By: Amanda Baker
John 1:49-50 Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel. 50 Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these.
One of the first things that Christ did in His earthly ministry was to seek out and call His disciples. John 1:35-51 gives us record of Christ’s calling John, Andrew, Simon Peter, Phillip, and Nathanael. These five men were the first of many people to follow the Lord while He walked on this earth. As I studied this passage recently, something about Nathanael’s encounter with Jesus struck me. Jesus sought out Phillip and called him to follow Christ. It took no convincing on Phillip’s part to follow Christ. He must have heard about Him, and we know he realized Who Christ was because of what he tells Nathanael.
John 1:45 Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.
Nathanael’s response proves he needed some convincing.
John 1:46 And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see.
As you continue through this passage you see that Jesus convinces Nathanael of His identity by telling him something that only God could have known about Nathanael. Christ immediately ministers to his heart and Nathanael responds by following Christ.
It is amazing to me how our God ministers to each of us as He calls us to serve Him. Some He calls once and they need no other explanation. Others He has to woo and minister to carefully until they are assured of His work in their lives. But each one is brought into the loving arms of his Savior just the same. The striking statement of assurance for us in this passage is what Christ tells Nathanael in verse 50, “thou shalt see greater things than these.” Christ assures us even as we are called to minister for Him that this is only the beginning. He is going to do so much more in our lives than what we have witnessed when we choose to answer His call. Be encouraged today in all the great things God is going to do in your life as you answer His call to be His disciple.