The next day Jesus … found Philip and said to him, “Follow Me.” … 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.” 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 there is no deceit!” Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” Nathanael answered Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Jesus answered 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, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
(John 1:43, 45-51 ESV)
It can be hard to know what to say to people about Jesus. How do we start? What if they ask me questions I can’t answer?
Philip does it naturally. He goes to Nathanael and says, “We have found the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth!” (That’s what his phrase about Moses and the prophets boils down to.) Philip is excited, but not Nathanael. He says, “Oh, yeah? Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”
This is where Philip is brilliant. He doesn’t waste time arguing. He just says, “Come and see.” Come and listen to Jesus for yourself! See the kinds of thing He does. Listen to what He says, and judge for yourself.
Jesus seems to be amused. As Nathanael approaches, Jesus hails him: “An Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile!” This phrase takes a little unpacking, as Jesus is being clever. “Israel” is the new, God-given name of Jacob, the old Testament character best known for his guile, deceit, and trickery. If Nathanael has judged Jesus based on his childhood home, Jesus seems to be honoring him for his honesty—“At least you aren’t flattering Me,” might be the gist of it.
To be sure, it doesn’t take long for Jesus to win Nathanael over. A couple of sentences and his resistance is gone—and Jesus has a new disciple.
What about us? When we want to tell someone about Jesus, what can we do? We certainly can’t drag them into the physical presence of Jesus! But we can say “Come and see,” in a different way. We can do it by telling them, in a very simple way, what Jesus has done for us. We can ask them if we may pray for them in their own hard situations. We can invite them to some church activity, like worship or helping out with the food pantry. In all of these ways, they can see Jesus shining through the lives of His people. And as we have the opportunity, they can hear the story of what He has done to rescue us from our lips—the story of His suffering, death, and resurrection, for us and them, too.
We Pray: Lord, I am not a great speaker. But I would like to tell [person’s name] about You. Would You please make it happen, and help me? Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Kari Vo.
Reflection Questions:
1. Are you comfortable sharing your faith when you have the opportunity?
2. If not, where could you find help with this?
3. Could you ask the Lord to teach you?