The Neighborhood Watch

John 1:43-51
43 The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and 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 And 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 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." NKJV

Can you imagine what the day was like when Jesus showed up in the "neighborhood"?
Can you imagine if He showed up in your neighborhood much like He did when He came through on His way to Galilee?

On this specific day, we find Jesus calling "to follow HIM"! As He traveled through the communities, He was the one who spoke and the first of the day was Philip. Then it mentions that Philip was from Bethsaida much like Peter and Andrew. They were born evidently in a community of fisherman. But later Peter and Andrew are found to reside in Capernaum.

Philip in all his excitement, runs to tell Nathanael. What an exciting time to be alive! He has seen " the promised One".

We are told that Philip found Nathanael. It does not say what else was going on, but in all the excitement Philip tells Nathanael that "we have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote....Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.

What excitement and joy that must have filled Philip's heart, that which so many read of and now see before them, that Philip could now share with someone in "the neighborhood"! 

Do we not get excited when we discover something about Jesus that we had not seen before? Are we not elated and motivated to share what we have just received from the Word of God? For certain, Philip was acquainted with scriptures of the Old Testament and he wanted to share. When we visit the passages written in the book of Isaiah and found in chapter 9.......we read starting in verse 6.....

6 For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given,

and the government will be on his shoulders.

And he will be called 

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 

7 Of the increase of his government and peace 

there will be no end.

He will reign on David's throne 

and over his kingdom,

establishing and upholding it 

with justice and righteousness 

from that time on and forever.

The zeal of the LORD Almighty 

will accomplish this. NIV

We find Jesus called the Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, and the Prince of Peace. 

In the scripture below we find Jesus referred to as a "Branch of righteousness" and His name will be called THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.

Jeremiah 23:5-6

5 "Behold, the days are coming," says the LORD,

"That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness;

A King shall reign and prosper,

And execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. 

6 In His days Judah will be saved,

And Israel will dwell safely;

Now this is His name by which He will be called:

THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. NKJV

Yes, there are many wonderful things written to show us what God had planned. And Philip shared with Nathanael but all was not truth of what he spoke. Jesus was of Bethlehem and nowhere does it say that Joseph was the "father" As we know from Scripture, the Holy Spirit came upon Mary and she conceived of the "supernatural" and not of the natural man like Joseph. Yes, mistakes can be made when someone may speak and that is why it is good for each of us to go and study the scriptures for ourselves. It is important to read and reread them and plant them deep in our heart so we know "truth" from error!

The other specific was that Jesus "found" them. Jesus came to meet with them face to face. Without an appointment, a phone call, or email..........today........."what if Jesus is coming to meet you face to face"? Jesus found and then "called them"!

Nathanael speaks and the first thing was:" Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?"

He wanted Philip to prove what he had spoken previously of Jesus of Nazareth.  In light of what Philip spoke was the part about..... of "Nazareth" and Philip just told him "to come and see".  For in scripture, we know,  in Isaiah 7:13-14..........13 Then he said, "Hear now, O house of David!    Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. NKJV

   Philip knew enough of what he read and understood but not enough for another to be convinced. But Philip knew if Nathanael would just come and see, he would recognize who Jesus was! I can tell what I see of who Jesus is and what He has done for me, but you must really come and see Him for you, yourself! You need to make the connection and a lot of times we think if we do not hear or see, that we have missed Him. Yet here we see Jesus and He had come to make contact with them individually.

 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."

Jesus already knew where Nathanael was and what he was doing. Jesus called him an Israelite indeed in whom is no deceit. He was calling him the man of prayer, the man who took time under the fig tree to spend time away from others and spend time to hear God speak. Jesus knew "the state of his heart". He knew Nathanael to be one heart with HIM!
And Nathanael answered, "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." NKJV

Nathanael was calling Jesus the Teacher when he said, " Rabbi!". He called HIM the Son of God, the King of Israel!
When we believe the greater of Who Jesus is.......we experience seeing the greater for the future.
Telling Nathanael that He saw him under the fig tree, was revealing to more about Jesus knowing the story on Nathanael. He was telling him what had just occurred previously and how the meeting with Philip came about. He revealed that Philip came to tell him the news that Jesus was there.

Jesus saw Nathanael in the "secret place". It was in this place that Nathanael was seeking time with the Lord...............and thinking no one would see, yet Jesus knew where and what he was doing.  Jesus saw in the secret and made it known in the public, in the "neighborhood". Nathanael was different and Jesus made the truth known. In all this, Nathanael knew who Jesus was and embraced Him as the Teacher. He was submitting to the leadership and authority of Jesus, the Son of God. He comes so that our lives will change dramatically from the mundane to the "supernatural".

Nathanael was connected with the Son of Man, the Son of God, the Great "I AM" in our midst! You Nathanael will see the miraculous! We, too, like Nathanael can expect to see the "unseen" manifest in our lives. When it is the Lord who shows up to encourage you and strengthen you in the way to walk and the way to go which is in His truth!

Jesus is seeking those who will submit whole-heartedly to His leadership. He comes to bring strength in our weakness. He comes in our ignorance, to give Light to the word of God and show us the way in which to walk in His wisdom. 

Proverbs 4:10-13

10 Hear, my son, and receive my sayings,

And the years of your life will be many. 

11 I have taught you in the way of wisdom;

I have led you in right paths. 

12 When you walk, your steps will not be hindered,

And when you run, you will not stumble. 

13 Take firm hold of instruction, do not let go;

Keep her, for she is your life. NKJV

We too, can be like Nathanael and go to the "secret place" and look to find the Lord in the scriptures we read and study. But Jesus will be made known to us when we go to see with others. When we get out of the "secret" place and look expectantly, the Lord will speak to us. Like Nathanael, we may not be looking, but the Lord is looking and ever hearing what we speak when we spend time with Him. Jesus will meet you face to face "in the neighborhood watch". He will make it plain and clear that He comes to seek you out for His plan that you see "greater things".

Jesus, You are Welcome Here!

Father, today, I pray in Jesus' name for us to spend time to separate "truth" from error. May we be like the Berean's who search out the scriptures to find the truth of who You are and what we have today in Your name. I pray that we will submit whole-heartedly to Your leadership and Authority. I pray that as we do, that we sill see our years of life will be many, that our ways will be according to Your wisdom, that we be led on right paths, with nothing hindering us! Today, I pray for Your strength where we are weak and for Your guidance when we think we know all we need to know. Because it is You Who knows the Beginning from the End........we set our sights on YOU and ask YOU to lead us in paths of righteousness. I pray that each of confess Jesus as the LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS, THE KING OF ISRAEL, EMMANUEL WITH US! Thank You Lord for Your wisdom that shows where anything is out of alignment in our lives, whether at home, in the work place , school or even in church! I vow to give You praise for all the lives that will be changed because of Your Word of truth. I bless Your name and glorify You. It is Your truth and Light that leads us through the valley of dark shadows and brings into victory. Thank YOU for delivering us from evil work and for the giving us the authority of YOUR Holy name Jesus. Amen.

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