Jaw-dropping Jewels about Jesus
Rarely does Jesus, God the Son, do exactly what we expect of Him. It seems odd that He so frequently surprises us, given that He never changes. Hebrews 13:8 makes this absolute statement: “Jesus the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” Still, though He is blessedly consistent in His goodness, Jesus does unforeseen things. Even when He does what is expected, He does not always do it in the way that we anticipate. Let us join with Jesus on a jaw-dropping journey. (I will be using this opening paragraph for each of the brief messages in this series. The following material will change daily.)
We return to our study of the Gospel of Mark. Mark 3:18 lists “Bartholomew” as one of the “twelve” that Jesus called as apostles (messengers or representatives). This designation is Aramaic (the common language of Israel at that time) and means “son of Tolmai.” His actual name was Nathanael, and he came from Cana in Galilee (John 21:2). We met him briefly on Saturday when Philip sought him out (John 1:45). Nathanael’s immediate response reveals an imperfect person (all of us are): “And Nathanael said unto him, ‘Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?’ Philip saith unto him, ‘Come and see’” (verse 46). Cana and Nazareth were about ten miles apart; in Nathanael’s comment, we have a glimpse into a possible local rivalry. Still, it is a prejudicial statement, not worthy of our emulation. The meeting of Nathanael and Jesus is remarkable: “Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and saith of him, ‘Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!’ Nathanael saith unto Him, ‘Whence knowest Thou me?’ Jesus answered and said unto him, ‘Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee’” (verses 47-48). Jesus commended Nathanael for his exemplary honesty and demonstrated His omniscience. This combination led to Nathanael’s precise proclamation of faith: “Nathanael answered and said unto Him, ‘Rabbi, Thou art the Son of God; Thou art the King of Israel’” (verse 49). This rapid response is not an example of an unthinking, overemotional overreaction. Rather, it is a reasonable assessment of the facts. Our faith is based on compelling evidence, on solid ground. Let us stand with Nathanael there.