Nathanael

Read John 1:43-51.

Jesus wanted to help people know about God’s love.  Jesus asked some people to follow him and learn from him.  Those who followed him would learn to teach others about God’s love.  They would be called Jesus’ disciples.

Jesus had already selected three disciples and he was going to choose some more.  There was a man named Philip.  Jesus wanted Philip to be one of his disciples.  Jesus going to Galilee and so he said to Philip, “Follow me.”  Philip went with Jesus and became a disciple.

Philip was so excited about being picked by Jesus to be a disciple that went to tell his friend Nathanael.  Philip told Nathanael that Jesus was the Son of God, the one that the Word of God had told about.  Philip told Nathanael that Jesus had grown up in Nazareth and he was now right there with them!

Nathanael laughed and said, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”

Let’s watch the video and see what happened next.

Watch this video together:

Read

When Jesus saw Nathanael, he said, “Nathanael, you are one who always tells the truth.”  Nathanael was surprised.  He asked Jesus, “How do you know all about me?”

Jesus said, “I saw you under the fig tree before Philip talked to you.”  Nathanael thought…only God could know all about me and said, “Jesus, you are the Son of God.”

That very day Nathanael became a follower – a disciple of Jesus.

Jesus had known about Nathanael because Jesus knows everything.  Jesus knows about us, too.  That’s because Jesus is God.

Discuss

• Who told Nathanael about Jesus?
• How did Nathanael know that Jesus is the Son of God?
• Who knows all about us?

Song

I’m Trusting You.  LifeTree Kids.

Activity

Jesus saw Nathanael sitting under a fig tree.  Here are 5 facts about figs:

1. Fig trees were grown for their fruit more than 5,000 years ago.
2. Figs can be eaten fresh or dried.  They are a good-for-you and good tasting treat.  When we take a bite, the seeds inside make a crunchy sound.
3. The fruit is really a bulb shape with a hallow tube.  The bulb holds many flowers.  The flowers bloom inside the fruit.  After the flowers bloom, the fruit grows seeds.
4. Fig wasps carry pollen down the hollow tube into the fruit.  The pollen from the wasp makes the flowers bloom inside the bulb.  The seeds grow when the flowers are done blooming.
5. Fig trees grow in hot, sunny places.  They can grow 10-30 feet tall.  The branches and leaves provide cool shade.

Consider buying a fresh fig at a grocery store.  At home, cut it apart and see what you find inside.  Scoop out the inside and try it on a cracker.

Another option would be to buy some Fig Newton cookies and taste the fig that the cookies are filled with.

Activity

Jesus knows us!  Use these questions to get to know an adult better.  It could be a parent, a grandparent, or some other adult.  You could ask the questions over the phone or maybe use Zoom.

• Tell me your full name and where you were born.
• Do you know why you were given that name?
• What was your home like growing up?
• Did you have a nickname growing up?
• What was the first trip you took?
• What was your favorite subject in school/high school/college?
• What was your first job?
• What kind of music did you like?
• What were holidays like when you were young?
• What were some of your hobbies growing up?
• What do you enjoy now?
• What is the most important thing you’ve learned during your life?

Prayer

Dear Jesus, thank you for knowing all about me.  Help me remember that you know all about me and that I can ask for your help anytime.  Help me help those I can.  Amen.

Pastor Dan Fugate, Assistant to the Bishop for Discipleship in the Indiana-Kentucky Synod, ELCA, put this lesson together for Sunday School @ Home.  There will be a new one for each Sunday while we are unable to gather together physically in our congregational buildings.  Contact him at dfugate@iksynod.org.