Philip finds Nathanael, and says to him, We have found him of whom Moses wrote in the law, and the prophets, Jesus, the son of Joseph, who is from Nazareth.
Philip has only just begun to follow Jesus, and already he is looking for someone else. His words to Nathanael pack the whole Old Testament into one sentence. Then he ties that sentence to a man from a village nobody respected.
One person brings the next: Andrew went to Peter, and now Philip goes to Nathanael. The joy is too fresh to keep quiet.
The earliest disciples had just found a heavenly joy. Eager and generous with it, they want to tell the news and bring others to share the presence of Jesus with them. This is how Nathanael comes into the scene… Philip had already shared the joy with Andrew, Peter and others. Now he delights to pass it on to Nathanael.
"Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote" is not a vague compliment. Philip names the prophet like Moses and the subject of every prophecy. The long search is over.
As with Andrew, so with Philip, he wanted others to share in the blessing. When he found Nathanael, he could not keep silent… Andrew spoke to his brother Simon about the Messiah. Philip's testimony was much fuller. He named the prophet like Moses, the theme of prophecy, Jesus son of Joseph, and Nazareth as well. John the Baptist was not the prophet of Deuteronomy 18:15. Philip, however, was sure he had now met Him.
Philip could appeal to those writings because no one around him questioned their authority.
John records "Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote" as a known and accepted truth; the Psalms equally so.
Philip tied those great titles to a name: "Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." Nathanael could not accept that pairing.
Nathanael was not at all prepared for this. His heart truly did look for the One of whom Moses and the prophets wrote. But that the Christ was Jesus from Nazareth, the son of Joseph, he had yet to learn… It had never occurred to him how the Messiah could be "from Nazareth," let alone "the son of Joseph." Even a despised Galilean looked down on that village… If Philip had said "from Bethlehem, the son of David," the expecting Jew would have felt no such shock. But in truth, this passage shows the Lord as wholly above all earthly associations, and so He could come down to the lowest.
Philip had been following Jesus for a day. The description he gives reflects that — and God still used it.
Philip followed and became a seeker of others, though he did not yet know much. To Nathanael he could only speak of "Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." That was neither a very lofty nor a very accurate description of the One he had just begun to follow. At first it slightly prejudiced Nathanael: still, it was enough to lead him to a meeting with the Lord.
Commentators weigh Philip's words differently. Stuart calls his testimony fuller than Andrew's; others measure it by its effect on the hearer.
If you compare this testimony with Andrew's, you will see the difference at once. Nor was it so successful. Nathanael objected at once: "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Only Philip's next words drew him to Jesus: "Come and see. Prove it for yourself before you judge."
Philip did not defend Nazareth. He handed the question back to the Person Himself.
Philip was wiser than to argue the point, and is ready with the kind and practical invitation, "Come and see."
Many who speak about Christ have met Nathanael's reaction and been stung by it.
How many since Philip's day have gone through what he found! They were blessed in their own soul, and the question of salvation was clear to them. So they thought everyone would listen to their testimony and accept it too. But disappointment, perhaps keen disappointment, awaited them. They had spoken to dull and even deaf ears, and spoken in vain. The reason was not hard to find. Those they spoke to had never known personal dealings with Christ.
- Found. Philip had only just begun to follow Jesus, yet the joy of it sent him straight out to find Nathanael, as Andrew had gone to find Peter.
- Written. Philip announced that the search of the Law and the prophets was over. The prophet like Moses, the theme of prophecy, now had a name and a face.
- Lowly. He tied that glory to "Nazareth" and "son of Joseph," the very words that offended. Yet the Lord stands above all earthly ties, and so He can stoop to the lowest.
- Imperfect. His description was neither lofty nor accurate, and he had followed Christ for only a day. It still carried a man to Jesus.
- Invited. When his words met an objection, Philip did not argue. He said, "Come and see." A meeting with Christ does what testimony alone cannot.
And Nathanael said to him, Can anything good come out of Nazareth? Philip says to him, Come and see.
Philip has just told his friend that the One the Scriptures promised has come — Jesus of Nazareth. That last word almost ends the conversation. Nathanael's blunt question and Philip's three-word reply raise two lasting issues: why the Saviour's address was one people despised, and how to answer a doubter.
To call a man a Nazarene was an insult in that day. One writer explains why:
It was the well-understood language of contempt in that day: He should, in other words, be called a Nazarene. Nazareth was the most scorned of places. The men of Judea looked down on Nazareth. The Galileans despised it too, even though it was part of their own district. Later we read of an Israelite with no deceit in him. When he heard of Jesus being there, he exclaimed, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" So if one spot in Palestine matched the rejection Christ received more than any other did, it was Nazareth.
Nathanael was waiting for Israel's Saviour. Nothing about this name fit what he expected:
A place not even named in the Old Testament. In Galilee, too. And a village that produced so little good that it had quite a bad name among those who knew it. For Nazareth to be the home of Israel's Saviour strained Nathanael's mind almost to refusal. Philip's wise reply led him to come and see. Was he disappointed? Does God ever disappoint the man or the woman who is content to receive and learn Christ in the unexpected place?
Nathanael did not doubt that the Messiah would come. What staggered him was the address and the family name attached to Him:
He believed in the glory of the Messiah's Person, as far as the Old Testament had revealed it in advance. But it had never occurred to him that the Messiah could be "from Nazareth," let alone "the Son of Joseph." Even a Galilean, a man others already looked down on, thought that village contemptible... If Philip had said "from Bethlehem, the Son of David," the waiting Jew would have felt no such shock. But in truth, the Lord stands here wholly above all earthly ties, and so He could come down to the lowest.
Commentators differ on what lies behind the question. One hears in it the ordinary scorn of the day:
He does not hide that Christ had come from Nazareth, a place people despised. No doubt Nathanael's objection voiced the common prejudice of the Jews.
Another writer hears something else in the same words — not a sneer, but the voice of a searching heart:
His answer — "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" — is not the language of popular prejudice. Such words may well have been common on the lips of scorners. But this is the language of a soul just emerging from a place where deep searching had led to some humbling and unsettling experiences in the heart and conscience. ... So he went at once when Philip called him. He would walk to Nazareth, for a soul convicted of its own sin can call nothing common or unclean except itself. If Nazareth is vile, Nathanael in his own eyes is viler still.
Philip offers no defence of Nazareth and no counter-argument. He hands the question over to the Person Himself:
How wisely Philip met him! Argument would never have convinced Nathanael. But Philip knew what time spent with Christ had done for him. So he answered quietly, "Come and see."
The invitation puts the burden of testing where it belongs — on the objector's own eyes, before his verdict is fixed:
Nor was it so remarkably successful, for we find that Nathanael at once began to object, saying, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" And it was not until Philip said, "Come and see. Prove it for yourself before you judge," that Nathanael was drawn to Jesus.
One sight of Jesus overturned everything Nathanael had said:
How that little word "Nazareth" came between Nathanael and the Son of God! But when he sees Jesus, he finds that Philip has not said half enough, and falls down in worship at once.
The same two words are still ours to say — and they test the one who says them:
How beautiful, if someone has criticism about the Lord Jesus, to say, Come and see. But how often, sadly, we do not have the strength to say "Come and see", because what do people see in us? ... Can I say to everyone in my neighbourhood, "Come and see", when it comes to the Lord Jesus?
- Despised — Nazareth was the most scorned town in the land. Even Galileans looked down on it. The address matched the rejection Christ came to bear.
- Unnamed — the village never appears in the Old Testament. Nathanael had no room in his thinking for a Messiah from there. "Bethlehem, the Son of David" would have raised no objection.
- Disputed — commentators differ. One hears the common prejudice of the day. Another hears a soul just humbled by deep searching.
- Invited — Philip did not argue. He said, "Come and see." Argument would never have convinced Nathanael; a sight of Christ did.
- Undersold — one sight of Christ ended the prejudice and brought worship. Philip had not said half enough. "Come and see" is still the invitation to give.