“Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”
It’s the worst question I could’ve heard had I been a Nazarene. It’s is the last thing I would’ve wanted to hear from someone I might consider for my ministry team. Frankly, I wouldn’t want to give the time of day to an individual who exhibited such cultural prejudice toward me—let alone give him three years of concentrated discipleship and ministry training. And yet, Jesus did the opposite when confronted with such a man.
That man was Nathanael (referred to in the other gospels as Bartholomew), who wasn’t exactly excited about the prospect of meeting Jesus. His comment was recorded in John 1:46 and is part of the larger account of the events leading up to and including Christ’s first interaction with him. And it’s not as if Jesus didn’t hear it. After all, He saw Nathanael sitting under a fig tree though they weren’t in visible vicinity of one another (v. 46). We can safely assume that Jesus heard Nathanael’s not-so-politically-correct inquiry. In light of this, you’d think that Nathanael’s prospect to be a part of the most important ministry team in global history would have evaporated with his comment.
But Nathanael became a part of Jesus’ twelve. Interestingly, in their dialogue in John 1:47-51, Jesus didn’t rebuke him. Apparently, the existence prejudice wasn’t enough to disqualify him from being a disciple. But it wasn’t just that Nathanael didn’t disqualify himself. There was present in him some quality, revealed in his sharp remark, that led to Jesus’ selection of Nathanael. It’s a quality that, over the years, I’ve learned is an sure indicator of a godly man, and it was stated succinctly in Jesus’ response upon seeing Nathaniel in the horizon: “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit.” (v. 47, emphasis added).
It is the quality of honesty.
The Possibility of Honesty
Jesus never said that Nathanael had no sin. But He did say that he had no deceit. It’s possible, then, to be imperfect but still have integrity (see Old Testament texts like Prov 11:3; 20:7). It’s possible to struggle with sin, but still be a man with no deceit. While no one is sinless, there are those who are sincere. Nathanael was that kind of man. Although he was a sinner in need of Christ’s atonement, he bore the quality of honesty, and that quality made him a candidate for discipleship.
The Importance of Honesty
After all, Nathanael didn’t have a lot. He didn’t have experience. He didn’t have formal training. At this point, he didn’t even have the right perspective. You can argue that he didn’t have the right attitude, at least not just yet. As the dialogue indicates, Nathanael may have not even been a believer at the point of their interaction (he professed faith in v. 49). But he had honesty. That alone made him a standout amongst the men of Israel.
I’ve learned that the importance of honesty can’t be stressed enough. Over the years, I’ve learned to be more selective than I was in the past in terms of who I personally invest in when it comes to individual mentoring. It’s not because I am being partial; it’s because my capacity to invest in people individually is limited—at least, if I want to invest with any kind of depth.
I’ve been asked what to look for when deciding whether to disciple someone, because there seemed to be no consistency to the personality profiles or demographics of the individuals who I’ve chosen to invest in over the years. At the end of the day, I’m not looking for a particular personalty profile, nor am I drawn to a particular demographic. James 2:1 warns me not to use these metrics. Yet, there is one essential quality: Whatever the portrait, honesty is a non-negotiable. In other words, he doesn’t have to see eye-to-eye with me, and he can disagree with me. But if he isn’t honest, I have nothing to work with. But if he is honest, I have something to work with.
The Description of Honesty
By honesty, I don’t mean that a person must open every can of worms or reveal every skeleton in his closet over the course of discipleship. For one, trust needs to be built in order for a man to do that. Also, some people are simply more private than others. Honesty doesn’t mean that one has to unveil everything he’s thinking and feeling to anyone who asks. There’s a difference between being honest and unfiltered (see Prov 12:23).
Honesty is not so much about indiscriminate transparency, but about absolute truthfulness. An honest man never pretends to be anything other than who he truly is. He is honest about what he has done. He is honest about what he is thinking when he does reveal it. He is honest in his speech, such that he means what he says and says what he means. He is honest about where he is—and where he isn’t—in his faith. He is honest about where and how he is struggling and where he needs help. He is honest about what he desires and what his ambitions are. An honest man is out to neither impress, manipulate, nor deceive. He is free of guile and ulterior motives. There is no pretense and there is no costume. With an honest man, what you see is what you get.
When there is honesty, there’s a starting point. There’s clay that can be molded into a sanctified vessel. There’s a seed that can sprout into a one-day into a tree-bearing fruit. And so when you have an honest man in your midst, give him a chance.
The Rarity of Honesty
Give this man a chance, because finding such an honest man is rare. When Jesus said, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit,” the implication is that such a man was a rarity in Israel. After all, Jacob himself was a man of deceit and guile—a trait that had become common among his descendants.
But that’s not just true of Ancient Israel. That’s true of Hawaii. That’s true of California. That’s true of America. That’s true of the Western world. That’s true of the world, period. Paul aptly describes global humanity as a whole: “Their throat is an open grave, with their tongues they keep deceiving, the poison of asps is under their lips” (Rom 3:13). Deceit is a global pandemic. Honest men are gems. And gems are worth investing in, as Jesus showed in how he took Nathanael under his wing.
So what ever became of Nathanael? The cynical, short-sighted, prejudiced man ended up becoming a part of the foundation of Christ’s church (Ephesians 2:20). To Nathanael was given the promise of one day sitting upon one of the twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel in the Millennial Kingdom (Matthew 19:28; Luke 22:30). And in the Eternal Kingdom, Nathanael’s name will be permanently inscribed on one of the twelve foundation stones of the wall of the heavenly city (Rev 21:14).
All this, for being an honest man.
