in His reply accepted Nathanael's homage, and acknowledged the truth of what
he had said, by uttering these words: 'Because I said unto thee, I saw thee
underneath the fig tree, believest thou? thou shall see greater things than
these.'
St. John tells us that, shortly before Christ's crucifixion, His disciples
said unto Him: 'Now 1 know we that thou knowest all things, and
needest not that any man should ask thee: by this we believe that thou camest
forth from God.' This testimony they then bore, because by His words He had
answered the questions which were in their hearts, but which their lips had
not uttered. Hence they were convinced that He knew what was in their hearts,
and this made it clear to them that He had come from God.
St. Peter, one of our Lord Jesus Christ's earliest 2 disciples,
bore similar testimony soon after Christ's resurrection, saying to Him: 'Lord,
3 thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee.' The Lord
Jesus Himself, after His ascension, testified to the truth of this belief by
saying:' I 4 am he which searcheth the reins and hearts.'
2. In the second place, the Apostles testify to the fact that the Lord
Jesus exercises divine authority. For example, it is well known that the holy
angels are subject to God alone: yet St. John says, at the beginning of the Book
of Revelation,
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