Joh 1:45-51, 45 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.” 46 And Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?
The good news delivered by Philip was not good news for Nathaniel. Perhaps he could not see past the great sins in that city. Jesus Himself had a hard time in Nazareth where He grew up, twice He was expelled from the city. The majority were offended by His message, unbelief was rampant.
From Genesis to Malachi, Christ’s birth had been prophesied. He would born King, Messiah, Emanuel, Lord, of a virgin in Bethlehem. Today such baby would be born in the best city, hospital. It will be all over the news. Not with Jesus, despite all His titles, He was born to a very simple life. This is why Philip’s message could not resonate with Nathaniel, it made no sense to him. To make it worse, Philip referred to Him as Jesus of Nazareth. Who wants to be identified with a mess, broken things, broken city? Don’t we all want good things to come out of good places? We can focus on that good place and fail to understand that God’s ways are not our ways. 1Cor 1:27 “God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are might”. God is God and He will do what is best for Him through His children in His time and in His way. Therefore don’t focus on how He moves, focus on that HE MOVES.