[John 1:45-46 ESV] 45 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." 46 Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see."
What I love about this event is that Philip, who would later be called "the evangelist" (Acts 21:8), simply invited his friend Nathanael to "come and see" about this Man making a Messianic claim. He didn't try to convince him or sale him on anything. He simply pointed his friend straight to Jesus and let the Holy Spirit do the convicting work. Why did he do this? I think for a couple of reasons: 1) Philip knew that he was imperfect and that Christ was perfect to change a person's perspective, and 2) Philip knew that once his friend encountered Jesus that the facts would speak clearly for themselves.
Nathanael, when he was called, was a complete skeptic. He did not believe the bull that his buddy Philip was throwing at him. His retort, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" was obviously a slam on Jesus' character and Philip's claim. Even though Nathanael at first doubted, Jesus still gave him an opportunity to believe and eventually made Nathanael (because of his faith) an inner circle disciple.
*Life Point* Only Jesus can turn a skeptic into a true believer.
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