He first findeth his own brother Simon
Either before the other disciple, or before he found any other
person: after he and the other disciple departed from Christ,
being affected with the grace bestowed upon him, and his heart
warm with the conversation he had had with him, and transported
with joy at finding the Messiah, goes in all haste in search of
his relations, friends, and acquaintance, to communicate what he
had seen and heard, in order to bring them to the knowledge of
the same; for such is the nature of grace, it is very
communicative, and those that have it, are very desirous that all
others should be partakers of it: and the first person he lighted
on was Simon, who was afterwards called Peter, who was his own
brother; not a brother-in-law, but his own brother, by father and
mother's side, and so dear unto him by the ties of nature and
blood:
and saith unto him;
with all eagerness imaginable, and in a rapture of joy:
we have found the Messias;
I, and a fellow disciple have had the Messiah, so often foretold
by the prophets, and so long expected by our fathers, pointed out
to us; and we have followed him, and have had conversation with
him, and are well assured he is that illustrious person:
which is, being interpreted, the Christ;
which, as in ( John 1:38 ) , are the
words of the evangelist, and not Andrew, and are therefore left
out in the Syriac version; the word Messiah needing no
interpretation in that language, and which was the language in
which Andrew spoke. This name, Messiah, was well known among the
Jews, for that who was promised, and they expected as a Saviour
and Redeemer; though it is not very often mentioned in the books
of the Old Testament, chiefly in the following places, ( Psalms 2:2 ) ( 18:50 ) (
Psalms
89:39 Psalms 89:51
) ( Daniel
9:25 Daniel 9:26 ) ; but is
very much used in the Chaldee paraphrases: Elias Levita
F7 says, he found it in more than fifty
verses; and Buxtorf F8 has added others to them, and the
word appears in "seventy one" places, which he takes notice of,
and are worthy of regard; for they show the sense of the ancient
synagogue, concerning the passages of the Old Testament,
respecting the Messiah: this Hebrew word is interpreted by the
Greek word, "Christ"; and both signify "anointed", and well agree
with the person to whom they belong, to which there is an
allusion in ( Song of
Solomon 1:3 ) , "thy name is as ointment poured forth": he is
so called, because he was anointed from everlasting, to be
prophet, priest, and king; see ( Psalms 2:6 ) ( 89:20 ) (
Proverbs
8:22 Proverbs
8:23 ) , and he was anointed as man, with the oil of
gladness, with the graces of the Spirit, without measure, (
Psalms 45:7 )
( Acts
10:38 ) . And it is from him the saints receive the
anointing, or grace in measure; and are from him called
Christians, and are really anointed ones; see ( 1 John 2:27 ) (
Acts 11:24 ) (
2
Corinthians 1:21 ) , hence it is a name precious to the
saints, and savoury to them. These words were delivered by
Andrew, in a very exulting strain, expressing great joy; as
indeed what can be greater joy to a sensible soul, than to find
Christ? which in a spiritual sense, is to have a clear sight of
him by faith, to go unto him, and lay hold on him, as the only
Saviour and Redeemer: who is to be found in the Scriptures of
truth, which testify of him; in the promises of grace, which are
full of him and in the Gospel, of which he is the sum and
substance; and in the ordinances of it, where he shows himself;
for he is not to be found by the light of nature, or by carnal
reason, nor by the law of Moses, but by means of the Gospel, and
the Spirit of God attending that, as a spirit of wisdom and
revelation, in the knowledge of him: and happy are those souls
that find Christ under his direction; for they find life,
spiritual and eternal, in him; a justifying righteousness; free
and full pardon of their sins; spiritual food for their souls;
and peace, comfort, joy, and rest, and eternal glory: wherefore
this must needs be matter of joy unto them, since such a finding
is a rich one, a pearl of great price, riches durable and
unsearchable; and which a man that has found, would not part with
for all the world; but parts with all he has for it; and is what
can never be lost again; and, particularly to two sorts of
persons, finding Christ must give a peculiar pleasure, and an
inexpressible joy; to such as are under a sense of sin and
damnation, and to such who have been under desertion. The phrase
of "finding" a person, twice used in this text, and hereafter in
some following verses, is frequent in Talmudic and Rabbinic
writings; as
``he went, (brl hyxkva) , "and found him with Rab" F9.''