How Do You Know Me? - John 1:48

John the apostle wrote how “Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and said of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!”, and in chapter one and verse forty-eight of his book, John shared how Nathanael asked Jesus, “How do you know me?” where we read:

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.

The verse reads, “Nathanael said unto him, How do you know me? Jesus answered and said unto him, ...” John began with the word, “Nathanael” whose name means “gift of God” and was “an intimate disciple of Jesus Christ, he is commonly thought to be the same person as Bartholomew” “said unto him” which means “uttered, declared, proclaimed and asked Jesus”, “How do you know me” or “from what origin, condition or source do you, Jesus, perceive, understand and have knowledge of me, Nathanael”? “Jesus” which refers to “the Son of God, the Savior of mankind and God incarnate whose name means Jehovah is Salvation” “answered” or “responded and began to speak” “and said unto him” which means “and uttered, declared and proclaimed to “Nathanael” the following words. John shared how “Nathanael” wanted to know “how” Jesus “knew” Him, and Jesus answered him with the following words.

The verse goes on to say, “... Before that Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” John continued with the words, “Before that Philip called you” which means “in advance of and prior to when Philip beckoned, accosted and summoned Nathanael”, “when you were under the fig tree” or “at the time and moment you, Nathanael, were beneath the tree that bears fig fruit”, “I saw you” which means “I, Jesus, observed, noticed and discovered you, Nathanael”. John shared how Jesus told “Nathanael” that He “observed” him beneath a “fig tree” prior to the time when “Philip” “summoned” him about Jesus.

When we meditate upon John's words in this verse, we learn how “Nathanael” wondered how “Jesus” knew him, and Jesus said He noticed him beneath a “fig tree” in advance of “Philip” calling him. In other words, Jesus knew “Nathanael” before he knew Jesus. God knows every person, and He is in love with all of them. His desire is to have a personal relationship with them through His Son Jesus, and when they believe and trust in Jesus, they not only have access to God, but also are forgiven of their sins and will inherit everlasting life. Let all who read these words know this, Jesus knows you; Jesus loves you; and Jesus wants to spend all eternity with you.

Next time John shares how Nathanael tells Jesus, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God”, 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".