The next day again John [the Baptist] was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as He walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus … One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). He brought him to Jesus. John 1:35-36, 40-42a ESV¹

Read John 1:11-51

Andrew came to faith in Jesus by the testimony of John the Baptist. Andrew had been a disciple, or a follower, of John. As is the nature of being a disciple, Andrew had likely spent a great deal of time with and listening to John. And John spent much time talking about the coming Messiah. So much so that even casual observers of John were able to say, “Everything he [John] said about this man has come true” (John 10:41). Because of his close association with John and John’s teachings, Andrew was ready to follow the Messiah as soon as John identified him. “‘Behold, the Lamb of God!’ The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus” (John 1:36b-37).

In his excitement, the first thing Andrew did after discovering the One for whom Israel had been long awaiting–the One about whom John had so often spoken–was to find “his brother Simon [Peter] and [say] to him, ‘We have found the Messiah’” (John 1:41). Andrew brought Simon right up to Jesus. Jesus took special note of Simon saying, “‘You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas’ (which means Peter)” (John 1:42). Eventually, Peter became Simon’s new name, the name by which he thereafter was commonly referred, the name by which we still know him.

Certainly, being personally introduced to the Messiah, prophesied over, and given a powerful new name, was all it took for Simon, like his brother, to believe and choose to follow Jesus. Not so! Simon did not decide to “[leave] everything and follow” Jesus until Jesus showed up on the banks of a lake where Simon had been fishing (see Luke 5:10). There, Simon heard Jesus speak and was the recipient of a personal miracle. It was when Jesus entered into Simon’s life and reached out to him in a way Simon would be impacted that Simon began to realize Jesus was Who his brother Andrew believed He was.

A similar experience, recorded in this chapter, occurred involving Phillip and Nathanael. We may not have been given the entire conversation between Jesus and Phillip, but in the end, it appears Phillip only needed to hear Jesus’ words, “‘Come, follow Me’” (John 1:44). Somehow, those words spoke something to Phillip, and he obeyed. Phillip immediately “went out and found Nathanael and told him, ‘We’ve found the One Moses wrote about in the Law, the One preached by the prophets. It’s Jesus, Joseph’s son, the one from Nazareth’” (John 1:45)!

Nathanael wasn’t convinced, saying, “‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth’” (John 1:46)? But Nathanael followed Phillip to meet Jesus anyway. “When Jesus saw [Nathanael] coming, He said, ‘There’s a real Israelite, not a false bone in his body’” (John 1:47 MSG²). Being characteristically honest, Nathanael wasn’t impressed with the compliment and retorted, “‘You don’t know me’” (John 1:48a MSG²). But Nathanael was stunned by Jesus’ next words, “‘Before Phillip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you’” (John 1:48b). This odd comment caused Nathanael to exclaim, “‘Rabbi! You are the Son of God, the King of Israel’” (John 1:49)! We don’t know why a comment about Jesus seeing Nathanael under a fig tree would have brought on such a response. Perhaps Nathanael was so impressed because it was physically impossible for Jesus to have seen him there. Or maybe under that tree was Nathanael’s secret place to quietly pray and study the Law and Prophets, a place where he felt the presence of God, a place known by no one except Nathanael and God. We don’t know, but Jesus knew. He knew exactly what Nathanael needed to hear to turn his skepticism into belief.

Andrew and Simon, Phillip and Nathanael are no different than you and I. And they are no different than anyone with whom we share Jesus. People don’t come to Jesus until Jesus becomes personally relevant to them. We should introduce others to Jesus. But there is no perfect formula, no extra portion of faith, no special gifting that automatically makes those to whom we witness come to faith in Jesus.

Perhaps, in your excitement about Jesus, you have tried to bring others to Him, and, to your knowledge, they have remained unaffected. Don’t get discouraged. Don’t beat up yourself. Don’t push. Yet, don’t give up. But do pray. Pray for others that Jesus will show up in their lives in a way that is meaningful to them. Pray for yourself for wisdom and a deeper relationship with Jesus. Thank Jesus for working even if you can’t see what He is doing. Then wait, as you walk in faith. Once Jesus visits those for whom you have prayed, and they decide to follow Jesus, you will then be available to answer questions and help them get to know Jesus better. Together, you can praise God for the work He has and will do in your lives and the lives of others.

¹Scripture quotations marked with ESV are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All Scriptures are taken from the ESV unless otherwise noted. To aid in understanding, I have capitalized references to God.

²Scripture quotations marked with MSG are from The Message. Copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002, by NavPress Publishing Group.