Philip found Nathanael and told him, "We have found the one Moses wrote about in the law, and the prophets also wrote about—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." Nathanael replied, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip replied, "Come and see." John 1:45-46
God often teaches me things through unlikely people, places, and things. Maybe you can relate. I will give you an example. When I spent a summer living in Romania serving children who were orphans and gypsies, God revealed more to me about generosity through a 5-year-old little girl who was an orphan than anything else, apart from Scripture. I could tell you story after story, and you probably have your own stories, too. You see, God often reveals Himself in surprising, unlikely places if we look for Him.
There are several factors about Jesus' birth that would have made people during His day believe He was an underdog. One of those factors was His hometown. He grew up in Nazareth, Scripture teaches us. At that time, Nazareth was a seemingly insignificant, small city. It was definitely not a place a king would be expected to be raised. To get a picture of just how surprising the hometown of the Savior of the world was, we are going to look today at Scripture that teaches what at least one person thought when he learned that Jesus was from Nazareth. This story took place when Jesus was already an adult, but it will help us understand how people viewed Nazareth. In John 1, we learn that Jesus was calling disciples to follow and learn from Him. One of the men Jesus called was Philip. When Philip started following Jesus, he went to Nathaniel and invited Him to follow Jesus, too. Nathaniel replied, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" (verse 45). Nathaniel was stating what others must have thought, too. Nazareth was not the likely or expected birthplace for the long-awaited Messiah. Yet, out of this small town, Jesus came.
I love Philip's response to Nathaniel's question in John 1. He replied to Nathaniel three words that changed his life: "Come and see" (verse 46). Nathaniel was about to find out that God works in unlikely places and situations, and something good, indeed, the best thing, came out of Nazareth: Jesus Christ, the Savior. My friend, God is using unlikely people, places, and situations to make Himself known. We have the same invitation as Nathaniel: "Come and see." The question is, will we look for Him?
God uses seeming "underdogs" to speak to us and teach us about Himself. Pull out your journal or notebook and think about the different ways God has revealed Himself to you from unexpected, unlikely, and seemingly small and insignificant places in the past. Next, pray. Thank God that He makes Himself known in the small, seemingly insignificant, and unlikely places.
Read John 1:43-51 (NLT)
The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Come, follow me.” Philip was from Bethsaida, Andrew and Peter’s hometown.
Philip went to look for Nathanael and told him, “We have found the very person Moses and the prophets wrote about! His name is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.”
“Nazareth!” exclaimed Nathanael. “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”
“Come and see for yourself,” Philip replied.
As they approached, Jesus said, “Now here is a genuine son of Israel—a man of complete integrity.”
“How do you know about me?” Nathanael asked.
Jesus replied, “I could see you under the fig tree before Philip found you.”
Then Nathanael exclaimed, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God—the King of Israel!”
Jesus asked him, “Do you believe this just because I told you I had seen you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this.” Then he said, “I tell you the truth, you will all see heaven open and the angels of God going up and down on the Son of Man, the one who is the stairway between heaven and earth.”
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