Nathaniel’s immediate reaction is to completely dismiss Philip’s claims. People dismissing someone’s claim that Jesus is the Messiah is nothing new. Nathaniel does not have much of an impression of Nazareth. There are no prophecies linking the Messiah to Nazareth. Now of course Jesus did not really come from Nazareth, He came direct from heaven. When people hear the gospel they will have all sorts of misconceptions.
Philip’s response is not to debate the issue of whether or not anything good can indeed come from Nazareth. There are times to debate a point, there are times to ignore a point, for it will only be a distraction. Instead Philip invites Nathaniel to come and see Jesus for himself. We need to do the same, and here we see why it is vital that Jesus is alive. Otherwise we would be seeking to convert people to a set of ideas, so we would have no choice but to engage them in argument. But it is the living God we are seeking to introduce people to, so we can expect God to reveal Himself as well, as indeed He does here.
When Jesus sees Nathaniel He declares that he is a true Israelite, in whom there is no deceit. Literally it says “no guile”. This is a reference back to Jacob, for whom deceit was a way of life. Note that Jesus does not rebuke Nathaniel for doubting Him, rather He commends him for his straightforwardness.
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