“Come and See”: The First Disciples

At Bethany, beyond the Jordan, John the Baptist sees Jesus coming: “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” The next day, he points him out to two of his disciples, who follow Jesus. “What seek ye?” — “Rabbi, where dwellest thou?” — “Come and see.” They stay with him that day, about the tenth hour. One of them, Andrew, goes to find his brother Simon: “We have found the Messiah.” Jesus tells Simon he will be called Cephas, which means Peter. The next day, on the way to Galilee, Jesus meets Philip, from Bethsaida: “Follow me.” Philip brings Nathanael, who is skeptical: “Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?” — “Come and see.” Jesus welcomes him: “Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!” and reveals that he saw him under the fig tree. Nathanael confesses, “Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.”