![]() Nathaniel knew Jesus had not been present in that moment nor had Philip left Nathaniel's side since then, so how could Jesus have known this information? Jesus' statement shocked Nathaniel, and prompted him to declare that Jesus was the Son of God. Jesus demonstrated His Deity to Nathaniel simply in revealing to Nathaniel something that no mere man could have known: that Philip had called to Nathaniel while Nathaniel was sitting under a fig tree. 1:6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. 1:5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will,Įph. 1:4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,Įph. Paul describes this knowledge in Ephesians 1: Eph. Jesus is referring to God's election of His children before even the foundation of the Earth. Jesus makes His cutting remark about Nathaniel as He watches Nathaniel approaching Him, and then as they talk Jesus confides that He knew of Nathaniel from long ago. Notice in verse 47 that Jesus noticed Nathaniel coming to Jesus, which means that Nathaniel had already left the tree and was walking to meet Jesus. To your second question about Jesus' vision, it's clear that Jesus "saw" Nathaniel in a spiritual sense prior to ever meeting him. By this statement, Nathaniel spoke truly, and therefore Nathaniel's declaration was trustworthy and in him was no deceit. After Jesus confronted him and revealed Himself to be the Christ, Nathaniel declared that Jesus was the Son of God, the King of Israel. Secondly, Jesus was speaking prophetically about what Nathaniel would speak next. He was an Israelite by birth, but by his lack of faith Nathaniel was not a true descendent of Israel spiritually. Jacob became Israel, the father of the twelve tribes of Israel, so what Jesus said, in effect, was Nathaniel was an Israelite in whom there was no "Jacob" or no true Israel. Jesus said that Nathaniel was an Israelite in whom there was no deceit, but the use of the Greek word dolos (which means deceit or crafty) was a play on the name of Jacob, whose name meant deceiver or crafty in Hebrew. In response to Nathaniel's cutting comment concerning Jesus, the Lord offered His own cutting assessment of Nathaniel. First, Nathaniel had earlier commented to Philip that the Messiah couldn't be from Nazareth, because "can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Obviously, Nathaniel's statement demonstrated a complete lack of faith in Jesus. This statement had double meaning and was a play on words. Jesus declares as He meets Nathaniel that Nathaniel is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit (or guile).
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