Jesus never set out on a journey in an aimless way. Every step He took had a purpose in mind. In today’s meditation, we meet Him taking a journey to Galilee. It was referred to in a derogatory way as, ‘Galilee of the Gentiles’, because it was heavily populated with Gentiles. Isaiah, the prophet, said of it, ‘Galilee of the Gentiles; the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light. And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death, light has dawned’, Isaiah chapter 9 verses 1-2. The call to follow Jesus is open to all who turn in repentance to God and put their faith in Christ, whether they are Jews or Gentiles.

Jesus’s journey on this particular day was to meet a man, called PHILIP, who was one of the many in Galilee, who were sitting in darkness and in the region and shadow of death. When Jesus found him, His command was clear: ‘FOLLOW ME’, John chapter 1 verses 43-44. Philip responded positively and soon discovered what it meant to be a follower.

• Firstly, he discovered that Jesus calls people from all kinds of places and backgrounds to follow Him; indeed, He shows no favouritism.
• Secondly, it requires a clear understanding of who Jesus is: the One ‘of whom Moses in the Law, and the prophets wrote – Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph’, John chapter 1 verse 45.
• Thirdly, he recognised that he had a responsibility to tell others about Jesus. His immediate desire was to tell Nathanael, probably his closest friend, John chapter 1 verse 45. It is a tragedy if we tell others about the Lord Jesus but fail to tell those in our family and close friends about Him. Philip did not waste time debating with Nathanael about whether anything good could come out of a despised place, like Nazareth. He simply said, ‘Come and see’! Those of us who claim to be followers of the Lord Jesus ought to have a desire to help others to ‘see’ Him.