On a Scale of 1-10

John 1:45-50

It has always been difficult for me to not share what I’ve seen or heard, especially when it is a new phenomenon.  As a five year old, it was the fort we built in the farms grain crop, Tommy Black and myself had dug holes in the farms field and cut his maze and weaved it into a fort and out of the fort we fought and killed many Indians.   Both of our mothers had to come and see the fort, and I’m sure when the farmer cut his grain, it was an experience out of the ordinary.  And I remember riding our bikes to the Back Bay in Corpus Christi, with fishing poles, and bringing home a stringer of speckled trout; it was something you shared with almost anyone who gave you the chance.  In my senior year of High School the fighting Roy Miller Buccaneers won the State Championship; now that was a phenomenon, and it is something we shared with all who would listen.  Jan and I took our first trip to England, and the things we saw for the first time were extraordinary and marvelous, and we had pictures to show any poor guest who came for dinner.  Yes, when something out of the norm happens, we want to share it with any and all, and that is what Philip did after meeting Jesus.

We find this report in the gospel according to John, and we pick up the story in John 1:45-46, “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.”  The name Jesus was a common name and it is of interest to see that often in the Scriptures Jesus is called, Jesus of Nazareth, and He also refers to Himself using that name.  “Now Nazareth is the city were Joseph and Mary lived, and the home of Jesus till the announcement of his messiahship at the age of thirty.  The area is secluded in the mountains, halfway between the Mediterranean and the Sea of Galilee, yet it was near the well-traveled highway between Egypt and Mesopotamia.” (Taken from the Archaeological Supplement page 1681 of the Thompson Chain Bible NIV)

It does not sound as if Nathanael is a fan of Nazareth or anyone who has come from there, but this we know, he went to see this Jesus of Nazareth, and this is what took place: “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.”

This was a new phenomenon for Nathanael, out of the ordinary and it was life changing for Nathanael; do you think he went about his daily routine as if nothing had happen?  We do not have to wonder, we have the account of Nathanael’s life after encountering this Jesus of Nazareth, he told others what had happened to him, he told others about this Jesus of Nazareth.  It was by far the greatest thing that had happened to Nathanael, and that makes me wonder, have you met the Jesus of Nazareth, and if you have has that encounter changed your life.   On a scale of 1-10, one being so-so and 10 being the greatest happening in your life, what number would you put on your encounter with Jesus of Nazareth? 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice