The following day, Jesus made plans to go to Galilee when He found Philip, and said to him, "Follow me."
Philip, as well as Andrew and Peter, was from the city of Bethsaida. Philip then found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found the One Moses wrote about in the Law, and the prophets also wrote about: Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. Nathanael responded, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip replied, "Come and see."
Jesus spotted Nathanael approaching Him and said of Him, "Look! This is surely an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!" Nathanael asked, "How is it that you know me?" Jesus replied, "Before Philip called you–while you were under the fig tree–I saw you." Nathanael responded, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the Ruler of Israel!" Jesus responded, "Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, is that why you believe? You will witness greater things than this!" And Jesus said to him, "I’m telling you both the truth–the time is coming when you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of humanity."
(John 1:43-51)
Whereas John or another disciple introduced the first disciples to Jesus, Jesus called Philip directly. Philip was also a native of Bethsaida, and like the others was also a fisherman, and a friend of Andrew’s. He appears to have been well versed in the scriptures, since he saw Jesus as the fulfillment of the promises of God of a Messiah to the people. He therefore could have been Jewish, yet he may very well have been Greek, since Philip is a Greek name.
He would prove to be a faithful follower of Jesus, even though he seemed not to grasp completely Jesus’ mission, as we will see later. But like the faithful follower that he was, he couldn’t keep the good news to himself. He quickly went and sought out his friend Nathanael, to tell him of the Messiah.
There is confusion about Nathanael. In the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) the name of Philip’s close companion is always Bartholomew, but in John’s gospel, Philip’s companion is named Nathanael, while Bartholomew is conspicuously missing. Further, a listing of the twelve apostles in the synoptics does not mention Nathanael; yet in John’s gospel Nathanael becomes a disciple in the same context and at the same level as Andrew, Peter and Philip. Consequently, many scholars believe that Bartholomew and Nathanael are the same person. In biblical times it was quite common to refer to a person by referring to his father’s name. For example, in Matthew 16:17, Jesus refers to Simon Peter as Simon bar-Jonah; that is, Simon, son of Jonah. In Nathanael’s case many scholars, believe that his full name was Nathanael bar-Tholmai, or Nathanael, son of Tholmai (or Ptolemy). Other scholars tend to believe that Matthew and Nathanael are both the same person, because both names mean the gift of God.
Upon being told that the Messiah has been found and that He had come from Nazareth, Nathanael made a rather flippant response: "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Nazareth at that time presumably was a little Podunk city in the hills of Galilee. Located off the main trade routes, it must have seemed backward to a dweller of a larger city, as Nathanael‘s hometown obviously was.
Philip responded with the best argument one can give to another, and that is not to argue. Attempts to badger people or shame them into becoming Christian don’t work, and are an affront to Christ. When one invites another to an encounter with Christ, no argument is necessary–just the invitation: "Come and see."
Nathanael accepts Philip’s invitation, and as they approach, Jesus sees him coming and says, "Look! This is surely an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!" This comment from Jesus certainly surprised Nathanael, who replied, "How is it that you know me?" Jesus replied, "Before Philip called you–while you were under the fig tree–I saw you." Nathanael’s response to Jesus and Jesus’ next remarks seem even more enigmatic: "Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the Ruler of Israel!" Jesus responded, "Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, is that why you believe? You will witness greater things than this!" And Jesus said to him, "I’m telling you both the truth–the time is coming when you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of humanity."
How is it possible that Nathanael would recognize Jesus’ true nature merely because Jesus said that He saw him under the fig tree? One possibility is that as he and Philip were walking along toward Jesus, Nathanael had prayed to God, asking God that if Jesus were the true Messiah, Jesus would make that very statement. Another possibility was that the distance between where Nathanael had been sitting under the fig tree and where Jesus was, was too far for Jesus to have possibly seen him other than supernaturally.
A third possibility was that Jesus’ comment demonstrated that not only had Jesus seen Nathanael under the fig tree, Jesus knew what Nathanael had been reading and what he had considered while reading it. The concept of sitting under a fig tree was symbolic in rabbinic literature for being peaceful and for meditation on the Law.
From Jesus’ words, we can glean that Nathanael had been reading about Jacob, and especially about his experience in the desert. One of the things scholars can offer, as evidence that the Bible is true is that its heroes are often very flawed. Such was the case of Jacob. Jacob’s story begins in Genesis 25:19, and soon we discover that Jacob was a great deceiver. He deceived his father and swindled his brother out of his rightful inheritance. Yet, in spite of being less than perfect, God still blessed Jacob and made him a great patriarch of the Jewish people.
Because of his deceit, he was forced to leave home. He headed toward the home of his uncle, Laban. On his way, he stopped to spend the night in the desert. There he had a dream in which he saw heaven open up and the angels of God ascending and descending on it. (Gen. 28:10-13). It was there that God spoke to Jacob, promising that he and his descendants would bless the world, and that God would never leave him.
If Nathanael had indeed been reading about Jacob when he was under the fig tree, then Jesus’ statements would have been praise to Nathanael. Jesus was telling Nathanael that while Jacob was a deceiver, Jesus knew that Nathanael was not. Therefore, Jesus was saying, Nathanael was a better person than Jacob had been. Even though Jacob’s behavior was less than exemplary, God still blessed Jacob. Since God so blessed Jacob, God would bless Nathanael even more. Nathanael, because of his association with Jesus, would be a witness to and partake in the very life and ministry of the Messiah of God.
This is the first of twelve times that John reports that Jesus identifies Himself as the Son of Humanity. According to Merrill C. Tenney, writing in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, (Vol. 9, pg. 141), "In its general usage, it (Son of Humanity) is the title of the incarnate Christ who is the representative of humanity before God and the representative of the deity in human life." In other words, Jesus is the bridge between God and humanity. Before the incarnation, there appeared to be a great gulf between God and human beings–Jesus brought God to where the people were/are. God no longer would be seen, as the great uncaring warrior in the sky who had constantly to be appeased with all forms of sacrifices–God is the loving, doting Parent, who cares for every hair on the head of God’s children.
This ends our study for today.
Points to Ponder