46And Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” [simple_tooltip content=’43 The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, “Follow Me.”
44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.
45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
46 And Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”
47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!”
48 Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”
49 Nathanael answered and said to Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”
50 Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.”
51 And He said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”’](John 1:43-51)[/simple_tooltip]
Nathanael suffered from a skepticism that afflicts many people today. Jesus is nothing more than someone who has caused a lot of trouble between people. All this “Jesus is the only way,” talk is divisive, and many people think nothing good comes from Christianity. Like Nathanael, they are doubters.
It is to Nathanael’s credit that he came to Jesus and gave Him a chance to prove who other people like Philip said He was. We can only speculate what it was that Jesus saw Nathanael doing under that fig tree (v. 50), but it is clear that it was something that proved beyond a doubt to him that Jesus was the Messiah. Jesus didn’t rebuke Nathanael for his doubts; instead, He removed them.
Jesus is the Living Word, and His Word has an answer for every doubt that we or anyone we encounter might have. We need to be honest and forthright before Him as Nathanael was (v. 47), and we need to go to Him when we are plagued with doubts instead of running from or avoiding Him. Jesus knows what we go through in life; He’s been there (Ps. 103:14). It is not a sin to doubt, but it becomes sin if we harbor those doubts, never go to the Lord with them, and allow unbelief to take hold of our hearts and minds.
Be like Nathanael today and bring any doubts you have concerning your faith to Jesus. Let the Holy Spirit teach you the truth from His Word. I guarantee that you will be changed.
