John 1:50-51

“⁵⁰ Jesus answered him, ‘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.’”

            In the last passage we saw what happened when Nathanael came face to face with Jesus and how Jesus can change a doubting heart into a believing heart with just a phrase. In this passage we see the ending to that interaction with Nathanael. These verses are the culmination of what has been talked about in chapter one as well as why Jesus is forming these people around Him. This statement is a response to the reaction from Nathanael’s statement also. 

            In verse 50, Jesus responds to Nathanael almost surprised because He repeats what He said to Him and that made him believe. To Jesus that was nothing compared to what will happen next. Jesus is saying that Nathanael and the rest of them will see greater things than this and then explains that he will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man. Jesus shows this picture of the heavens opening to show all the disciples that He has gathered that they will be shown the mysteries of the kingdom of God and the interactions between the angels and the Son of Man who is Jesus. He is giving them a promise here that they will see greater things as going forward; Jesus will start His earthly ministry where He will be healing the sick and upsetting the religious leaders of the day. This also reflects on what has happened in the rest of the first chapter where we learned about who Jesus was before He came to the earth in the flesh and His interaction at His baptism, but all this will be overshadowed by what will come next and will culminate with the ultimate miracle of His resurrection.

            For Christians, this is an encouragement that is not just spoken to those disciples but His disciples now which we can take to heart. There are even greater miracles and things we will see in our lives as we follow Christ. We must always be ready for these opportunities by being in connection with God through prayer and reading the Bible. We must always be prepared for those greater things and not be smothered by the worries of this world because that is the promise from Jesus.

            For non-Christians, He is calling you to enter in the relationship with Him acknowledging that you need him so that He might show you even greater things than what is calling you to Him now. He wants your whole heart and a surrender, not just an acknowledgement. It is not about who you are or where you have been, it is about where Jesus wants to take you.