Only John’s Gospel mentions Nathanael, though he is probably the same person whom Matthew, Mark and Luke call Bartholemew. (For the identification of the two names see BARTHOLEMEW.) He lived in Galilee and was introduced to Jesus by Philip (John 1:43-45; John 21:2).
Nathanael was an honest person, free of deceit (John 1:47). At first he had difficulty believing that the Messiah should come from the small Galilean town of Nazareth, but he was quickly convinced when he learnt first-hand of Jesus’ supernatural knowledge (John 1:48-49). Jesus assured Nathanael that the Messiah was more than just a person with superhuman knowledge. He was the divinely given mediator, God’s unique ‘ladder’ that connected earth and heaven. Jesus’ mission was to bring God to the world and to make it possible for the world to come to God (John 1:50-51).