John 1:45-51

⁴⁵ Philip went to look for Nathanael and told him, “We have found the very person Moses and the prophets wrote about! His name is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.”⁴⁶ “Nazareth!” exclaimed Nathanael. “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”“Come and see for yourself,” Philip replied.⁴⁷ As they approached, Jesus said, “Now here is a genuine son of Israel—a man of complete integrity.”⁴⁸ “How do you know about me?” Nathanael asked.Jesus replied, “I could see you under the fig tree before Philip found you.”⁴⁹ Then Nathanael exclaimed, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God—the King of Israel!”⁵⁰ Jesus asked him, “Do you believe this just because I told you I had seen you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this.” ⁵¹ Then he said, “I tell you the truth, you will all see heaven open and the angels of God going up and down on the Son of Man, the one who is the stairway between heaven and earth”

After seeing Philips passion, we now witness Nathanael’s:

3. PREJUDICE (Vs 46)

You have to love Nathanael’s response “Nazareth, Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”Nathanael wasn’t afraid to share his opinions or his prejudice. Like Nathanael many of us have our preconceived judgment or opinions when it comes to Jesus. But have we really come to Christ and checked Him out for ourselves? No one is sure what his prejudice was based on, it could have been contempt for Nazareth, as Nate was from a neighboring town. It could have been because Nazareth was very small and unimportant, and we tend to think that great people come from great places. It could have been the towns bad reputation and lack of goodness, Nazareth is described negatively in the Gospel of Mark where it reveals that Nazareth did not believe in Jesus, Mark 6:5. As well as in the Gospel of Luke, where the Nazarenes are portrayed as attempting to kill Jesus by throwing him off a cliff, Luke 4:29. Regardless of the reason for his prejudice it almost prevented him from coming to Christ. Prejudice cuts a lot of people off from the truth. In reality Nazareth wasn’t that great of a place but what is critically important here is that Philip didn’t argue or debate with Nate. He didn’t try to persuade him or seek to sell Nathanael on the idea of going to meet Jesus on the basis of how Jesus might make his life better. He just invited others as Jesus had invited him, he simply said “Come and see.” Philip didn’t say go and see he said come and see “I will go with you.” Inviting people involves walking with them not just sending them. Few people are ever argued into Christianity, often our arguments do more harm than good. The only way to convince a man of the supremacy of Christ is to confront him with the reality of Christ in both your walk and your talk. The argument for Christ is not in what you say but in how you live. Don’t try to convince people to follow Jesus through reasoned debate, don’t try to argue people into faith, show them Jesus in your life. Today when you invite people to come to church to meet Christ don’t be surprised if they say, “church, can anything good come out of there!” Don’t get offended, like Nazareth, church for some people hasn’t been a great place. But it’s not about the place it’s about the person of Jesus. Don’t argue just invite and let Jesus change their life. So, let me ask you are there any prejudices that are keeping you from coming to Christ? Or are there any prejudices that are keeping you from sharing Christ? It’s here as Nathanael comes to Jesus that we see the:

4. PRONOUNCEMENT (vs 47)

Jesus makes two pronouncements regarding Nate: “An Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!”  Jesus is saying, “Behold an Israelite in whom there is no Jacob.” Jacob deceived, and his sons deceived. “When you were under the fig tree I saw you.” Jesus not only knew where he was but what he was. Jesus reveals not only his family of origin but also his present situation and his heart condition. Jesus knows our hearts even better than we do. The Lord had told Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you” (Jeremiah 1:5). The fact that Jesus can see into our hearts can be a little bit concerning, because we know what goes on in our hearts. Jesus sees all that and so much more. He notices the smallest details of our lives but watch how Jesus uses that information. When Nathanael walked up to Jesus, Jesus could have said, “I know you. You are the person who though nothing good can come out of Nazareth! Well I’m sorry to burst your prejudice bubble but here I am … God in the flesh. Now don’t you feel a bit silly?” He could have let Nathanael have it for his prejudice but instead Jesus affirms. Jesus responded first and affirmed Nathanael. Do you know that Jesus knows you? But for many of us we think because He knows us that He will condemn us. Yet what we discover through His interaction with Nathanael is nothing could be further from the truth. Have you accepted Jesus affirmation? Jesus has time and room for skeptics and doubters. He knows you and wants you to know Him. Have you responded to his invitation to relationship?

John 1:45-51

⁴⁵ Philip went to look for Nathanael and told him, “We have found the very person Moses and the prophets wrote about! His name is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.”⁴⁶ “Nazareth!” exclaimed Nathanael. “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”“Come and see for yourself,” Philip replied.⁴⁷ As they approached, Jesus said, “Now here is a genuine son of Israel—a man of complete integrity.”⁴⁸ “How do you know about me?” Nathanael asked.Jesus replied, “I could see you under the fig tree before Philip found you.”⁴⁹ Then Nathanael exclaimed, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God—the King of Israel!”⁵⁰ Jesus asked him, “Do you believe this just because I told you I had seen you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this.” ⁵¹ Then he said, “I tell you the truth, you will all see heaven open and the angels of God going up and down on the Son of Man, the one who is the stairway between heaven and earth”

Bartholomew was one of Jesus’ 12 apostles, he was known by two names: “Bartholomew and Nathanael ” He was from Cana of Galilee, where Jesus performed His first miracle of turning water into wine. Cana is 5 miles north of Nazareth. His name means God has given or gift of God which reveals something about his parents. His story actually begins with Philip and Jesus:

1. PERSONAL PROPOSAL. (Vs 43)

Jesus makes a personal proposal to Philip: “Follow me.” It was a simple and direct invitation where He made no effort to try to convince Philip. There is no record of Philip’s direct response, but we do know that he obeyed and followed. But this proposal was not just for Philip. Jesus offers the same proposal to us: “Follow me.” It’s here that we see God’s invitation to relationship. Why don’t we run to Him? Often, it’s because we get so entangled in the web of religion that we fail to see the invitation to relationship. Religion is our search for God, but relationship is God’s search for us. Jesus invitation to follow Him shows us exactly what true Christianity is, it’s going where Jesus leads. In John 12:23-26 Jesus applies this truth of following Him as He says: “²³ Jesus replied, “Now the time has come for the Son of Man to enter into his glory. ²⁴ I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels—a plentiful harvest of new lives. ²⁵ Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity. ²⁶ Anyone who wants to serve me must follow me, because my servants must be where I am. And the Father will honor anyone who serves me.”If you were to take a kernel or seed of wheat and just set it on a desk it would remain alone, it would be a single seed. But if you dig a grave for this seed, and if it falls into the ground and dies and you bury it in the grave, well later it will come bursting up out of the ground, giving life to many other seeds. That’s what Jesus did, He came to this earth not to live alone, not to live for Himself, but rather to die for others, and be buried in a grave, so that later He might rise from the dead, giving eternal life to millions of people. But notice how Jesus applies this word picture. He says “whoever serves me must follow Me”, the meaning is to follow Him to death. In other words, Christianity is not about living the American dream, looking out for number 1, grabbing all you can get. No, it is about following Jesus by giving up my own plans, dying to my own life, giving myself up in service to others. We want the security of salvation, but do we want the sacrifice of service? So, let me ask you a few challenging questions:

• Are you really committed to following Jesus wherever He goes?
• Are you committed to dying to sinful selfish habits and replacing them with the Savior?
• Are you committed to serving Him with your life?
• What if He calls you to leave your family and work overseas? Would you go?
• Parents, what if God truly calls our precious children to serve Him will you encourage them to follow Jesus?

It’s here that second, we see the:

2. PASSION (Vs 45)

Following for Philip included inviting others. When you are excited about what you have you share it, that is why Philip goes and find his friend Nathanael. The truth is your perception of Jesus will drive your passion for Him. Philip understood who he had but he was mistaken about who had found who! Often, we will say we have found Jesus but in reality, Jesus found us. He describes Jesus as the very person Moses and the prophets wrote about, this wasn’t just reading it was real. Has it become real for you, are you only reading about Jesus or are you in a relationship with Him? The simple proposal of Jesus to follow him prompted Philip to seek out others who would want to follow Jesus. How passionate are you for Jesus? How do you know if you are passionate about something or someone, its who or what you talk about? Many of us spend more time talking about sports or self than we do the Savior. We say we can’t memorize God’s Word, yet we remember all the sports stats and all the stories. We don’t have a memorizing problem we have a passion problem. Who are you sharing Jesus with? Who are you actively pursuing and inviting to come to Christ? Do we have an accurate perception of who Jesus is? Because if we see Him as the Savior of the world and the solution to sin then we would be sharing Him? If Christ is the cure to the cancer of sin, then why would we be silent? Who do you know that needs Jesus? Who is your Nathanael?