Follow Me

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

FOLLOW ME

John 1:43-45

43 The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, "Follow me."  44 Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. 45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, "We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote — Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."

NIV

Although this is just the beginning of a longer narrative between Jesus and Nathanael we should simply deal with the finding of Philip. Jesus has told us, ask and we will receive, to seek and we will find, knock and the door will be opened, but that narrative is in regards to asking God for the Holy Spirit. The real question is whether we found Jesus or Jesus found us? Earlier we saw that Andrew told his brother he had found the Messiah, but it was because of what John the Baptist had said about Jesus, when we was walking by that caused Andrew to follow after him. Although all the people of Israel were waiting for the Messiah to appear, it is doubtful that Philip was out searching for him. We see here that Jesus found Philip and not engaging him in a lengthy conversation about who he was and what he was here to do, and that if Philip had any sense he was accept him, he just told him said, “Follow me.” Jesus came to seek and find that which was lost, and we are lost without Jesus. So we might consider that we do not find him, but that Jesus has found each and every one of us and calls out to us, “Follow me.” But once again we see Philip after Jesus finding him, ran to find Nathanael to tell him we have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote – Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. So we do have people saying they found Jesus, but we also see Jesus finding people. Once Jesus has found us, it appears we have a responsibility to tell others, but the truth still stands, Jesus finds us, maybe just those who will go tell others, maybe all of us, maybe the way he finds us is like John the Baptist telling Andrew, maybe he finds us by the power of the Holy Spirit so we are nudged in our spirit to find Jesus, maybe he finds us in some other supernatural way, but Jesus is on the hunt for all who are lost. He calls to us, “Follow me.”