Jesus and Nathanael
| "Nazareth! Can anything good come from there? Nathanael asked. "Come and see," said Philip. When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, "Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit." "How do you know me?" Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, "I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you." Then Nathanael declared, "Rabbi, you are the son of God; you are the king of Israel." Jesus said, "You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that." He then added, "Very truly I tell you, you will see 'heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on' the son of man." (John1:46-51) |
(This week we are looking at Evangelistic Approaches: How did Jesus, Philip and Paul treat people?)
John 1:46-51 is written in a context when Jesus had embarked on calling disciples to be a part of his mission of training and making them his true followers. Ironically Jesus does not call the so called 'holy people' or law experts. Instead he called people who were regarded as outcasts and sinners, such as tax collectors and fishermen. People that had no faith and were full of doubts such as Nathanael whom we have read about in the passage above. The biggest question is: If Jesus came to call a new set of disciples today, whom is he going to call?
How then does Jesus approach Nathanael in the above passage?
And what lessons can we draw from Jesus' approach?
How then does Jesus approach Nathanael in the above passage?
And what lessons can we draw from Jesus' approach?
Jesus' approach in calling Nathanael:
Jesus approached Nathanael by identifying the goodness in him and making it known to him. Jesus said to Nathanael vs 47 "Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit." It was the identification of the goodness in Nathanael, which challenged his doubts when he responded to Philip who told him about Jesus.
Jesus did not castigate, Nathanael for doubting him, but instead acknowledged his areas of strength. It seems like this was a similar approach Jesus had used when calling his disciples. He did not condemn any of them, but instead opened his arms to welcome them.
Jesus approach towards Nathanael, made him to open up "How do you know me?"
When Nathanael realised that he was known by Jesus, it brought him to believe in Jesus "Rabbi, you are the son of God; you are the king of Israel."
Lessons for today's Church:
- The Church today is battling with issues of growth of membership. Some churches are even closing up due to the loss of membership leading to renting out the buildings for other activities.
- While there are so many reasons or causes to the stagnation and failure of Church growth, one of the reasons is that our attitude towards the unbelievers has done more harm than good.
- We easily judge and condemn them even when the Bible is very clear that we have no rights to judge any one.
- There is a need to start opening doors for those that feel lost and in dire need of hope. This does not mean compromising the word of God to suit us or individuals but allowing God himself to manifest his power through the illumination of his holy scriptures.
- The Church today is called to sow, grow and reap God's disciples into his kingdom.
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Rev. James Lungu: husband to Emelly, and a Father to Joel & Walinase (Emmanuel), am a Biblical Scholar researcher, currently serving at Matero Congregation in Zambia under Muchinga Presbytery.
