Meditation

Hi there,

Today is the last day in our season of encounters with Jesus. And fittingly Jesus has the last word.

Throughout this season, we have seen how Jesus engages with seekers, skeptics, and believers. Meeting them where they are and giving them compelling reasons to believe.

Today, Jesus tells Nathaniel that he "will see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of man" recalling Genesis 28, where Jacob saw a vision of a staircase connecting heaven and earth.

In so doing, he is saying, as Tim Keller put it in his book Encounters with Jesus, "I am the connection between God and humanity. I am the bridge between heaven and earth."

Today's text is John 1:47-49. The verses to copy are in black and red. Earlier verses are in grey for context.

Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael

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.”

Encouragement

"Come and see"

John 1:39, John 1:46, John 4:29

​Andy