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From Heaven With Love
ambition and self-confidence, his fall, his repentance, his labors,
and his martyr death—the Saviour read it all. He said, “Thou art
Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by
interpretation, A stone.”
“The next day ... Jesus ... findeth Philip and saith to him, Follow
Me.” Philip obeyed the command, and he also became a worker for
Christ.
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Philip called Nathanael, who had been among the throng when
the Baptist pointed to Jesus as the Lamb of God. As Nathanael
looked upon Jesus, he was disappointed. Could this man, who bore
the marks of toil and poverty, be the Messiah? Yet the message of
John had brought conviction to Nathanael’s heart.
Nathanael’s Secret Prayers Are Heard
When Philip called him, Nathanael had withdrawn to a quiet
grove to meditate on the prophecies concerning the Messiah. He
prayed that if the one announced by John was the Deliverer, it
might be made known to him. The Holy Spirit rested upon him
with assurance that God had visited His people. Philip knew that
his friend was searching the prophecies, and while Nathanael was
praying under a fig tree, Philip discovered his retreat. They had often
prayed together in this secluded spot hidden by the foliage.
The message, “We have found Him, of whom Moses in the law,
and the prophets did write,” seemed to Nathanael a direct answer to
his prayer. But Philip added, “Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
Prejudice arose in Nathanael’s heart, and he exclaimed, “Can there
any good thing come out of Nazareth?”
Philip said, “Come and see.” Jesus saw Nathanael coming to
Him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no
guile!” In surprise Nathanael exclaimed, “Whence knowest Thou
me?” Jesus answered, “Before that Philip called thee, when thou
wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.”
It was enough. The divine Spirit that had borne witness to
Nathanael in his solitary prayer under the fig tree spoke to him
in the words of Jesus. Nathanael had come to Christ with an honest
desire for truth, and now his desire was met. He said, “Rabbi, Thou
art the Son of God; Thou art the King of Israel!”