Devotionals

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YOU AIN’T SEEN NOTHIN’ YET

“I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God
ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
--John 1:51 NIV

Scripture Passage: John 1:47-51

Jesus was beginning to have a following. Some he had asked to follow and some who followed on their own. By now he had been baptized by John in the Jordan. Jesus and his followers were on their way to a wedding party. One of his newest followers was Philip. Philip went to his friend Nathaniel and told him to come and see Jesus of Nazareth. But Nathaniel was skeptical. Nazareth was from “the wrong side of the tracks” as far as he was concerned. He said, “Nazareth! Can anything good come for there?” (v.46) Philip convinced him to come and see, likely out of curiosity if nothing else.

As he approached, Jesus saw him and declared him “a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false.” Jesus seemed to know him before they had been introduced.

Nathaniel asked Jesus how he knew him. Jesus said he knew him before Philip had called him. That was all it took for Nathaniel who then boldly declared “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.”

I can’t help but imagine there was more to their conversation than just that. Somehow Jesus let Nathaniel know he knew everything about him. That convinced Nathaniel that there was something special about this Jesus.

But Jesus wasn’t impressed with Nathaniel’s belief. He said, “Way to go, Nate. You believe me because I told you a few things about you that you didn’t think I knew? You just hang around a while. You’re gonna see some things that will knock your socks off!” Obviously that’s my paraphrase. The scripture says, “I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” (v.51) What an amazing picture!

I believe Jesus was giving us an important message here. God does know us. He knows everything about us, even some things we don’t know ourselves. We may come to faith originally because God reveals something we thought no one knew. But our faith becomes even stronger as he reveals himself. The more we develop a relationship with Jesus, the more he reveals about himself, his power, his love, and his majesty. The more we see, the more we believe. The more we believe, the more we see. To me, that’s the essence of Christian maturity - deeper belief, deeper revelation, deeper understanding, and deeper faith.

God’s tugs on our minds and heartstrings should never be enough. We need to be continually watching for the heavens to open and for the work of his angels.

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