Title: How Do You Know Me?
Contents
Bible Text: John 1:47-51
how do you know me
There is a fairy tale called "The Ugly Duckling" by Andersen. That duckling is so ugly that he is an ugly duckling. The face is different and the body is not a duck. Even the shape of walking does not walk like a duck. All the ducks shunned and hated the duckling. I don't know why he's so ugly, right... he mutters. Even when he looked at himself, the other ducks seemed to be right. The disgusted ugly duckling hated himself.
One day a wonderful swan flew from the sky. All the ducks admired the swan's graceful appearance. With a clean and sleek body, “Wow!” and admired it. The swan came up to the ugly duckling and said, “Why are you here? You are not a duck, you are a swan.” The swan revealed the identity of the ugly duckling. He was a swan and lived his life as an ugly duckling.
According to the Bible, God knows our constitution (Psalm 103:14), and Jesus says that He knows everyone (John 2:24). Jesus knew Nathanael. Although they know the depths of the water but do not know the inside of people, Jesus knew Nathanael well. “How do you know me?”
A true Israeli
Philip brought Nathanael to Jesus. This is the first time Jesus sees Nathanael. “When Jesus saw Nathanael coming towards him, he pointed to him and said to him, “Behold, this is a true Israelite, and there is no deceit in him” (verse 47)
True means real, right and right, accurate and infallible. In a world full of fakes, he is real. You looked into the heart of that person. He said there was nothing deceitful in it.
Israel is a new name God gave Jacob.
“God said to him, “Your name is Jacob, but your name will not be called Jacob any more, but Israel will be your name.” And he called his name Israel, and God said to him, “I am the Almighty God; be fruitful and multiply.” A people and an assembly of peoples will come out of you, and kings will come out of your loins” (Genesis 35:10-11).
It is an honor and recognition to be called true Israel. Israel is a person who has received the promises of God. He is a person who has been promised that he will be fruitful and multiply and build a nation. Israel has been blessed by Almighty God.
True Israel means those whom God fights for them. It means a person who is ruled by God, a person who is healed by God. “Sons of Israel” means the entire people whom God has chosen and saved. It is a community that the powers of Hades cannot overcome.
Jesus knew Nananael. He saw that he was a true Israelite. There is an interpretation of the true Israelite in Romans.
“They are Israelite, and to them are adoptions, and glory, and covenants, and the establishment of the law, and worship and promises” (Romans 9:4).
Who is Israeli? They are those whom God has adopted as “adopters.” God is called Abba Father (Romans 8:15). They are those who have been promised a great future by God. Israel, they are worshipers of God.
Nathanael was not deceived. To be deceitful is to deceive others cunningly. It is deceiving and betraying. Cunning, cunning is the secretary and cousin.
Be a true Israeli. Whatever it is, you become a person. A true human being, a true person That is the person God desires. It is an honor and a blessing to be a true Israelite. God said, “Daddy! They are those who pray and worship while calling out “Father”.
“This is indeed an Israelite!”
The man who was under the fig tree
Jesus said he saw Nathanael under a fig tree. He is not a masked or disguised person. Honest person. We must set the goal of our religious life to become a real Christian. Nathanael was a man whom Jesus recognized and did not spare his praise. No one has ever received such a compliment.
“Jesus answered and said to them, “Before Philip called you, I saw you while you were under the fig tree” (verse 48).
He saw and knew Nathanael under the fig tree. The fig tree symbolizes peace and worship. Nathanael must have been praying there. The problem of people is not the problem of hardship, but the problem of truth and honesty. Truth and honesty are power.
“Abraham planted an ash tree in Beersheba, and there he called on the name of the everlasting Lord, and he lived many days in the land of the Philistines” (Genesis 21:33-34)
Abraham called on the name of the eternal God, Jehovah, under the ash tree. He called on the name of God, who gives strength to the weary and strength to the incompetent. I live in Egypt now. Who are the Egyptians? They are the people who stole Abraham's well. When Abraham called on God's name, God was with him. The place where the Egyptians swore that they would never harm Abraham again was “Beersheba,” which means “well of the oath.”
Jesus saw Zacchaeus on a sycamore tree. It was when Jesus was passing through Jericho. Zacchaeus went out into the street to see who Jesus was. He ran forward and climbed a tree on the street to see because there were so many people and he was short of stature.
When Jesus saw Zacchaeus climbing up on a sycamore tree, he said, “Zacchaeus, come down quickly, and I must stay at your house today.” And he said to Jesus, “Lord, behold, I give half of what I have to the poor; and if I have stolen anything from anyone, I will repay it fourfold.” Jesus said, “Today salvation has come to this house, for this man is also a descendant of Abraham” (Luke 19-1-9).
Abraham received God's favor under the ash tree and Zacchaeus on the sycamore tree. Nathanael was noticed by Jesus while he was under the fig tree. Devotion and wholeheartedness are related to the soul.
The Lord said to Ananias, “Go to the street called Direct Street, and find a man named Saul of Tarsus in the house of Judah, for he is praying” (Acts 9:11).
“He is praying” I hope the Lord finds your prayers.
A person who will see greater things in the future
Jesus said Nathanael was a man who would see great things in the future. Integrity and honesty are the future. A pot with a hole cannot be filled with water.
“Jesus said to him, “Do you believe because I said I saw you under figs? You will see greater things than these” (verse 50).
Those who believe well will surely see greater things. Jesus said to Mary, the sister of Lazarus, who had died, “If you believe, you will see the glory of God” (John 11:40). That's right. Anyone who believes in Jesus becomes a child of God, and whoever believes will see the glory of God. Have you ever seen the glory of God while believing? I believe that we will see even greater glory in the future.
“And he said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man” (verse 51).
These words sound like a description of the ladder that Jacob saw. These words are speaking of seeing the world God has shown us. What could be greater than seeing the heavens “open”? The ladder Jacob saw was a shadow of Jesus. The ladder is his symbol.
In Genesis 15:5, it says, “Look up to heaven and count the stars, if you can. And he said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” “Your offspring” here is singular, not plural. It points primarily to Isaac, but ultimately to Jesus Christ. Jesus is the “covenant heir” (Genesis 15:2-4) who fulfills God’s covenant. God said to Abraham, “I will bless you, and I will make your offspring multiplied, like the stars in the sky, and like the sand on the seashore, and your offspring will have the gates of their enemies. He did what he said” (Genesis 22:17-18).
“Your seed is Jesus Christ. Through your offspring you will be greatly multiplied... and your offspring will gain the gates of the enemy, and through your offspring all peoples under the world will be blessed.” Please believe that when we believe in God, the heavens will be opened and we will see greater and more wonderful things.
Nathanael said to Jesus. “You are the Son of God, and you are the King of Israel” (verse 49). Just as Jesus knew Nathanael, Nathanael knew Jesus right away. Nathanael whom Jesus knew and Jesus whom Nathanael knew met each other.
As Jesus said, “As the Father is in me and I am in the Father” (John 17:21), Nathanael and Jesus became one. The Jesus Nathanael knows is the Son of God. The king of Israel. When you say something important, don't say it at length.
Jesus knew when he saw Nathanael under the fig tree. I hope you will be evaluated as listening to the Word and being in a place of prayer. Honest B grades are more powerful than shameful A grades.
Jesus knew Nathanael. He saw the future, a man who would see greater things in the future. Believe it better. Those who believe will see greater things. There is a saying that if you want to see a person, look at his later life. I hope to see better things in the future and become a person who will do even greater things.