Thoughts On: John 1:43-51

The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, "Follow me." Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 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." Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see."Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!" Nathanael said to him, "How do you know me?" Jesus answered him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you." Nathanael answered him, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!" Jesus answered him, "Because I said to you, 'I saw you under the fig tree,' do you believe? You will see greater things than these." And he said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."

John 1:43-51, ESV

Working in ministry, the thought has come to my mind many times: My story is too messy. There have been too many heartbreaks, too many failed relationships, too many failures. There is always a reason to believe you’ve done too much. There is always a reason to believe you can’t.

Jesus came from Nazareth - a small, unpolished, insignificant city. Nathanael said it plain, “can anything good come out of Nazareth?” No one thought anything good of that place, or of that past.

It is here that we see the truth: God understands messy pasts. Nathanael did not think it could possibly be true, but it is, and Jesus speaks right to his doubt. He tells him that he sees him, and he tells me that he sees me. He tells me that there will assuredly be better things. 

The Son of the Living God lived in a messy world, in a messy city, where no one believed he would amount to much of anything. He knows what it means to be doubted, and he knows how the world can label us by where we’ve been. He knows it all, and he knows that there is so much more than that. This is where it all changes: He knows, and yet he believes. He knows, and still he is God. His past was his past, and he pronounces it with certainty: “You will see greater things that these.”

Jesus defeats doubt, but not because doubt is wrong or unfounded. He defeats doubt because he knows that there is a future none of us can see yet. He knows that the silly things we use to found our doubts on will all be washed away.

I needed to hear this tonight. As I move on from a house that held my deepest horrors, and into a future that holds a remarkable amount of light, I needed to know that things can get better. I needed to know that my doubt would be met with an admonition that there is more to come. I needed to know that God could look at my past without wincing, and I needed to know that we could move on from it together. I needed to know that a messy past could make for a beautiful future. I think it can.