{"id":28334,"date":"2021-07-21T20:51:48","date_gmt":"2021-07-22T00:51:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/?p=28334"},"modified":"2021-07-21T20:52:34","modified_gmt":"2021-07-22T00:52:34","slug":"worship-wednesday-nathanael-philip-and-jesus-time-under-the-fig-tree","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/?p=28334","title":{"rendered":"Worship Wednesday – Nathanael, Philip, and Jesus – Time Under the Fig Tree"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Photo Credit: Howard Carter<\/a><\/p>\n

The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, \u201cFollow me.\u201d Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, \u201cWe have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.\u201d Nathanael said to him, \u201cCan anything good come out of Nazareth?\u201d Philip said to him, \u201cCome and see.\u201d Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, \u201cBehold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!\u201d Nathanael said to him, \u201cHow do you know me?\u201d Jesus answered him, \u201cBefore Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.\u201d Nathanael answered him, \u201cRabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!\u201d<\/strong> Jesus answered him, \u201cBecause I said to you, \u2018I saw you under the fig tree,\u2019 do you believe? You will see greater things than these.\u201d And he said to him, \u201cTruly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.\u201d<\/em> – John 1:43-51<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Philip found Jesus. The One. The Messiah. He followed Him…and he sought out his friend Nathanael to tell him the good news. Even as Nathanael mocked the news, Philip persevered.<\/p>\n

“Come and see”.<\/p>\n

As they approached, Jesus called out identifying Nathanael. It was shocking for Nathanael (also known as Bartholomew<\/a>) because they had not met before. Jesus called him “an Israelite in whom there is no deceit<\/a>“<\/em>.\u00a0 Something about what and how Jesus spoke to him caused Nathanael to wonder aloud how Jesus knew him.<\/p>\n

Then Jesus answered, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree<\/strong>, I saw you.\u201d What?! Of course, we remember this is God, this Jesus. Still, something in His seeing Nathanael under the fig tree meant everything to Nathanael…it meant that He was the One. The Messiah. Nathanael believed. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cRabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!\u201d<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n

Now, there are a lot of fig trees in Israel. Most probably, Nathanael sat under them from time to time. Something happened specifically under one of those fig trees that made it hugely significant that Jesus recalled it to him…and told him, “I saw you”.<\/p>\n

In the TV series, The Chosen<\/em><\/a>, we watch a story about Jesus, His followers, and His public ministry. We are reminded by the director and others that The Chosen <\/em>is faithful to the truth of Scripture, but it also tells a story. We don’t know from the Word what was going on in Nathanael’s life “under the fig tree”, but that Jesus saw him was crucial.<\/p>\n

The writers of the series have Nathanael wrestling with God over a failed hope. Nathanael had wanted to design buildings that would honor God, and he failed. Under the fig tree, he cried out to God in the words of Psalm 102:1-2<\/a>:<\/p>\n

“Hear my prayer, O LORD; let my cry for help come before You. Do not hide Your face from me in my day of distress. Incline Your ear to me; answer me…”<\/em><\/p>\n

In reality, we do not know from Scripture what happened under the fig tree, but when Jesus told him that He saw him there…Nathanael believed. In the Son of God. The King of Israel.<\/p>\n

[The scene below is 11 minutes in length. If you haven’t seen it, it is well worth your time. Beautiful. Remember some is story, BUT the passage in John above is faithfully represented…and the emotion is there. The grand emotion of discovering that we are seen…we are known.]<\/p>\n