We have found him, part 2

Who is Jesus? part 29 – John 1:43-45

It’s great to return home, isn’t it?

The excitement of heading out on holiday, ready for all the fun, food, and frolics, changes to that cosy feeling of a good time well spent on the flight back home. And then there’s that awesome rush of being back where you truly belong.

This is the story of Jesus’ return to Galilee, where he lives. However, instead of returning to woodworking, this carpenter is seeking joiners.

⁴³ The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” ⁴⁴ Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. ⁴⁵ Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

John 1:43-45

It’s interesting to note the repeated phrase, “The next day,” which starts in the second song and appears a couple of times inthis song, the third. While it may not align perfectly with the poetic flow, it truly serves to advance the narrative in a meaningful way. Many modern Bible translations, such as the ESV I’m using, incorporate “The next day” as paragraph headings. It’s important to remember that these headings are there for clarity and shouldn’t be viewed as part of the original translation.

It’s hard to tell anything from this part of the story, it is, after all, in the form of a song lyric or poem. The three songs in Chapter 1 of John’s Gospel serve as an introduction. More information will follow as the story of Jesus, starting in Chapter 2.

The use of “The next day” in John Chapter 1:

• v29: “The next day [John the Baptist] saw Jesus coming towards him, and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!'”
• v35-36:  “The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God!'”
• v43: “The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, ‘Follow me.'”

As the distance between Jesus’ baptism site, on the east of the Jordan near the Dead Sea, and Bethaida, where the Jordan flows into Lake Galilee, would be too far to travel in a single day, it is better to take “The next day” figuratively.

Each occurrence of “The next day” is followed by a quote, with the first two from John the Baptist. The second quote shifts the focus from John to Jesus. This dual structure is characteristic of John’s Gospel; it is not just a free-flowing narrative but a well-planned work. Understanding the structure helps clarify the meaning of the words and the author’s reasons for writing.

Who was Philip?

As for Philip, his name is Greek; it’s not a Hebrew or Aramaic name. This will become important later on, when some Greeks want to see Jesus, they come to Philip first. But that’s a spoiler for later.

Philip is of some importance too. In the lists of the Apostles in Matthew’s, Mark’s and Luke’s Gospels, his name comes fifth, after that of Peter, Andrew, James and John. It shows they give him some importance as an Apostle. Though he gets no mention as to why he’s important, other than his position on the lists.

Similarities to Andrew’s story.

This third song is chiasm or chiasma. Chiasm, meaning crossing over, is a form used in nearly all Psalms and is a repetition of similar ideas in the reverse sequence. It should be no surprise that there are repeated ideas now that we have passed the central part of the song, both to reinforce the previous half, or to contrast with it.

• Philip was from Bethsaida, as were Andrew and Simon.
• Jesus said “Follow me” to both if them
• Both went to tell others
• Both said, “We have found the Messiah” to those they found.

Differences from Andrew’s story.

One major difference between John’s Gospel and the others is that it expects readers to know certain background information. This passage reflects two such assumptions: it doesn’t tell the stories of how the twelve were called, and it names Joseph as Jesus’ father, which would be familiar to its audience. John’s Gospel doesn’t start from zero; it aims to complement the other Gospels.

The difference between Andrew and Philip is that Andrew was looking for Jesus, while Jesus was looking for Philip. We would need more details about Philip’s background to understand why Jesus sought him. However, in either case, the result is the same: Jesus told both of them, “Follow me.”

Whether you found Jesus or Jesus found you, the outcome is the same. Jesus says to you, “Follow me.”

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