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

Icon of Job 38:7 (Septuagint): "When the stars were made, all my angels praised me with a loud voice."  Late 20th cent., fresco.  St John the Baptist Monastery, Makrinos, Greece

The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, "Follow Me."  Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.  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."  And Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?"  Philip said to him, "Come and see."  Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!"  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."  Nathanael answered and said to him, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God!  You are the King of Israel!"  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."   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."

- John 1:43-51

Yesterday we read that on the second day given in John's Gospel,  John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold!  The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!  This is He of whom I said, 'After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.'   I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water."  And John bore witness, saying, "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him.  I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.'  And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God."  Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples.  And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, "Behold the Lamb of God!"  The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.  Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, "What do you seek?"  They said to Him, "Rabbi" (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), "where are You saying?"  He said to them, "Come and see."  They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour).  One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.  He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, "We have found teh Messiah" (which is translated, the Christ).  And he brought him to Jesus.  Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, "You are Simon the son of Jonah.  You shall be called Cephas" which is translated, A Stone).

The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, "Follow Me."  Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.  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."  And Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?"  Philip said to him, "Come and see."  Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!"  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."  Nathanael answered and said to him, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God!  You are the King of Israel!"  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."   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."  In today's reading, John gives us the events of the fourth day as given in his Gospel of Christ's ministry (see the previous two readings, here and here, for the first through the third).  As my study bible explains, this first week of Christ's ministry, as given in John's Gospel, parallels the creation story of Genesis.  This is the fourth day, in which Jesus calls Philip and Nathanael.   They come to see Christ as the true Light, the One revealed in the Old Testament which itself was a lesser light.  My study bible suggests that this parallels the establishment of the lesser and greater lights governing the night and the day respectively on the fourth day in Genesis 1:14-19.  When Jesus remarks that Nathanael is an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit,  He means that Nathanael has both a pure heart and is also straightforward with others.   What precisely happened under the fig tree is not told to us.  St. John Chrysostom is cited by my study bible, as he comments that this was the meeting place of Philip and Nathanael, and that Jesus was praising Nathanael for being so diligent and careful in his search for the Messiah.  It is Christ's foreknowledge and ability to see into Nathanael's heart that stir him to make his confession of faith.   Let us also note that Nathanael uses the term Son of God.  But Jesus uses the term Son of Man, a somewhat mysterious messianic title.  My study bible says that "Son of Man" indicates a man of heavenly origin who would usher in the Kingdom of God (found in Daniel 7:13-14).   In an Old Testament prophecy, Jacob dreamed of a ladder which connected earth to heaven, upon which the angels of God were ascending and descending (Genesis 28:12-15).  Jesus is that "ladder," uniting earth and heaven, and therefore He is the Son of Man in Daniels prophecy.

Once again, Jesus demonstrates immediately His ability to know the hearts and character of others.  This clearly strikes home with Nathanael, one who is not given to falsehood or pretense about himself or others, and therefore one much more likely to respond directly to truth.  Perhaps this is the most important aspect of the praise that Christ gives to Nathanael.  Nathanael is one who loves truth:  he puts on no show about himself, he is direct in his expression, but at the same time his heart holds no guile, no deceit.  This is what it is to be pure in heart.  Like the rarest pearl made of pure nacre, the same pure consistency from inside to outside.   As Jesus reserve His greatest condemnation for the hypocrisy of the religious leadership, we understand that to be pure in heart is a kind of goal and qualification for good discipleship.  How can one value truth without at least a deep and true desire for it?  Oftentimes there are painful truths that none of us would like to face.  Perhaps we would like to hide the truth from those we love in order to protect them.  But a deep love or even passion for truth characterizes those who would go throughout the known world, enduring persecution and martyrdom to serve Christ as His first apostles, and Jesus knows what He sees in Nathanael.  Jesus preaches in the Sermon on the Mount, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."  Perhaps it is that ongoing process of purity of heart that most characterizes what is called "theosis" or "deification" in the Eastern Christian tradition, that process whereby we participate mystically in the life of Christ, and grace works in us to refine and make obvious the things we need to cast away (Matthew 18:8-9), while helping us to grow in recognition of the spiritual gifts of true value such as is described by St. Paul in writing about love in 1 Corinthians 13.  Indeed, when Jesus sums up His Judgment and that which leads to eternal life, it is through our capacity for compassion He tells us this will happen (Matthew 25:31-46), a quality whose expression most assuredly depends not on false signaling and hypocrisy, but purity of heart.  In the icon above, we see a modern rendition of an icon meant to depict God's statement to Job, describing the creation of the heavenly lights: "When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?" (Job 38:7).  In the Greek Septuagint version, this reads in translation, "When the stars were made, all my angels praised me with a loud voice" (found here).  It is clearly Jesus as Son who brings the creation of all things into being, including the greater and lesser lights, His hand in a gesture of blessing.  He comes to us as One who blesses and links heaven and earth, bearing His light that we may share and grow in it to be "like Him."