John the apostle wrote how “Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and said of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! Nathanael said unto him, How do you know me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you”, and in chapter one and verse forty-nine of his book, John shared how Nathanael tells Jesus, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God” where we read:
Nathanael answered and said unto him, Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.
The verse reads, “Nathanael answered and said unto him, ...” John began with the word, “Nathanael” which means “gift of God” and was “an intimate disciple of Jesus Christ, he is commonly thought to be the same person as Bartholomew” “answered” which means “responded and began to speak” “and said unto him” or “and uttered, declared and proclaimed to Jesus”. John shared how “Nathanael” began to respond to Jesus with the following words.
The verse continues, “... Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.” John added the word, “Rabbi” which means “teacher, Master, my great one and honorable sir”, “you are the Son of God” or “you, Jesus, exist as the term used preeminently of Jesus Christ, as enjoying the supreme love of God, united to him in affectionate intimacy, privy to his saving councils, obedient to the Father's will in all his acts”; “you are the King” which means “you, Jesus, exist as the leader of the people, commander and lord of the land” “of Israel” or “belonging to Israel which means he shall be a prince of God and refers to the nation and descendants of Jacob”. John shared how “Nathanael” told Jesus He was “God's Son” and the “King” of the nation of “Israel”.
When we think through John's words in this verse, we learn how “Nathanael” recognized Jesus for who He truly is - “The Son of God” and “the King of Israel”. This was his first step in having a relationship with God. Jesus, as the “Son of God”, came into the world to die for the sins of mankind, and when a person understands who He is, submits to Him and asks Him for forgiveness, He will “redeem” them and bring them into a relationship with Himself. Those who are wise will see Jesus for who He really is and yield their lives to Him as their personal “Savior and Lord”.
Next time John shares how Jesus asks Nathanael, “because I said unto you, I saw you under the fig tree, you believe?”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book
“Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the
marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the
Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms
Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County"
in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com
; http://www.barnesandnobles.com
; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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