Nathanael (John 1:43-51)

This sermon was preached on Sunday, 5th October 2009

In this section of his Gospel John has been describing the various ways in which different people came to know who Jesus was. At one level the chapter records how these individuals encountered Jesus; at another level John is building a composite picture of who Jesus is so that his readers will get as full a picture as possible, and he will continue to do this throughout his Gospel. John described Jesus as the Lamb of God, Andrew described Jesus as the Messiah; in the section we are considering there are the descriptions of Philip and of Nathanael. It is supposed that Nathanael is the same person as Bartholemew, mainly because Philip and Bartholemew are linked together in the lists of apostles (Matt. 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:14).

The testimony of Philip
There are four features of Philip’s testimony about Jesus that we should notice. First, Philip says that he is not alone in his discovery about Jesus – Philip says to Nathanael: ‘We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph’ (John 1:45). Second, Philip says that what led them to understand who Jesus is was the Old Testament Scriptures (the law and the prophets). Philip merely discovered what Jesus was later to say of the Old Testament, that it testified of him (John 5:39). Third, Philip identified the Messiah by his personal name, a sign that he had in fact met the Messiah. Fourth, Philip urged Nathanael to try Jesus for himself (‘Come and see’), particularly as an answer to Nathanael’s difficulties. These four features are important aspects of witnessing.

A great deal of information about Jesus can be found in the Old Testament, whether in promise or by picture or in prophecy. The promises begin in the Garden of Eden with the assurance that the Seed of the woman would bruise the head of the serpent. Another such promise was given to Abraham when he was told that the whole earth would be blessed through One of his descendants. When we think of pictures, or typology, there are the various sacrifices of the Old Testament which point forward to the sacrifice Jesus would make of Calvary; also there are individuals, such as priests and kings, which depict the activities of Jesus as our intercessor and ruler. Prophecy also gives great and accurate predictions about Jesus, whether it be his sufferings in Isaiah 53 or his extensive worldwide kingdom in Psalm 72.

Philip’s description of Jesus as the One about whom the Old Testament scriptures are concerned is a link to the story of Nathanael because it is evident that he was thinking about one such incident, the occasion when Jacob had a vision of a ladder linking earth and heaven (Gen. 28:11-22).

Nathanael’s Difficulty
Nazareth was a small and sinful town. The location pictured the willingness of Jesus to descend from heaven to this world. His willingness to live in Nazareth is evidence of his humility, which marked his entire life on earth. Such a choice is always a challenge to us.

From a human point of view, if someone was wanting to promote a person they would hide negative aspects of his past and hope that no-one would find out about them. But the Bible does not do this with regard to Jesus. Here Philip mentions Nazareth, an obscure village that is not even mentioned in the Old Testament, and a location that was regarded as unsuitable for a prominent person to live there.

Why was Jesus in Nazareth?

One reason is that in Nazareth Jesus engaged in a very important requirement of salvation, that is, living a life of obedience to his Father’s law on behalf of his people, in order that they would be clothed with his righteousness.

A second reason why Jesus lived in Nazareth was for him to experience the troubles that come the way of ordinary people. He identified with the common person in their everyday affairs – family requirements, social concerns, employment factors. It is a noteworthy fact that Jesus worked as a carpenter for over a dozen years, probably as the breadwinner in the family.

A third reason for those years in Nazareth is that they were the period of preparation for Jesus’ three years of public ministry, during which he would give to his disciples the great teachings so essential for their understanding of the faith, as well as at its climax suffer on the cross to make atonement for sin.

It may be that Nathanael’s comment is not evidence of scorn primarily but of surprise. There is an important lesson here for us. Not every questioning about Jesus is evidence of hostility or deliberate unbelief. Different people may have difficulty understanding the Christian message and we should encourage them to name them so that their difficulties can be explained. Some people do have intellectual difficulties.

Jesus and Nathanael
First we discover that Jesus knew the character of Nathanael. His assessment was that Nathanael was an honest man. His honesty is seen in his willingness to examine the claims made about Jesus by Philip. Let me mention here a wrong, but common, deduction from the doctrine of total depravity. The doctrine does not mean that each person is as bad as he or she could be. Some are a lot worse than others and some are a lot better than others. It is possible for an unconverted person to be scrupulously honest and straightforward. Jesus himself says this was the case with Nathanael.

Many have noted that Jesus’ words to Nathaniel – ‘Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!’ (v. 47) – could be rendered as ‘Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no Jacob!’ When Jacob received the vision that Nathanael was thinking about, he was fleeing from home because of the consequences of his deceit practised on his brother Esau. Nathanael was not like Jacob in this regard.

Second, Jesus knew Nathanael’s activities. The shade offered by a fig tree was used for study, meditation and prayer. Indeed, to say that someone was sitting under a fig tree was to suggest they were engaged in personal devotions. Nathanael was a devout man, endeavouring to live according to the Old Testament. He had been meditating on the incident in the life of Jacob when the patriarch had a divine encounter. How little Nathanael realised that he was about to have a more profound meeting with God.

Third, Jesus knew Nathanael’s concerns. It seems to be the case that Nathanael was struggling to discover the meaning of the Bible. Perhaps he was troubled how such a rogue as Jacob could become the recipient of God’s blessing. Often individuals who live morally upright lives have difficulty appreciating God’s gracious dealings with public sinners.

Jesus knows all about each of us. He is aware of our characters, actions and concerns. Perhaps we are like Nathanael, honest, devout and eager to understand the Bible. Jesus says to us, as he revealed to Nathanael, that he is the Key to unlock our problems, that he is the Remedy for our inability to please God even by our pious and upright living.

The confession of Nathanael
Nathanael responds to Jesus’ words in two ways. Because he addresses Jesus as the Son of God and the King of Israel, his words indicate that he was submitting to Jesus as his Master. In a sense he was crowning Jesus as the King of his life; no longer would Nathanael be a righteous rebel against the only King.

But why did Nathanael submit to Jesus Christ? I would suggest the answer is that he was satisfied with Jesus Christ. Nathanael was in the presence of One who knew his heart, understood his motives and now satisfied his longings. Nathanael’s search for meaning was now over, he had found the Source of spiritual life, he had discovered that the sovereign God of Israel had become the incarnate Saviour.

The promise of Jesus of greater things
The ‘you’ in verse 51 is plural: ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.’ This means that Jesus, while responding to Nathanael, was also speaking to all the disciples. In essence they are promised the fulfilment of Jacob’s vision. So what did Jesus mean by this promise? Here are four suggestions.

First, Nathanael and the other disciples would see great things within their lifetime. To see this meaning we need to appreciate the name Jesus uses for himself here – Son of Man. This is a title used in Daniel to describe the One who was to become the ruler of the nations. This was fulfilled when Jesus ascended to heaven, when all power in heaven and on earth was given to him. It was not enough for Nathaniel to recognise that Jesus was the King of Israel. Nathanael was going to see the lowly man of Nazareth become the King of kings and Lord of lords. If we cast our minds forward three years and think about the group of disciples watching Jesus ascend into heaven, they saw a fulfilment of Jacob’s ladder, and it is not surprising that they were full of joy.

Second, the disciples would see Jesus working providentially in the world even after he had returned to heaven. I suspect this is what is meant by the activity of angels ascending and descending. They do so as the servants of Jesus, sent by him to minister to the heirs of salvation. They are not to be worshipped, although their activities should be valued.

Third, the disciples would see the effects of the gospel. Jesus is the ladder between heaven and earth. Because he is the link heaven is open to sinners – he invites them into his presence to receive forgiveness of their sins, to join his heavenly family.

Fourth, the day would come eventually when they would be carried by the angels through the door of heaven into the presence of Jesus. They would each personally experience this heavenly ascent escorted by angelic beings. These are four marvellous ‘greater things’, and the first three are greater than what Jacob saw, even although he had a wonderful vision of God. And, of course, we too can see his great acts of providence, gospel blessing and abundant entrance into glory.

Conclusion
The message of Nathanael to us is twofold. First, he tells us that upright people need the Saviour and that the Saviour delights to have such among his disciples. Second, all who follow Jesus will see great things, similar to what Nathanael saw. And with him, and Jacob, they will yet see Jesus bring heaven and earth together in the future restitution of all things, in the new heavens and new earth.