Nathanael, who was brought to Jesus by Philip, was one of those devout
Jews who had studied the writings of Moses and the prophets, and was
in consequence anxiously expecting the coming of the promised Messiah.
Philip went and told him that the Messiah was really come at last, and
that he himself had seen the wondrous Being, of whom Moses and the
prophets had written; and that He was no other than Jesus of Nazareth,
the son of Joseph. Now at that time the inhabitants of Nazareth did
not generally bear a good character, and were not therefore held in
esteem by their fellow countrymen; and besides, Nathanael had learned
from the Scriptures, that Christ should be born in Bethlehem; hence he
doubted the possibility of Jesus being the promised Redeemer, and
asked in a tone of incredulity, "Can there any good thing come out of
Nazareth?" Philip, whose faith was firm, gave the best answer which
ever can be given to those who doubt the testimony of others, "Come
and see"; certain that if Nathanael were to see and talk with Jesus,
he would be convinced that He was indeed the Messiah.
Nathanael, who was willing and anxious to learn the truth, laid aside
all prejudice, and went to Jesus; and fully was he rewarded for his
willingness to learn. When Jesus saw Nathanael coming unto Him, He
spoke in a manner which surprised the latter, and made him ask,
"Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that
Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee." It
seems that Nathanael, following a custom amongst the devout Jews, had
gone into a quiet, retired part of his garden, to meditate and pray.
Here he knew that no human eye could see him, and therefore the words
now spoken by Jesus convinced him that Jesus of Nazareth was indeed
the promised Messiah; he doubted no longer, but without hesitation,
exclaimed, "Rabbi, Thou art the Son of God, Thou art the King of
Israel." Jesus, pleased with Nathanael's willing faith, told him that
he should see greater proofs of His being indeed the Son of God, the
promised Messiah. The word Rabbi means a "teacher having authority."
Andrew and Peter, James and John, of whom we have heard as the first
disciples of Christ, did not at this time remain with Him as his
constant attendants, but returned to their own occupation as
fishermen: they all lived at Bethsaida, a town on the northern coast
of the sea of Galilee.
The next event which we have to notice, is the first miracle worked by
Christ, at Cana in Galilee, where with those who had already become
his disciples, He attended a marriage feast. Here, when wine was
wanted, Jesus performed His first miracle, by turning water into wine.
Thirty years had now passed away since the birth of Christ; the
Shepherds, and others who had seen or heard the wonderful things which
took place at that time, had probably ceased to think much about them;
or if they thought of them, it was probably to wonder what had become
of the Holy Babe, Who had been declared by Angels to be "Christ the
Lord." Such a miracle as that now worked at Cana, would be talked of
far and wide; and those who remembered the birth of Mary's Son at
Bethlehem, would have no difficulty in believing that Jesus Christ was
that wondrous Child. To all who were inclined to listen to Jesus,
miracles were a confirmation of their faith; for these wonderful
displays of supernatural power plainly showed Him to be the Son of
God; yet in spite of such unmistakable signs, few of the Jews accepted
Jesus as their expected Messiah. The poorer people, the lower
classes, who benefited mostly by his miracles, "heard him gladly," for
a time, at least; though at the period of His crucifixion their voices
called out, "Crucify him, Crucify him!"
When we read the account of Christ's life and miracles, it does seem
most extraordinary, that throughout His career on earth, very few of
the higher class of Jews, or of the Priests and those best acquainted
with the Scriptures, would acknowledge Him. But we must remember that
they had made up their minds, in spite of all that the prophets had
said to the contrary, that the Messiah was to come as an earthly King
and Conqueror, surrounded with pomp and splendour: this idea they
would not give up: they were not like Nathanael, willing to be taught,
and they could not bear the idea that a poor man, born in a humble
rank of life, and only distinguished from other men by his holiness,
should be their Messiah. Besides this, the greater part of the Jews
had by this time grown careless about their religion; they still
observed the outward forms and ceremonies ordered by the Law, but they
did not obey the command given through Moses, to love the Lord their
God with all their heart: they did not wish to be holy, as Jesus
plainly told his disciples they must be. He went about preaching the
Gospel of the Kingdom, that is, telling all men that they must repent
of all their sins, and leave off doing wrong, and try to please God in
everything, if they would hereafter be received into the Kingdom of
Heaven. Such doctrine was very displeasing to the Jews, and therefore
they were determined not to own such a Teacher as their Lord: thus
they rejected the true Messiah, whilst they pretended to be anxiously
looking out for His coming.
Not very long after the miracle at Cana, we are told that "the Jews'
Passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem." The Law of
Moses commanded, that at this feast every male among the Jews, should
appear before the Lord in His holy temple; and Jesus, Who was to set
an example of perfect obedience to all the commandments of God,
journeyed from Capernaum up to Jerusalem, to keep the feast in the
place which the Lord had chosen. When Jesus went up to this Passover,
He drove the buyers and sellers out of the temple, an action repeated
on a future occasion. At this time St. John says, that Jesus "found in
the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers
of money sitting: and when he had made a scourge of small cords, He
drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and
poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables; and said
unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my
Father's house a house of merchandise."
It is not meant that these animals, or the money changers, were in the
_building of the temple itself_, but in one of the courts surrounding
it.
So many creatures were required for sacrifices, that it was a great
convenience for persons coming from a distance, to be able to buy what
they wanted on the spot; and therefore it had long been the custom for
traders to establish themselves outside of the outer Court of the
temple, to supply the worshippers with oxen, sheep or doves. Then
again, people coming from a distance, might bring their money in a
large sum, and then they would want to have it changed for coins of
less value; just as we might carry a sovereign, which would give us no
trouble to carry, and then get it changed into shillings, when we
wanted to spend it. Some Jews also, who came to the temple from time
to time, lived in foreign countries, and they would naturally bring
the money of those countries, which would be of no use in Judaea; and
they would therefore wish to change their foreign money into the money
current amongst the Jews. For these reasons the money changers were
most useful; and they therefore established themselves with the
traders, outside the temple Courts.
But the Priests, as well as the people, became careless about obeying
God perfectly, or worshipping Him in a proper manner and honouring His
house; and therefore, at length, these money changers and sellers of
cattle, established themselves in the Court of the Gentiles, and so
carried on their trade within the sacred precincts of the temple. This
outer Court, in which the money changers and those who sold oxen,
sheep, and doves appear to have established themselves, was the Court
of the Gentiles; and was intended for the use of devout persons, who,
though not willing in all respects to imitate the Jews, were to
worship the One True God. In this Court also, all Jews who happened to
be _unclean_, performed their devotions, as they were not then allowed
to go into the inner Court. There were very many things which caused a
Jew to be looked upon as unclean, without any fault of his. Illness, a
death in the house, nursing the sick; and many other things, rendered
a man "unclean," and unfit to enter the inner Court. Under these
circumstances, there were always many unclean Jews, worshipping God
in the Court of the Gentiles; and the presence of the traders and
money changers was a great disturbance to both Jews and Gentiles; for
they could not attend properly to their prayers, in the midst of all
the noise and confusion made by the buyers and sellers. This wrong
state of things Jesus put an end to, by driving all these traders out
of the temple courts; telling the people not to make the house of God
a house of business, a place for buying and selling.
The disciples of Jesus who witnessed his conduct on this occasion,
remembered that David, speaking of the Messiah Who was to come, said,
"The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up," words that meant, that
Jesus would not allow any dishonour or disrespect to be shown to the
House of God.
By saying to the people, "Make not my Father's house a house of
merchandise," Jesus plainly declared himself to be the Son of God; and
the Jews so understood His words, though they would not own him to be
the Son of God, but immediately asked, "What sign showest thou unto
us, seeing that thou doest these things?" that is, What proof can you
give us that you are what you say, and that you have any right to turn
these people out of the Court of the temple?
Had this question been asked in a proper spirit, from a real desire to
know for certain, in order that they might worship Jesus as the
Messiah, they would no doubt have received a plain and direct answer.
But they had no intention of following and obeying Jesus as their Lord
and Master, and only wished to find excuses for not believing in Him;
therefore our Lord, Who knew all the thoughts in their hearts,
answered them in a very remarkable way, giving them a sign which would
hereafter prove Him to be indeed the Son of God.