John 1:43-51 Skeptic

John 1:43-51 (Evangelical Heritage Version)

43The next day, Jesus wanted to leave for Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” 44Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the hometown of Andrew and Peter.

45Philip 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.”

46Nathanael said to him, “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?”

“Come and see!” Philip told him.

47Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said about him, “Truly, here is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.”

48Nathanael asked him, “How do you know me?”

Jesus answered, “Before Philip called you, while you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”

49Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”

50Jesus replied, “You believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that!” 51Then he added, “Amen, Amen, I tell you: You will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

Skeptic

I.

I would imagine it to have been a nice, warm day outside; not like it is in west Michigan right now. The shade of a fig tree would have been a great place to sit and meditate—to do your personal devotions for the day and say your prayers.

That seems to be the kind of guy Nathanael was. He was sincere. Nathanael wasn’t looking for the kind of Messiah so many of his day were seeking—the kind that would change the politics of his land and bring back the Davidic monarchy. He was much more focused on the prophecies of the Old Testament and what they said about Messiah.

Maybe Nathanael had been fooled before. Maybe he had seen some promising individuals that had appeared to be fulfilling those ancient prophecies, but soon it became apparent they were frauds.

Sometimes the realities you have seen in the past make you skeptical when presented with new information.

Perhaps he was still under the fig tree, contemplating the universe, when Philip approached him. He said: “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” (John 1:45, EHV).

I would imagine Philip’s first words made Nathanael’s ears perk up. The One Moses and the prophets wrote about? Philip obviously meant the Messiah. All the false starts of the past caused his skepticism to kick in. “Nathanael said to him, ‘Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?’” (John 1:46, EHV).

II.

Skepticism. The dictionary defines skepticism as: “an attitude of doubt or a disposition to incredulity either in general or toward a particular object” (Merriam-Webster).

Being a skeptic doesn’t seem all that unusual, does it? If you have a certain accent or put words together in a certain way, others might make presumptions about you. There might be an attitude of doubt that someone who talks that way is very intelligent. On the other side of that coin is academia. If you have a degree from a prestigious university there is a presumption that you are more intelligent than those who graduated from some “lesser” school.

As for Nathanael, he concentrated his skepticism on geography. To him it seemed incredulous to think that God’s promised Messiah could come from a place like Nazareth.

That kind of skepticism is not so unusual, either. I’m originally from South Dakota. Often I was asked what it is like to grow up on a farm and ride horses all the time. I don’t know. I grew up in town. I didn’t ride a horse on anything more than a half-hour trail ride until I met my east-coast wife. Just because I’m from a particular state doesn’t mean I have everything in common with the stereotypes of that state.

Another of the dictionary definitions of skepticism is: “doubt concerning basic religious principles” (Merriam-Webster). Many today are skeptical that there is a God at all. You’ve heard the questions: “If there really was a God, why would he let such evil in his world?” “If Adam and Eve were real people, why did God allow them to fall into sin and ruin everything?”

“Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” (John 1:46, EHV). Skepticism could easily have kept Nathanael sitting under his fig tree. Philip hadn’t led with anything that would alleviate a skeptical attitude.

What kind of answer would you have given to Nathanael? For that matter, what kind of answers come to mind when someone hits you with one of those “If there really were a God...” questions?

Perhaps you start to appeal to logic—to explain the logic of God and why he might or might not make certain decisions or take certain actions. All too often I have probably started in some Bible-logic direction. The problem is that God’s attributes and his decisions and his actions don’t fit in very well with human logic. It doesn’t take long and logic breaks down.

I wonder if some logical answers flew through Philips head before he spoke. I wonder if he opened his mouth, but then just stood there for a moment, realizing that anything he could say wasn’t really going to fulfill any sort of logic Nathanael seemed to be looking for.

Philip simply said: “Come and see!” (John 1:46, EHV). It wasn’t really logical that something good could come from Nazareth—that went against conventional wisdom. Even Biblical logic would say that the Promised One of God should come from Bethlehem, not Nazareth. What could he say, really? Nothing would seem logical.

Isn’t that the best answer for skepticism about God today, too? God still doesn’t make logical sense. I was once told that a pastor is like a salesman, and I needed to use salesman tactics in the ministry. My answer was basically to say that if you think Christianity is a product, it is a product noone wants. The sinful nature is quite content to remain without God.

III.

Even after Philip invited him to come and see, Nathanael was still a skeptic. It would have been easy for him to ignore Philip and stay firmly seated under the fig tree. He could have gone on with his personal meditations for that whole day, and many more to come.

Apparently Nathanael’s “doubt concerning religious principles,” that second definition of skepticism we spoke of earlier, didn’t keep him from being open-minded enough to tag along with Philip to see what his friend was in such an uproar about.

“Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said about him, ‘Truly, here is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit’” (John 1:47, EHV).

Jesus knew something important about Nathanael. He was not a Jew in name only. He wasn’t someone who just wanted to use religion for his own purposes—to be able to look like a righteous person, or to prosper in business, or for some other obscure personal reason. He really was looking for God’s promised Savior.

“Nathanael asked him, ‘How do you know me?’” (John 1:48, EHV). Jesus already might have had a certain reputation as a teacher, but Nathanael had never met Jesus in person before. How could this man—great though he might be—so easily read Nathanael’s heart and see him as a person who longed for his Savior?

“Jesus answered, ‘Before Philip called you, while you were under the fig tree, I saw you.’ 49Nathanael answered him, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!’” (John 1:48-49, EHV).

Remember Philip’s simple invitation to “come and see”? Jesus reading his heart so completely and so correctly told Nathanael all he needed to know. Jesus of Nazareth really is the Savior God promised. The Holy Spirit quickly led Nathanael to faith and an immediate confession of that faith. Jesus, he knew, was not just a man, but the very Son of God. The King of Israel. The long-promised Messiah. Nathanael was a skeptic no longer.

IV.

“Jesus replied, ‘You believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that!’” (John 1:50, EHV).

It almost sounds as though Jesus was reprimanding Nathanael for needing to see miracles before he would believe. That isn’t the case. Nathanael had already been identified by Jesus as “one in whom there is no deceit,” in other words, as one who was seeking for the Savior God promised.

Now Nathanael knew that Savior personally. Now that faith should continue to grow. He would see and learn many things and come to know and understand much more about God’s plan of salvation in the days and years ahead.

“Then he added, ‘Amen, Amen, I tell you: You will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man’” (John 1:51, EHV). Most people say “Amen” at the end of a prayer. It means, “I solemnly tell you the truth,” or “so shall it be.” Jesus sometimes uses it differently than anyone else, at the beginning of a statement. Here he wants to emphasize what he is about to say.

Jesus had just asserted that Nathanael would see greater things. Now he switches to you plural and includes all the rest of the disciples along with Nathanael. You disciples—you of the 21st century, too—will see the fulfillment of the dream Jacob once had of angels ascending and descending. Heaven and earth are linked by the work of Jesus.

“Come and see,” Philip had said.

Nathanael came. He saw. His faith was firmly established and it began to grow.

The same is true for every person who comes to faith in the Savior. Faith doesn’t just mean an instant understanding of everything there is to know about God and his Word and his will and his promises fulfilled in Jesus. Faith continues to learn and grow through new discoveries in a person’s life with Christ.

Set aside your natural skepticism. Invite others to set aside theirs, too. Then come and see each week. Amen.