Day 11 – Nazareth: Can Anything Good Come from There?

“Nazareth! Can anything good come from there? Nathanael asked” (John 1:46).

This was not a compliment.

Can anything good come from Nazareth, this little out of the way village on the hillside of Galilee? Every state and country has a place like Nazareth – a place so out of the way nothing could ever be going on there and no one of importance could come from there. Is that what Nathanael just said, can anything good come from Nazareth?” It is highly unlikely that the Savior of the whole world would come from such a place like this. If you were looking for one thing the prophets talked about, you would expect Him to come from Jerusalem.

For every Jerusalem, there are a hundred places like Nazareth. The world is filled with unlikely places where nothing much ever seems to happen, where there is no great university, little towns without much commerce, places off the beaten path, tiny villages and hamlets where people live.

Nathanael represents the “big city” attitude that prevails today. He speaks for the people of Houston, Frankfurt, Tokyo, and Melbourne. How could anything good come from Nazareth?

Our God is not a front runner. He doesn’t design His coming around the prejudices of city-dwellers. Not that He has anything against big cities. God loves big cities, but Jesus was not ashamed to come from Nazareth.

But notice what Philip said, how he responded to Nathanael’s prejudice – “Come and see” (John 1:46).

At every point along the way, God upends human prejudice and overthrows our preconceptions. He doesn’t play to our expectations. If you are willing to let go of your backward way of thinking, you too can be saved.

Can anything good come out of Nazareth?

Come and see.

Open our eyes, Lord, to see You as You are, and not as the world sees You. Amen.