John 1:45-49

Most dictionaries omit the word gullible. If you do not believe me, just look it up.

All kidding aside, Nathaniel was not of the gullible sort. When his brother Philip told him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph (John 1:45),” he was not going to fall for it. He replied, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth (John 1:46)?” Nathaniel knew where Moses and the prophets said the Messiah would be born, and Nazareth, in his mind, did not come close. He did not have the benefit of the gospel accounts to tell him that though Jesus hailed from Nazareth, he was actually born in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:1).    

While Nathaniel was not gullible, neither did he swing to the other extreme by embracing a doubting prejudice against Jesus. When Philip urges him further by telling him, “Come and see (John 1:46),” Nathaniel went to check Jesus out for himself.  As D.A. Carson said, “Honest inquiry is a sovereign cure for prejudice.”

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