John 1:45-46 45Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found the one Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46And Nathanael said to him, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”
Philip, like Andrew, became a witness to his conviction about the person of Jesus. They are examples of the type of response everyone should have upon seeing or hearing about Jesus. We have found him carries the theological weight of the searching human soul for meaning and purpose. People look for answers to life’s deepest questions. The Apostle John gives his readers the answer for this search in the One who is the Truth. Philip, like many others, were hoping for the Messiah to come. This evident by his knowledge of Moses in the Law and the Prophets. Philip knew enough about the Hebrew Scriptures and the prophecies that referred to a coming Messiah that he could connect the dots of understanding when he met Jesus.
Philip identified Jesus with the village where he was raised and likely lived the first thirty years of his life. Nazareth was located in the southwestern part of Galilee. Galilee was small enough that people likely knew of the different villages, but Nazareth evidently had a bad reputation that at least Nathanael knew about. The village is not mentioned in literature before the New Testament. It was likely viewed as a small, insignificant town on the path to somewhere greater. Nathanael’s response implies some derision and doubt. Nathanael is only mentioned in John’s Gospel but one theory is that he was also called Bartholomew.
Philip’s insistence that Nathanael go and check things out for himself is a good example of persistent and consistent witnessing. We may encounter people like Nathanael who doubt what we say until they meet Jesus for themselves. The world is full of doubters. What may be needed is the personal touch like Philip had with Nathanael.
For older posts, click here.