JESUS KNOWS YOU INSIDE AND OUTSIDE

"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.” Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see” [there’s the same pair from verse 39]. Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” John 1: 45-48 ESV

I recently heard a sermon where John Piper spoke of how Jesus knows us inside and out. It really encouraged me and got me deeply thinking. One of the most empowering, comforting, and encouraging truths is the reality of God's knowledge of us. David greatly received comfort from that truth..

"O LORD, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it." Psalm 139:1-4

We see that Psalm fleshed out in the incarnate Son of God's encounter with Nathaniel in John 1:45-48. There are two key things we see about Christ's knowledge of us in this section. Jesus knows two kinds of things about Nathaniel. He knows what’s going on inside, and he knows what’s going on outside. The first thing Jesus says is, “You are a man without deceit.” That’s the truth about the inside. And the second thing he said was, “While you were out of my sight I saw you. You were under a fig tree when Philip found you.” That’s the truth about the outside. Nathaniel is astonished and says in verse 49, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”

Jesus Knows Our Circumstances
It is a great grace and comfort to us that Jesus today, as the Son of God and the King of Israel, knows our condition inside and out. If you are alone and problems come your way and no one knows or understands or cares what is happening to you, Jesus knows. You will never be in a situation where Jesus is not fully aware of what’s going on in your life. There is no circumstance, trial, problem, or relationship that Jesus is unaware of. And if you believe that he loves you and that he is stronger than any force in the world—then the fact that he knows your circumstances is a great grace.

Jesus Knows Our Heart
It is even more precious to me that he knows what is going on inside of me. When Philip said to Nathaniel in verse 45 that Jesus was from Nazareth, Nathaniel answered bluntly from his heart without any posturing (in verse 46), “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” What will Jesus think of that? Jesus says in verse 47, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” I don’t think that is a statement out of the blue with no connection to the context. I don't think Jesus was prophesying about Nathanial's future nor of his present sinlessness. I think Jesus means: Now here is someone who tells it like it is. What you see is what you get. He’s not two-faced. He’s not deceitful. Jesus knew this about Nathaniel’s heart—his particular inner life—before he ever met him.

Because Jesus Knows Our Heart Jesus Understands Us
Oh how good it is that Jesus knows my inner condition. He knows it better than any of you know it. He knows and understands it even better than I know it. Nobody has ever been me or inside of me with my personality, my temperament, my weaknesses, perspectives, fragility, background, experiences, fears, anxieties, brokenness, in living and facing this moment in my life.

These are the times when a deep and profound loneliness can enter these moments. no one, no matter how hard they may grace me to care or try, can ever get into my skin. No one can truly understand the complexities of my being in facing these moments. Nobody has ever brought my weaknesses and my sins and my experience to this moment of sorrow or anger or desire. And not only nobody has been me in this experience, but nobody can be me—nobody can know this. And when I think of that, it frightens me how alone I am in this particular sorrow or anger or desire. The circumstances may be common to all of us. But my experience of them is utterly unique.

And then I think, No, I am not alone in this experience. Yes, no one except Jesus! Jesus knows my heart and my mind and my body and everything about me. And there comes a sense of relief that this utterly unique sorrow, pain, worry, fear, anxiety, brokenness, that nobody else can share, Jesus totally, fully, completely understands me and in His understanding can say, "Son, I love you". "I care for you". I will never leave you". I will help you". "I will stand with you". "I will protect you". "I will work for you". "I will never ever leave you". "I will help you". "I will make you a fisher of men". "Follow Me!"

And I am happy and free and secure and know that all is well in me and around me.

Pastor Bill