And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?
John 1:46
The statement here spoken by Nathanael renders to the reader the obvious opinion of the public in the day of Jesus towards the city of Nazareth. Evidently this city had become a place of wickedness, depravity, and foolishness. The city, whose name implied “the home of the guarded ones”, had become the home of the “guilty ones.” The reputation of the city was so pitiful that when Nathanael saw Jesus coming, he was immediately prejudiced against him, even though he had been informed of the goodness and glory of Jesus, because of the place which he lived. How sad it is when a place falls into sin and carries a reputation of wickedness and uselessness. But that is not the end of the story for the city of Nazareth. For what the world meant for evil, God turned for the good. When the world looked at the city of Nazareth and said nothing good can come out of it; God flipped the story upon its head. The world may say it was useless, but God knows nothing that was useless. He took Nazareth, a city that was viewed as good for nothing, and raised up the great Messiah from within its city limits.
John 1:46
The statement here spoken by Nathanael renders to the reader the obvious opinion of the public in the day of Jesus towards the city of Nazareth. Evidently this city had become a place of wickedness, depravity, and foolishness. The city, whose name implied “the home of the guarded ones”, had become the home of the “guilty ones.” The reputation of the city was so pitiful that when Nathanael saw Jesus coming, he was immediately prejudiced against him, even though he had been informed of the goodness and glory of Jesus, because of the place which he lived. How sad it is when a place falls into sin and carries a reputation of wickedness and uselessness. But that is not the end of the story for the city of Nazareth. For what the world meant for evil, God turned for the good. When the world looked at the city of Nazareth and said nothing good can come out of it; God flipped the story upon its head. The world may say it was useless, but God knows nothing that was useless. He took Nazareth, a city that was viewed as good for nothing, and raised up the great Messiah from within its city limits.
Many times our lives are viewed much like the city of Nazareth. We are viewed as useless and good for nothing. Men look upon the shell of our lives and say, “Can any good thing come from them?” Maybe we are viewed that way because of where we were born or the family we were born into. It may be our social standing or even sinful decisions that cast the light of uselessness upon our lives. Living with this fortune is depressing and hopeless. But I stand thankful today because what the world sees as a problem, God sees as potential. There is no problem too great for our God. God can take our lives, which are full of defects, deviance, and deformities, and clean us up to make our lives a vessel worthy of His service. God answers the question, “Can any good come from that city?” with a resounding, “Yes!”
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