Embracing The Truth
Fergus Buchanan
June 18, 2025
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John 1: 43-51 (NIVUK)
43 The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, ‘Follow me.’
44 Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. 45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, ‘We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote – Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.’
46 ‘Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?’ Nathanael asked.
‘Come and see,’ said Philip.
47 When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, ‘Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.’
48 ‘How do you know me?’ Nathanael asked.
Jesus answered, ‘I saw you while you were still under the fig-tree before Philip called you.’
49 Then Nathanael declared, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.’
50 Jesus said, ‘You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig-tree. You will see greater things than that.’ 51 He then added, ‘Very truly I tell you, you will see “heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on” the Son of Man.’
Nathaniel’s discipleship does not begin very well. He doubts whether any good can come out of Nazareth, not least the Messiah. Yet in the end Jesus makes a quite startling declaration about him, a man ‘in whom there is no guile.’ I like the way Eugene Peterson puts this in his Message: ‘Not a false bone in his body.’ This is a man who expresses what he feels. This is not always the best way forward when what is in your heart can be hurtful to others. But with Nathaniel this is not blind prejudice but genuine doubt. Where does it say in Scripture that the Messiah will come from Nazareth? In this sense he is expressing what any true ‘Israelite’ might feel, and Jesus recognises this. The fact that Nathaniel is willing to lay aside what he hitherto believed to be the truth and embrace the reality of Christ shows his integrity. He is not willing to hold on to what he previously believed when faced with Jesus’ revelation concerning him.
That can be a challenge for all of us. C.S. Lewis famously described himself as the most reluctant convert in all England, but he gave in to what he realised was the truth and commitment followed. He resisted until all his preconceptions and prejudices collapsed under the weight of the revelation he received.
It is not easy to lay aside long held beliefs in the face of new insights. But when we realise that these new insights may in fact be bringing us closer to Christ then it is difficult to resist. I was always suspicious about a certain theologian. He was not in the theological camp that I inhabited. But I heard him speaking of mission on one occasion and our souls touched. Since then, I have often quoted some of the things he said on that subject.
Nathaniel was a man of faith with clear expectations concerning the Messiah. But they did not come in the way of being led more deeply into the truth concerning Him.
Prayer:
Lord Jesus,
May I never resist the truth as it weighs upon me. There may be things in a life of faith that are important to me: my denomination, my preferences in worship, people who have greatly influenced my thinking. But help me to see that what matters is who Jesus is, what he has done, and what He promises. Never let the surface things in a life of faith find an immovable place in my heart. Amen.
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