John 1:47-51
47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” 48 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.” 49 Nathanael answered Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King 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 the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
Time: John most likely wrote between A.D. 85 and 90. John's purpose in writing was, "that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name (John 20:31)."
What the Lord is Saying: Jesus has left Nazareth and now is in Galilee. Andrew and John, Peter and Phillip and Nathanael. And in this passage today is a conversation between Jesus and Nathanael. Jesus and Nathanael see one another and acknowledge one another, and in the process acknowledge some things. Nathanael is probably coming to get to know Jesus a little better and figure out who He is. Nathanael is an Israelite.
Nathanael is startled a little because Jesus already knows who He is and had seen him prior. It is not clear if Jesus is showing his all-knowing attributes here or maybe he did see him previously. And yet in Nathanael's response he believed there was something supernatural by what Jesus had done.
Nathanael calls Jesus King of Israel, Son of God. This is one more title or name given Jesus so far in this book (Word, Light, One, Him, Son of God, Lamb of God). And then Jesus utters a phrase he will repeat often, "Do you believe?" Believe is really the major crux of Jesus. Do people believe in Him?
And Jesus is remarking one of the first steps of discipleship and that is believe. We must believe before we can trust.
And Jesus lets him know that as Nathanael is with Jesus and follows Him, then Nathanael will see things, great things, like the heavens open and the angels of God ascending and descending. Being with Jesus will be greater than anything.
In those words is something interesting as well from Jesus, "You will see." It is repeated twice, in verse 50 and 51. Philip in the previous lesson said to Nathanael, "Come and see." The promise we have with Jesus is to come and see and we will see. Life will be much fuller and complete once we see and behold Jesus, The Spirit illuminates us and gives us understanding and then in Christ we see more than we could have dreamed. It is not that we need to have a major illumination or experience. But it is simply trusting in Him and being guided by Him that we see that life is full and complete.
And in addition, Jesus says, "You will see greater things than these." This is a great promise from God. I had great joy at my salvation. I often listen or hear the song from Edin Adahl, "Bring back the joy of my salvation" and yet the longer I am following Jesus, the greater it is. Upon salvation, it is only the beginning. The more I am in fellowship with the Lord and see Him in creation, in people, in all things, my faith multiplies and I see and behold Him more and more. And Jesus seems to be expressing this to Nathanael that today is only the beginning. We always have hope for tomorrow, for the future. He promises us heaven and eternal life. We know life will only improve in Christ.
In these words, Jesus proclaims something significant and that is he is the one who intercedes or go between heaven and earth on behalf of sinful man.
Alexander Maclaren states on this:
He makes a mightier claim than any that they had dreamed of, and proclaims Himself to be the medium of all communication and intercourse between heaven and earth: ‘Hereafter ye shall see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.’
Christ is the ladder between heaven and earth and so he is the way of salvation. This appears to be a direct reminder of Jacob's Ladder whereby it joins heaven and earth. And the Son of Man is present between heaven and earth, bridging the gap. He is going to heaven and coming back for Man so as to take to heaven.
Note: My understanding and writings today come from Alexander Maclaren who I really enjoy reading.
Summary: Jesus proclaims that is present between heaven and earth, going back and forth, taking His people to heaven from earth, back and forth. We see him. We believe.
Promise: From Tabletalk, "On this side of heaven, the greatest thing we can see is Jesus as the way of salvation. Seeing and believing in Him is the only way to heaven."
Prayer: Lord, I thank you for this passage and for Alexander Maclaren and the gifts you gave him to preach and teach Your words. I love to read him and understand so very well what you have done for me. You changed this text before me after a first reading and made it come alive, in seeing you and believing in You and giving me hope for the future. Thank you for Your promises and the joy in knowing You. Thank you for the hope we have for the future and for constantly renewing our hope and keeping me excited about tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment