Today, as many other Christians will be doing, we look at the experience of two people who met Jesus - Philip & Nathaniel - Bible:John+1:43-51

Learning from Philip
Jesus calls Philip to "follow" him, which primarily means to be with him & to learn from him.
Why does Philip say 'yes'? Because he was already seeking "the one Moses & the prophets wrote about." (v45) He continues to seek the essential truth, as we see later in John's Gospel: "show us the Father & we will be satisfied." (John 14v8)
-> Jesus wants us to keeping seeking the truth and to grow in it.
Philip's first response is to invite a friend to join him – Nathaniel. He continues to help others to meet Jesus, as John shows later: some Greeks came to Philip & said, "We wish to see Jesus" (John 12v20)
-> Jesus longs for us to introduce others to him by our witness.

Learning from Nathanael
Nathanael is a natural sceptic. His first response on hearing of Jesus is to ask, "Can anything good come from Nazareth?" (v46) When he first meets Jesus he asks, "How do you know me?" (v48) After Jesus' resurrection he joined the party that went off fishing when they couldn't see what else to do, which may show something of the same outlook. (John 21v2)
But Jesus describes him as someone "in whom there is nothing false." (v47) His skepticism was not an excuse to avoid commitment, for he was ready to acknowledge Jesus as "Rabbi", "Son of God", and "King of Israel." (v49)
-> Jesus looks for the best in us, and willingly leads us on if we are open to him.

Learning from Jesus
He accepts the titles Nathanael gives him. "Rabbi" means teacher, and he wants to be that for us. "Son of God" points to his unique relationship to God, which makes him the only qualified mediator between us and God. "King of Israel" indicates that he is the promised Messiah, fulfilling the hopes for an eternal King over God's people, who will build God's kingdom & reign in their lives. Jesus promises further revelation of himself. His followers will see "greater things" in what he does, as he brings God's presence through miracles, teaching and love. They will see "heaven opened" as he reveals truth, opening their eyes to see spiritual reality, of which heaven is the realm. "Angels" will bring God's resources to Jesus. They will discover him to be the "Son of Man", a title drawn from Daniel 7v13, which speaks of his humanity & divinity, for we need to discover how he combines those two aspects.
-> Jesus wants to lead us on into a greater experiential knowledge of himself.

Let's look now at the book of Bible:Revelation+5:1-10, which takes us on in discovering who Jesus is:

Learning from Revelation
Here's a passage in which John gives us a glimpse of the worship of heaven – the realm of spiritual reality. He sees a sealed scroll in God's hand and hears the question, "Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?" (v2) When they are opened later they reveal the truth about life, God, the future and so on. So the question is really, "who is worthy & able to reveal the truth about everything?" The answer is that there is one person who is worthy, Jesus. He is "The Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David." (v5) This means that he is the fulfilment of the Old Testament, and the source of its inspiration. The lion is the strong animal associated with the tribe of Judah, from which David, Israel's greatest king, was descended. Jesus fulfils the hopes of that line, whilst also being the root from which it draws its life, hinting at his divine origins. Jesus is also described as "The Lamb, looking as if it had been slain." (v6) This underlines the importance of Jesus' sacrificial death, which is extolled in v.9.

In heaven Jesus is "encircled by four living creatures & 24 elders." (v6) They represent creation in its various aspects & God's people 5with 12 representatives from each of the Old & New Testament eras, all of whom worship him.
He is depicted as having "7 horns & 7 eyes, which are the spirits of God" or perhaps a preferable translation "sevenfold Spirit" (v6) In the book of Revelation seven means complete, and horns indicate strength, whilst eyes suggest all seeing & all knowing. Thus Jesus is seen as the omnipotent & omniscient Lord of all.
The reason why all creation says to Jesus, "You are worthy" (v9) is that "you purchased people for God" (v9), "you made them a kingdom & priests to serve God" (v10), and "they shall reign on earth" (v10). Jesus, by his sacrificial death has brought those who respond to him into a new relationship with God, as part of his kingdom, under his rule, and as those who pray for others and draw them to Jesus.

To take away with us from these readings, here are some questions to ponder.
Are we honestly seeking the truth?
Do we want to learn more & grow?
What do we know in experience of Jesus?
Are we worshipping him for that?
Are we looking only to Jesus for the future?
Have we received the benefits of his death?
Do we belong to God's kingdom?
Are we serving God as priests?
We'll learn more about Jesus over coming weeks & see what that means for our daily living & priorities.