We’re continuing to look at the group of men Jesus chose to train and teach, with the end goal that they would go preach His message. They were an interesting mix with widely different backgrounds, temperaments, and even politics. But we can learn some important things about how to follow Jesus from each of them. We’ve considered the four best known disciples. Now we’re looking at what might be called the second tier, particularly Nathanael.
In Matthew, Mark and Luke, he is called Bartholomew. Now when you see the Bar- in a Hebrew name, it means son of. (Think Simon Bar-jona or Barnabas, the son of encouragement.) So his name was most likely Nathanael Bar-Tolmai (Bartholomew transliterates it to English by way of Greek). And any details we know about him come from the gospel of John, and most of those from his introduction to Jesus in chapter 1.
When Philip meets Jesus, his first act is to find his friend and fellow seeker Nathanael and tell him about the Messiah. Nathanael is dubious.
Can anything good come out of Nazareth? John 1:46
While there is a bit of local prejudice directed at the hicks in Nazareth, there is more to the response. He doesn’t immediately believe it, even from his good friend, Philip. The prophecies state that Messiah will be born in Bethlehem and reign in Jerusalem. Nazareth isn’t mentioned. So Nathanael is thoughtful and discerning. He does not allow himself to be carried away be his emotions, no matter how much he longed for the Messiah.
If we want to follow like Nathanael, we also need to be discerning and thoughtful and measure what we are told against what we’ve studied in scripture. By extension, that means we must be students of God’s word.
As soon as Jesus sees Nathanael, he says,
Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit. John 1:47
Pure heart. Pure motives. A man of integrity. Imagine Jesus saying that about you! Of course that didn’t mean Jesus was calling him perfect or sinless but closer to what scripture says about Job, that he was blameless.
If we want to follow like Nathanael, we must make the effort to ensure that our character matches what we claim. We can’t be hypocrites, or worse, be indistinguishable from the rest of the world. We have to hold ourselves to a higher standard. Not legalism but integrity.
How do you know me? John 1:48
Nathanael is rightly taken aback by this pronouncement by a seeming stranger. Again, he carefully evaluates what he hears.
If we want to follow like Nathanael, we can’t be swayed by flattery. We don’t have to be suspicious of everything but we should not act out of ego.
But here’s where things change. Jesus reveals a supernatural knowledge of Nathanael. And that was all it took.
You are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel! John 1:49
Nathanael doesn’t demand more proof and evidence before he was convinced, before he would follow. Jesus promises him that amazing things lay ahead.
To follow like Nathanael, we too need a ready faith, one that doesn’t require proof after proof. And we need to have eyes of faith to see the things Jesus is doing all around us.
Even in these few words, we can see Nathanael is sincere man worth emulating.
Next week, we’ll look at the dirty, rotten tax collector Matthew.
Follow Like Nathanael appeared first on Paula Wiseman.
