Joh 1:44 Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.
Joh 1:45 Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.
Joh 1:46 And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see.
In the gospel of John as Jesus began His ministry- bringing the new covenant direction to people- we read of this happenstance as He gathered His disciples.
Let's go on another imaginary journey for a moment. Have you ever had a moment, maybe more so as a child or young adult, but have you ever had one of those times when you've run to someone and said- "You've got to see this!" That sense of urgency when you want someone to share something with you, something exciting. I just imagine Philip having that *WOW* excitement as he went to Nathanael.
"We found Him! We found the one who Moses in the law and prophets wrote about! It's Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph!"
Just picture the moment there, the thrill of realizing prophecy coming to life and wanting to share it with others. Of course just like reality is and not fiction, not all are just as thrilled as we want them to be when we're excited about something. Sometimes they put a damper on things don't they? And Nathanael quickly put a damper on Phillip's enthusiasm.
"Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?"
A bit of history on Nazareth-
Nazareth in Ancient Times
The city of Nazareth was a small and insignificant agricultural village in the time of Jesus. It had no trade routes, was of little economic importance and was never mentioned in the Old Testament or other ancient texts. Archaeological excavations indicate Nazareth was settled continuously from 900 – 600 BCE, with a break in settlement until 200 BCE, from which time it has been continuously inhabited.
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Small and insignificant. Nothing important, nothing exceptional, it'd be like us saying some amazing new superstar, hero, movie, singer, or politician coming from this itty bitty no where town population 500. It'd be remarked on and has been in the past- giving the history of a celebrity. And the reaction of some people that knew of this tiny town might just be- really, something good coming out of that place?
Can any good thing come out of Nazareth, it's almost as if Nathanael is scoffing at Phillip's exciting news and he really is, he's skeptical and being skeptical isn't always a bad thing it can bring necessary caution with it.
How does Phillip respond? He says- "Come and see!" He's not surprised by Nathanael's reaction, he doesn’t try to refute what he's saying. I can picture Him still grinning, still thrilled with His news as he tells Nathanael to come and see Jesus.
Joh 1:47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!
Joh 1:48 Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.
Joh 1:49 Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.
Nathanael didn't jump up and run to Jesus did he? I can picture him standing up and shrugging his shoulders saying, okay, okay, I'll come see. He most likely was walking as Jesus saw him coming to Him. Do you picture Jesus smiling? I do. Smiling and saying… "Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!"
An Israelite indeed- as if- we'd say about someone… "An American indeed!" What would we mean by saying that? We'd think of all the GOOD things about American's and feel perhaps a kinship to that person. Of course some might have the opposite reaction- those who do not like Americans but that's not this case. Jesus was saying 'An Israelite indeed' as a good thing. And adding- in whom is no guile because a TRUE good Israelite has no guile- right? Just as if we would say, an American indeed whom isn't deceitful. This would be a GOOD person, a really good person, a good American.
This compliment is really amazing because Jesus knows all of us unlike any other can and He knew inside of Nathanael's heart, His deepest thoughts.
How did Nathanael respond? Not with gratitude, or a thank you, but with more skepticism.
"How do you know me?" He wanted to know how Jesus could make such a statement about him when he didn't even know Him, and if he didn't know Jesus, Jesus couldn't know him, right?
Jesus answered, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you."
Now we need to think about this for a moment because it's very possible Jesus saw Him in passing, right? Saw Nathanael before Philip went to find him. But this revelation of Jesus' surprises Nathanael into losing ALL skepticism instantly. So Nathanael was under a fig tree- perhaps in a hidden garden, somewhere no one could have seen Him? I don't know, I'm just speculating here, but if Nathanael was out in the open where anyone could have seen Him this wouldn't have been amazing. Philip went to Nathanael, but before Philip went to him, Nathanael was somewhere else and in that secluded spot where no one could have possibly known He was- Jesus knew. Jesus knew where Nathanael was at in that special place spending time under that fig tree. Jesus KNEW Nathanael as no other ever could, as He knows EACH and every one of us. He knows when were under our individual 'fig trees' so to speak. We cannot hide anyway from Jesus, we shouldn't want to hide. We should have 'no guile' in us just at Nathanael had no guile in Him and that was a very good thing.
Joh 1:50 Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these.
Joh 1:51 And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.
I can still picture Jesus smiling, answering, "Because I told you I saw you under a tree, you believe?"
It would be amazing if someone told me they saw me in a spot I believed I was alone in and no one knew I was there. I'd be shocked senseless. I'd want to know HOW they knew I was there. Knowing it was impossible, that no one could possibly know especially a stranger, I'd believe it was a miracle and if they performed this miracle of knowledge then I'd be very, very impressed and I'd be inclined to believe they were performing a true miracle of God. Nathanael believed it was a miracle and it helped that Philip had told Him to come see that they'd found 'him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. '
Jesus went on to say- 'Thou shalt see greater things than these.'
If you think that was good just wait! That was nothing, but you're going to see something that is really spectacular.
'Truthfully I'm telling you that you're going to see heaven open. You're going to see angels of God going up and down on the Son of man.'
Amazing! Truly amazing! We have no idea how wondrous this is. Jesus had *powers* powers to see things He should have no way of seeing. Powers to predict the truth in the future. Jesus wasn't bragging at all not in any way whatsoever. There was no arrogance in His statement. Jesus wanted Nathanael to know that he was in the presence of the , Moses in the law and prophets wrote of, he was in the presence of the Messiah, the Son of man. Only angels of God would interact with the Son of God in this way. It was wondrous news, a wondrous revelation. This telling of how one of the 12 disciples came to follow the Savior. This was given for our learning, our hearing, our heart's knowledge.
We are known, wherever we are we are known by our Savior.
Our Savior knows us and our Savior wants us to know, and wants us to know that He knows us and loves us. Our Savior was empowered by the Holy Spirit to do the Father's will. Enlightenment came to Jesus to do supernatural acts through the same Holy Spirit that was promised to us. God's will has to be our desire before anything else, just as it was for our Savior. We can only fall at the feet of our Savior and beg His mercy, His compassion, His grace and ask for the Holy Spirit's guidance in our lives in anyway the Savior sees fit for the Holy Spirit to guide us an empower us to love Him in all ways.
By His amazing grace!
Amen.
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