And He saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, hereafter ye shall see Heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man. John 1:51
Between the time of today’s text and the crucifixion, the disciples spend three years in the company of the Lord Jesus. John’s Gospel, and those of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, record many of the events that occurred during those three years. Obviously, they couldn’t record everything, and, guided by the Holy Spirit, they wrote everything we need to know, including the most spectacular of the miracles and other events. The event Jesus describes in today’s text sounds like something spectacular, and yet, we don’t read of it being described in any of the Gospels. This was something special for Nathanael and perhaps for the other disciples. As disciples of the Lord Jesus, we too can have those special promises and moments that are just between us and our Lord.
Nathanael was convinced that Jesus was the Son of God and the King of Israel all because Jesus told of seeing him under the fig tree. Jesus now assures him he is in for some spectacular events. Regardless of the events and situations that brought us to Christ, we all recognize that the rest of the ride home to Glory will have its special events. Nothing like what Nathanael was in for, of course. We may never see anything that resembles a miracle to anybody else. We may live what the world might call a boring existence. And yet, for the child of God, life has those wonderful events that thrill our souls and make our salvation exciting and worthwhile.
The folks around us who are not saved don’t know anything about answered prayers. They know nothing about the precious promises that God gives us and delivers on. They have no concept of the sweet fellowship between a saint and his Saviour during times of prayer and meditation on the Word. They can’t understand the relationship that exists among believers when we assemble to worship, pray, study, or even to socialize. There is no way that an unbeliever can grasp the significance of the comfort, protection, guidance, and encouragement that the Holy Spirit gives as He resides in each believer. All these are the special mysteries that God reveals only to His own.
Don’t ever consider yourself to be as limited and weak as the unredeemed folks around us; God’s kingdom includes so much that is precious and powerful and only a mystery to those who are not saved. -Jim MacIntosh