Jesus Sees You

“Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”  John 1:18

When Jesus encountered Nathanael a conversation ensued in which Jesus let Nathanael know he knew him. Nathanael asked how. Jesus said, “…when you were under the fig tree, I saw you….”

What was so startlingly unusual about that, that it would have arrested Nathanael’s attention? In that day fig trees in the Bible Land grew large. They looked like a large mushroom with branches growing up, and drooping out forming a secluded open space underneath at the base. On hot days persons would crawl under where it was cooler, thinking no one could see them. Jesus was saying, I know you so thoroughly that I saw you when you thought no one could.

As a child when they told me Jesus saw me it scared the wits out of me. Then one day it dawned on me, “Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His mercy”  Psalm 33:18.

What a joyous relief! He is constantly aware of me. That gave me motivation to do good with confidence, He knew my needs, and had the capacity to meet them. Relax. It still works.

Here is a good time to let God’s word speak for itself.

“You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off.”  Psalm 139:2

Are you willing to pray “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties….”? Psalm 139:23

Be assured, Jesus always sees you, even when you are under your “fig tree.”