Finishing up John chapter one today, verses 42-51. Jesus continues to seek out followers and friends – those whom He will spend time with and invest in one on one. Those that He will mentor and do life with. He approached a guy named Philip and asked him to follow. Philip not only followed, but told his friend Nathanael and said, “We have found the one Moses wrote about…and about whom the prophets also wrote – Jesus of Nazareth…”
Nathanael’s response was doubtful, if not a little sarcastic. “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” He wasn’t so sure. But he followed Philip to go and see Jesus.
When Jesus sees him coming he makes a statement that indicates that He already knows Nathanael. “Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false.” “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. And listen to Jesus’ answer – “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.” When Nathanael heard this, he believed that Jesus truly was who He said He was.
I love so many things about this short passage. I love that Jesus called Philip and Philip not only followed, but brought a friend in on the great news that he had found the Messiah. When the friend doubted, Philip said, “Come and see (for yourself)”. He didn’t argue with his friend, but brought him to Jesus.
I love that Jesus, knowing that Nathanael did not yet believe, reached out to him. He let him know that before Philip had even told him about Jesus, He already knew him inside and out. And that spoke to Nathanael’s heart more than any argument could have. When he encountered Jesus, all doubt melted and he saw who He really was.
After Nathanael believes, Jesus tells him that he is going to see way more amazing things than he had just witnessed. Almost as if to say, “You think this is great? Just you wait to see what I have in store!”
If we have followed Jesus’ call, are we inviting our friends to “come and see Who I’ve found!!!” ? Do we believe that Jesus has so much in store to show us about Himself that we haven’t even tapped into yet? Do we truly understand, as Nathanael did, that Jesus knows us from the inside out and still asks us to be His friend? I want that to change my life, turn me upside down and inspire me to know and love the One that knows and loves me more than I can imagine, more than words can tell….
