Can Anything Good Come From Nazareth

Have you ever been judged for something as reductive as the way you look, the way you speak, or where you grew up? Let me tell you the story of a man being judged over his hometown – and a revelation about the Kingdom of God.

It begins with a man named Nathanael, who was sitting one day under a fig tree. Faithful Jews saw the fig tree as more than just a shady place to sit – the fig tree was a place for prayer. If Nathanael was a faithful Jew – and there’s no reason to think otherwise – he would have been deep in prayer when his friend Philip came and interrupted him. Now, it was said among Jewish believers that if a man did not pray for the coming of the Messiah, he had not prayed at all. Imagine Nathanael’s surprise at the coincidence – at the very moment he is praying for the coming of the Messiah, his friend arrives to tell him that the Messiah has been found.

But Nathanael, a faithful Jew, does not miss the identification of the supposed Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth. “Nazareth!” he scoffs. “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Why so salty, Nathanael? Nazareth too small for you? A backwater, with little to offer? Or maybe you just expected that the true Messiah would come a true Judean city, like Jerusalem? Or perhaps King David’s hometown of Bethlehem?

Nathanael’s friend has little to offer but an invitation. “Come and see,” says Philip, and Nathanael, maybe still just a little grumpy, maybe more than a little skeptical, takes a chance on a few wasted moments and follows. Those few moments will change his life.

What does Nathanael expect when he sees Jesus? What is he looking for? What questions – or challenges – are on the tip of his tongue? All are dispelled before he can even open his mouth? “Now here’s a true and honest Israelite!” Jesus calls out as Nathanael approaches, and you can just hear the laughter in his voice, see the smile playing at the corners of his mouth and the amused glint in his eyes.

“How do you know me?” Nathanael asks, suspicious of the tone in Jesus’ voice, unsure if he’s being played for a fool.

Hormonal buy cialis usa Causes- Sometimes, people may feel unwell due to sudden weight loss or weight gain. With the introduction of online pharmacies and you can order a complete stock of them for a long period of time then you should pay your doctor regular visits in order to professionally monitor your condition and make sure that the drugs aren’t causing any cialis no prescription cheap harmful effects. Some of them lose their gallbladder because of the stones without the need for generic viagra online surgery. The active element in Zenegra is Sildenafil Citrate which falls under the category of Erectile Dysfunction treatment drugs. viagra sale buy was first formulated in 2033 and since then it has gone on to achieve significant success as highly effective erectile dysfunction medication.

“I saw you sitting under the fig tree even before Philip brought you,” Jesus says.

Nathanael is caught off guard, like a man who walks into a room and sees a caricature painted by a stranger, and realizes the picture is himself. All the likeness is there, but there’s something uncomfortable about how exposing it is. Nathanael, a faithful Jew who sat praying under the fig tree. Nathanael, who refused to credit a friend’s enthusiasm with anything other than skepticism. Nathanael, who was quick to judge a man for growing up in the wrong town. It was one thing when Jesus saw through Nathanael’s self-perception. It is another thing to realize that Jesus saw him sitting and praying. Did he also hear what Nathanael said?

But Jesus’ smile holds no judgement in response. This is not a conquering king who will demand obeisance. This is the Merciful King who comes to reclaim his people. All at once, the realization crashes down on Nathanael, that here he stands exposed before the maker of the universe… and lives. More than that, is accepted. What can he do but declare his faith? “You are the Son of God!” His words burst from his mouth, more forcefully than his scoff about Nazareth. “You are the King of Israel!”

Jesus’ response is almost… almost… dismissive. “You believe that, just because I said I saw you under the fig tree? You ain’t seen nothin’ yet…”

And imagine, just imagine, the sudden divine fire that shines in Jesus’ eyes, as he calls to Nathanael’s mind one of the most stunning visions of the Torah, the dream of Israel where heaven and earth are connected, drawn together. Two realms, fractured and torn from one another by the sin of man, but there is this one great golden span that connects them, a conduit by which God’s power and grace come to earth and the prayers of God’s people ascend to him. And that conduit is Jesus himself. With a voice that echoes with eternity, he says, “I tell you the truth, you will see heaven opened, and the angels ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

The Kingdom of Heaven is here.

Photo courtesy of biblestudy.org