathanael, we’ve found the One the law of Moses and the prophets wrote about. He’s Jesus, the son of Joseph, and he comes from Nazareth.’
<46>‘Nazareth?’ Nathanael asked, expressing his scepticism. ‘Can anything good come from there?’
Philip invited him, ‘Come and meet him for yourself.’
<47>When Jesus saw Nathanael coming towards him, he said about him, ‘Here comes an Israelite with absolute integrity.’
<48>Nathanael asked him, ‘How do you know me and the kind of person I am?’
Jesus answered him, ‘Even before Philip called you, while you were still sitting under the fig tree, I was watching you.’
<49>Amazed, Nathanael spontaneously responded to him, declaring his faith, ‘Teacher, you surely are the Son of God, the King of Israel!’
<50>Jesus answered him, ‘Just because I told you I was watching you under the fig tree, you trust in me. You will see even greater things than this!’ <51>He added, ‘One day you will see an open door into heaven. Jacob saw God’s angels going up and down a ladder reaching into heaven. I am telling you the truth, the way to heaven has come here and now by the Son of Man.’
*Words in italics are not translated from the original Greek text. They have been added to explain and at times apply the text, much as a preacher does on a Sunday or notes do at the foot of the page in a study Bible. These additions are integrated with the text itself, and are in italics, so readers can see what has been explained, changed or added.
Study the Passage
Study Guide
Based on the details of this study passage:
- What did John the Baptist hear/see?
- What did John the Baptist say?
- What have you seen/learned about Jesus?
- What can/will you tell others about Jesus?
Have any outstanding questions regarding this study passage? Write them down and bring them to the Bible study gathering so we can work on them together.
Study Resources
To learn more about this study passage, go to
https://www.bibleref.com/John/1/John-1-35.html. Read the commentary of each verse in the passage. (Also read the Context Summary and the Chapter Summary.)
If you have any questions about this passage, type your question in the search box in the top-left corner of
https://www.gotquestions.org/ and explore the results.
Thessalonian Faith 