Key Verse: "Come and see," said Philip.
John 1:47B
Jesus found another local man, Philip. We have no idea what attracted Jesus to
Phillip. Evidently, that is not
important. Philip, in turn, invited
Nathanael to come along with the rest of them.
"We have found the Messiah," Philip said. "We have found the one that Moses and
the prophets promised would come!" How
could Phillip know this after possibly only hearing one sermon? How different was Jesus from the usual
religious talkers of the day? Phillip
may have also been influenced by John the Baptist. What we know is that Jesus singled him out to
follow Him. There could be no doubt in Phillip’s
mind as to his calling. So, he goes to
fine Nathanael.
"But," Nathanael asks, "Can anything good
come out of Nazareth?" We've
already explored why Nathanael might think this way. Nazareth was in Galilee, part of the land
that had been lost seven hundred years earlier due to the inhabitants'
disobedience. It was part of the land of
darkness. Messiah wasn't supposed to
come from there! Obviously, Nathanael
was not yet familiar with Jesus’ background story of being born in Bethlehem
and hiding in Egypt before settling down.
To Nathanael's credit, he lays his prejudice aside to go discover for
himself what Philip is talking about.
Jesus, in turn, compliments Nathanael for his willingness to
have an open mind. "Here is a true
Israelite, in whom there is nothing false." Jesus sees the seeker in Nathanael and meets
the need of his heart. While Nathanael
is soon convinced by what seems to be a just a bit of clairvoyance on Jesus’ part,
Jesus assures Nathanael that, before it is over, he will see things beyond what
he could have ever imagined. He will be
rewarded for his willingness to remain open and to "come and see."
Jesus did not come to Israel in the way that many of the
learned men of the day expected. Their
closed minds and their trust in their traditions kept them from discovering
what Nathanael experienced. These closed
minded ones would have thought that they
were the true Israelites! But Jesus
seeks the open minds. Once again we are
reminded that God often does the unexpected.
Do we experience it, or do we miss it because He didn't do things,
"our way," or, "the way it should be done?" God is all around us, doing amazing things. His grace is abundant and we may catch it if
we remain open to His possibilities.
Congratulations to Nathanael for his openness and
congratulations to Philip for inviting him to, "come and see,"
instead of worrying that Nathanael wouldn't be interested. Philip gave Nathanael the chance that
Nathanael benefited from. We never know
what our invitation will do. But then,
the results aren't up to us, but the decision to share is.
Hymn: "Open the Eyes of My Heart"
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