The Story of Jesus

Disciples

Many people believed the message John preached. With new eagerness they awaited the coming of the King from heaven. How glad they would be to hear that their King had arrived! In their hearts they believed he would set up a kingdom like David's, and the Jews would be his favored people.

One day John the Baptist saw Jesus walking along the road near the river. John cried out, "Behold the Lamb of God!"

Two of John's disciples had heard John say so many wonderful things about Jesus that they turned and followed him. When Jesus saw the two men coming after him, he asked, "What do you want?"

They answered, "Master, where do you live?"

"Come and see," Jesus said. Jesus took the two with him and they talked all day. Never had they heard a man speak as Jesus did! Andrew, one of the two, got so excited about what he heard that he ran to find his brother Simon. Simon, too, must hear. Both Andrew and Simon believed that John the Baptist was a prophet of God. They listened to him often and followed him wherever he went.

Already Andrew was sure that he had found a teacher even greater than John When Andrew found Simon, he called out, Come with me for we have found the Messiah!" And the two hurried back to Jesus. 

When Jesus saw the brothers, he looked at Simon and said, "You are Simon the son of Jona; but you shall be called Peter.

How surprised Simon was! How did Jesus know his name? Jesus seemed to know all about him. As Simon listened, he too believed that Jesus was the Christ. Now he was just as eager to follow Jesus as Andrew was.

The next day, Jesus started back to his home in Galileo. With him were his three new friends. As they walked along, they met a man named Philip. He lived in the same town as Simon and Andrew.

To Philip Jesus said, "Follow me." And Philip did.

As Philip walked with Jesus and the other three he marveled at the wise words Jesus spoke. Surely this was the promised Savior and king. Philip was so thrilled that he ran to find his friend Nathanael. Philip told him, "We have found the one Moses and the prophets wrote about, Jesus of Nazareth."

Because Nathanael knew the Scriptures well, he remembered that the Prophet had written that the king of the Jews would be born in Bethlehem. So he asked Philip, "Can any good thing come from Nazareth?"

Philip did not waste a minute trying to convince his friend. Instead he said, "Come and see."

Because Philip was so eager, Nathanael went along. When Jesus saw Nathanael, he said, "Look, an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!" 

Nathanael was astonished. "How do you know me?" he asked.

"Before Philip called you," Jesus said, "I saw you under the fig tree."

'"How could Jesus have known where he was and what he was doing? At once Nathanael believed that Jesus came from God. With joy he exclaimed, "Master, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!"

Jesus said, "Do you believe just because I said I saw you under the fig tree? You shall see greater things than these."