Jesus answered him [Nathanael], “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, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” (John 1:50-51 ESV)
I’ve been writing about Nathanael’s experience of coming to believe Jesus was the Messiah. It appears he did so based on the fact that Jesus revealed he had seen him under the fig tree, an occurrence that evidently Nathanael knew couldn’t have happened unless God revealed it. Jesus said to Nathanael that he would see greater things than that, as the verses above attest.
In my last blog I talked a little about the “greater things” Jesus alluded to and those mysterious angels, God’s spirit-servants who play a part in God’s will being done on earth. Hebrews 1:14 teaches us that angels assist us, we who trust Christ for our salvation, who also have a part in doing God’s will “on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10).
Jesus’ words about greater things in John chapter 1 makes me think of what he said about greater works in John chapter 14.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.” (John 14:12 ESV emphasis added)
Could these greater things and greater works Jesus spoke of be related? Perhaps in the first instance, you will see greater things, Nathanael and the other disciples are simply observers of spiritual realities as they watch Jesus perform miracles, cast out demons, and heal the sick. As amazing as that is there is more, apparently. For in the second instance, you will do what I do and greater works than these, Nathanael, the other disciples, and even we as Jesus’ current day followers, become more than observers; we enter into the realm of initiators and participants in the spiritual realities of Jesus’ work on earth.
If this were a psalm, I’d insert “Selah” right here. Let’s Pause and think about this.
Because Jesus went back to the Father in heaven, we his followers, the church, will be carrying on his work on earth. We become participants in the greater things being done and observed by others by doing the greater works of Jesus. In these works, we willingly serve with all our heart and soul and strength.
But we do not depend on ourselves alone.
Jesus promised, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you” and “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you” (John 14:18, 15-17).
Never alone, not on our own. How then do we do God’s will, those greater works? “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6b). The Holy Spirit of God lives in us to do the will of God, through the church, Christ’s body on earth.
The Spirit is our Helper in this life as we seek to live for God’s glory, carrying out his will on earth. And remember, we are not the only servants of God; there is a world of spirit activity swirling around us, from earth to heaven and heaven to earth. Unseen but very real angelic spirit-beings serve God with us (Hebrews 1:4, 14); they in spirit, we in spirit as well as flesh and blood bodies doing God’s bidding in this world.
By what means do we do the will of God, those greater works he talked about? “Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son” (John 14:13). We ask in prayer according to the known will of God and Jesus, through his Spirit in us, does the work in and through us, his church.
Doing God’s will on earth begins and is sustained with prayer and the Word of God.
Would Nathanael have grasped what Jesus said to him (“Before Phillip called you, I saw you under the fig tree”) if he hadn’t been spending time communing with God under his “fig tree,” his prayer closet, his Beth-el? Would he have understood Jesus’ reference to “Jacob’s ladder” if he hadn’t been familiar with the Scriptures (Genesis 28:11-19)?
“You will see greater things than these … you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man” (John 1: 50, 51). Jesus only reveals such truths to those who are listening, to those who have “ears to hear” and obey.
Nathanael was intimately acquainted with heavenly ladders, angels’ activities, and God speaking to His children, because he studied God’s Word and communed with his Lord. And he spent time with others of like mind. Though he may not have understood all the symbolism of ladders and angels’ work, he was yearning, leaning into God’s truths thus far revealed in Scripture, desiring to know more, desiring to know the God who stood at the top of the ladder, the God who spoke to his children.
And so should we be.
We should be making the space and time to commune with our God in prayer and study of his Word, keeping this in mind: The point of Bible study is to learn what God has said and then put it into practice. Jesus did not say the ones who hear his word are blessed. He said blessed are those who hear his words and put them into practice (Luke 11:28). Nathanael was among those of like mind who were blessed by God for he studied and paid attention to God’s Word, living it out, and when the Messiah stood in front of him, he was able to recognize him as his God and King, ready to serve with all his might.
When we pray, we do so according to what we know is God’s will, those things consistent with God’s character. We learn these things from studying his Word. When we pray asking the Father in Jesus’ name, in his authority, he will act to glorify the Father, doing those greater works through us, his body, his church.
And he may even use angels.