Nathanael Who? We Can Learn From Him

Nathanael is identified as one of the 12 apostles of Jesus.  Little is known of him, and he does not command a large presence in scripture.  He is identified with Bartholomew (son of Talmai) by scripture scholars, given that both are connected to Philip.  So, it would seem that Nathanael and Barholomew are one and the same.  He is pictured in art by Michelangelo as flayed and holding his own skin – depicting the manner in which tradition remembers his martyrdom (you thought you had it bad!), though other stories suggest he may have been beheaded and/or crucified upside down in Armenia.

Regardless of the very serious manner in which Nathanael (Bartholomew) was crowned in glory for Christ, the story of the meeting of Jesus and Nathanael is almost as equally amusing as Nathanael’s martyrdom is horrific.  Today, let’s look at the amusing.

            Philip was from the same town, Bethsaida, as Andrew and Peter.  The day before, Andrew had stayed with Jesus for only a day before tracking down his brother, Simon, and professing that “we have found the Messiah”.  They, along with Jesus, then moved on to Galilee, where (I am speculating a bit here) they saw Philip, who they knew from back home, and professed the same to him, “we have found the Messiah”.

            Philip then sees Nathanael and professes, “We have found the one about whom Moses wrote in the law, and also the prophets; Jesus, son of Joseph, from Nazareth”.

            Nathanael responds in all his humanity: “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”

            I imagine Philip rolling his eyes at the skepticism of his friend and then responds: “Come and see.”  I wonder if Philip punched Nathanael in the arm as the two began to walk toward Jesus.

            Later, we see Jesus’ humanity (his sense of humor) and His divinity (He knows and sees Nathanael before they meet) all wrapped into this one exchange.  I wonder if the scripture scholars of past ages, upon their weighty debates about the divinity and humanity of Jesus Christ, looked at this passage?  That may be worth some research. 

            “Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him: “Here is a true Israelite.  There is no duplicity in him.”   

            Nathanael then asks how Jesus knows him and Jesus responds by saying that He saw Nathanael under the fig tree before Philip called him.

             I would love to have seen the facial expression of Christ as he said this, just as I would love to have seen Nathanael’s face when it was said.  Jesus could just as easily have said something like: Some good things do come from Nazareth!

            Nathanael then says something very early on in the ministry of Jesus and the 12 that we must give him credit for realizing and verbalizing.  He states: “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel”.

            Nathanael recognizes that Jesus knows him and that he has been called.  There is a decision he has to make to turn away from the One Truth Who harbors no shadows or to go all in and proclaim God’s kingship over his people.  Nathanael chooses the latter.  And for this profession of faith, Jesus promises Nathanael that “you will see the sky opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

            What a beautiful story in John (1: 38-51).  What can be learned from it?  We see that our humanity is fully embraced by God and that He willfully chooses us to take part in His life.  We find that when we are faced with Truth, we can run and hide (kind of like a child who thinks no one can see them when they place their chubby little hands over their eyes) or we can go all in, proclaiming Jesus Christ as Son of God, the Messiah, the One whom Moses and the prophets wrote about.

            My brothers and sisters, we too have experienced the Son of God.  He has called us by name.  We can attempt to hide or we can go all in. 

It makes little difference where we are from:  Gallilee, Bethsaida, Evansville, Haubstadt, Psidia, Jasper, Antioch, Elberfeld…and the list goes on.  No matter where we are, we must stand on that ground and claim it for Jesus Christ.  We must stand with Him for His glory and gospel.  And if we do so, we may also “see the sky opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” Amen