PENnED

Read John 1:43-51

On some hot and humid day, the best thing to do is do nothing.  A good place to do just that: under the shade of broad-leafed fig tree. And if it’s too hot to go elsewhere for some snacks, the tree might offer some sweet refreshment as well!

But perhaps Nathanael was just killing time under the tree. Or, maybe, he got tired walking around with Philip and needed some rest.

We can make all kinds of conjectures about what’s up with Nathanael but, in reading the story, you get the feeling that his day was like most days… uneventful… ordinary… boring.

Before the day was over, however, his friend, Philip, found him. And before he could say anything, Philip breathlessly blurted what seemed to be the most important thing ever:  “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

But skeptic Nate was quick with his wit: “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?”

How can you convince a guy who seemed to have made up his mind about something? Well, try Philip’s trick because it worked!

“Come and see,” that’s all that he said… and Nate came and saw!

And look what he saw! He saw Him that knew him before they saw each other and who said to him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.”

Surprised that Jesus knew him a lot better than some people that knew him did, he asked, “How do you know me?”“I

“I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”

What a strange thing to hear from someone you’ve just met! And if you were Nate, you’d probably wonder, Who is this guy?

But the moment he heard those words, Nate remembered what his friend Philip said about him. And immediately he believed that Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph, was indeed the Messiah!

But that was just the beginning of this strange but wonderful experience with Jesus. Jesus said, “Do you believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than that.”

True to his promise, Jesus performed many miraculous signs, the first of which was at the wedding in Nate’s hometown. There, in Cana, Jesus turned water into wine!

“You will see greater things…”

As we ponder upon these words of Jesus, we may ask the question, Is this promise also for the rest of us who have followed Jesus?

Yes!

How do we know that?

Well, the pronoun “you” is plural, which implies that the promise is not just for Nate but to all that read this story and respond to the call and follow Jesus.

And, indeed, the Lord appears to be in the habit of showing great things to people, especially to those that call upon him.

Jeremiah 33:3, a verse a lot of us know, has this wonderful promise: “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know” (NKJV).

But why is it that our experience is often devoid of these “great and mighty things”?

I can only speak for myself, really. But if you are like me, then your walk with Jesus is perhaps more cerebral than spiritual… more talk than walk.

People that make good use of their brain, which is often a good thing, have the tendency to be more intellectual than spiritual and experiential and practical in their walk with the Lord. The thing is, we are to love the Lord, not only with all our mind but also with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our strength (Mark 12:30; Luke 10:27).

The other day Averell, a theologian friend, posted on Facebook the following quote from Danish philosopher, theologian and religious author Søren Kierkegaard which a Bible scholar friend and I liked:

It is only all too easy to understand the requirements contained in God’s Word (“Give all your goods to the poor.” “If anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the left.” “If anyone takes your coat, let him have your cloak also.” “Rejoice always.” “Count it sheer joy when you meet various temptations” etc.). The most ignorant, poor creature cannot honestly deny being able to understand God’s requirements. But it is tough on the flesh to will to understand it and to then act accordingly. Herein lies the problem. It is not a question of interpretation, but action. (“Provocations”)

When Nathanael believed, Jesus did not say to him, “Good, Nate. Your answer is correct. I am the Messiah.”

Instead, he said to him, “You will see greater things…”

Perhaps the reason why ‘greater things’ is not a regular part of our experience is because we are more interested in knowing what ‘greater things’ mean rather  than seeing and experiencing them!

The other week I told an “advanced” Bible study group that, since they had “graduated” from “basic stuff” of the Christian faith, rather than me deciding the topic, they decide  what they want us to tackle.

The first thing topic they chose was a controversial one: “Slain in the Holy Spirit.”

I was apprehensive because the group is a mixture of believers whose church backgrounds include Fundamental, Evangelical, Catholic, Pentecostal, Methodist or another mainline denomination.

Some of those that were from a non-Pentecostal background were strongly opposed to the idea because the Holy Spirit, rather than “slay,” gives life to those that believe in Jesus.

After looking at the Scripture texts that proponents use to defend the experience of being “slain in the Spirit,” we all agreed that “slain in the Spirit” was not well supported and the concept was problematic. In all those Scripture texts, however, we noticed a common denominator: people’s special encounter with the Lord that affected or changed their lives.

One such good example is  Saul’s encounter with Lord on the way to Damascus. It turned his life around—he stopped persecuting believers and became a believer himself and an apostle of Jesus! (Acts 9:1-19).

Saul’s dramatic encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus was  his first great experience. And it was followed by the many other great experiences as a follower of Jesus and as an Apostle known by the name of Paul. God performed  many “signs and wonders” not only for but also through him (see e.g., Acts 14:3; Acts 15:12).

Is it because Paul was special that he, and those like him, alone could see and experience great and mighty things?

I don’t think so?

So what’s the secret?

There is really no secret because to everyone that Jesus says “Come and follow me” he also gives the promise, ““You will see greater things…”

So why is it that we don’t often see those great and mighty things? Perhaps the reason is because we do not always follow the Lord the way we should—wholeheartedly.

But we can do something about that.

If we want our Christian life to be exciting rather than boring, we should love the Lord not only with all our mind but also with all our heart, and with all our soul, and with all our strength. And we should stick with Jesus, for it is only by being present that we can witness the Lord’s mighty hand doing wondrous things! Amen.