The Passage
43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46 Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 50 Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
Word Work
Personalize the meaning. Respond as God speaks to you through the Scriptures. Ask: How could my life be different today as I respond to what I’m reading?
Word Thoughts:
At the heart of all these names is the truth that Jesus has come to save—to be the ladder from heaven to earth of which Jacob dreamed (Gen. 28:12) and to which Jesus alludes in John 1:51. But we do not climb our way up to God; God in Christ came down to us. (1)
Word Reflection:
- What stood out?
- In John 1:51 Jesus alludes to Genesis 28:12 and Jacob’s vision of a ladder between heaven and earth. Here Jesus reveals that he is the ladder that links heaven and earth. In today’s culture, what “ladders” do people try to build between heaven and earth, attempting to bypass Jesus as Savior? (2)
- What do you think those around Nathaniel thought about him saying Jesus was the Son of God?
End in Prayer
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