th of
him, Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! Nathanael
saith unto Him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto
him, Before Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I
saw thee. Nathanael answered him, Rabbi, Thou art the Son of God;
Thou art King of Israel. Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I
said unto thee, I saw thee underneath the fig tree, believest thou?
thou shalt see greater things than these. And He saith unto him,
Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye shall see the heaven opened, and
the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of
man."--JOHN i. 35-51.

In the prosecution of his purpose to tell how the Incarnate Word
manifested His glory to men, John proceeds to give one or two instances
of the eagerness with which prepared souls welcomed Him, and of the
instinctive perception with which true and open minds confessed Him Son
of God and King of Israel. This paragraph is the continuation of that
which begins at ver. 19 with the general title, "This is the witness of
John." We are now introduced to some of the results of John's witness,
and are shown that Christ is King, not only by official proclamation,
but by the free choice of men. These instances here cited are but the
first among countless numbers who in every generation have felt and
owned the majesty of Christ, and who have felt irresistibly drawn to Him
by a unique affinity. In the spell which His personality laid upon these
first disciples, in the uninvited yet cordial and assured
acknowledgments of His dignity which they felt drawn to make, we see
much that is significant and illustrative of the allegiance He evokes
from age to age in humble and open-minded men.

In proceeding to gather to Himself subjects who might enter into His
purposes and loyally serve Him, Jesus shows a singularly many-sided
adaptability and inexhaustible originality in dealing with men. Each of
the five disciples here introduced is individually dealt with. "The
finding of the one was not the finding of the other. For John and Andrew
there was the talk with Jesus through the hours of that
never-to-be-forgotten evening; for Simon, the heart-searching word,
convincing him he was known and his future read off; for Philip, a
peremptory command; and for Nathanael, a gracious courtesy disarming him
of prejudice, assuring him of a perfect sympathy in the breast of the
Lord. Thus there ar