LIFE LESSONS
NATHANAEL
DR. JIM DIXON
JOHN 1:43-51
DECEMBER 12, 2004
Who was Nathanael? I mean, who was he? In John’s Gospel, he was clearly one of the twelve disciples and he was one of the first disciples called as recorded in John, chapter 1 where Jesus calls Andrew and Peter and Philip. Then in John, chapter 21, Nathanael is one of the last disciples to see Jesus as Nathanael is fishing on the Sea of Galilee along with Peter, James and John and Thomas and two other disciples. Jesus appears to them there resurrected and alive. But here’s the problem. Nathanael is not mentioned in the Synoptic Gospels. Nathanael is not mentioned in the Gospel of Matthew, Mark and Luke. So, who was he? In Matthew, Mark and Luke where the twelve disciples are listed by name, Nathanael’s name is not amongst them. Who was he?
Most Bible scholars believe that Nathanael is just another name for Bartholomew. They believe this for three reasons. First of all, while Nathanael is not mentioned in the Synoptic Gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke, Bartholomew is not mentioned in the Gospel of John. Therefore, it is believed that one is the same as the other. Secondly there are those who have noticed that in the Synoptic Gospels, in Matthew, Mark and Luke, Bartholomew is the friend of Philip but in the Gospel of John, it’s Nathanael who is the friend of Philip. And finally, the Bible scholars realize that Bartholomew is not even a name. It’s not really a name. It’s kind of a secondary form of identification. Bartholomew just means, “Bartolmay” and it means, “son of Talmai.” It’s not really a name, so the idea would be that Nathanael was the real name and that he was called Nathanael Bartolmay, Nathanael, son of Talmai, or Nathanael Bartholomew. We don’t know for sure, but we do know this.
We do know that Jesus was very impressed with Nathanael. When Jesus saw Nathanael, Jesus said, “Behold, an Israelite indeed in whom there is no guile.” The Greek word for guile is the word, “dolos” and this word dolos means, “deceit.” Jesus said, “In Nathanael there is no deceit, no deception, no trickery.”
The word dolos can also mean adulterated or corrupted so Jesus would be saying that Nathanael was unadulterated. He was without corruption. Nathanael’s heart was pure. His motives, pure. His mind, pure. And perhaps that’s why Nathanael was able to recognize Jesus Christ as a Divine King. Nathanael said to Jesus, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God. You are the King of Israel.”
This morning as we look at Nathanael, we’re going to look at the kingdom of Christ. We’re going to see what the Bible has to say about His Kingdom, about the Kingdom of Jesus Christ as we also look at this disciple Nathanael. I have four simple teachings and the first is this. His Kingdom is not of this world. The Kingdom of Jesus Christ is not of this world. This is of course what Jesus said to Pilate. Jesus said to Pilate, “My Kingdom is not of this world.”
Perhaps Nathanael, in the beginning, did not understand this. Nathanael said, “Rabbi, You are the King of Israel.” Nathanael probably viewed the kingdom of Christ as immediate and physical. He probably thought that Jesus was about to throw off the shackles of the Roman Empire and that He was to rule from Jerusalem. He didn’t understand in the beginning that the Kingdom of Jesus Christ was spiritual and that His Kingdom was not of this world.
I know many of you have heard of Cecil B. DeMille. Cecil B. DeMille was a famous Hollywood producer and director. In the year 1952 he produced and directed the kind of circus extravaganza. The movie was called “The Greatest Show on Earth.” That movie won the Academy Award for “Best Motion Picture,” but Cecil B. DeMille was primarily known for his biblical epics. He made a lot of movies about biblical events and biblical people. Of course, it was Cecil B. DeMille who made the movie, “The Ten Commandments.” He produced that in 1923 and then again in 1956 when it starred Charleston Heston. Cecil B. DeMille also produced other biblical epics such as “Samson and Delilah” and “The Sign of the Cross.” Then perhaps his greatest picture, “The King of Kings,” which was a story of the Christ. It was acclaimed by both clergy and critics.
Now, there’s a wonderful story, one of my favorite stories, and it comes from the filming of the “King of Kings.” It was filmed in Israel just outside of the city of Jerusalem. It was Christmas Eve when Cecil B. DeMille had the whole Hollywood set and all the actors and participants there on a hill outside of Jerusalem to film the crucifixion. They were going to film the crucifixion on Christmas Eve. Cecil B. DeMille thought to himself, “We ought to do something special and so he gathered all the actors and all the film crew; everybody, and he said, “We’re filming a movie called “The King of Kings.” It’s about Jesus Christ and here we are in Jerusalem and it’s Christmas Eve. We really need to do something special and I’d like us to just take a moment and pray. I’d like to say a prayer audibly and then we’ll have some silent prayer.
He said an audible prayer. When he was finished he kept his eyes closed and thought to himself, “I’ve made a horrible mistake. They’re not really into this. They’re just going to go to their trailers and they’re going to get a drink or they’re going to have a smoke.” He kept his eyes closed in silent prayer and suddenly he began to hear the cast and crew and all of the actors singing, “Oh Little Town of Bethlehem.” One Christmas carol kind of led to another. When Cecil B. DeMille opened his eyes, he was stunned to see that all the actors and all of the people were down on their knees. Cecil B. DeMille began to cry. Cecil B. DeMille said that was one of the greatest moments in his life and certainly his favorite Christmas Eve.
It’s an amazing story but of course we all know Jesus Christ does not reign in Hollywood. He did not reign in Hollywood in the days of Cecil B. DeMille and Jesus Christ does not reign in Hollywood today. In fact, Jesus Christ does not reign in Denver. He does not reign in Washington, D.C. Jesus Christ does not even reign in Rome or in the city of Jerusalem. Jesus Christ does not reign over any city on this earth because His Kingdom, right now, is not of this world.
Jesus said to Nathanael and to the other disciples that Satan is the one who actually reigns in this world. Jesus called Satan the archon, the ruler, the prince of this world. He wanted the disciples, he wanted Nathanael, to understand His Kingdom is not of this world but Satan reigns in this world. And indeed, we live in a world with its diverse cultures infused with the thinking of Satan. The three-fold philosophy of Satan is infused into the thinking of cultures all over the world, the philosophies of materialism and hedonism and ascensionism—what the Bible, in the little letter of 1 John, calls “the lust of the eyes,” “the lust of the flesh,” and “the pride of life.” This is the way of Satan and this thinking reigns on earth. Jesus wanted His disciples to understand this and He wants us to understand it today. His kingdom is not of this world.
Now, the second teaching is this. His Kingdom has invaded this world. The Kingdom of Jesus Christ has invaded this world. Most of you know that on June 6, 1944, American and allied forces stormed the beaches at Normandy. It was called D-Day. It was the largest sea borne invasion in world history. One hundred and seventy-six thousand American and allied soldiers stormed the beaches of Normandy that day and many of them died. By the end of June, one million American and allied soldiers had come to the beaches of Normandy. Five thousand ships were involved in this invasion, two thousand seven hundred on D-Day itself. Many of those ships—some of them were mine sweepers, some of them were battle cruisers, some brought troops, some brought tanks, some brought artillery. There were approximately 10,000 aircraft involved in this invasion. Many of the planes were carrying paratroopers. Some were carrying supplies. Some carried bombs. Some were flying reconnaissance. It was the largest sea borne invasion in world history, one of the largest invasions of any type in the history of the world. It changed the course of history and yet it pales with the invasion that took place on Christmas Day in Bethlehem two thousand years ago.
For God, that was D-Day! God was sending His Son into our world. God was sending Jesus Christ among us. This truly changed the course of history. Jesus wanted His disciples to understand that in Him, the Kingdom of Heaven had invaded the world. Jesus had this incredible discussion with Nathanael and Jesus said, “Behold, an Israelite indeed in whom there is no guile.” Nathanael was very proud of being an Israelite. Jesus understood this, and of course the word Israelite comes from the word Israel which was the name that was given to Jacob the Patriarch. Of course, from Jacob came the Twelve Tribes of Israel. Jesus, in his conversation with Nathanael, kind of has a Jacob theme. Jacob was the man of guile. Jacob was the man of deceit. Early in Jacob’s life he tricked and deceived Esau and stole his birthright. Jacob was a man of guile, a man of deceit. Nathanael was a man of no guile, a man of no deceit.
You come to Genesis, chapter 28, and you see Jacob having his famous dream where he saw this ladder extending between heaven and earth. The angels of God ascending and descending between heaven and earth. Jesus refers back to that in his conversation with Nathanael. Perhaps when Nathanael was under the fig tree, he was reading Genesis 28. We don’t know, but Jesus said to Nathanael, “Truly, truly I say to you, ‘You will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man. You will see the angels of God ascending and descending upon Me.’ He wanted Nathanael to understand that in Him, heaven had come to earth, that He was the link between heaven and earth and that in Him the Kingdom of Heaven had invaded this world. That’s what he wanted Nathanael to understand. Of course, as Jesus came into the world the true light which enlightened every man was corning into the darkness. “The light shines in the darkness,” the Bible says, “and the darkness cannot overcome it.” Jesus has brought the light into the world.
Now, before Jesus left this world, he said to Nathanael and to the disciples, “You are the light of the world.” You must understand that the invasion continues. It’s still D-Day. D-Day extends as long as this age of the world continues. This is the endless day. The invasion continues. You are the light of the world and that’s what Jesus Christ would remind you who believe today. You have been sent into this world in His name. The invasion continues and you are to take His love to the world and His Gospel to the world and His truth to the world.
I think Nathanael came to understand this. He came to understand this, and the Bible tells us that all of the apostles and disciples became missionaries. They all went forth with the Gospel. Church tradition is very strong, and the early church fathers write of how Nathanael, after the death of Christ and after His resurrection and ascension, went east to India and there, with the disciple Thomas, Nathanael ministered the Gospel. He returned from India, to Jerusalem and there he went to the Region of Phrygia. From there he went to the city of Hierapolis and he joined Philip. That city today is called Pamukkale. It’s in Turkey. He joined Philip and together they ministered in the Gospel in that region of Phrygia or Asia Minor.
Later he came back to Jerusalem and then he went to the region of Armenia. It was there in Armenia that Nathanael died. He offended a governor by his proclamation of the Gospel and Nathanael was martyred. He was executed. He sealed his testimony by His blood. He understood. He understood that he was called to continue the invasion, that he was called to take light to the nations.
I think God would ask you today, “Do you understand this?” If you take the name of Christ, then you’re called to be part of this invasion. You’re called to take the light into the darkness and to take the love of Jesus and the Gospel of Jesus and the truth of Christ into your neighborhood and your workplace and ultimately all over the world. If we refuse to do this, we deny Christmas. So, we understand, His Kingdom is not of this world. His Kingdom has invaded this world and then this third teaching, His Kingdom reigns over the church. His Kingdom is not of the world, His Kingdom has invaded the world, but right now He reigns over His church. Nathanael was in the region of Caesarea Philippi in Northern Israel near the headwaters of the Jordan River. It was there when Jesus said to him and to the rest of the disciples, “I will build My church and the gates of Hades, the powers of hell, will not prevail against it.” Jesus reigns over the church.
On Christmas Day in the year 1991, Mikhail Gorbachev resigned as the President of the USSR, as the leader of the Soviet Union. That same day, Christmas Day, 1991, a poorly attended final meeting of the Supreme Soviet voted itself out of existence. The Sickle and Hammer Flag was lowered over the Kremlin for the last time. For the first time, Christmas bells rang over Red Square, for the first time in 74 years. It was the end of what some had called the “evil empire.” And for Christians, it had been evil. It had been 74-years of incredible persecution. Historians estimate that during those 74 years of Soviet years, 50,000 ministers, priests and nuns were executed.
During those same 74 years, historians believe 2 million lay Christians were executed or died. Two million died. Two million were martyred. Incredible. It was an incredible genocide and yet the western world was stunned when the Iron Curtain fell. The western world was stunned that within the Soviet Union there were 70 million Christians. When the Iron Curtain fell, when the Soviet Union ceased to be, there were still 70 million Christians in the Soviet Union, at least nominally 70 million men and woman who confessed Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. You see, you can’t kill the church of Christ because Jesus Christ reigns over His church. He said, “I will build My church and the powers of hell will not prevail against it.”
I think the only question this morning is, “Does He reign over you?” “Does He reign over me?” “Does He reign over us?” “Have we embraced His reign?”
Nathanael, and all the disciples for that matter, in the beginning just called Jesus, “Rabbi.” In John, chapter 1, that’s how we see Nathanael address Jesus. He says, “Rabbi…” Of course, the word “rabbi” means “teacher.” There are many people in this world who are ready and willing to accept Jesus Christ as teacher, rabbi, but you see, the disciples, over time, came to understand that Jesus Christ wanted to reign over their lives. He didn’t want to just be their teacher. And so, eventually Nathanael and the disciples began to call Jesus Christ, “Lord,” the Greek word “kurios.” This word kurios throughout the Greek and Hellenized world was a title of ownership. Every single person who owned property was a lord. If you were a property owner, you were a lord.
Of course, Jesus Christ in the Bible is called, “Lord of Lords” and “King of Kings” because He owns everything. He owns all property. When you come to Him, He reigns. He reigns over your financial life. He owns your bank account. He reigns over your relationships. He reigns over your public life and your private life. He reigns over everything because His kingdom reigns over the church. If He doesn’t reign over your life, you’re not in the church. It doesn’t matter whether you went through a New Member’s Class. It doesn’t matter whether you went through our Discovery Class. If you’ve not embraced the reign of Jesus Christ, you’re not part of the true church. You might be in the visible church but you’re not part of the true church because over the true church Jesus Christ reigns.
Now, Nathanael had the incredible privilege of being on that hilltop in Galilee when Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount. How awesome that must have been. Nathanael was there. He actually heard the Sermon on the Mount. Nathanael heard Jesus say, “He who hears My words and does them is a wise man. He who hears My words and does them is like a wise man who built his house upon the Rock. The rain fell and the floods came and the wind blew but the house stood firm because it was founded on the Rock.” Jesus said, “He who hears My words and does not do them is like a fool who built his house upon the sand. The rains fell, the floods came, the wind blew, the house fell down and great was the destruction of it.” Jesus said, “Why do you call Me Lord, Lord and not do what I tell you to do?” So, the disciples came to understand Jesus was seeking to reign.
Of course, in your life, does He reign? Do you think of Him when you wake up in the morning? Do you actually think of Jesus? When you go to bed at night, is Jesus on your mind? As you go through your day, do you seek to please Him? Do you want to honor Him? Do you want to serve Him? Do you look in His Word every day? Do you open the Bible every day and look for promises to claim and commandments to obey? Are you letting Him reign in your life?
Jesus taught Nathanael and the rest of the disciples The Lord’s Prayer. It was a daily prayer. Jesus was saying, “You should pray like this every day.” That’s why you say, “Give us this day our daily bread.” It’s a daily prayer. In that prayer, Jesus taught Nathanael and the disciples to begin by saying, “Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come…” When you look at the tense of the Greek, it’s not futurist. It doesn’t have to do with the coming of the kingdom at the dawn of time beyond this age of the world. It has to do with His reign now. When you say those words, “Thy kingdom come… ,” you’re saying “Thy reign come now.” That’s what you’re saying. You’re inviting His reign daily in this daily prayer. Do you do that? Do you invite Christ to reign over your life daily?
So, these three teachings—This kingdom is not of this world, His kingdom has invaded this world and thirdly His kingdom reigns over the church. Finally, His kingdom will one day reign over the world. Jesus will reign and rule over all of the creation.
Of course, Nathanael in the beginning probably didn’t understand that. That’s why he said, “Rabbi, you are the King of Israel.” He had a very local view of Jesus’ reign but as he once stood on that hill in Galilee, he also later stood on a hilltop in Judea. That hilltop was called the Mt. of Olives, and it was there that Nathanael heard The Olivet Discourse. In that sermon, Jesus said to all of His disciples, “When the Son of Man comes in power and great glory and all of His angels with Him, He will sit on His glorious throne. Before Him shall be gathered all the nations and he will separate them one from the other as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.” You see, Nathanael came to understand Jesus is one day going to rule the nations, that the kingdoms of this world would one day become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ. He came to understand that. This is an amazing biblical concept.
I know many of you have been to Disney World and you’ve enjoyed that in Orlando, Florida. Barb and I, years ago, went to Disney World. We haven’t been there in many years. When we took the kids, they particularly loved the Magic Kingdom where all of your money kind of magically disappears. Barb and I liked Epcot. We loved Epcot. There in Epcot… If you’ve been at Disney World, you know in Epcot they have the World Showcase and you have the national pavilions. You can go around this lake which is a mile in circumference.
As you go around this lake, you see this kind of global village. You see the nations of the world. You can go into the French Pavilion and you can eat French food served by French people and prepared by French chefs. You can go into French shops. You can go into the Moroccan Pavilion; you can go to the Japanese Pavilion; the Canadian Pavilion. You can visit the nations of the world. Here’s what’s more incredible. They all get along. All of these nations in this global village all get along. They’re willing to help each other, willing to send you from one to the other, willing to answer your questions. And you know what? They all abide by the same rules. They all open at the same time in the morning. They all close at the same time at night. They all abide by the same rules because they’re kind of under like a “one world government,” and that one world government, that global government, is called the Disney Corporation. But it’s Disney World. It’s not the real world.
Some people think maybe it would be nice to have a one-world government in the real world where one government would have the power to rule all the nations. Some people have kind of liked that possibility. In the world of political science, this is called globalism. Of course, globalism takes many forms, but governmentally and politically it refers to a one-world government where that one world government is sovereign. There are still nations but those nations are no longer sovereign. The individual nations have governments but those governments are no longer sovereign. So, you have globalism as opposed to nationalism. A lot of people think globalism is a great idea. It surprises a lot of people, even a lot of Christians, when they come to the Bible and they discover that in this age of the world God doesn’t want globalism. It surprises a lot of people. They go to the Bible and they discover that in this age of the world, what God really wants is nationalism.
When you go to Genesis, chapter 11, and you look at the Tower of Babel, that’s what it’s all about. God divides the people into nations, languages, cultures. He doesn’t want the world united. “Absolute power corrupts absolutely,” as Nietzsche once said. In a fallen world, the last thing in the world God wants is one world government. Nationalism is dangerous. Nationalism has caused many wars, but nothing would be any more dangerous than a one-world government. And yet the Bible says that, as we approach the consummation, there will come this power the Bible calls Antichrist. It’s a complex concept biblically. Sometimes this word antichristos is third person singular masculine gender “he.” Sometimes it has a different person gender. Sometimes it is “it.” Sometimes Antichrist is “they.” It’s a complex concept but it refers to an alignment of nations in the consummation of the age, an alignment of nations that will seek one world government and to an individual that will seek authority over those nations and to a pervading spirit, demonic and diabolical, that will empower those nations and that individual. It’s a complex concept.
The Bible says that the spirit of Antichrist is already at work in the world. It’s going to be a scary time. Antichrist will seek power over every tribe, tongue, people and nation and will abuse that power. Those abuses will lead to Armageddon. And yet, you see, the Bible says God does one day want a one-world government. He wants it for His Son. Only then. Only when Christ comes again.
There was a time when the church of Jesus Christ was postmillennialism. They believed in postmillennialism. They thought that as a church they were going to conquer the world and we were going to usher in the reign of Christ through our evangelism. There are 2,100,000,000 Christians in the world. Almost a third of the earth’s population is at least nominally Christian, but the Bible doesn’t tell us that we’re going to conquer the world through evangelism. The Bible says Jesus is going to come back. That’s what the Bible says. Jesus says, “Behold, I’m coming soon, bringing my recompense to repay everyone for what he has done. I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.” The Bible says, “Behold, He’s coming with the clouds and every eye shall see Him, everyone who pierced Him, and all the nations of the earth will cry out on account of Him.
You see, He’s coming again. When He comes, He will establish that government promised in Isaiah 9, in Isaiah 11. In Isaiah 9 where the Bible says, “Unto us a child is born. Unto us a son is given.” When He comes, He will establish that government promised in Isaiah 9 and in Isaiah 11. In Isaiah 9 where the Bible says, “Unto us a child is born. Unto us a son is given. The government shall be upon His shoulders and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace and of His kingdom and of its increase, there shall be no end. He will rule the nations.”
So, we look at Nathanael and we inevitably examine the concept of the kingdom of Christ. It is not of this world. It has invaded this world and we who believe are part of that invasion. His kingdom now reigns over the church and you’re not in the church unless Jesus reigns over you and you’ve embraced that reign. One day He’s coming again and He will rule the nations. Let’s look to the Lord with a word of prayer.