Suggested reading: JOHN chapter 1 verses 43-51

Most of us will have said something that we have regretted later and wished that we could retract it. The Bible records a number of occasions, when Jesus was on the receiving end of unwise statements and actions. Sadly, some of them came from His followers.

At the outset of His public ministry, Jesus called PHILIP from Bethsaida to follow Him, verse 43. His immediate response was to find his friend, NATHANAEL, and tell him, ‘We have found Him of whom Moses in the law and also the prophets, wrote – Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph’, verse 45. It was an exciting message to deliver and he never regretted doing so.

Disappointingly, Philip’s words fell on disbelieving ears. As far as Nathanael was concerned, the words, ‘Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph’ robbed Philip’s words of any credibility! How could the son of a humble carpenter, from the despised town of Nazareth, possibly be the promised Messiah? Nathanael’s dismissive response was, ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’, verse 46. He would soon regret making such a comment! He came from the nearby rival city of Cana. Nazareth had a poor reputation; indeed, its mixed Gentile population did little to enhance its image in the surrounding areas.

Thankfully, all this negativity and hostility faded into the background, when Nathanael met Jesus. To his credit, Philip did not stop to enter into a lengthy debate with him about all his objections but simply said, ‘Come and see’, verse 46. When Nathanael did, he was truly amazed to discover that Jesus had already seen him and knew everything about him. He dismissed his previous prejudices and exclaimed, ‘Rabbi, You are the Son of God, You are the King of Israel!’, verse 49. Nathanael never regretted this statement – it changed the direction of his life and he followed Jesus!

‘Come and see’ today, you will not be disappointed.