January 15, 2012
The Second Sunday after Epiphany

Who is Nathanael? In the Bible he is only mentioned in John Chapter 1 and John Chapter 21. It is usually assumed that he is the same person as the disciple named Bartholomew in the other three Gospels and in the Book of Acts. Church history and tradition tell us that he went on to do missionary work in Albania. In John's Gospel, Nathanael is a friend of Philip. Philip was one of the first disciples called by Jesus, and he in turn invited Nathanael to be a disciple. He said, "We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." Although Philip was sure of whom Jesus was, Nathanael was not. "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Nathanael knew about the town of Nazareth because it was not far from his own hometown of Cana. There may have been some hometown rivalry, but he knew that Nazareth was just a small country town like Cana was. It was not the type of place where great people come from. He thought he knew who Jesus was, just an ordinary rabbi teacher. Besides, he probably knew the scripture that says that the Messiah would be born in the town of Bethlehem. But to please his friend Philip, he went to see this Jesus of Nazareth.

Nathanael did not know who Jesus really was, but Jesus knew who Nathanael was. "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!" Here was a man who always told the truth and never deceived or tricked or beguiled anyone. For Jesus to say this about anyone was quite an honor, because the very first Israelite, Jacob, was famous or infamous for his deceit. He deceitfully pretended to be his elder brother, Esau, and tricked his father into giving him the inheritance. Then Jacob fled from Esau who planned to kill him. Then as he spent the night at Bethel, he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. Then God promised to protect and to bless Jacob. (Genesis 27-28) But Nathanael was a person in whom there was no deceit.

Jesus knew who Nathanael was, but Nathanael was still not convinced about that. 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." Here we see something about Jesus that shows us who he is. We see his supernatural power. And like his other miracles, it is a sign of who he is. Nathanael was so impressed by this that he was convinced about who Jesus was, he said, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!" He confessed his faith that Jesus was the Christ, the Savior. This confession will be echoed by another doubter after the resurrection when Thomas says, "My Lord and my God." Miracles are impressive. We judge a person more by what they do than by what they say. And that is how we judge Jesus, too. His teachings are wonderful, but in his miracle we have a sign of who he is. And in the miracle of the resurrection, we have the sure sign of Jesus being the Son of God, the King of Israel, our Lord and Savior. Jesus told Nathanael that seeing him under the fig tree was a very small, unimportant miracle. Jesus said, "You will see greater things than these." "Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man." This reminds us of the dream that Jacob had. It may be a reference to the resurrection of Jesus when angels appeared at the empty tomb or to the Second-coming of Christ when he comes with the angels of heaven. At either time, we know for sure who Jesus is.

Who is Jesus? The story of Nathanael is the story of every person who comes to faith in Jesus. "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" This represents the first question that anyone has about Jesus. Who is Jesus? Does he know who I am? Who am I and what am I? Some people start their religious, spiritual journey by asking the big questions of life. What is the purpose of life? What is the purpose of my life? Do I have a life? Does God exist? Is Jesus God? Does God know that I exist? Does Jesus see me?

That last question is the biggest question of all: Does Jesus see me? Does he see me under my fig tree, or wherever I may be? And does he see what I am doing, even though I think I am alone or doing something in secret? Does Jesus see into my life and into my heart? Does he see my joy and my fear, my goodness and my sin? And the answer is: "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you." Jesus sees us. He knows our condition. That is why he says in Mark 1:15 at the very beginning of his public ministry, "The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel." Jesus knows our need to repent; he knows that we are not fully following God. He knows that we are not all "Israelites indeed, in whom there is no deceit. Christians indeed, in whom there is no deceit." He knows our deceit, falseness, our cheating and all our sins.

When we realize that Jesus sees us, then we realize that we are at the same time now seeing Jesus. When we realize that Jesus knows who we are, then at that same time, we now realize that we know who Jesus is. With Nathanael we also say, "You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!" It is like we have a vision of heaven opening and seeing the angels of God ascending and descending on Jesus. We see the glory of Jesus. We see that glory in his miracles and in the miracle of the resurrection. We also see that glory in the crucifixion. We understand that God has seen us hiding under our fig trees, in our daily lives. He has seen our sin and our fears. He has seen us pray for forgiveness. He has seen us pray for others. And there publicly, unhidden on the tree of the cross, we see him as he prays for us. In him there was no deceit or guile or falsehood. Yet, he took all that deceit upon himself to forgive us of that sin and of all our sin. Then we see who Jesus really is. He is the One who loves us. He watches over us. He sees us in our trials, temptations, and troubles. He sees us in our prayers and praises.

Amen.

Michael Nearhood, Pastor
Okinawa Lutheran Church

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