I Saw You

47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”
49 Nathanael answered and said to Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 50 Jesus answered and said to 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, “Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”

John 1:47-48

This small story in the Bible opens up so many questions as to how Jesus, the Son of God who became fully human, lived on this earth. We know that Jesus never used his own power. Everything that was done was done through the Spirit- the same Spirit that we have access to today. We also know that as a human, many things were kept from him such as the date of the Second Coming. Yet here we see that Jesus was shown Nathanael sitting under a fig tree.

What we assume is that the Spirit showed this to Jesus knowing that he would later meet Nathanael in person. Nathanael needed this miracle to believe in Jesus and God allowed it to happen. Think about how God cares about the little things such as this. We usually focus on the big miracles. We think about raising the dead, healing the lepers, walking on water and multiplying the food. Yet I am more amazed by these little miracles that show just how intricate God can be in guiding and shaping our lives.

What little miracles has God done in our lives? Do we even realize the miracles when they happen? Do we understand how much God loves us, guides and shapes our lives through little miracles like these? I find it amazing that a God who is busy keeping the whole universe spinning, while also tackling this sin problem and Satan can still be so individualistic with his approach to us. Think about it, Nathanael isn’t even one of the ‘important’ or ‘big’ disciples of Jesus. He’s barely mentioned again and yet God made sure to show Jesus him under that tree.

Finally, do we daily recognize the fact that God sees us in our life? Sometimes it’s easy to feel alone and invisible and yet the most powerful being in the universe always has an eye on us. That should be a humbling and fearful realization to us. When we sin, we never do in secret. God sees us. But God also sees us when we need him. He is ever present and that truth should shape our lives.

God bless,
Pr. Steven Couto