THE CALLING OF NATHANIEL

JOHN 1:43–49

Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!

(John 1:49).

As Jesus travels north to Galilee, He adds Philip and Nathaniel to His small group of disciples. To Philip He simply says, “Follow Me,” which Philip immediately and willingly does. May each of us be so quick and diligent to obey Christ when He calls us to follow Him.

Like the other disciples who wanted to share with others their newly found knowledge of the Messiah, Philip urged Nathaniel to come and see Jesus for himself. He told Nathaniel that the prophecy concerning the Messiah had been fulfilled in the man Jesus, who was from Nazareth.

Nathaniel responded incredulously. Some think he questioned whether anything good could come out of Nazareth because that town was disparaged by neighboring towns. Hendriksen maintains, instead, that the question arose out of Nathaniel’s understanding of prophecy. Did the prophets ever say that the Messiah would come out of Nazareth? Nathaniel wasn’t sure. Instead of trying to prove it to him, Philip simply says “come and see.” Oftentimes, the objections people raise about the Gospel can be removed not by our arguments but by their “seeing” Christ for themselves. Arguments, even good ones, can’t produce faith. Only God can do that.

When Nathaniel did come to Christ, Jesus commended him as having no guile (a reference to Jacob who was filled with deceit). Nathaniel, asked Jesus how He could know the state of his heart. Could Philip have told Him? No, Jesus saw into the depths of his heart as he carried out his devotions under the fig tree. Nathaniel is shocked by Jesus’ penetrating knowledge—an obvious proof of His divine nature. He then declares that Jesus is truly the Messiah, the King of Israel.

What was true for Nathaniel is no less true for us today. Christ knows our hearts. He sees into the recesses of our minds and our motives. It is folly to even try to hide anything from Him. In response to such knowledge, all we can do is humble ourselves before Him and proclaim that He, indeed, is the Son of God who knows all things.

CORAM DEO

Exodus 22–24

Matthew 20:17–34

If you were to come into the presence of Christ today just as Nathaniel did, what would Christ say about your devotions? What would He say about your character? What hidden thoughts and motives, things that you hide from others and even try to hide from yourself, would Christ reveal? Meditate on Psalm 139 today.

For further study: Ps. 17:1–5 • John 2:23–25 • Acts 1:15–26

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