Nazareth was a small town, around 200 people. There was nothing significant about it. It wasn’t known for anything, just loyal, traditional, hard-working people. But for some reason Nathanael, hears that the Messiah had come and was from Nazareth, his first thought was, “Nothing good can come from Nazareth.” Perhaps, Nathanael had met people who were dishonest from Nazareth, or because it was a rural community he had dismissed them as hicks, unimportant. But for some reason, Nathanael discounted an entire city.

Have you ever had a thought like that? Come on, let’s be honest this morning. Maybe as child, you heard your parents dismiss a group of people because of their race or religion and so you became leery of a particular group. Maybe you have done business with people from a certain background and found them difficult, so you have equated them ALL to difficult. Have you ever discounted an entire people group or organizations because of a preconceived notion?

Here are three things I would like us to learn from this story:

1. We don’t have to remain a Nathanael. Nathanael’s words were inflammatory and hurtful. But He chose to lay down his preconceived ideas and give this man from Nazareth a chance. We can choose to believe the rhetoric we hear; we can choose to separate ourselves from people who are different, or we can choose to lay down things we were taught, even things we may have experienced and give someone a try. Think of what Nathanael would have missed if he had not given Jesus a try. I’m here to tell you, the expression of Jesus is in a plethora of people from various backgrounds, various ethnicities, various countries. We are truly missing out when we simply dismiss groups of people.

• 2. Be a Philip. When you hear your friends make remarks that devalues a people group, give them counter examples. Invite them to see a different perspective. Challenge your friends to see the beauty in all races, all ethnicities, all countries.

3. Be Jesus. Jesus did not allow Nathanael’s opinion of Him to change how He interacted with Nathanael. No, He looked at Nathanael and saw the man God had called him to be. He saw the gold in Nathanael and spoke to that.

Let us learn to truly love one another in word and in deed.

““Nazareth!” exclaimed Nathanael. “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” “Come and see for yourself,” Philip replied. As they approached, Jesus said, “Now here is a genuine son of Israel—a man of complete integrity.””
‭‭John‬ ‭1:46-47‬ ‭NLT‬

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