Nathanael
Notes
Transcript
Twelve Ordinary Men
Online Sermon: http://www.mckeesfamily.com/?page_id=3567
Today we are going to continue the sermon series on the Twelve Apostles by examining
the life of Nathanael. Before I begin, I want to acknowledge that the book “Twelve Ordinary
Men” by John MacArthur was used as the foundation for this sermon series. Imagine spending
your whole life combing through the Mosaic Law and the Prophets to learn as much as you can
about the coming of the Messiah and then one day your friend boldly declares He has arrived!
How would you react? You would think that Nathanael would have been overwhelmed with joy,
drop everything and run to the feet of his Master! And yet we find in John 1:43-51 that his
initial reaction was one of skepticism. As soon as Phillip said Jesus was from Nazareth
Nathanael’s prejudice kicked in and he found himself dismissing any chance that the Messiah
had come because His home town had a reputation of being unrefined, uneducated, evil, corrupt,
and full of sinful people! And yet after just hearing a few words from Jesus his prejudices
melted away and he cried out “Rabbi you are the Son of God” (verse 49). In examining the life
of Nathanael, we are going to learn how those who genuinely seek God will see their prejudice
and skepticism give way to truth and faith in their Master.
Background on Nathanael
What little that can be known about Nathanael comes mostly from the Gospel of John.1
Nathanael is a Greek name that means “God has given” and his Jewish surname Bartholomeaw
means “son of Tomai.”2 While Nathanael’s
genealogy is not given anywhere in the Bible or
historically, some scholars suggest that Maach,
wife of King David, was daughter of King
Talmai of Geshur (2 Samuel 3:3) which would
mean that Nathanel was of Davidic descent.3
Nathanael’s home town was Cana of Galilee
(John 21:2).4 According to John MacArthur,
Nathanael was most likely a professional
fisherman along with Phillip, Thomas,5 and the
other four apostles Peter, Andrew, James and
John (John 21, Mark 1:21, 29; Luke 5:10) who
were fishing partners.6 Even though the name
JoAnn Ford Watson, “Philip (Person),” ed. David Noel Freedman, The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary (New York:
Doubleday, 1992), 311.
2
John F. MacArthur Jr., Twelve Ordinary Men: How the Master Shaped His Disciples for Greatness, and What He
Wants to Do with You (Nashville, TN: W Pub. Group, 2002), 119.
3
W. Brian Shelton, Quest for the Historical Apostles: Tracing Their Lives and Legacies (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker
Academic: A Division of Baker Publishing Group, 2018), 160.
4
Walter A. Elwell and Barry J. Beitzel, “Nathanael,” Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker
Book House, 1988), 1526.
5
Ibid.
6
Walter A. Elwell and Barry J. Beitzel, “Peter, The Apostle,” 1659.
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“Nathanael” has been identified as “Bartholomew” since the 9th century, 7 some scholars have
suggested he could have been either James the Son of Alphaeus, Matthew, Simon the
Cananaean8 or not even a disciple!9 Nathanael’s name is listed in sixth place in each of the lists
of Apostles (Matthew 10:2-4; Mark 3:16-18; Luke 6:12-15)10 as his surname Bartholomew. His
itinerant ministry ranged from Anatolia to Parthia, Egypt and India; each with its own tradition
on how he was martyred.11
Love of Scripture
43 The
next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, He said to
him, “Follow me.” 44 Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of
Bethsaida. 45 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.”
By mentioning that Jesus was the one whom Moses and prophets wrote about Phillip
knew this would peak Nathanael’s interest
whom was an ardent student of the Old
Testament.12 To hear that the heart of the
Old Testament had been finally fulfilled in
Jesus would have been profound for any
Jewish person to hear, especially for one
whom meditated on Scripture13 all those
days sitting under the fig tree outside his
home!14 From Nathanael we learn that
while truth is not easily found those who
genuinely seek will find God who is always
near (James 4:8). Had Nathanael not read
about the prophesied virgin birth (Isaiah
7:14) or the Messiah coming from a lowly
place like Bethlehem (Micah 5:2) or having no beauty of majesty (Isaiah 53:2); he most likely
would not have gone to meet one whom did not fulfill Jewish expectations that the Messiah
would be a Jewish King whom would conquer Rome. Even though the religious establishment
Michael J. Wilkins, “Bartholomew (Person),” ed. David Noel Freedman, The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary (New
York: Doubleday, 1992), 615.
8
Walter A. Elwell and Barry J. Beitzel, “Nathanael,” Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible, 1526.
9
Barclay Moon Newman and Eugene Albert Nida, A Handbook on the Gospel of John, UBS Handbook Series
(New York: United Bible Societies, 1993), 47–48.
10
Walter A. Elwell and Barry J. Beitzel, 1675.
11
W. Brian Shelton, Quest for the Historical Apostles: Tracing Their Lives and Legacies (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker
Academic: A Division of Baker Publishing Group, 2018), 163.
12
Merrill C. Tenney, “John,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: John and Acts, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 9
(Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1981), 41.
13
W. Brian Shelton, Quest for the Historical Apostles: Tracing Their Lives and Legacies, 161.
14
Raymond F. Collins, “Nathanael (Person),” ed. David Noel Freedman, The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary (New
York: Doubleday, 1992), 1030.
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of Nathanael’s day was “dominated by hypocrisy and false piety” 15 this did not deter him from
recognizing and accepting the truth concerning Jesus! As one without guile or deceit, Nathanael
truly was a “symbol of the pious Israelite whom Christ came”!16
Prejudice and Skepticism
46 “Nazareth!
Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked.
“Come and see,” said Philip.
The moment Phillip said Jesus was from Nazareth Nathanael became skeptical that He
was the Messiah! Since “Nazareth was not mentioned in the Old Testament, the Talmud,
Midrash or contemporary pagan writings,”17
why would the Messiah be born in such an
insignificant place?18 Not even the people in
the synagogues of Capernaum (John 6:42) or
Nazareth itself (Mark 6:1-6) believed that was
possible!19 Nathanael probably wondered
why would God’s own Son and Savior of
humanity choose to take up residence at an
“uncultured place, full of evil, corrupt, and
sinful people”?20 His disdain for Nazareth
was either due to civil rivalry with his home
town Cana21 or was due to his misconception
that anything familiar or close to home could
not house such a great honor!22 To have him
cured of his “human blindness,” Philip chose
not to try and win over his friend by argument but instead took Him to see Jesus.23
15
John F. MacArthur Jr., Twelve Ordinary Men: How the Master Shaped His Disciples for Greatness, and What He
Wants to Do with You, 137.
16
Walter A. Elwell and Barry J. Beitzel, “Nathanael,” Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible, 1526–1527.
17
George R. Beasley-Murray, John, vol. 36, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 2002), 27.
18
Leon Morris, 145.
19
J. Ramsey Michaels, John, Understanding the Bible Commentary Series (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2011),
40.
20
John F. MacArthur Jr., Twelve Ordinary Men: How the Master Shaped His Disciples for Greatness, and What He
Wants to Do with You, 140.
21
Ibid., 139.
22
J. Ramsey Michaels, John, Understanding the Bible Commentary Series, 39.
23
Leon Morris, 145.
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We can learn a lot from how Phillip handled Nathanael whom was skeptical of the truth.
We live in a fallen world in which the “ruler of the kingdom of the air” (Ephesians 2:2) has been
given the freedom to poison the hearts and minds of humanity. Satan roars like a lion, seeking to
devour the testimony of creation (Romans 1:20), God’s word (2 Timothy 3:16) and the Spirit’s
call (John 16:13). Living in a world where truth
is relational to “self” and is in a constant flux of
change as circumstances change, it should come
as no surprise that Jesus’ statement “I am the
way, truth and life” (John 14:6) is perceived by
many in this world as being mere foolishness (1
Corinthians 1:18)! We can learn a lot from
Phillip on how to deal with the skeptical people
of this world. First, he told Nathanael about
Jesus. Likewise, if we do not boldly preach to
the lost of this world then how will they ever
know the truth (Romans 10:14)? And second,
Philip was a follower of Jesus. Once a skeptic
knows the Good News show them the power of
the Gospel message by walking in the footsteps of Christ (2 Peter 2:21)! It is only when
someone sees the glorious riches (Ephesians 3:16-19) you have that they will be willing to give
up the broad path of sin (Matthew 7:13) to embrace a loving God whom has a place for them in
His kingdom (2 Peter 3:8-10)!
Cured of Human Blindness
Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, He said of him, “Here truly is an
Israelite in whom there is no deceit.” 48 “How do you know me?” Nathanael
asked. Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before
Philip called you.” 49 Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God;
you are the king of Israel.”
47 When
When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching
Him, He said Nathanael was a person without
deceit.24 Even though Nathanael was tainted
by prejudice and sin, Jesus saw into his heart
and found there to be no hypocrisy but only a
genuine love to see the Messiah.25 Unlike the
scathing rebuke the scribes and Pharisees
would get from Jesus (Matthew 23:13-33),
Nathan received high praise for Jesus saw him
as a true Israelite descendant (Romans 9:6-7),
not circumcised merely outwardly but of the
24
J. Ramsey Michaels, 40.
John F. MacArthur Jr., Twelve Ordinary Men: How the Master Shaped His Disciples for Greatness, and What He
Wants to Do with You, 142–143.
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heart (Romans 2:28-29)!26 Nathanael asked Jesus how He knew him? Jesus said “I saw you
under the fig tree” which was either a reference to Hosea 9:1027 or more likely a reference to one
of Nathanael’s times of prayer, meditation or study at his home town.28 Jesus’ supernatural
knowledge of Nathanael29 broke his skepticism and cured his human blindness as can be seen in
his profound Christological statement “Rabbi, you are the Son of God and king of Israel” (John
1:49; Psalms 2:6-7)!30
50 Jesus
said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You
will see greater things than that.” 51 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.”
Jesus acknowledged Nathanael’s faith based on His omnipotent knowledge of his private,
devotional life31 and then told him he was about to witness far more and greater miracles. As an
example of what was to come Jesus quoted
Genesis 28:10-17 in which Jacob had a dream of
a ladder that was set up on earth, reached all the
way to heaven and had angels ascending and
descending on it.32 If Jacob whom was filled
with guile and forced from his home for having
lied to his father and swindled his brother was
“eligible to receive a vision from God, would not
Nathanael be even more worthy of such a
blessing?33 Yes Nathanael would get to see that
Jesus was the ladder by which the “realities of
heaven will be brought down to earth” (John
3:13),34 that would forever help him overcome
“his disdain for the familiar and
commonplace.”35 He was about witness first
hand evidence that Jesus was far more than a
person from Nazareth or the son of Joseph (1:45) the carpenter (Mark 6:3), he was the Son of
Man (1:51) whom would pay for the sins of the world (1 Peter 3:18) and in doing so become the
only path to God the Father in heaven (John 14:6)!
26
John F. MacArthur Jr., Twelve Ordinary Men: How the Master Shaped His Disciples for Greatness, and What He
Wants to Do with You, 2002), 143.
27
J. Ramsey Michaels, 41.
28
Leon Morris, 146.
29
J. Ramsey Michaels, 42.
30
Raymond F. Collins, “Nathanael (Person),” 1030.
31
John F. MacArthur Jr., Twelve Ordinary Men: How the Master Shaped His Disciples for Greatness, and What He
Wants to Do with You, 146.
32
Ibid., 147.
33
Merrill C. Tenney, “John,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: John and Acts, 41.
34
Leon Morris, 149.
35
J. Ramsey Michaels, 42.
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I want to finish this sermon by saying “blessed are those how have not seen and yet
believe” (John 20:29b). While you cannot literally take a skeptic to the feet of Jesus, you can
introduce them to the life saving grace of Christ by telling them about all the miracles God has
done for you! First, point them to the
intricacies of creation that clearly demonstrate
His eternal power and divine nature (Romans
1:20). Though Jesus all things were created
and are held together (Colossians 1:16).
Second, tell them of all the miracles you and
others have received from God (Matthew
11:4-6). We all know of or have first hand
experience of physical, emotional or spiritual
miracles. For example, tell them of the time
when God sent you money when you had
none, sent advice from a friend that helped
you in a rough patch in your marriage or the
time when He wrapped His arms around you when a loved one unexpectedly passed away. And
most importantly, tell them about the miracle of your salvation. Tell them how you felt when
Christ forgave you of a lifetime of rejecting Him and you were born again not of flesh and blood
but of the Spirit of God (John 1:13)! Remember, it only took one miracle to convince Nathanael
… maybe that is all it will take to convince your skeptical friend, colleague, or family member to
embrace God’s gift of salvation!
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