God Was There and We Didn’t Know It!

John 1:43-51, NLT

The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Come, follow me.” Philip was from Bethsaida, Andrew and Peter’s hometown.

Philip went to look for Nathanael and told him, “We have found the very person Moses and the prophets wrote about! His name is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.”

“Nazareth!” exclaimed Nathanael. “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”

“Come and see for yourself,” Philip replied.

As they approached, Jesus said, “Now here is a genuine son of Israel—a man of complete integrity.”

“How do you know about me?” Nathanael asked.

Jesus replied, “I could see you under the fig tree before Philip found you.”

 Then Nathanael exclaimed, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God—the King of Israel!”

Jesus asked him, “Do you believe this just because I told you I had seen you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this.” Then he said, “I tell you the truth, you will all see heaven open and the angels of God going up and down on the Son of Man, the one who is the stairway between heaven and earth.”

                The account of the calling of the disciples continues.  Philip responds to a simple, “Come and follow me.”  This is confirmation of something we talked about in the last reflection.  The author of John wants to make it clear that Jesus chooses us, not the other way around.  Implied in Philip’s calling is that, prior to Jesus speaking to him, Philip had been prepared by God to hear the invitation.  He was ready to respond in the affirmative even before Jesus speaks.  Throughout my lifetime, I have heard many witness to the fact that long before they officially became a follower of Christ, God had prepared them to say yes.  I have experienced that myself in my call to be a pastor.  Long before I began pursuing the career choice, dozens of prior experiences prepared me to say yes.  God chose me, not the other way around.

                Nathanael expresses some skepticism when he is told that the Messiah has arrived.  That the promised one is from Nazareth throws him.  Nothing good has ever come from Nazareth; there has to be a mistake.  But in spite of his skepticism, Nathanael agrees to come and see.  He doesn’t realize it until Jesus speaks, but his previous experience under the fig tree (we are never given specifics about that) prepares him to hear Jesus’s invitation.  Whatever happened under the fig tree, Jesus was there.  When he recognizes that, Nathanael proclaims his belief.  Jesus chose him, not the other way around.

                Though all the disciples have had a profound experience that has called them to follow Jesus, Jesus informs them, they haven’t seen anything yet.  The real “glory” (remember that the author introduced that term in the prologue) is yet to come. 

Jesus likens Himself to a “stairway between heaven and earth.”  This image will come together with other images presented later in the gospel to form a more coherent vision of the glory of Jesus.  But even right now in the gospel progression, we can combine the “Word became flesh” and the “stairway” to see that in Jesus, we are given direct access to God (stairway) by a flesh and blood human like us.  The glory of God is found in a real live human man.  This has never happened before!

Question:  What does it mean to you to say that Jesus is both fully human and fully divine?

Prayer:  God, something deep within us responds when you speak our name and call us to follow.  Show us Your glory.  Amen.

Prayer Focus:  Spend some time thanking God today for things God has done for you in the past.

Song:  Show Your Power – Petra