Speaker 1: Hello again and welcome back to Kids Bible Stories. Today's
Speaker 1: story is called how do You Know Me? And this
Speaker 1: comes from John chapter one, verses forty three through fifty one.
Speaker 1: Today's episode is made possible thanks to our Patreon supporters.
Speaker 1: Our newest ones are Emily and Stephanie. Thank you so
Speaker 1: much for joining. Make sure to check your emails or
Speaker 1: Patreon pages for the bonus content which goes with the episodes.
Speaker 1: Your financial support, whether you join our Patreon page or
Speaker 1: a giving through PayPal, directly impacts this podcast, making it
Speaker 1: available to thousands and thousands of families. All right, listeners,
Speaker 1: do you remember hearing about Andrew and his brother Simon Peter. Well,
Speaker 1: this episode picks up after Andrew and Simon also known
Speaker 1: as Peter, after they become followers of Jesus. Let's begin
Speaker 1: our story here. The next day was filled with activity.
Speaker 1: People had begun their work as soon as the sun
Speaker 1: began to peer over the horizon. Children helped tend to
Speaker 1: the farm, animals and moms and dads went to the
Speaker 1: market to buy and sell their goods, and Jesus decided
Speaker 1: to go to Galilee. We've heard about this area Galilee before.
Speaker 1: If your Bible has a map. You can look for it.
Speaker 1: Some of you may also remember hearing about the Sea
Speaker 1: of Galilee. Well, this is where Jesus was headed. I imagine
Speaker 1: him not hurried, but walking calmly because he was living
Speaker 1: out God's plan and he trusted it, the plan to
Speaker 1: save his people and bring them back to him. Jesus
Speaker 1: was doing exactly what he was supposed to, and so
Speaker 1: he peacefully went, maybe whistling as he walked, taking in
Speaker 1: the sights of creation, the sound of the birds, the
Speaker 1: colors of the flowers. He found Philip and he said
Speaker 1: to him, follow me. Philip was from the town of Bethsta,
Speaker 1: where Andrew and Peter lived. Those are our friends from
Speaker 1: our last episode, Andrew and Peter. Since they lived in
Speaker 1: the same town, I wonder if they recognized one another.
Speaker 1: Just like Andrew ran off to tell his brother about Jesus,
Speaker 1: Philip wanted to tell others too.
Speaker 2: Where isn't a thing? Well, if I was him, where'd
Speaker 2: I be? I wonder if you went to get some food? Well,
Speaker 2: he's always hungry. Oh, hey, there you are.
Speaker 1: Philip found Nathaniel and told him.
Speaker 2: Hey, night, You'll never guess who I just met. Well,
Speaker 2: remember that Moses wrote in the Law about a man
Speaker 2: who was coming, and the prophets, well, they also wrote
Speaker 2: about him, Well we found him. He's Jesus, the son
Speaker 2: of Joseph. He's from Nazareth.
Speaker 1: Nathaniel tucked his chin and scoffed a bit. He said to.
Speaker 2: Philip, Nazareth. Can anything good come from Nazareth?
Speaker 1: Philip answered, well, come and see. Philip and Nathaniel were
Speaker 1: taught that one day a savior would be sent to
Speaker 1: rescue them ray. They the Pharisees and other Jews, were
Speaker 1: taught this from a young age, and they would be
Speaker 1: familiar with it. They would be expecting and hoping for this,
Speaker 1: But they expected the savior to be more like the
Speaker 1: kings they knew, with lots of money, wearing a crown
Speaker 1: upon his head, and having a powerful army to defeat
Speaker 1: their enemies. This is why Nathaniel scoffs at the thought
Speaker 1: of their savior, the king of all kings, coming from
Speaker 1: a teeny tiny, so boring, unimportant place called Nazareth. Nathaniel
Speaker 1: tightened his sandal straps and decided to follow Philip to
Speaker 1: see for him. Jesus saw Nathaniel coming toward him, he said.
Speaker 2: Here is truly a person of Israel. There is nothing
Speaker 2: false in him.
Speaker 1: Huh, what's that mean? After studying it, I think Jesus
Speaker 1: is saying that Nathaniel tells the truth or what he's
Speaker 1: really thinking, regardless of who's standing in front of him.
Speaker 1: He is someone who wouldn't act one way with one
Speaker 1: friend and a different way with another one. Remember, Nathaniel
Speaker 1: wasn't shy about telling Philip what he really thought about Nazareth.
Speaker 1: Back to our story, Nathaniel, somewhat surprised by Jesus's response, asked,
Speaker 1: how do you know me. Jesus answered, I saw.
Speaker 2: You when you were under the fig tree. That was
Speaker 2: before Philip told you about me.
Speaker 1: Nathaniel said to Jesus.
Speaker 2: Teacher, you are the son of God. You are the
Speaker 2: King of Israel.
Speaker 1: Jesus said to Nathaniel.
Speaker 2: You believe in me because I told you I saw
Speaker 2: you under a fig tree. But you will see greater
Speaker 2: things than that.
Speaker 1: And Jesus said to them.
Speaker 2: I tell you the truth. You will all see heaven open.
Speaker 2: You will see angels of God going up and coming
Speaker 2: down on the son of Man.
Speaker 1: Well that is it for our story today. But before
Speaker 1: we go, let's think about what we just heard. Today,
Speaker 1: we hear Jesus gathering more and more followers. What are
Speaker 1: the names of the two men who follow him in
Speaker 1: today's story? Say it out loud if you know Philip
Speaker 1: and Nathaniel. Excellent. When Philip tells Nathaniel about Jesus, did
Speaker 1: Nathaniel sound like he believed him? No, that's right, He
Speaker 1: doubted that their almighty Savior could come from the town
Speaker 1: of Nazareth. Nathaniel decided to see for himself though, And
Speaker 1: does he end up believing Jesus is the Savior, the
Speaker 1: Son of God? Yes, he sure does. Nathaniel believes because
Speaker 1: Jesus tells him something miraculous. Jesus tells him he already
Speaker 1: knows him and saw him under the fig tree. How
Speaker 1: could that be though they've never met. Jesus wasn't there
Speaker 1: with him under that tree. But Jesus knows everything about Nathaniel,
Speaker 1: and he knows everything about you too. Jesus knew what
Speaker 1: was inside Nathaniel, his thoughts and his doubts. He knew
Speaker 1: what he'd said about Nazareth. Jesus knew what was on
Speaker 1: the outside too, That Nathaniel had been sitting under a
Speaker 1: fig tree. Jesus knows what's going on inside of us,
Speaker 1: our thoughts and feelings, and he knows what's going on
Speaker 1: outside of us. That's such a comfort to me because
Speaker 1: if you are feeling lonely or hurt and no one
Speaker 1: else knows, Jesus knows. Jesus also gave you parents or
Speaker 1: grandparents you can talk to about this, but even before
Speaker 1: you tell them, he already knows. Jesus is such a
Speaker 1: powerful and loving father that there will never be a
Speaker 1: time that Jesus does not know what's going on in
Speaker 1: your life. Jesus understands, he sees you, knows you, and
Speaker 1: loves you well. That is it for our story today.
Speaker 1: Thank you so much for joining us, and as always,
Speaker 1: bye for now.