How A Skeptic Became A Believer

John 1:43-51
43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, "Follow me." 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth." 46 Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see." 47 When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said of him, "Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!" 48 Nathanael asked him, "Where did you get to know me?" Jesus answered, "I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you." 49 Nathanael replied, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!" 50 Jesus answered, "Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these." 51 And he said to him, "Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man."

Meditation
1/16/2009

Literal - Jesus made a decision to go to Galilee. There he looked for and found Philip. He then told him to come and “follow me”.

Who is Philip? Philip’s name means lover of horses and some believe that the name means “war like” because of the uses of horses in battle. In this encounter with Jesus; Philip becomes an “apostle”, one chosen to be sent on a mission. The apostle Philip, was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter, (John 1:44) and apparently was among the Galilean peasants of that district who flocked to hear the preaching of John the Baptist.

The manner in which the Apostle John speaks of him indicates a previous friendship with the sons of Jona and Zebedee, and a consequent participation in their messianic hopes. The close union of the two in John 6 and 12 suggests that he may have owed to Andrew his first knowledge that the hope of Messiah coming had been fulfilled. Since in this encounter with Jesus it seems Philip is already convinced that Jesus is the Messiah. The statement that Jesus found him (John 1:43) perhaps implies a previous seeking or at the very least a very intentional effort on Jesus’ part to find him.

In the lists of the twelve apostles, in the Synoptic Gospel, his name is as uniformly at the head of the second group of four as the name of Peter is at that of the first, (Matthew 10:3; Mark 5:18; Luke 6:14). This indicates that Phillip provided a degree of group leadership among the Apostles. The facts recorded by St. John give the reason of this priority and position of leadership.

Philip apparently was among the first company of disciples who were with the Lord at the commencement of his ministry at the marriage at Cana, on his first appearance as a prophet in Jerusalem, John 2. The first three Gospels tell us nothing more of him individually. The Apostle John, with his characteristic fullness of personal reminiscences, records a few significant utterances. (John 6:5-9; 12:20-22; 14:8) No other fact connected with the name of Philip is recorded in the Gospels. He is among the company of disciples at Jerusalem after the ascension (Acts 1:13) and on the day of Pentecost. According to tradition Philip was sent with his sister Mariamme and Bartolomew to preach in Greece, Phrygia, and Syria and died at Hierapolis as a martyr being crucified upside down.

Now Philip comes to share his conviction that Jesus is the Messiah with Nathanael. Nathanael name means “a gift of God. Due to Philip’s witness, Nathanael meets Jesus and becomes a disciple of Jesus Christ.

What else do we know about Nathanael? Under that name at least, we learn from Scripture little more than his birthplace, Cana of Galilee, (John 21:2) and his simple, truthful character. (John 1:47) The name does not occur in the first three Gospels; but it is commonly believed that Nathanael and Bartholomew are the same person. The evidence for that belief is as follows: St, John who twice mentions Nathanael, never introduces the name of Bartholomew at all. St. Matthew, (Matthew 10:3) St. Mark, (Mark 3:18) and St. Luke, (Luke 8:14) all speak of Bartholomew but never of Nathanael. If this is correct then he was on of the twelve apostles and according to tradition preached in India.

Here we have the encounter of Jesus with a skeptic. His doubt is due to prejudice about any good thing coming from Nazareth. Nazareth in Christ's time was a city of 15,000 to 20,000 inhabitants, of some importance. The reason for Nathanael’s poor view of Nazareth, (John 1:47) is not known. All the inhabitants of Galilee were looked upon with contempt by the people of Judea because they spoke a ruder dialect, were less cultivated and were more exposed by their position to contact with the heathen. But it is clear here that Nathanael holds Nazareth in special contempt for some reason. Perhaps this is related to the Messiah coming from Bethlehem and not Nazareth and indicates a theological objection and not pure prejudice against the city (John 7:42).

The idea that Nathanael’s objection was theological seems more in line with Jesus’ evaluation that he is an honest man. Prejudice and honesty rarely are in the same person. When Jesus demonstrates knowledge of Nathanael and relates his honesty to some event under a fig tree that only Nathanael knew about, this demonstration of prophetic knowledge and insight provided for Nathanael a reason to believe. He seems in fact to go from doubt to firm faith very quickly proclaiming Jesus both Son of God (Psalm 2) and Messianic King.

Jesus seems almost amused at how little it took for Nathanael to move from skeptic to believer. He assures him that he will see far greater things. For after the resurrection he will see Jesus ascending with angels surrounding Him as He goes to sit at God’s right hand (Gen 28:12). Here is an example of one man’s doubts being overcome with an encounter with Jesus.

Many doubters today need an encounter with Jesus. Here we do not see all the intellectual and theological questions answered. But we see Jesus coming to the man and “pushing the right buttons” to create in him faith. Jesus knew exactly what Nathanael would need to believe and provides it. So today Jesus can do the same thing for those He has chosen to become followers of His way. Jesus is the creator of or our faith.


Christocentric - NAU Mark 16:6 And he said to them, "Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen; He is not here; behold, here is the place where they laid Him.


Moral - Honesty of heart places us in a good place to encounter truth in Jesus the Nazarene.


Eternal - Every believer will see greater things than they have seen in this life. The glory of God in heaven and the vision of Jesus Christ upon the throne will be far greater than our wildest imaginations of it. Our faith will turn to seeing. We will then reach a level of conviction we have never felt before as we see the wonder of the eternal spiritual reality before our eyes.


Prayer - Lord, give me an honest heart and let me have encounters with you that will increase my faith.


Contemplation - I will show you greater things


Action: Make a list of your questions, struggles, and doubts. Set this before the Lord. Ask Him to give you encounters of faith that will help you see beyond these questions to Him as the truth.