Nathanael said to him, "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see."

 So they asked him who he was; his answer was that he was nothing but a voice bidding men prepare the way for the king. The quotation is from Isaiah 40:3. All the gospels cite it ( Mark 1:3; Matthew 3:3; Luke 3:4). The idea behind it is this. Eastern roads were not surfaced and metalled. They were mere tracks. When a king was about to visit a province, when a conqueror was about to travel through his domains, the roads were smoothed and straightened out and put in order. What John was saying was: "I am nobody; I am only a voice telling you to get ready for the coming of the king, for he is on the way." 