Nathanael C - 1
The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.”
Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote - Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
“Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked.
“Come and see,” said Philip.
When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.”
“How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.
Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”
Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.”
Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.” He then added, “Very truly I tell you, you will see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
John 1:43-51 (NIV)
This is definitely one of my very favorite Scriptures. It gives us a clear view into the mind and heart of Jesus. But it also serves to debunk, defuse and destroy a common view about Jesus: that He is so busy with saintly people, He just has no time for us! We are kind of invisible to Him. Therefore, we are unimportant, and in fact, He doesn’t even hear our prayers. This is perhaps the most common belief held by some.
An interesting fact: Jesus Himself didn’t recruit Nathanael, but in fact Philip did. Philip already knew that Jesus was special so it would make sense for him to tell Nathanael about Jesus.
We see Nathanael’s assessment of Jesus: Jesus came from the wrong geographic place: Nazareth. Therefore, nothing good could come from there, he thought. Nazareth was definitely on the wrong side of the tracks! A little narrow thinking here? It is interesting that Jesus overlooked Nathanael’s assessment of Nazareth, perhaps because He saw a broader-minded vision of a future Nathanael. Isn’t it great that in our case, He gives us the extra time needed to exchange wrong beliefs for correct ones!
But then it happens: Jesus tells Nathanael that somehow, Jesus saw and heard Nathanael’s prayer time under the fig tree. This conversation was a beautiful, personal invitation to walk with Jesus and get to know him
Finally, what was Nathanael thinking about under the fig tree? It must have been super important and life changing. And it was something Jesus was knowledgeable about and interested in. It is important for us to remember that God is already well aware of our deepest and most private thoughts!
By the way, Jesus is extending the same invitation to you and me at this very moment! What an honor!
1) Nathanael was a little narrow-minded, as shown by his assessment of Nazareth. How many people walk around with concrete ideas based not necessarily on facts?
2) How dangerous is such a pattern?
3) How many people have slanted ideas and retained, but flawed, beliefs about Jesus? Might these prevent people from growing?
4) How intimately would Jesus have known Nathanael?
5) It is important to note just WHAT Jesus thought was so important about Nathaniel. What were the few words Jesus used to describe Nathaniel?
6) Any guesses on what Nathanael was grappling with under the fig tree? How important might it have been? Might it have been very private and also life-changing?
7) Jesus made a prediction about Nathanael’s future, what he would see and be a part of! Wasn’t this sharing something very personal about Jesus’ future also? Could you imagine that kind of communication today, between Jesus and us? Between Jesus and you?