The Fourth Day after the Festival of the Epiphany of our Lord
Posted on January 10, 2026 by under
Scripture: St. John 1:43-51 (NKJV)
1:43 The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, “Follow Me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
46 And Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”
Philip said to him, “Come and see.”
47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!”
48 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.”
49 Nathanael answered and said to Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”
50 Jesus answered and said to 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, “Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”
Devotion
The Old Testament is a book which proclaims the coming of the promised Savior of the world. Despite the clear words of Moses and the Prophets, many Jews were not looking for the coming of the Savior. Others gave lip service to their expectation of His coming, but in reality, they were only interested in their own rule and prestige. Thus, so many rejected Jesus when He presented Himself to the Israelite nation by His words and miracles.
The readings of the last few days show us several men who were truly waiting for the Messiah. They listened to John’s message and received Jesus when He came. Jesus called some of them to be his apostles. The high praise which Jesus gives to Nathanael was unprecedented. Unlike so many of his fellow Israelites, Nathanael was “an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!” Despite his skepticism that a Nazareth resident was the Savior, he listened to Philip and came to Jesus. When Jesus reveals to him a fact which only divine prescience would know, Nathanael immediately believes and confesses Jesus as the Son of God and King of Israel.
This confession is consistent with the witness of Psalm 2, which describes the Messiah as the Son whom we should kiss, and the King whom the Father has set up. Jesus praises Nathanael’s faith in the Word. Furthermore, Nathanael will get to see that Jesus is the fulfillment of what Jacob’s ladder vision revealed.
Collect: O God, Who by the leading of a star didst manifest Thine Only-Begotten Son to the Gentiles: Mercifully grant, that we, who know Thee now by faith, may after this life have the fruition of Thy glorious Godhead; through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
