By: Pastor Jarren Rogers

I, like many young children, went through a magic phase. My closet was chock full of miscellaneous trinkets and cheap tricks: cups and balls, mirrors and magic wands, tapered decks and stuffed rabbits.

I loved taking my tricks to school and blowing the minds of my friends. “How did you do that!? Show me how to do it.” And in response I simply crossed my arms and shook my head, a clever smile twisting my lips.

There is one rule that even the most amateur magicians understand:

You always save the best trick for last.

How many magic shows would be ruined if the magnificent and grandiose disappearing trick happened in the first act. If you begin with your best trick, all of the ones to follow, no matter how mind-bending or astonishing, will pale in comparison. Your most stunning card trick is nothing compared to sawing your assistant in half.

I’m making no correlation between Jesus’s miracles and a simple stage act, but I think that God understands that you save the best trick for last.

Look at Luke 1.

Nathanael is flabbergasted when Jesus greets him as if he was a long-lost friend.

“How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.

Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you” (John 1:48).

And Nathanael is amazed. There was no way that any man could see through time and space and yet, this Jesus, saw him.

“Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel” (John 1:49).

With this single miracle, Nathanael is prompted to believe.

But, just like a good television salesperson, Jesus says, “But wait! There’s more!”

“You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.” He then added, “Very truly I tell you, you will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on’ the Son of Man” (John 1:50-51).

Each of us can testify to the fact that we serve a wonder-working God. We’ve seen miraculous healings and unexplainable answers to prayers. We’ve read about the work of God and understand Jesus’s impact on the outsiders and the broken.

But what Christ speaks to us in John 1 is this message: Just Wait…

What you’ve seen, what you’ve read, even what you’ve experienced of my powers and abilities is but a drop in the bucket compared to what I’m going to do in the final days.

There will come a day when we will be lifted up in the clouds, glorified and made new. We will see heaven open like a torn cloth and everything that was invisible made visible. Heavenly host, rising and falling from the throne. The raw and tangible power of God’s glory streaming through all of creation. Heaven and earth becoming new.

What a day. What a hope.

As we walk through the book of John we will encounter many miracles and astonishing deeds.

But keep in mind what Jesus Himself said:

Just wait…