John 1:43-51\u00a0<\/b>–\u00a0The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip,\u00a0he said to him,\u00a0\u201cFollow me.\u201d 44\u00a0Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida.\u00a045\u00a0Philip found Nathanael\u00a0and told him, \u201cWe have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law,\u00a0and about whom the prophets also wrote\u2014Jesus of Nazareth,\u00a0the son of Joseph.\u201d 46\u00a0\u201cNazareth! Can anything good come from there?\u201d\u00a0Nathanael asked. \u201cCome and see,\u201d said Philip.\u00a0<\/i>47\u00a0When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him,\u00a0\u201cHere truly is an Israelite\u00a0in whom there is no deceit.\u201d 48\u00a0\u201cHow do you know me?\u201d Nathanael asked. Jesus answered,\u00a0\u201cI saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.\u201d 49\u00a0Then Nathanael declared, \u201cRabbi,\u00a0you are the Son of God;\u00a0you are the king of Israel.\u201d 50\u00a0Jesus said,\u00a0\u201cYou believe\u00a0because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.\u201d\u00a051\u00a0He then added,\u00a0\u201cVery truly I tell you,\u00a0you\u00a0will see \u2018heaven open,\u00a0and the angels of God ascending and descending\u00a0on\u2019\u00a0the Son of Man.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cWhen Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, He said of him,\u00a0\u201cHere truly is an Israelite\u00a0in whom there is no deceit.<\/i>\u201d\u00a0\u00a0Jesus physically saw Nathanael arriving and then spoke to him.\u00a0\u00a0Whenever we read of God the Father, God the Son, or God the Holy Spirit we must recognize who He, who they are.\u00a0\u00a0They are not us.\u00a0\u00a0He is not us.\u00a0\u00a0They are not human (except that Jesus on earth was a man), they are God.\u00a0\u00a0When we read scriptures talking about God we must remember who and what He is.\u00a0\u00a0He is not a human person with all of the limitations of humanity. He is our unlimited and eternal God.\u00a0\u00a0His ways are so far above our ways (Isaiah 55:9<\/b>) that we can only begin to understand Him.\u00a0\u00a0It is said that the part of the iceberg that is seen is only the tip, a small part of it. Some might use that as an example of our ability to see and understand God.\u00a0\u00a0Maybe, if it were said that the part of the iceberg not seen is infinite.\u00a0\u00a0Even the tip of God is infinite.\u00a0\u00a0The Lord God is overwhelmingly immense and His knowledge and wisdom have no end.\u00a0\u00a0Even the light from the sun is feeble in comparison as it has a beginning and an end and God does not.\u00a0\u00a0So yes, Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, but Jesus had seen and known of Nathanael since before the creation of all creation.\u00a0\u00a0He had seen Nathanael and He has seen and known all of us in the same way.\u00a0\u00a0He had always known the exact day that Philip would lead Nathanael to Him, and so the day that Nathanael would abandon all other things to follow Jesus.\u00a0\u00a0Yes, Jesus physically saw but before that day, Jesus knew!\u00a0\u00a0Jesus had already known everything about Nathanael. Jesus declaring that Nathanael was an honest man, Jesus knowing everything about Nathanael would have been amazing if He were only a man.\u00a0\u00a0But He was not.\u00a0\u00a0He was wholly God and Man.\u00a0\u00a0So, of course Jesus fully knew Nathanael before He physically met Him.\u00a0\u00a0Just as Jesus fully knows about all of us.\u00a0\u00a0Yes, fully.\u00a0\u00a0Think about it.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do you know me?\u201d Nathanael asked. Jesus answered,\u00a0\u201cI saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.\u201d<\/i>\u00a0\u00a0Nathanael had just met Jesus.\u00a0\u00a0He certainly had much to learn about Jesus.\u00a0\u00a0Just as when we first entered into our salvation, we had much to learn and understand about our great God.\u00a0\u00a0We did then, we do now and we always will.\u00a0\u00a0Imagine if you were to meet a person who would instantly tell you about who you are and who you strive to be and then tell you where you had been and what you were doing even though he had never before met you or seen (so you thought).\u00a0\u00a0Any one of us would be amazed, or at least very curious.\u00a0\u00a0In our day it would be alarming.\u00a0\u00a0In Nathanael\u2019s day it would also be alarming, but in a different way. Who was this man telling Nathanael about himself?\u00a0\u00a0Philip had said that Jesus was the Messiah. Could Philip have been right?<\/p>\n
\u201cThen Nathanael declared, \u201cRabbi,\u00a0you are the Son of God;\u00a0you are the king of Israel.\u201d<\/i>\u00a0Because Jesus had told Nathanael of himself and also of where he had been and what he was doing, Nathanael immediately understood why Philip had told him that Jesus was the Messiah.\u00a0\u00a0Yet, although it is not known, people have pondered what Nathaniel was doing under the fig tree.<\/p>\n
Some speculate that when Nathanael was under the fig tree that he was reading scripture and praying. The scripture that is sometimes speculated that he was reading was\u00a0Genesis 28:10-17<\/b>.\u00a0\u00a0It is easy to see how one would fancy that as the scripture is subsequently brought up by Jesus.\u00a0\u00a0It is an enticing thought, but not one stated as fact in the scripture.\u00a0\u00a0Still, we can see how it is possible.\u00a0\u00a0Also, if Nathanael was studying scripture, how powerful that Jesus would be saying I saw you searching scripture and praying.\u00a0\u00a0I saw you seeking me.\u00a0\u00a0I saw and heard your zeal, your questions and your prayers.\u00a0\u00a0Yes, it may not be provable that this is what happened, but it certainly sounds very plausible. I don\u2019t state it to be fact, but I like what it reveals about God having His eyes upon us.<\/p>\n
Certainly, though Nathanael did not know the depth of who Jesus was, calling Him the Son of God was accurate.\u00a0\u00a0And though people quibble over the title of the \u201cking of Israel,\u201d though He was not then the physical king of Israel, He as Messiah was the coming King.\u00a0\u00a0Besides, Philip called Him the Son of God and King of Israel in confessing that He was indeed the Messiah as Philip had told him.<\/p>\n
God Almighty, Creator of all things in the heavens and earth sees us.\u00a0\u00a0He sees us struggles.\u00a0\u00a0He knows our hurts.\u00a0\u00a0He hears our questions.\u00a0\u00a0He knows our hearts that call out to Him.\u00a0\u00a0He hears us call out to Him \u201cFather, help me.\u201d (Romans 8:15, Matthew 14:30<\/b>)\u00a0\u00a0God sees and responds to us, whether we understand or not.\u00a0\u00a0He is within His children and giving them comfort from within and without.\u00a0\u00a0Jesus is the Answer.\u00a0\u00a0Jesus is the Way. (John 14:6<\/b>)\u00a0\u00a0Jesus saw Nathanael before he even knew Jesus existed.\u00a0\u00a0It is the same with us.\u00a0\u00a0He sees us, He loves us, He is good and His thoughts and love are focused on us.\u00a0\u00a0What comfort!\u00a0\u00a0What rest!\u00a0\u00a0Praise God!<\/p>\n
John 1:5<\/b>\u00a0\u201cThe light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
Psalm 150:6<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.\u00a0 Praise the Lord!<\/p>\n
Micah 7:7<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0But as for me, I watch\u00a0in hope\u00a0for the\u00a0Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will Hear\u00a0me.<\/p>\n
Micah 6:8<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0He has\u00a0shown you, Oh man, what\u00a0is\u00a0good; and what does the\u00a0Lord\u00a0require of you, but\u00a0to do justly, to love\u00a0mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.<\/p>\n
Numbers 6:24-26<\/b>\u00a0The\u00a0Lord\u00a0bless you and keep you; 25\u00a0The\u00a0Lord\u00a0make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26\u00a0The\u00a0Lord\u00a0turn His face\u00a0toward you and give you peace.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
John 1:43-51\u00a0–\u00a0The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip,\u00a0he said to him,\u00a0\u201cFollow me.\u201d 44\u00a0Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida.\u00a045\u00a0Philip found Nathanael\u00a0and told him, \u201cWe have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law,\u00a0and about whom the prophets also wrote\u2014Jesus of Nazareth,\u00a0the son of Joseph.\u201d 46\u00a0\u201cNazareth! Can…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1192],"tags":[1865,103,100,101,94,1874,17,10],"class_list":["post-2648","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-devotion","tag-genesis","tag-isaiah","tag-john","tag-matthew","tag-micah","tag-numbers","tag-psalm","tag-romans"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2648","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2648"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2648\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2649,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2648\/revisions\/2649"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2648"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2648"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2648"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}