Rev. Dr. Michael H. Koplitz
John 1:35 Again athe next day John was standing 1with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and *said, “Behold, athe Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. 38 And Jesus turned and saw them following, and *said to them, “What do you seek?” They said to Him, “aRabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are You staying?” 39 He *said to them, “Come, and you will see.” So they came and saw where He was staying; and they stayed with Him that day, for it was about the 1tenth hour. 40 aOne of the two who heard John speak and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He *found first his own brother Simon and *said to him, “We have found the aMessiah” (which translated means 1Christ). 42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of 1aJohn; you shall be called bCephas” (which is translated 2cPeter).
John 1:43 aThe next day He purposed to go into bGalilee, and He *found cPhilip. And Jesus *said to him, “dFollow Me.” 44 Now aPhilip was from bBethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 aPhilip *found bNathanael and *said to him, “We have found Him of whom cMoses in the Law and also cthe Prophets wrote — Jesus of dNazareth, ethe son of Joseph.” 46 Nathanael said to him, “aCan any good thing come out of Nazareth?” bPhilip *said to him, “Come and see.” 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and *said of him, “Behold, an aIsraelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael *said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before aPhilip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Nathanael answered Him, “aRabbi, You are bthe Son of God; You are the cKing of Israel.” 50 Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And He *said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see athe heavens opened and bthe angels of God ascending and descending on cthe Son of Man.
I was a computer engineer and network manager in my previous career. Therefore, I was involved with getting network services into the various offices and cubicles in the professional building of the company I worked for. In the early 1990s, WIFI did not exist. Therefore, everything was done with coaxial cables. It was a messy thing because the connectors would always fall apart. If you have cable TV today, you might have a coaxial cable between your cable box and your TV. I have a coaxial cable coming in from the cable company that goes into an internet modem. When the internet acts up, the first thing I do is tighten the cable. Why does it get loosened? Only the LORD God knows. It should not, but it does.
So, one day I was told that two project managers from the corporate center were moving to the plant. The plant was located in a city called Lititz. It was a beautiful small city in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The corporate headquarters was located in Morris Plains, New Jersey, which is located about 20 miles to the west of New York City.
These two ladies had lived in the corporate center, which was like the Taj Mahal. They had large nice offices with all the amenities. Nothing was too expensive for the people who worked in the corporate headquarters. These people had forgotten that the real money was made at the plant level. Therefore, I had a minimal budget to keep the network running and for doing expansions.
So, personal computers were obtained for the two project managers. The coaxial network cable extensions were run and tested. Everything tested out properly. The word came that there was a two-week delay for the project managers’ move. More cables were extended. Of course, the day the two showed up, their personal computers were not correctly connecting to the network.
Guess who had to fix the problem. You guessed it. It was me. I did not have good troubleshooting tools because they cost money. My department was considered a part of the accounting group. The director did not like to spend money on anything that did not have a good return on investment. Troubleshooting equipment has a zero ROI, so my department did not have the tools to fix things quickly. It was a trial and error method that was used. Not very efficient.
So as I was working on the problem, I received quite a bit of lip service from the two ladies. They told me that this problem would have been fixed at the corporate headquarters in five minutes. After hearing this noise for a while, I lost it and replied, “if I had the proper tools, I could fix this in 5 minutes.” I am sure I was short with them. Anyone who worked in the computer or telephony area knows what I am talking about.
From that moment on, I was on their bad list. They made sure that the phone calls came in with nasty complaints every time a network glitch occurred. So, the first impression I had of them was not good, and they of me. It was sad because now I see how wrong it all was. That was before I came to know Jesus. After accepting Jesus and learning of his ways, I tried to change the relationship.
It happened when I was in an interpersonal relations class with one of the ladies. I said it is sad that we use the first impression to make a judgment about a person that can last forever. I admitted that I had done this and how better several relationships with colleagues had improved when I dropped that first impression and got to know the person. The project manager in the class looked at me and shook her head in agreement. From that day, the relationship was restarted. She learned that I was a nice guy, and I learned that she was ok too. Most of her hostility was that she did not want to move to Lititz, PA, but had no choice. So with that out the way, we connected professionally.
Now to the scripture lesson. Nathaniel had a bad view of Yeshua even though he had never met him. In this case, it was a prejudice about people from Nazareth, not against Yeshua himself. How many times do people judge others because of where they live? Yes, it happens quite a bit. People do not have a choice in where they are born and where they grow up. This should, therefore, never be taken negatively against anyone. It is something that people do even today. It can be seen that in Yeshua’s day, the same thing was happening.
What would the world be like today if Yeshua was judged upon where he grew up rather than on his actions? Consider that question the next time you meet a stranger. In Nathaniel’s case, he had a bad impression even before his first impression. Honestly, knowing that the two ladies in my story were from Morris Plains, NJ, I believed they would have a bad attitude toward people in Lititz, PA. I experienced it from other visitors from the corporate headquarters.
It is wrong to judge someone based on anything outside of the personal conversation. Today, people get judged not only by where they come from but also by race, skin color, and looks. This is not what Jesus spoke of. His life was different in that he loved everyone. My goodness, he loved the two criminals who were crucified with him. Yes, even the one that did not believe in him.
This is the example that we should follow. We are all children of the LORD. Remember Nathaniel’s behavior before and after he met Christ the next time you meet someone for the first time. Do not be surprised when you learn you have a new friend.
