From: John 1:43-51
The Calling of the First Disciples (Continuation)
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Commentary:
43. “Follow Me” is what Jesus usually says to all His disciples (cf. Mt 4:19; 8:22;
9:9). During Jesus’ lifetime, His invitation to follow Him implied being with Him in
His public ministry, listening to His teaching, imitating His lifestyle, etc. Once
the Lord ascended into heaven, following Him obviously does not mean going
with Him along the roads of Palestine; it means that “a Christian should live as
Christ lived, making the affections of Christ his own, so that he can exclaim with
St Paul: ‘It is now no longer I that live, but Christ lives in me”’ (St. J. Escriva,
“Christ Is Passing By”, 103). In all cases our Lord’s invitation involves setting out
on a journey: that is, it requires one to lead a life of striving always to do God’s
will even if this involves generous self-sacrifice.
45-51. The Apostle Philip is so moved that he cannot but tell his friend Natha-
nael (Bartholomew) about his wonderful discovery (verse 45). “Nathanael had
heard from Scripture that Jesus must come from Bethlehem, from the people of
David. This belief prevailed among the Jews and also the prophet had proclaimed
it of old, saying: ‘But you, O Bethlehem, who are little to be among the clans of
Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler of Israel’ (Micah 5:
2).
Therefore, when he heard that He was from Nazareth, he was troubled and in
doubt, since he found that the announcement of Philip was not in agreement
with the words of the prophecy” (St. John Chrysostom, “Hom. on St. John”, 20,
1).
A Christian may find that, in trying to communicate his faith to others, they raise
difficulties. What should he do? What Philip did—not trust his own explanation,
but invite them to approach Jesus personally: “Come and see” (verse 46). In o-
ther words, a Christian should bring his fellow-men, his brothers into Jesus’ pre-
sence through the means of grace which He has given them and which the
Church ministers — frequent reception of the sacraments, and devout Christian
practices.
Nathanael, a sincere person (verse 47), goes along with Philip to see Jesus; he
makes personal contact with our Lord (verse 48), and the outcome is that he re-
ceives faith (the result of his ready reception of grace, which reaches him through
Christ’s human nature: verse 49).
As far as we can deduce from the Gospels, Nathanael is the first Apostle to make
an explicit confession of faith in Jesus as Messiah and as Son of God. Later on
St. Peter, in a more formal way, will recognize our Lord’s divinity (cf. Matthew 16:
16). Here (verse 51) Jesus evokes a text from Daniel (7:13) to confirm and give
deeper meaning to the words spoken by His new disciple.
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.
First reading | 1 John 3:11-21 © |
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Psalm | Psalm 99:1-5 © |
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Gospel Acclamation | Heb1:1-2 |
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Or |
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Or | Jn1:14,12 |
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Gospel | John 1:43-51 © |
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