John 1:44

44 Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.

Ver. 44. Now Philip was of Bethsaida ] So was Andrew and Peter, who would not be wanting to preach to this town, and pray for it. But all in vain; whence that, "Woe unto thee, Bethsaida,"Matthew 11:21; Matthew 11:21 . Christ would not suffer so much as the blind man he had cured to go thither, Mark 9:27 .

Thou art the Son of God ] For else thou couldst never have known me so thoroughly at so great a distance. The Samaritess,John 4:29-30; John 4:29-30 ; John 4:39-42 , believed on the same ground ("Come see a man that told me all that ever I did"), but not so soon; Diserimen est a Deo, non natura. God and not nature made the difference. That message that God had accepted a ransom, had a present effect upon that distressed man,Job 33:24; Job 33:24 , in reviving his spirit. Not so upon David, though it were delivered to him by the mouth of Nathan, 2 Samuel 12:13 ; cf. Psalms 51:8 . God is a free agent, and gives grace and peace at his own pleasure.