The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, “Follow Me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” And Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”
Philip said to him, “Come and see.” Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!” Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?”
Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”
Nathanael answered and said to Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” And He said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.” John 1:43-51
Jesus was gathering His disciples and called them to follow Him. Philip invited Nathanael to see Jesus and join them, but Nathanael was reluctant. Nathanael’s perception was clouded with his prejudice towards those who came from Nazareth. Nazareth was a small Jewish town where everyone knew each other. This town was not known for anything special or unique, so it was easy to ignore those who came from that little town.
Nathanael’s mindset makes it easy for someone to look down on others and think of them as not good enough. This also happens in our modern day. Sometimes when people find out where we live, it leads them to draw conclusions about who we are based on our zip code. If we live in a small country town, some may draw conclusions about our education, wealth, or the type of job we hold. On the other hand, if we live in a beautiful metropolitan area or an upscale suburb, people may assume that we are wealthy, educated, and successful. Whether those assumptions are valid or not, they still do not answer the most important questions. We still don’t know anything about the person’s character, experiences in life, or their need for Jesus.
The Lord could have chosen a more impressive family and place for Jesus to be raised in, but He choose chose Mary and Joseph as the parents and Nazareth as His little hometown. God was looking for people who were not going to be distracted by Jesus’ outward characteristics but search deeper for who He really was. Nathanael made assumptions about Jesus not because he knew Him personally but because of the town Jesus came from.
Nathanael’s perception completely changed when Jesus prophetically spoke about him and was stunned at Jesus’ knowledge of him. Immediately, Nathanael professed Jesus as the Son of God and the King of Israel. That was a major shift in perception. He realized that Jesus knew him better than most people he associated with. Jesus was not focused on Nathanael’s outward appearance, nor was He have moved by Nathanael’s perception of Him. Jesus was in tune with what God said about him and was able to see Nathanael for who he really was. It’s interesting that Jesus saw Nathanael as someone who had no deceit in him even though he had a wrong perception about Jesus. Nathanael’s opinion of Jesus did not change Jesus’ view of Nathanael!
We may be righteous people but still have a need of perception adjustment. Drawing conclusions based on people’s outward appearance is a carnal and lazy way to do life. We need to challenge ourselves to go beyond people’s outward appearances, race, ethnicity, or where they live, and develop a Godly perception of others. This allows us to be in tune with the Lord and to do His effective work on the earth.
