Luke 1:43-52
43 The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.”
44 Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. 45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
46 “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked.
“Come and see,” said Philip.
47 When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.”
48 “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.
Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”
49 Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.”
50 Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.” 51 He then added, “Very truly I tell you, you will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on’ the Son of Man.” [1]
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What struck me today was Jesus comment to Nathanael that he saw him under the fig tree before Philip talked to him. Yes, this points to Jesus divine powers, a true miracle. But what it also points to is the fact that Jesus was thinking about Nathanael and had His eye on him before Nathanael had ever heard of Jesus. Jesus wasn’t just observing Nathanael, but looking into his heart. He knew Nathanael before Nathanael knew Him.
Now of course this is the case. Jesus is God. During his earthly life, He usually set aside His divine power and did not use it, but He’s still God and one of the divine attributes is omniscience (all knowing). So nothing surprising here that He knows Nathanael before Nathanael knows him.
But note how Jesus worded His comment to Nathanael. He was watching him before Philip called him. He’s connecting His vision of Nathanael to Philip’s witnessing to Him. You see, I’m sure Jesus wanted Philip to invite Nathanael.
And this leads me to wonder about the people around me, those who don’t know Jesus – neighbors, friends – who does Jesus have His eye on? Who is He watching? Philip isn’t here, but I am. It’s important to keep in mind when we are sharing our faith – whether by word or deed – that Jesus has gone before us. That He knows that people around us who need His love. That He loves them.
And so my prayer is that Jesus would give me a bit of His sight. That I would see as He does. Not in a miraculous way necessarily, but in a missional way. To see those whom He is watching, those that He is preparing to come to know Him, those that He has prepared me to witness to.
[1] The New International Version. 2011 (Jn 1:43–51). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
