Nathanael the mystery man

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.”

⁴⁶ “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked.

“Come and see,” said Philip.

⁴⁷ When 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.”

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.” John 1:43-51

 

It’s a puzzling little passage, these verses at the end of John 1, not least because of the enigmatic figure of Nathanael. Jesus mysteriously describes him as “truly an Israelite in whom is no deceit” (verse 47), and, perhaps even more mysteriously, gives him the promise that he “will see the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man” (verse 51). Really? Can you imagine that? Strange.

 

What’s the background?

 

Jesus is out and about at the beginning of his ministry, overlapping with John the Baptist and calling his first apostles, the original twelve. Have you ever wondered, by the way, why half of them are hardly known to us from the Gospels? Certainly, most Christians will know about Simon Peter and his brother Andrew, also James and John, the sons of Zebedee, and of course “doubting Thomas” and Judas Iscariot. But for the rest, well, they rather fade into a hazy cloud in our minds.

 

None more so than Nathanael. Verses 43-51 tell the story of his call, and make him a very real figure, with a particular stamp to his character (“truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit”); but we never meet him again until John 21:2, and even when we do he is no more than a name in a list. Again, strange!

 

If we go back to verse 29 and the ministry of John the Baptist, these events suggest certain fairly clear lessons that we can learn from and apply to ourselves today; but they also pose certain questions which leave us scratching our heads. Let’s start with the fairly clear lessons. I suggest two…

 

First, while not strictly about evangelism, “the passing on of the good news of Jesus from one person to another”, they can help us as we think about it.

 

Whole books, of course, are written about evangelism, and you can go on training courses to learn how to do it. These books and courses may contain real wisdom and important insights. But ultimately there are no set techniques or methods which pin everything down. Taking our cue from John 1, the simplest, and perhaps purest, form of evangelism is a kind of chain-reaction: as the song puts it, “One shall tell another, and he shall tell his friend…”. “Gossiping the Gospel”, it has been called.

 

The chain here starts with John the Baptist (verses 29-36), continues with Andrew, then goes on with Philip (verse 43).

 

Andrew repeats the process with his brother Simon Peter, whom Jesus renames “Cephas”, or “Peter”, meaning “Rock”. But it’s with Philip that Nathanael comes on the scene - Philip told Nathanael: “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the law… Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph”.

 

True, Nathanael’s initial response is pretty sceptical: “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” But his subsequent turn-around could hardly be quicker or more complete: “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel”. Nathanael has certainly been evangelised!

 

So, the lesson for us…?

 

Christian, be ready to tell your personal story.

Both Andrew and Philip begin their message with the words “we have found…”, and if we are likewise ready to say to interested people “I have found… this is my experience…” that is likely to make more of an impact than quoting Bible verses or outlines of doctrine. (I recommend at this point five minutes spent reflecting on 1 Peter 3:15…) Let’s ask ourselves, then… First, have I got a story about Jesus to tell? And, second, am I ready to tell it?

 

A second lesson from the Nathanael story gives us a warning about prejudice.

 

I can’t help smiling every time I read of Nathanael’s response to Philip’s invitation. It’s as if he says: “Nazareth! Huh! Please don’t expect me to be impressed by that! Can anything good come out of that scrubby, backwoods little town? It’s never even mentioned in the Bible…”.

 

That is prejudice, pure and simple. And it’s something we can all be guilty of. I speak, as it happens, as someone who spent 20 very happy years of my life in a small heavy-industrial town called Scunthorpe, in Humberside.

 

Scunthorpe? Really? asks some smart, sceptical person. Yes, Scunthorpe! What’s your problem?

 

Twenty years is a hefty chunk of one’s life, and there were those who seemed to assume I would move on after four or five. But, looking back I don’t regret a minute. Twenty years of happy and satisfying ministry; one wife collected; two sons ushered into the world; some wonderful friends made; a host of warm memories stored away… I warn you; despise Scunthorpe at your peril! - you might end up with a punch on the nose (in Christian love, of course).

 

Being more serious, it’s clear that Nathanael is a blunt, plain-spoken man willing to air his prejudices. All right, his prejudice about Nazareth was pretty harmless and probably pretty common too. But… that isn’t always the case.

 

Prejudices come in all manner of forms. Someone belongs to the wrong religion, denomination or movement… they support the wrong football team… their skin is the wrong colour… their politics are hopelessly wrong… their taste in music is terrible… their dress-style is ridiculous…

 

There is a lot to admire about Nathanael, from the little we know about him. But let him also stand as a warning to us: Christian, avoid prejudice!

 

I’ve run out of space, so please join me next time for some of the more puzzling parts of the Nathanael story…

Father, please help me always to be ready to share my faith with others in clear and respectful ways; and, in a world full of hate and disrespect, help me too to keep my heart clear of the poison of prejudice. Amen.