Do you recall in John 1, when Philip finds Nathaniel and tells him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote – Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph”? Then Nathaniel responds, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?”
Later, Jesus tells Nathaniel, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” And Nathaniel responds, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God. You are the King of Israel.” Jesus replies, “Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these?”
Many of us, like Nathaniel, have declared that Jesus is the Son of God. We too have seen something of the activity of Christ in our lives, and that has led us to proclaim this truth. Yet, I wonder if, also like Nathaniel, our declaration is based upon a limited experience of Christ and His work. Meanwhile, God is desiring to show us even greater things about Christ – things that will deepen our knowledge of Him.
I believe one way God desires to deepen our intimacy with Him and thus show us greater things is by turning our focus to the testimony of Scripture regarding Jesus Christ. Passages like Psalm 110, a Messianic Psalm of David, can help us affirm even more boldly that Christ is who He says He is. It also can help us better appreciate His redemptive work as well as anticipate His future reign.
I would encourage you to take some time to study Psalm 110, looking for how Christ is revealed.
I am confident that if you consider how Christ is portrayed in this Psalm and meditate upon these truths, you’ll appreciate Him more as Savior. But you’ll see “greater things” as you learn of Him as Ruler, Priest and Judge. Such insight allows our Christian existence to take on a perspective that’s greater than what God has done for us as individuals. We’ll begin to see more of His eternal plan as we see the Person of Christ more completely.