Opening the door to Seeing More
Scripture Reading: John 1: 48 - 51 (NIV)
“How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.
Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”
Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.”
Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.” He then added, “Very truly I tell you, you will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on’ the Son of Man.”
Message: Opening the door to… seeing more (finding faith)
Power of encounters with Jesus
I am truly excited about stories of encounters between Jesus and people in the gospels
This story is one of those special encounters
Before we dig into the story, let’s just stop for a moment to reflect on the role encounters plays in our lives
Firstly encounters with others - I am sure you can think back today to the encounters that you had with significant people in your life
The encounter where you met the love of your life…
The encounter you had with your children when they were born
The encounter you had that changed your life - those types of encounters that makes your stomach turns just thinking of it…
Our faith is not supposed to be clinical and impersonal - God sent his Son Jesus to make it personal
The gospels are full of personal encounters that Jesus had with people - stories of how lives have been changed
We have encounters with Jesus through these special stories
He meets us personally through these stories
He meets us when we come to realize how great his love for us is, as we identify with the characters and their emotions in these stories
So, let us open our hearts when we ponder this story, so that we can have an encounter with Jesus today… so that we may be changed through this encounter
To be seen by Jesus
The story starts with Nathaniel being amazed that Jesus knows him - “How do you know me?”
Jesus responds by saying that He’s been watching Nathaniel for a while now
Wow! Just think what it meant to him - here’s this Rabbi telling me that I’ve been watched
Just to know that He is interested in me! What a thought!
Nathaniel responds with a profound confession of faith: “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.”
What a thought - this response to the notion of knowing that I have been seen by the Rabbi
We do need to be seen in life, don’t we?
We see how children act out to get the attention of their parents (the nr 1 reason for bad behaviour is the seeking of attention - the deep desire to be seen)
Just think of it - what happens to us when we feel we are not seen
That feeling inside that I am not appreciated
It just brings out the worst in us - that is why wars happens, that is why mass shootings happen, that is probably the reason people land up in jail…
When you feel that significant people in your life is not seeing you, bad things start to happen in your life
It makes us realize that we should take grater care in the way we interact with each other - make sure we see each other
But here comes Jesus into the life of Nathaniel with the message - I see you Nathaniel
And just see what a powerful response that brings out of him…
To see more in life - finding faith
Jesus goes further by saying: “Very truly I tell you, you will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on’ the Son of Man.”
Jesus is telling Nathaniel that he will so much more through his faith
The response to being seen will open the door for Nathaniel to see so much more
To see beyond the imagination of his time… beyond the imagination of the limited religion of his time…
Now this excites me - just to think at what new possibilities in our faith can open up when we realize that we are seen by Jesus
We are often accused that our faith is limiting our understanding
Scientists who don’t believe will say that science proves faith wrong
But I say science without faith is cold and impersonal - there is more to just scientific facts and proven explanations
Our faith goes beyond
Through faith we see more and not less
Through our faith our lives are enriched and not limited like the secular world likes to think
This story of Jesus and Nathaniel is about Jesus helping Nathaniel to go on the journey of faith
The journey of seeing more through a relationship of faith
Seeing more through a relationship of faith that started very personal with a powerful encounter that convinced him that He is important in the eyes of Jesus
Encounter Today
This is the encounter we have with Jesus today - here, in this moment…
Know that you are seen!
He has been watching you - your name was written in his book even before you were born (Ps 139)
You are lifted up by the inner knowledge that He sees you where you
He knows what’s going on in your heart
He knows the challenges you face every day
He sees you through and through
When you respond to this encounter, He will help you to see more through your faith
You are invited to continue on the journey of faith - it will take you places
Today, Jesus is opening the door to seeing more in life…
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