Character Studies #14 - Nathanael

“Nathanael – In Whom There Is No Guile”

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—Nathanael, the Apostle—

John 1:29-51 

INTRODUCTION:

Not many people have been argued into the Kingdom of God. Very few people are moved by philosophical or theological reasoning. In fact, sometimes our arguments and debates do more harm than good. It makes us appear defensive and combative and it turns people off.     

The only way to convince people of the truth of Christianity is to introduce them to Jesus and let them see for themselves. The goal of all that we do must be to make Christ known, to lift Him up so that people can see Him for who He really is. Jesus Himself said: “If I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto Me.” The problem is that we must know Christ ourselves before we can successfully invite others to come to Him. The only true evangelist is the man who himself knows Christ.         

In John chapter 1 we have three perfect examples of how this process takes place, i.e., one person sharing Jesus with another.

          #1. John the Baptist with his disciples

·       John pointed out Jesus to his followers as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” v. 29, 36

·       John submitted himself to Jesus v. 26-27. “I baptize in water, but among you stands One whom you do not know. ²⁷ It is He who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” (N.B. John was hooked!)

·       Cf. v. 37 “The two disciples heard [John] speak, and they followed Jesus.” Because of the Baptist’s testimony Andrew and John were hooked, too!

#2. Andrew and John spent the day with Jesus v. 39

·       Then Andrew ran to get his brother, Simon v. 41

·       Andrew excitedly said, “We have found the Messiah!”

·       Then Andrew brought Simon to Jesus, and Simon was hooked too!

#3. The next day Jesus found Philip

·       Jesus talked with Philip

·       He invited Philip to accompany Him to Galilee

·       He said, “Follow Me” and Philip was hooked!

·       Philip’s first reaction was to run and tell his friend, Nathanael. 

These events marked the very beginning of Jesus’ public ministry. These were the very first disciples that Jesus chose. In fact, Andrew, John, and Peter were called on the very day of Christ’s baptism. Philip had his encounter with Jesus the following day.

Notice how in all these examples, people shared Jesus with the other people whom they loved and cared about.

·       John introduced his beloved disciples to Jesus.

·       Andrew ran to get his brother to lead him to Jesus.

·       Philip went and found his good friend Nathanael. 

Rhetorical question: How can we say that we love someone without making every effort to introduce them to Jesus? 

TRANSITION:

Philip was found by Jesus. Verse 45 says that Philip went and found Nathanael. Now let me ask you a personal question…since the Lord found you how many people have you shared Him with?

• These two (Philip and Nathanael), must have already been friends.
• They were both Galileans, although not from the same village. Philip was from Bethsaida (as were Peter and Andrew), while Nathanael was from Cana (21:2).
• We do not know how they came to be friends, what drew them together, but it is obvious that Philip cared about Nathanael and wanted him to meet Jesus. What better evidence of friendship?
• Philip, like Andrew, could not keep the good news to himself. The Frenchman, Godet, once said: “One lighted torch serves to light another.” This is exactly what happened. 

What do we know about Nathanael? Extraordinarily little! Even his identity is a confusion for many.

ü  His name appears only here in John 1 and then again in John 21:2.

ü  Here in John 1, we see him as one of the first disciples and directly linked with Philip.

ü  His name, Nathanael, is a Hebrew name that means “God has given.” By this name he does not appear in any of the lists of disciples.

ü  HOWEVER, in the lists in the other three Gospels we encounter the name “Bartholomew” and in every case his name is associated with Philip’s (cf. Matthew 10:2-4; Mark 3:16-19; Luke 6:14-16).

ü  But here’s the deal: Nathanael is a first name, BUT Bartholomew is a last name, a surname. It means, “son of Tholmai.” It is a family name, in the same way that Peter’s real name was Simon Bar-Jona (i.e., son of Jonah). Nathanael’s name, therefore, was Nathanael Bar-Tholomew. 

Notice that Philip did not quite have his facts straight when he witnessed to Nathanael (cf. vs. 45). This commonly happens with new converts.

Ø  He refers to the prophecies concerning “The Prophet” who would arise, mentioned in Deut. 18:15, 18, 20. Some people also tried to pin this title on John the Baptist in John 1:21, 25.

Ø  Philip refers to Jesus as “the son of Joseph,” an error. However, in the story we see that both Philip and Nathanael quickly came to see that Jesus was much more than the “son of Joseph.” He was really the “Son of God.”

Nathanael listened to Philip but then he voiced his skepticism (vs. 46).

Ø  He said: “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” His answer reflected two things:

1.    His knowledge of the Old Testament. The Scriptures do not refer to the Messiah or any prophet arising out of Nazareth. In this he was correct. In Isaiah 53, Messiah is referred to as “a shoot out of dry ground.” Nazareth did not have a bad reputation, just an inconsequential one. It was an unimportant place.

2.    Nathanael was from Cana, a village a few miles from Nazareth. There was often jealousy and rivalry between the small villages (e.g., like football or basketball rivalries between small towns). 

Remember, even good men have their prejudices. Even good people can have blind eyes and closed minds. Over the years many people have been undervalued, overlooked, and rejected because of their humble origins and the prejudice of other people (e.g., Abraham Lincoln, Booker T. Washington, George Washington Carver, and Frederick Douglass).

Yet, there is something we must admire in Nathanael…he was willing to have his mind changed. He had an openness to consider that he might be mistaken in his first opinion. This is a trait that is lacking in so many people—a willingness to be proved wrong. He was at least willing to go with Philip to meet Jesus and see for himself. 

NOTES on the Text:

I LIKE NATHANAEL!

·       He was an honest man, not afraid to speak his mind.

·       He did not say what people wanted to hear just to look good and be more accepted.

·       He was a calm, focused person, open and transparent in his dealings.

·       He was not two-faced. What you saw was what you got with Nathanael.

You will observe that Philip had the good sense not to argue with him. He just said: “Come and see!” Philip knew that experience is better than argument any day. This is a good witnessing tool: “Come and see for yourself.” 

Verse 47 says, “Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” When Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, He immediately took the initiative. Jesus made the first move and used a kind of verbal shock treatment to get Nathanael’s attention. Jesus paid Nathanael a high complement. He said: “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile [deceit].” Jesus was quoting from Psalm 32:2, which says: “How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity and in whose spirit there is no guile!” 

This certainly caught Nathanael’s attention and sparked his interest. Besides being a real complement, it made him wonder exactly how much Jesus knew about him. His curiosity was instantly piqued. 

“No guile, without guile.” This is the Greek word, ádolos (άδολος). The word for guile is dólos (δóλος) and it means a bait or a snare. Synonyms are “deceit, craft, subtlety.” When the Greek letter alpha is placed in front of the noun (i.e., άδολος) it negates the word, changing the meaning to its opposite; thus, “candid, guileless, pure and unadulterated, without mixture,” as in 1 Peter 2:2, which speaks of the “pure milk of the Word.”

ü  Someone who is “without guile” will not seek to ensnare a person to make them swallow the bait, either through words or actions (e.g., like car salesman talk).

ü  Someone who is “without guile” will not seek to deceive others in any way, to lead them into error or wrong conclusions (e.g., cults, like the Mormons, JWs, Moonies, or the Children of God).

ü  Someone who is “without guile” will have pure speech, which comes from pure motives.

ü  Someone who is “without guile” will live a life that is unadulterated, no mixed motives, no mixed messages, no two-facedness. 

In verse 48 Nathanael said: “How do you know me?” Jesus had already shown a deep insight into Nathanael’s character and mind, and Nathanael knew that he really tried to be open and straightforward in all his dealings. Jesus responded to his question with a 3-fold answer, which won him over:

1. “Before Philip called you…”
2. “When you were under the fig tree…”
3. “I saw you.” This word means full, intimate knowledge of a person, the way a man and wife “see and know” one another. Another translation renders this as… “Before Philip called you…I already knew you.” 

In this way Jesus revealed his prior knowledge of Nathanael’s intimate personal life. This conversation must have gone on for some time. John only gives us the bare bones version. 

The “fig tree” was more than just a shady bush in Nathanael’s back yard. For the Jews, this was an expression that meant “a place of quiet devotion and personal prayer.” Jesus was revealing that He was aware of Nathanael’s deepest thoughts and heart’s prayer to the LORD during his quiet time with God. In their conversation Jesus evidently revealed that He knew things that Nathanael had only voiced to God. 

Nathanael quickly realized that Jesus was much more than what men could see on the outside. He became convinced in his heart and mind that Jesus truly was the Promised Messiah. In response, in verse 49 Nathanael gave the very first enunciation of Jesus’ identity. He said: “Rabbi, YOU are the SON OF GOD! YOU are the KING OF ISRAEL!”

In verses 50-51 we see that Jesus immediately confirmed Nathanael’s conclusion but then added even more fuel to his faith-fire. Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” ⁵¹ And He said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” Jesus referred to Jacob’s dream recorded in Genesis 28 in which he saw the heavens opened and a ladder touching the earth upon which the angels ascended and descended. Jesus told Nathanael that he would see that Jesus Himself was that ladder which linked Heaven and earth. Jesus Himself is that only WAY by which a man can come to the Father. 

CONCLUSION:

With many of the Apostles we know what they did. With Nathanael, we only know what he was, the beauty of his being.

• We do not know his profession, his age, his family history, etc.
• Several of the others came from a life of the sea,
• But he arose from under a fig tree. 

We do know that he was anointed by Christ along with the others of the Twelve (Matt. 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:14). We do know that he saw the Risen Lord (John 21:2). We do know that he was a witness to the Ascension and that he then returned with the others to Jerusalem (Acts 1:4, 12-13).

Church tradition records that he, along with Thomas, later preached the Gospel in India. It is believed that he then went to Armenia where he was finally martyred for the sake of the Gospel, being flayed alive and then crucified with his head downward.

I look forward to meeting Nathanael Bar-Tholomew someday. His open, honest transparency, coupled with his wholehearted commitment to Jesus Christ made him the kind of man that I would like to have for a friend.