Surely the Lord Jesus is In This Place - Part 615

And looking upon Jesus as He walked, he saith, "Behold the Lamb of God. (John 1:36) "Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews" -- posted on the cross at Calvary for all to read, including the Jews -- but also written in Hebrew and Greek and Latin just in case there would ever be any question arise regarding the authenticity of our Lord God and Saviour Jesus. (John 19)

But before Jesus was crucified, we read in the book of John that Jesus went forward into Galilee asking Philip of Bethsaida to follow Him. Philip later happened upon Nathanael -- a worthy Israelite walking righteously before His Maker -- and said unto him, "We have found Him of whom Moses in the law and the prophets did write. Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." (John 1:43-51)

But Nathanael asked Philip, "Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?" In other words, is it possible that the Messiah could come out from amidst the corruption that was prevalent in Nazareth? Further, like many others, Nathanael may have been thinking, "Is this not the son of Joseph the carpenter and Mary?" After all , the Jews at the time were expecting the King of kings. The Lord of lords. God Almighty in all His glory. How could this be that this man named Jesus might be the prophesied Messiah? Was He not born in a stable? For Nathanael, there were more questions than answers.

Still, Philip invited Nathanael to "come and see." Come and see Jesus for yourself, he said. In other words, Philip was not going to try and convince Nathanael that Jesus was the prophesied Christ. Rather, he invited Philip to come and see for himself that Jesus was the Christ which was prophesied by the prophets.

"For unto us a child is born. Unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon His shoulder; and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor. The mighty God. The everlasting Father. The Prince of Peace." (Isaiah 9:6) 

But Nathanael wasn't so easily convinced.  How can Jesus be the prophesied Christ -- God Almighty in the flesh - who loved us so much -- even before the world was shaped -- that He would become our Lord and Saviour? Could this really be the Messiah prophesied of in Isaiah chapter 53? 

"Who hath believed our report? And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: He hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him. [Indeed] He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief and we hid, as it were our faces from Him; He was despised and we esteemed Him not. Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet, we did not esteem Him, smitten of God and afflicted. 

[Still] He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned every one to his own way, and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and He was afflicted. Yet He opened not His mouth. He is brought as a Lamb to the slaughter and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb. So He openeth not His mouth. 

He was taken from prison and from judgement, and who shall declare His generation? For He was cut off out of the land of the living; for the transgression of my people was He stricken. And He made His grave with the wicked and with the rich in His death. Because He had done no violence, neither was any deceit in His mouth.

Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him. He hath put Him to grief. When thou shalt make His soul an offering for sin. He shall see His seed. He shall prolong His days and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. He shall see of the travail of His soul and shall be satisfied. By His knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for He shall bear their iniquities.

Therefore, will I divide Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong; because He hath poured out His soul unto death. And He was numbered with the transgressors; and He bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors." (Isaiah 53:1-12)

Jesus knows our hearts. This is why when Jesus saw Nathanael coming, He said of him, "Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile." Jesus knew his heart. This is why Nathanael asked Jesus, "Whence knowest thou me?" Jesus answered and said unto him, "Before that Phiilip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee."

At that point, Nathanael knew that here was the Messiah -- the Lord of lords and King of kings. He recognized right there and then that Jesus was the King of Israel. No doubts whatsoever. But Jesus wasn't going to let Nathanael's change of heart off that easy. So Jesus asked him, "Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? Thou shalt see greater things than these."

And Jesus said unto him. "Verily, verily, I say unto you. Ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man." (John 1:51) For those who might have difficulty understanding this last verse, the "ascending and descending" is further elaborated in Jacob's dream found in Genesis 28:12-16. 

Most importantly, Nathanael knew that Jesus was the He that said, "I will not leave thee until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of." Praise you Jesus. Stand in the offering plate.