A. The prelude to Jesus’ public ministry 1:19-51The rest of the first chapter continues the introductory spirit of the prologue. It records two events in John the Baptist’s ministry and the choice of some men as Jesus’ followers. read more
3. The response to John the Baptist’s witness 1:35-42The writer now turned his attention from John the Baptist’s witness to Jesus to record the reactions of some men to John’s witness. Two of John the Baptist’s disciples left him to follow Jesus when they heard John’s testimony about Jesus. One of them recruited his brother to join them. Jesus did not call these men to follow Him as His disciples now. That came later (cf. Matthew 4:18-22; Matthew 9:9; Mark 1:16-20; Mark 2:13-14; Luke 5:1-11;... read more
Andrew sought to bring his own brother to Jesus and was successful in doing so. Obviously both of them wanted to discover the Messiah whom the Old Testament prophets had predicted and whom Daniel’s timetable encouraged them to believe would appear soon (Daniel 9:25). We should not conclude, however, that because Andrew believed that Jesus was the Messiah he also believed that He was God. He may have believed this, but all the evidence in the Gospels points to the disciples learning of Jesus’... read more
Jesus anticipated what Peter would become in the history of the church by God’s grace. He may have had previous contact with him and known Peter’s reputation since both men lived only a few miles apart in Galilee. Simon was a common Jewish name, probably derived from Simeon. Jesus gave him a nickname that expressed his character, which was not uncommon. It is interesting that Simon Peter originally had the same rash and impulsive character as his ancestor Simeon, the second son of Jacob. Cephas... read more
1:42 at (b-9) i.e. 'looking carefully;' so ver. 36; Matthew 19:26 ; Luke 22:61 . stone). (c-27) Or 'Peter.' read more
The Divinity and Incarnation of the Word. Witness of John. The First Disciples1-18. Preface, declaring (1) that the Word was God, (2) that He was made man, (3) that He revealed the Father.This sublime preface is intended to commend ’the truth as it is in Jesus,’ both to Jewish and Gentile minds. It describes our Lord’s person and office by a term familiar to both, that of the Logos or Word of God. ’Logos’ has two meanings in Greek: (1) reason or intelligence, as it exists inwardly in the mind,... read more
[(2) JESUS MANIFESTS HIMSELF TO INDIVIDUALS (John John 1:41 to John 2:11):(a)To the first disciples—the witness of man (John 1:41-51);(b)At Cana of Galilee—the witness of nature (John 1:1-11).](41) He first findeth his own brother.—The probable explanation of this verse, and the only one which gives an adequate meaning to “first” and “his own,” is that each of the two disciples in the fulness of his fresh joy went to seek his own brother, that Andrew found Peter first, and that John records... read more
(42) Beheld.—See Note on John 1:29.A Stone.—Better, Peter, as in margin. The word means a stone, but the writer translated for Greek, not for English readers. The rule of the previous verse, which places the Greek word in the text and the English word in the margin, should be followed here.Cephas.—The word occurs only in this place in the Gospels, elsewhere in the New Testament only in St. Paul (1 Cor. and Gal.). Remembering the general significance of Hebrew names, the changes in the Old... read more
Agnosticism, Positivism and Materialism John 1:1 John outstrips Genesis. He begins the record of the world anew, but starts from a deeper starting-point. In Genesis the history of the world arises out of the God of Creation. In John there is a deeper starting-point: history commences with the God of redemption. I. This, then, is the first assertion we have to consider Redemption is older than Creation. God the Saviour is a more fundamental fact than God the Creator. Redemption was not an... read more
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Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - John 1:19-50
II. JESUS’ PUBLIC MINISTRY 1:19-12:50The first part of the body of John’s Gospel records Jesus’ public ministry to the multitudes in Palestine, who were primarily Jewish. Some writers have called this section of the Gospel "the book of signs" because it features seven miracles that signify various things about Jesus."Signs are miraculous works performed or mentioned to illustrate spiritual principles." [Note: Tenney, "The Symphonic . . .," p. 119. See also idem, "Topics from the Gospel of... read more