“Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see.” (John 1:45,46)
Finding Christ is not hard. Accepting the places where He can be found is where we have difficulty. “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” Can any good thing come out of being poor, sick, despised, rejected, neglected?
Peter could not accept that His Master would suffer humiliation and crucifixion. “Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee” (Matt. 16:22). But the Lord rebuked Peter, telling him and all the disciples that a cross was not only in His future, but theirs as well.
Our Shepherd has gone before us, that we might follow in His footsteps. Where He is, He wants us to be also. We would gladly find Him seated on His throne, and take our place with Him there. But are we willing to share the fellowship of His sufferings? Would we follow Him into and out of the wilderness of temptation? Would we know the Christ of Gethsemane?
Each of us has opportunities to find Christ on a daily basis. Good things can indeed come out of Nazareth. Come and see.