One
Not a Very Sensational Miracle
Philip told Nathanael he had found the Messiah and invited him to meet Jesus. Nathanael was skeptical, but went anyway. Jesus told Nathanael that he had seen him beneath a fig tree before they met. Astonished by this supernatural knowledge, Nathanael believed that Jesus was the Son of God.
The most amazing thing about this miracle is how unexciting it seems, how unsensational. Yet that tiny miracle was enough for Nathanael. He professed his faith in Jesus right then and there.
Even Jesus seemed surprised: “You believe that just because I said, ‘I saw you under the fig tree.’ You will see greater things than that.”
But for Nathanael, it was enough.
Two
How Much Evidence Does it Take to Believe?
Obviously, whether you believe in Jesus isn’t determined by how spectacular His miracles are. Nathaniel believed because of a very unspectacular miracle. The Pharisees, on the other hand, saw Jesus healing paraplegics, giving sight to those born blind, and raising Lazarus from the tomb after four days of being dead.
And all these fantastical miracles did was make them more and more determined to have Jesus put to death. So if it isn’t the miraculous evidence that determines whether or not you believe, what is it?
Three
Are You Willing to Change Your Life?
Jesus doesn’t just ask you to intellectually accept that He is Lord, Messiah, and God. He’s going to ask you to follow Him. And that always means a continuous change, a continuous reform of your life.
Nathaniel was willing to change his life. That’s why, once he professed his faith in Christ, he became one of Jesus’ apostles. The Pharisees were definitely unwilling to change their lives. They were unwilling to overhaul their own image of who they were and how they were living.
So no matter how much proof Jesus gave them, He could never pierce through the defenses of their unbelief.
Four
We have to be willing to look at our lives
If we’re ever going to be real disciples of Jesus, with real, living faith, we have to get into the habit of ruthlessly examining our own lives. We especially have to look at those areas we’re afraid to look at. Areas of addiction. Areas of resentment. Areas of pride and superiority. Areas where we’ve invested in opinions that are probably wrong.
We have to ask Jesus to break down our defenses and give us the courage to be willing to change, to reform. Only then will we be able to recognize His signs, and follow Him, the way Nathaniel was.
Five
Resolution: Examination of Conscience
Do you see that self-examination is essential for enabling faith? It’s what sets Nathaniel apart from the Pharisees: a willingness to change your life. That takes practice, and the best practice is the daily examination of conscience. Where, at the end of the day, you look at your words and behaviors from that day, and judge them according to the standard of the Gospel. That will enable us to believe and follow Christ fully, as Nathaniel did.