John 1:43-51 (ESV)

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.” ⁴⁶ Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” ⁴⁷ Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” ⁴⁸ Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” ⁴⁹ Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” ⁵⁰ Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” ⁵¹ And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

While in Galilee, Jesus asked Philip follow him. Philip was from Bethsaida, where Peter and Andrew grew up. Philip then went to Nathanael, who was also a Galilean. Nathanael was from Cana, and questioned whether anything “good” could come from Nazareth. Philip responded, “Come and see!” Jesus called his early team together as he sovereignly prompted those who were following him to invite others to come too. Although Nathanael and Jesus were both from Galilee, even the Galileans like Nathanael thought Nazareth was a bust. When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he declared him to be a man without deceit. Nathanael was truly ready to check out the claims made about Jesus. He asked Jesus how he knew him, Jesus replied, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” That shocked Nathanael. How could Jesus have seen him? Clearly, Jesus had supernatural knowledge that belonged to God. Nathanael then declared Jesus to be the Messiah. Jesus told him that he would do much more. In the past, Jacob saw angels on a ladder going back and forth between heaven and earth. But now, Jesus himself was the ultimate connection between heaven and earth.

Jesus called Philip and Nathanael to himself. If we are followers of Jesus today, he has called us to follow too. Philip left Bethsaida in Galilee and went with Jesus. He left the comforts of his hometown, his business, and his family to do what Jesus asked. He even called others to come and join him! In the same way, we leave our old lives and take up something new when we follow after Jesus. We live in a place and time where we are free to follow Christ. It wasn’t quite as easy for Philip and the first disciples. Many of the early Christians were killed for their allegiance to Jesus. What are you giving up to follow Jesus today? Popularity? Pleasures? Let’s get our priorities right as we remember that following Jesus has always come at a cost. But in the end, the things we give up to follow him are of no lasting value. God isn’t keeping anything truly good from us. If you have reached a decision point today in choosing which path to take, know that you will never regret your decision to do things God’s way.