John i. 47. Jesvs saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in lohom is no guile!
IT is comfortable to reflect, that there are many whose hearts are upright before God, while, from a variety of circumstances, they are unknown to the world. Nathanael was not yet evangelized ; nor had he attained that eminence in the divine life whereby he was afterwards distinguished : yet was he among the Lord's " hidden ones," and- justly entitled to the encomium passed upon him in the text. We shall,
I. Consider the character of Nathanael —
If ever the character of any human being deserved particular attention, surely that must, which was drawn by our Lord himself. Let us notice,
1. The terms in which our Lord's testimony is ex- pressed—
[The whole body of the Jews were called Israelites as being descended from Jacob, to whom the name of Israel was given by God himself. But we are taught to distinguish between those who were " Israelites after the flesh," and those who were Israelites in a higher and more appropriate sense ; for " all were not Israel who were of Israel :" those only who par- took of Jacob's spirit, were numbered amongst his spiritual seed: and hence it was that Nathanael, being a heavenly- minded man, and an earnest wrestler with God in prayer, was called " an Israelite indeed" But Jacob was represented as " a plain man," in opposition to his brother Esau, who was " a cunning man :" and though on two occasions his conduct was far from corresponding with this character, yet, on the whole, he was a person of guileless simplicity : and it is in reference to this that Nathanael is further said to be, a man " in whom was no guile."]
2. The facts by which that testimony is confirmed —
[The first evidence which we have of Nathanael's integrity, is his openness to conviction. He laboured under the prejudices which obtained through the whole of his nation, and thought that nothing good could proceed from Galilee: but when invited by Philip to " come and see" for himself, he instantly complied, in order that he might form a right judgment respecting the momentous question that was then agitated, the Messiah- ship of Jesus. Such candour uniformly characterizes the true
Israelite
The next thing we notice in him is, his readiness to follow his convictions. What were the particular circumstances that had taken place under the fig-tree, whether Nathanael had been adverting to Jacob's vision, or had been praying for divine in- struction relative to the expected Messiah, or indeed what had been the precise workings of his mind, it is not possible for us to say : but Jesus intimated to him that he knew all that had passed there, and had approved the workings of his mind. This declaration, accompanied with a decided testimony respecting his character, convinced Nathanael that he was the true Messiah ; and drew from him an unequivocal acknowledgment of his divine mission. Such a readiness to receive the truth is a further ingredient of guileless integrity