Nathaniel (John 1:43-51)

Nathaniel is mentioned twice in the Gospel of John – the other reference to him is John 21:3 which says that he came from Cana in Galilee. It is assumed that he is the same person as the apostle Bartholomew. Church tradition indicates that 

His contact

We are not told why Philip contacted Nathaniel. Maybe they were related to one another or perhaps they identified with those who were waiting for the imminent arrival of the Messiah. Whatever the reason for the contact, it was successful initially in that Nathaniel was persuaded by Philip to meet with Jesus.

His concern

Philip informed Nathaniel that Jesus, the person whom Philip now believed was the Messiah, came from Nazareth. Immediately, this piece of information caused concern to Nathaniel. His concern was twofold. One reason was the general opinion people had of Nazareth and the other reason was his own knowledge of the place, given that Cana was only seven miles from Nazareth. 

The general opinion regarding Nazareth was that no devout person would live there. This piece of information should lead us not to be too surprised when later on the people of Nazareth attempted to throw Jesus over a cliff. The fact that Nathaniel in Cana had not heard about Jesus, given that he had lived in nearby Nazareth for three decades, points to the possibility that Jesus kept a low profile during that period and did not do anything that would draw attention to himself, apart from living in a manner that those who knew him would have described as very devout.

Of course, during those three decades of obscurity, the eyes of the Heavenly Father was on Jesus and he was continually delighted by what he saw. There, in the worst of places, the best of lives was lived out. Nathaniel did not realise it at that time, but there in Nazareth, just along the road, the means of his justification and acceptance with God was being worked out by Jesus as he lived a totally perfect life.

His character

What kind of man was Nathaniel? Perhaps we might have regarded him as sceptical because of his response concerning Nazareth. Was he engaging in a bit of inter-village rivalry when he stated that nothing good could come from Nazareth? If we think that, we would be wrong because Jesus tells us that Nathaniel was a devout man. We see his devotion in two ways.

First, Jesus describes the heart of Nathaniel. He says of Nathaniel that he was ‘an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!’ Indeed, he seems to be telling other disciples to observe the character of Nathaniel. No doubt, some of us have had a scan of some kind and were relieved when we were given the all clear. Hear, Nathaniel’s heart was scanned by the all-seeing eye of Jesus and was pronounced as very devout. Clearly, this encounter with Jesus was not the conversion of Nathaniel, but we could call it the confirmation of Nathaniel. 

This leads us to consider the possession of assurance. What would be the best kind of assurance to have? Surely, it would be after been searched by the Lord, to have his verdict about the state of our hearts. While we cannot hear his assessment in the manner that Nathaniel did, we can have a similar one from the Bible. The Bible is the scan that the Lord uses to show us who we are. We can use the prayer at the close of Psalm 139 when the psalmist asks God to search him. If we are not willing for God’s Word to do that in every area of life, there is something wrong. If we are too busy to allow God’s Word to do this, we are too busy.

The second feature that Jesus identifies is explained in the reference to Nathaniel sitting under a fig tree. This may be a literal reference, but it is the case that when a person was engaged in personal devotions it was described as sitting under a fig tree. A common feature of a devotional life was meditation and a case can be made for saying that Nathaniel was meditating on the character of Jacob, even to the precise incident when Jacob had a vision of angels ascending a ladder (which Jesus goes on to refer to). 

It has been pointed out that the description of Nathaniel that Jesus gives here can be paraphrased as ‘Look, a genuine Israelite in whom is no Jacob.’ Jacob, as we know, was a deceitful man for many years, and when he had his vision he was fleeing from his home because of his deceit in stealing the blessing that Isaac had planned to give to Esau. In the heart of Nathaniel was an intense desire for spiritual honesty. That attitude is a basic evidence of a changed life.

When did Jesus start looking at Nathaniel in this way? He is not referring to his physical eyesight here, but to his divine omniscience. His awareness of the heart of Nathaniel brought great delight to the Son of God, and he observed him day by day thinking about the things of God. The response of Jesus to Nathaniel was very different to the response he made to some described at the end of John 2.

His confession

The effect on Nathaniel was instant. He realised that the man from Nazareth was much more than a man from Nazareth. Immediately, he wanted to confess with joy and wonder and gratitude whom he had discovered Jesus to be. His experience with Jesus had told him three things about Jesus. 

First, he realised that Jesus was a teacher of spiritual truth. We are not surprised that he realise that about Jesus because he had felt the power of the Saviour’s words. A true teacher does not merely give opinions, he states facts that the learners know are true. Jesus had told Nathaniel facts about himself which showed that he had been accurately assessed. 

Second, he realised that Jesus is divine. The other disciples took awhile to piece together the various features of the identity of Jesus. We are aware of Peter’s great confession of Jesus a couple of years later at Philippi when he stated with conviction that Jesus was the Son of God. Here, Nathaniel has grasped something astounding, which is that God has a Son, and that his Son was right there beside him. Nathaniel was not just a scholar of Jesus, he was a worshipper of Jesus.

Third, Nathaniel stated that Jesus was the Messiah. From one point of view, Nathaniel was fortunate that Roman soldiers were not present when he made this statement because they would have regarded Caesar as the ruler of Israel. But when Nathaniel said these words, he was identifying himself as a subject of Jesus. He stated very clearly that he recognised the authority of Jesus over his life, that he had to obeyed by his servants.

What would we say to Jesus as a result of our experience of him? We should have something to say that depends on our current contact. We can say to him that he is the one who has rescued us from our sins, that he is our advocate, that he is our shepherd, that he is our friend. No doubt, Jesus was delighted to hear the confession of Nathaniel, and he is delighted to hear ours as well.

His comfort

Jesus then informed Nathaniel of future blessings that he would experience. Nathaniel had concluded from the knowledge of him that Jesus had that he was indeed the promised Messiah witnessed to by Philip. He had by faith seen something of the greatness of Jesus. Now Jesus told him that he would see much more.

Jesus refers to the vision Jacob had of a ladder between heaven and earth which angels were using to travel up and down. He says that the ladder was a picture of himself. We don’t know how long the ladder was in Jacob’s vision. Maybe it indicated a great distance. But because of Jesus, the distance is not long between heaven and earth. At the same time, we must remember that there is only one Link between heaven and earth.

The illustration also indicates that Jesus is Lord of the angels as well as being the Link between heaven and earth. He is the One who oversees and empowers them to engage in the missions on which he sends them. And the illustration suggest that when the finish a task they hurry back in order to receive more to do – the angels delight to serve Jesus. 

When did Nathaniel see this? Here are some suggestions. On the assumption that he was Bartholomew, then he witnessed Jesus being comforted by an angel in the Garden of Gethsemane. Did he on Ascension Day, when the disciples saw Jesus enter heaven, get a sight of the angelic welcome given by them to the conquering King? Did he as an apostle experience angelic help in the ways that Peter and Paul did in the Book of Acts? That kind of help was authorised by Jesus. What does Nathaniel see in heaven when he went there, having been martyred for the faith (in modern-day Albania)? What will he see in the future when Jesus will employ the angels on the Day of Judgement?

Nathaniel was not having a one-to-one with Jesus here. The ‘you’ in this promise is plural, and Philip is there, having led Nathaniel to Jesus. Possibly, the other early disciples were there as well. This is a reminder that this privilege described by Jesus is not limited to an individual, but is the inheritance of all believers. What wonderful surprises he has in store for his people.