Monday, May 11, 2015
John 1:48-51 Nathanael said to Him, "How do You know me?" Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you." Nathanael answered and said to Him, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!" Jesus answered and said to him, "Because I said to you, 'I saw you under the fig tree,' do you believe? You will see greater things than these." And He said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man."
NATHANAEL IS DUMBFOUNDED BY JESUS!
Over three years before His crucifixion on the cross and resurrection from the grave, Jesus was calling His twelve apostles to follow Him. Already then, He was beginning to show them who He was and what He had come to do.
Nathanael wasn't convinced when Philip told Him about Jesus, the Messiah. In fact, he was quite skeptical and replied, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see" (John 1:46).
Nathanael went. And he wasn't disappointed in hearing Jesus words. Not only had Jesus seen him under the fig tree, but Jesus clearly knows Nathanael (though they'd never physically met), He even knows Nathanael's heart! Jesus shows His gladness and almost surprise for Nathanael's faith, and I wonder if Jesus had a small smile when He told Nathanael, "You will see greater things than these."
What an understatement! Nathanael would not only see multiple supernatural acts from Jesus which proved Jesus really was the Son of God, but Nathanael would also see Jesus, this Son of Man, be crucified and buried in the grave. He would see the greatest miracle of all: Jesus' resurrection from the dead! He would see Jesus ascend into heaven! It was a promise, not just by Jesus three years before it happened, but from the very beginning to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:15). Jesus came to give us the victory over Satan's power, over the guilt and penalty of all our sins, over death and the grave, and victory over our punishment of hell.
Like Nathanael, we believe simply by the Word of God our Lord and Savior. Like Nathanael, because of the promises of Jesus Christ's forgiveness and victory over death, we can rejoice in this short life knowing Jesus says to us also, "Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man!" Amen!
