The Window to Heaven : John 1:50-51 : What Jesus Did! : HEARTLIGHT®

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The Window to Heaven - John 1:50-51

Jesus said to Nathanael, "I told you that I saw you under the fig tree. That is why you believe in me. But you will see much greater things than that!" Jesus also said, "I tell you the truth. You will all see heaven open. You will see 'angels of God going up and coming down' on the Son of Man." (ERV) Full Text

Key Thought

Jesus will fulfill and surpass many metaphors, images, and rituals from Israel's rich history. John will show us how Jesus is the great "I Am." He fulfills the meaning of many of the great Jewish feasts. Jesus is the Bread of Life, the true Vine, the Water of Life—each image rich in emotion and meaning from Israel's past. Jesus is challenging Nathaniel to look beyond Jesus' power to know what was in his heart. Jesus wants to lead Nathaniel to see greater things. He wants Nathaniel to know that when he is around Jesus, he is looking through the window into heaven.

Today's Prayer

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Father, please help me see you, know you, and love you more perfectly as Jesus teaches me more about you. In your Son's name I pray. Amen.

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Today's Verses in Context

The next day John was there again. John had two of his followers with him. John saw Jesus walking by. John said, "Look, the Lamb of God!" The two followers heard John say this, so they followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw the two men following him. Jesus asked, "What do you want?" The two men said, "Rabbi, where are you staying?" ("Rabbi" means "Teacher.") Jesus answered, "Come with me and you will see." So the two men went with Jesus. They saw the place where Jesus stayed. They stayed there with Jesus that day. It was about four o'clock. These two men followed Jesus after they heard about Jesus from John. One of these two men was named Andrew. Andrew was Simon Peter's brother. The first thing Andrew did was to go find his brother, Simon. Andrew said to Simon, "We have found the Messiah." ("Messiah" means "Christ.") Then Andrew brought Simon to Jesus. Jesus looked at Simon and said, "You are Simon, the son of John. You will be called Cephas." ("Cephas" means "Peter.") The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. Jesus found Philip and said to him, "Follow me." Philip was from the town of Bethsaida, the same as Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and told him, "Remember what Moses wrote in the law. Moses wrote about a man that was coming. The prophets wrote about him too. We have found him. His name is Jesus, the son of Joseph. He is from Nazareth." But Nathanael said to Philip, "Nazareth! Can anything good come from Nazareth?" Philip answered, "Come and see." Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him. Jesus said, "This man coming is truly one of God's people. There is nothing false in him." Nathanael asked, "How do you know me?" Jesus answered, "I saw you when you were under the fig tree. That was before Philip told you about me." Then Nathanael said to Jesus, "Teacher, you are the Son of God. You are the King of Israel (God's people)." Jesus said to Nathanael, "I told you that I saw you under the fig tree. That is why you believe in me. But you will see much greater things than that!" Jesus also said, "I tell you the truth. You will all see heaven open. You will see 'angels of God going up and coming down' on the Son of Man."

— John 1:35-51 (ERV)

Comments on "The Window to Heaven":

Jacob had a dream. He dreamed there was a ladder that was on the ground and reached up into heaven. Jacob saw the angels of God going up and down the ladder. And then Jacob saw the Lord standing by the ladder. The Lord said, "I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham. I am the God of Isaac. I will give you the land that you are lying on now. I will give this land to you and to your children. You will have many, many descendants. They will be as many as the pieces of dust on earth. They will spread east and west, north and south. All the families on earth will be blessed because of you and your descendants. "I am with you, and I will protect you every place you go. And I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I promised." Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, "I know that the Lord is in this place. But I did not know he was here until I slept." Jacob was afraid. He said, "This is a very great place. This is the house of God. This is the gate to heaven." —Genesis 28:12-17 (ERV)

The Word became a man and lived among us. We saw his glory—the glory that belongs to the only Son of the Father. The Word was full of grace (kindness) and truth. John told people about him. John said, "This is the One I was talking about. I said, 'The One who comes after me is more important than I am. He was living before me.'" No man has ever seen God. But the only Son (Jesus) is God. He is very close to the Father (God). And the Son has shown us what God is like. —John 1:14-15, 18 (ERV)

Jesus answered, "Destroy this temple and I will build it again in three days." The Jews answered, "People worked 46 years to build this temple! Do you really believe you can build it again in three days?" (But the temple Jesus meant was his own body. After Jesus was raised from death, his followers remembered that Jesus had said this. So his followers believed the Scripture {about him}, and they believed the words Jesus said.) —John 2:19-22 (ERV)