I see you

TODAY'S SPECIAL: John 1:29-51

TO CHEW ON: "Nathaneal said to Him, 'How do you know me?' Jesus answered and said to him, 'Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.'
Nathaneal answered and said to Him, 'Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!'" John 1:48,49

This little interchange makes me curious. What significant thing was going on in Nathaneal's* mind or heart while he was sitting under the fig tree? It mist have been important for Jesus' mere mention of it to change his attitude from cynicism to worship.

This vignette speaks to me of how God knows us inside and out. David says it so well:

"You know my sitting down and my rising up;
You understand my thought afar of.
You comprehend my path and my lying down
And are acquainted with all my ways" - Psalm 139:2,3.

It's easy to lose sight of God's intimate knowledge of us—until something reminds us. Something like the verse we notice in our Sunday devotions is the exact verse on which our pastor preaches, or God answers our prayer pointedly and directly.

I love the answered-prayer story  Kim Collingsworth tells on the "A Decade of Memories" DVD. In 2000 Phil and Kim Collingsworth quit their jobs and and began a full-time family singing ministry. One evening in the early days, after putting the kids to bed, Phil told Kim the sobering news. They were short $300 to pay the bills that month. "It might as well have been $3,000 it seemed like so much to us," Kim relates. 

What to do? All they could do was pray. They did,  asking God to supply their specific need.

The next morning when Kim went to get the mail, there was a pink envelope from someone they knew but hadn't heard from in years. In it was a cute card and, you guessed it, a check for $300! An elderly friend said she had been impressed to send them this money and hoped they could use it.

Let's be encouraged that God knows us just as well. Don't be surprised if He gives you your own "… when-you-were-under-the-fig-tree-I-saw-you" experience!
*Nathaneal is also called Bartholomew

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, thank You for how intimately and completely You know me. Help me to follow in the train of Nathaneal, to whom You promised, "Because I said to you, 'I saw you under the fig tree,' do you believe? You will see greater things than these!'" Amen.

MORE: The Feast of Bartholomew

Today the church celebrates the Feast of St. Bartholomew. The liturgy for the day begins with this collect:

Almighty and everlasting God, who gave to your apostle Bartholomew grace truly to believe and to preach your Word: Grant that your Church may love what he believed and preach what he taught; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Handel's Messiah Alert!

John the Baptist's words in John 1:29 of our reading are part of Handel's Messiah—the beautiful chorus "Behold the Lamb of God" performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus.

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The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. - Used with permission.

Jesus sees you under your fig tree

"Nathaneal Under the Fig Tree" by James Tissot

TODAY'S SPECIAL: John 1:43-51

TO CHEW ON: "Nathaneal said to Him, 'How do you know me?' Jesus answered and said to him; 'Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.'" John 1:48

Jesus' picking of His disciples appears an easy, random process though it wasn't random at all, based as it was on His x-ray vision of each potential disciple's heart. Simon, Andrew, James and John came at His simple invitation. So did Matthew  and Philip.

Philip found Nathaneal and invited him to follow too. He wasn't such an easy sell.

"Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" he asked, when he heard that was where Jesus was from. He knew — astute scripture scholar that he was — that Nazareth wasn't the prophesied birthplace of Messiah.

Philip, confident he had found the Real One, said simply, "Come and see."

Jesus didn't disappoint. On meeting Nathaneal He exclaimed, "Behold an Israelite in whom is no deceit."

The description obviously resonated with Nathaneal because he responded, "How do you know me?"

Jesus' mysterious answer made sense to Nathaneal alone" "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you."

Jesus had apparently put his finger on a significant moment in Nathaneal's life. Perhaps it was a time when he was in crisis or facing a fork in the road. Maybe it was a moment he had been praying for direction, or that he would be shown truth. Whatever it was, Jesus' mention of that moment under the fig tree arrested Nathaneal right where he lived. I can see his eyes get big, his jaw drop in surprise. Then, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!"

Has God ever shown you that He sees you in the same private way? From the pastor speaking on the exact text you read in your quiet time on a Sunday morning to you hearing from a person shortly after memories of them cross your mind (perhaps for the first time in a long while), recognize these 'coincidences' as Him watching you under your fig tree.

Respond as Nathaneal did — with worship.  And then become His modern disciple.  Who else would you want to follow after meeting someone who sees, knows, and loves you in such an intimate way?

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for your all-seeing knowledge of me. Help me to respond to Your invitation to follow You with the abandon that Nathaneal did. Amen.

MORE: God orchestrates my life

"God has an over-arching purpose for all believers: to conform us to the likeness of His Son Jesus Christ (see Ephesians2:10). And God will fulfill that purpose. As Psalm 138:8 says, 'The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me.' Because we know God is directing our lives to an ultimate end and because we know He is sovereignly able to orchestrate the events of our lives toward that end, we can trust Him. We can commit to Him not only the ultimate outcome of our lives, but also all the intermediate events and circumstances that will bring us to that outcome" - Jerry Bridges, Trusting God Even When Life Hurts,  Kindle Edition, p. 48 (emphasis added).

(From the archives)

The Rabbi with x-ray vision

"Nathaneal Under the Fig Tree" by James Tissot

TODAY'S SPECIAL: John 1:43-51

TO CHEW ON: "Nathaneal said to Him, 'How do you know me?' Jesus answered and said to him; 'Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.'" John 1:48

Jesus' picking of His disciples appears an easy, random process though it wasn't random at all, based as it was on His x-ray vision of each potential disciple's heart. Simon, Andrew, James and John came at His simple invitation. So did Matthew  and Philip.

Philip found Nathaneal and invited him to follow too. He wasn't such an easy sell.

"Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" he asked, when he heard that was where Jesus was from. He knew — astute scripture scholar that he was — that Nazareth wasn't the prophesied birthplace of Messiah.

Philip, confident he had found the Real One, said simply, "Come and see."

Jesus didn't disappoint. On meeting Nathaneal He exclaimed, "Behold an Israelite in whom is no deceit."

The description obviously resonated with Nathaneal because he responded, "How do you know me?"

Jesus mysterious answer made sense to Nathaneal alone" "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you."

Jesus had apparently put his finger on a significant moment in Nathaneal's life. Perhaps it was a time when he was in crisis or facing a fork in the road. Maybe it was a moment he had been praying for direction, or that he would be shown truth. Whatever it was, Jesus' mention of that moment under the fig tree arrested Nathaneal right where he lived. I can see his eyes get big, his jaw drop in surprise. Then, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!"

Has God ever shown you that He sees you in the same private way? From the pastor speaking on the exact text you read in your quiet time on a Sunday morning to you hearing from a person shortly after memories of them cross your mind (perhaps for the first time in a long while), recognize these 'coincidences' as Him watching you under your fig tree.

Respond as Nathaneal did — with worship.  And then become His modern disciple.  Who else would you want to follow after meeting someone who sees, knows and loves you in such an intimate way?

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for your all-seeing knowledge of me. Help me to respond to Your invitation to follow You with the abandon that Nathaneal did. Amen.

MORE: Feast of St. Bartholomew

Today is the Feast of Saint Bartholomew (whom scholars believe is the "Nathaneal" mentioned in today's reading). He is listed among Jesus' twelve disciples.

The Catholic Almanac describes Bartholomew:

Bartholomew (Nathanael): A friend of Philip; according to various traditions, preached the Gospel in Ethiopia, India, Persia and Armenia, where he was martyred by being flayed and beheaded; in art, is depicted holding a knife, an instrument of his death; Aug. 24 (Roman Rite), Aug. 25 (Byzantine Rite).

Read entire entry about Bartholomew.

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