45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."
46 And Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?"
Philip said to him, "Come and see."
47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!" John 1:45-47 (NKJV)
Discussion Question:
- Do you have or have you ever had any preconceived notions that prevent or prevented you from fully summiting to God?
Comments:
OK review time: First we meet John the Baptist who was sent from God that introduced two of his disciples (Andrew and John [?]) to Jesus. Then we seen how Andrew after learning about Jesus rushed off to tell his brother Simon (Peter) that they had found the Messiah. Next, Jesus found Philip and called him to follow. Therefore, so far we have met John the Baptist, John the Apostle, Jesus, Andrew, Simon Peter, and Philip. And we're not even through the first chapter yet!
In this passage we add Nathanael to our list. Nathanael was told about Jesus by Philip, who like Andrew, couldn't keep the good news to himself. Nathanael is called Bartholomew in the other three gospels. It is thought that Bartholomew was likely his surname (Bar-Tolmai or son of Tolmai). We don't know much about him, but one thing we can conclude is that he must have known the Holy Scriptures because of the way Philip introduces Jesus to him. Philip and Nathanael both knew from studying the law and the prophets that a Messiah was going to come. Nathanael, however, was skeptical because of preconceived opinion about who he thought the Messiah should be, he did not believe that the King of kings world come from such an insignificant town as Nazareth. Philip's response is perfect; we see that he is going to be a great disciple of Christ. He uses basically the same words that Jesus used at their first meeting (v39), "Come and see." He doesn't try to make a fancy argument, he just uses God's word to take him to Jesus.
Jesus' response to Nathanael is to describe Nathanael's character before He even talks to him. He first calls him "an Israelite indeed." What He is saying here is that Nathanael is not just a Jew on the outside but a "true" Jew based on his heart. Paul speaks about this concept also later in the New Testament, saying that it is not rites and rituals that make the person a genuine Jew, but instead what is important is what is inside the person. This is important because: one, this shows that Jesus knows our inner thoughts and external actions. Two, this shows that Nathanael was dedicated to knowing God already before meeting Jesus.
Next Jesus says, "in whom is no deceit." This points to Nathanael's bluntness and the fact that he would approach the examination of Jesus as the Messiah without deceptive motives. Again, Jesus knows us better than we know ourselves before he even meets us.
2 comments:
Wow, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Jesus did! Lets replace "Nazareth" in this question to "your work place". Sometimes I look at my work place and think the same thing. I look at those who don't know Christ and those who do but don't show it. It only took one man from Nazareth(Jesus) to get the ball rolling. Will you be that person from your work place? We also see how when one person is introduced to Jesus; then another is introduced right after by that person. Again, it only takes one to get it started. AMEN!
The devotioin for 6-19 by David Lynn restates this so well. I shared the book The Tipping Point with David several years ago. It has given me great insight in the way we are to do ministry. It is one of the books that impacted everything I do.
Jesus is the tipping point that will help each make Him known,
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