Who: John the Baptist (vv. 35–36), his two disciples (vv. 35, 37–39), Andrew and his brother Simon Peter (vv. 40–42), Philip (vv. 43–46), Nathanael (vv. 45–51)
Where: “Bethany” (v. 28)
When: after Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist in the Jordan (vv. 29–34)
vv. 35–37: The Evangelist connects the “following”100 (cf. vv. 37b, 38b, 40c [, 43e]) of His first disciples by repeating John the Baptist’s testimony as a proclamation (cf. 1:29–34) that Jesus is “the Lamb of God”101 (vv. 29b, 36b) and with the help of “two”102 (in Greek “dúo” in vv. 35, 37a, 40a and in Mark 6:7; 11:1; 14:13[; 15:27; 16:12]; Matthew 4:18, 21; 18:16, 19–20; 21:1[; 27:38]; Luke 7:18; 10:1; 19:29[; 23:32]; 24:4, 13) of his own “disciples” (vv. 35, 37a) who “heard” (cf. vv. 37a, 40b) his witness about Jesus. John the Baptist who pointed to Jesus with his eyes103 (non-verbal – cf. v. 36a) and his words (verbal – cf. vv. 36b–37a, 40a) is the reason and the guide that “Andrew” and another unnamed of his disciples (cf. v. 40a) followed Jesus (cf. vv. 37b, 38b, 40b) in contrast to the call of Andrew according to Mark 1:16–18 respectively Matthew 4:18–20 in which Jesus took the initiative.
+ The Following of Andrew including a Comment by the Evangelist (vv. 38–40)
v. 38: Jesus realized His “followers” (v. 38b) and introduced a dialogue with them with a question: “What do you seek/look for”? – cf. John 18:4, 7–8; 20:15. They respectfully answered with a query:
“Rabbi, where104 are you staying105”?) – note the Jewish title “rabbi”106 in verse 49b by Nathanael or in 3:2c by Nicodemus.
v. 39: Jesus replied briefly and invited them:
“Come” – note the imperative in present tense! –
“and you will see” (in future! – cf. v. 46d).
Immediately they did it because “Jesus is the answer”. Their question found an answer in their following:
“They came and saw” (cf. v. 39b, c)
“where he was staying” – note the parallel with verse 38f.
The Fourth Evangelist comments that “they stayed with” Jesus (everywhere else) – it was about 4107 o’clock in the afternoon as in John 4:6; 19:14.
v. 40: The name of “one of the two” anonymous John the Baptist’s disciples: “Andrew” (in Greek “Andréas”108 in vv. 40a, 44b and in John 6:8; 12:22; Mark 1:16, 29; 3:18; 13:3; Matthew 4:18; 10:2; Luke 6:14; Acts 1:13), “the brother of Simon Peter” (v. 41a), who accepted John the Baptist’s testimony about Jesus (verbal – cf. v. 37a) by “following” Him (non-verbal – cf. v. 37b). Who is the second anonymous (cf. John 21:2) “follower”?109 Is it Philip (cf. vv. 43–46, 48 and 6:5, 7; 12:21–22; 14:8–9), the so-called “beloved disciple” (cf. 13:23; 19:26–27; 21:7, 20–24) respectively the “other disciple” (cf. 18:15–16; 20:2–10) or somebody else (of His disciples)? Both found that what they sought (cf. v. 38c) – the “Lamb of God” (vv. 29b, 36b), the “Son of God” (v. 34b), the “Rabbi” (vv. 38e, 49b).
+ The Call of Simon Peter (vv. 41–42)
v. 41: “First” Andrew “found”110 (vv. 41a, c, 43c, 45a, d) his “brother” (v. 40a and John 6:8; Mark 1:16; Matthew 4:18; 10:2; Luke 6:14) and he informed him (cf., for example, John 4:28; 20:24–29; Acts 4:20; Romans 10:17) about the “finding” of “the Messiah” (Hebrew – in Greek “ho Chrɩstós” – cf. vv. 17b, 20c, 25c, 41c) that means “the anointed” (v. 41d and John 4:25).
v. 42: Andrew led his brother “Simon”111 (in Greek “Símon” in vv. 40a, 41a2, 42c) to “Jesus” who “looked at” (v. 36a) the “newcomer” and welcomed him, saying: “Simon, the son of” (cf. v. 45e) “John” (cf. 21:15b, 16b, 17b). Then He directly gave him the new (nick-)name “Kephãs” (in Hebrew for “rock” – cf. 1 Corinthians 1:12; 3:22; 9:5; 15:5; Galatians 1:18; 2:9, 11, 14) respectively “Pétros”112 (in Greek in vv. 40a, 42e and cf. Mark 3:16/Luke 6:14; Matthew 16:18). So we have a double way to identify two very important persons (VIP) of the Fourth Gospel in verses 41–42: First, Andrew titled Jesus with the messianic title “Messiah”/“Christ”, however Jesus named Simon “Cephas”/“Peter”.
The call of the first three disciples (Andrew, the other unnamed disciple, Simon Peter) is like a “domino effect”113 or a “wild fire”:
John the Baptist → Andrew and a second one (cf. vv. 35–37) –
Jesus → Andrew and the unnamed one (cf. vv. 38–39/40) –
Andrew → Simon (cf. vv. 41–42a) –
Jesus → Simon (cf. v. 42b–d).
- The Call of Philip and Nathanael (vv. 43–51)
In the same way, Jesus first “found” (vv. 41a, c, 43c, 45a, d) Philip (cf. v. 43) who “found” and informed “Nathanael” about Jesus (cf. v. 45) so that both became His disciples:
Jesus → Philip (v. 43 [– if the unnamed second man is Philip114 then also vv. 35–37; John the Baptist → Andrew and Philip]) –
Jesus → Andrew and the unnamed one (vv. 38–39) –
Philip → Nathanael (vv. 45–46) –
Jesus → Nathanael (vv. 47–51).
As in verses 39 (as an order), 42, Jesus called His disciples after His seeing115 (cf. vv. 38b, 42b, 48e, 50c and Mark 1:16, 19/Matthew 4:18, 21; Mark 2:14; Matthew 9:9) by His word (cf. vv. 43 [as an order], 47–51).
+ The Call of Philip (vv. 43–44)
v. 43: As in verses 29a, 35a, the phrase “the next day” (in Greek “tẽ epaúrɩon”) introduces the call of “Philip”116 (cf. vv. 43e, 44a, 45a, 46c, 48d and John 6:5, 7; 12:21–22; 14:8–9) on His way to “Galilee”117 (cf. 2:1; 4:3, 43, 54; 7:1, 9). “Jesus” “found” (vv. 41a, c, 43c, 45a, d) Philip there and called upon him (cf., for example, 1 Kings 19:19): “Follow me” – note also the imperative in John 21:19, 22; Mark 2:14; 8:34; 10:21; Matthew 8:22; 9:9; 16:24; 19:21, 28; Luke 5:27; 9:23, 59; 18:22[; Acts 12:8]. To follow Jesus means going behind Jesus as the leader and acting according to His will – then and now.
v. 44: The Fourth Evangelist has linked Jesus’ call of “Philip” and His first call of the two brothers “Andrew” (cf. vv. 40–41) and Simon “Peter” (cf. vv. 40–42) with the remark that these three disciples were citizens of the same Galilean “town”118 “Bethsaida”119 (= “House of Fish”). According to Mark 1:16–18/Matthew 4:18–20; Luke 5:1–11, Simon Peter and Andrew were fishermen there.
+ The Call of Nathanael (vv. 45–51)
v. 45: After the call of “Philip”, he “found” (vv. 41a, c, 43c, 45a, d) “Nathanael” (in Greek “Nathanael”120 [= God has given] in vv.