Jesus’ first disciples were John the Baptist's previous followers. These were Andrew, Peter, Phillip, and Nathanael who was also known as Bartholomew.
In the Gospel according to John 1:47ff, Phillip brought Nathanael to Jesus Christ. In seeking Nathanael, Phillip asserted to him who the Lord was by saying, "We have found Him.., I refer to this as “a friend bringing his friend to Jesus.”
Nathanael's fruity attitude and personality are unveiled in the Gospel of John. Nathanael was later to become one of the Lord's disciples. However, prior to that, he was known for his hesitations and doubts. Originating from Cana of Galilee and with affirmed sorely evident prejudices against Nazareth, a town not far from his own, Nathanael skeptically said Phillip, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?"
Phillip did not preach to Nathaniel a sermon, he did not arguing, neither did he plead with him, but just a simply versed, unadorned, ineloquent yet forceful, insisting and promising invitation to "come and see". This convinced Nathanael to seek out the Lord Jesus Christ, if not for his own sake at least for Phillip's.
You can imagine how uplifted, enriched and elevated this friendship had become through Phillip's efforts insistence on Nathanael to "come and see" Jesus Christ. Philip's care for his friend had shifted the type of their friendship from being an earthly spiritual friend willing to show him better things in this life.
Nathanael did according to Phillip's request and when the Lord Jesus Christ saw Nathanael coming towards him, Jesus could have justifiably and duly confronted Nathanael about his prejudicial, "can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Jesus simply looked beyond Nathanael's well intentioned, harmless personality traits intuitively knowing of his goodness and his pure heart. see Hebrews 12:25.
Immediately, Jesus recognized in Nathanael the admirable and desirable traits of sincerity and directness with others. "How do You know me?" was Nathanael's question to Jesus to which He replied, "I have seen you under the fig tree."
What is Nathanael doing under the fig tree to make him suddenly accept the invitation from Jesus? Was he in a spiritual struggle; was he in a prayerful contemplation asking God to show him the savior? Or was it the Lord's spiritual complexity, His heart's divinity, or simply His supernatural prior. Was Nathanael hiding beneath the fig tree?
Reading the entire story of in this chapter, Nathanael was no stranger to the teachings of Jesus. He followed Jesus from a far and listened for hours as Jesus tough. Therefore, it was not a mental effort on the part of Nathanael but probably a heartfelt one that led him to acknowledge the Lord. Nathanael could not easily and readily believe just anyone was the Son of God. Phillip just confirmed to him what he knew.
Henceforth, Nathanael and Phillip's lives took on a new spiritual meaning and complexity and their missionary work as the first disciples of Jesus began.
Conclusion
What lesson do we learn from Nathanael's reluctance to accept Jesus as the Messiah?
We know the Lord Jesus Christ never forgot Nathanael, because in the John 21:2 we are told that Nathanael was among those whom Jesus appeared to at the Sea of Galilee after His Glorious Resurrection. Nathanael remained with the Lord Jesus Christ even to the end. AMEN
Prayer
Lord, sanctify our spirits, cleanse our bodies, conduct our thoughts and purify our intentions.
Credits and Work cited
· Commentary of the Gospel of John- Cooper Abrams
· St. John’s Gospel - Paul S. Berge
· Henry Matthews Commentary
· The Bible- RSV, Kings James, and American Standard.