And Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter.
John pauses to tell us where Philip came from, and the note ties him to Andrew and Peter. One line about a small fishing town raises real questions: who were these first followers, and what did their town do with such a privilege?
Bethsaida sat on the shore of the lake in Galilee. Its name says what the town lived on, and a fishing business ran from there.
It was a wonderful scene, beside Galilee's blue lake at Bethsaida, "The House of Fish," or as others put it, "The Place of Nets." Simon and Andrew lived there (John 1:44). With their partners James and John, and their father Zebedee, they worked at their trade along with their hired servants. Clearly they had a good large fishing business.
Philip belonged to that same district — and the district had a poor reputation. The people who came out to hear John the Baptist there were plain working people, and the religious leaders of the day dismissed the whole area.
He is mentioned as being of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter (John 1:44). It is more than probable that he was among the Galileans of that district who flocked to hear the preaching of John the Baptist. People spoke of no part of Palestine with such contempt as Galilee. Yet our Lord chose His apostles from these despised Galileans, who were simple, earnest, and devoted. "Search and look," said the Pharisees, "for out of Galilee arises no prophet." But sweeping statements are generally untrue. "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" is a sample of the same thing.
Andrew and Peter had come to Jesus through John's testimony and Andrew's word. Philip's start was different: Christ went to find him. Writers note that his following began with a command from the Lord Himself.
On the next day He decided to go to Galilee, and Jesus finds Philip and says to him, Follow me. It is an immense thing to be delivered by Jesus from the waste of one's own will, or from having your heart tied to the will of a man stronger than yourself. It is an immense thing to know that we have found in Him not merely the Messiah, but the centre of all God's revelations, plans, and purposes. So we gather with Him because we gather to Him.
Philip did not come to Jesus the way Andrew did.
With Philip things were different. He was not drawn to the Lord in the same way, for the Lord had to command him to follow Him. But beyond doubt he must have been blessed through coming into contact with the Lord in any way.
Andrew had already brought his brother; Philip immediately goes after Nathanael. What links the two townsmen is not just an address but a pattern.
We find these two men go out to bring others to the One whom they had found. It must always be so when real blessing is received. Its course is outward and onward to others. If there is no desire in your heart to see others blessed, we greatly doubt whether you have received the blessing yourself. One thing is absolutely certain — you are not enjoying it.
Three of the twelve came from this one place, and the Lord worked there beyond the ordinary measure. That is exactly why His later word against it is so heavy.
That city had a day of visitation. It had been greatly favoured. The Lord had done His mighty works there beyond the common measure. And Andrew, Peter, and Philip, three of the Lord's apostles, had belonged to that town (see John 1:44). But such favour, such a day of merciful, gracious visitation, had been slighted. The place had not turned to Him who had blessed it. It had not repented (Matt. 11:20).
The location has long been debated. Commentators differ over whether one town or two bore the name, and the wording of John 12:21 has been read as a clue.
There is a question whether there were two places of this name, as Trench thought. One would be on the western shore of the lake, in Galilee, and another on the eastern shore, in Gaulonitis. Thomson held that there was only one. We meet the name again in John 12:21, where "Galilee" is added as if to distinguish it.
- Place. Bethsaida means "house of fish." It was a working town on the lake, home to the fishing business of Simon, Andrew, James and John.
- Privilege. From a region others said no prophet came out of, the Lord drew three of His apostles: Andrew, Peter and Philip.
- Call. Jesus came to Philip Himself and told him to follow — a different road in from Andrew's, out of the same town.
- Spread. Both men went out to bring others to the One they had found. Blessing runs outward, or it is not being enjoyed.
- Responsibility. Bethsaida was greatly favoured, yet it slighted that visit and did not repent.
Philip finds Nathanael, and says to him, We have found him of whom Moses wrote in the law, and the prophets, Jesus, the son of Joseph, who is from Nazareth.
Philip has only just begun to follow Jesus, and already he is looking for someone else. His words to Nathanael pack the whole Old Testament into one sentence. Then he ties that sentence to a man from a village nobody respected.
One person brings the next: Andrew went to Peter, and now Philip goes to Nathanael. The joy is too fresh to keep quiet.
The earliest disciples had just found a heavenly joy. Eager and generous with it, they want to tell the news and bring others to share the presence of Jesus with them. This is how Nathanael comes into the scene… Philip had already shared the joy with Andrew, Peter and others. Now he delights to pass it on to Nathanael.
"Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote" is not a vague compliment. Philip names the prophet like Moses and the subject of every prophecy. The long search is over.
As with Andrew, so with Philip, he wanted others to share in the blessing. When he found Nathanael, he could not keep silent… Andrew spoke to his brother Simon about the Messiah. Philip's testimony was much fuller. He named the prophet like Moses, the theme of prophecy, Jesus son of Joseph, and Nazareth as well. John the Baptist was not the prophet of Deuteronomy 18:15. Philip, however, was sure he had now met Him.
Philip could appeal to those writings because no one around him questioned their authority.
John records "Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote" as a known and accepted truth; the Psalms equally so.
Philip tied those great titles to a name: "Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." Nathanael could not accept that pairing.
Nathanael was not at all prepared for this. His heart truly did look for the One of whom Moses and the prophets wrote. But that the Christ was Jesus from Nazareth, the son of Joseph, he had yet to learn… It had never occurred to him how the Messiah could be "from Nazareth," let alone "the son of Joseph." Even a despised Galilean looked down on that village… If Philip had said "from Bethlehem, the son of David," the expecting Jew would have felt no such shock. But in truth, this passage shows the Lord as wholly above all earthly associations, and so He could come down to the lowest.
Philip had been following Jesus for a day. The description he gives reflects that — and God still used it.
Philip followed and became a seeker of others, though he did not yet know much. To Nathanael he could only speak of "Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." That was neither a very lofty nor a very accurate description of the One he had just begun to follow. At first it slightly prejudiced Nathanael: still, it was enough to lead him to a meeting with the Lord.
Commentators weigh Philip's words differently. Stuart calls his testimony fuller than Andrew's; others measure it by its effect on the hearer.
If you compare this testimony with Andrew's, you will see the difference at once. Nor was it so successful. Nathanael objected at once: "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Only Philip's next words drew him to Jesus: "Come and see. Prove it for yourself before you judge."
Philip did not defend Nazareth. He handed the question back to the Person Himself.
Philip was wiser than to argue the point, and is ready with the kind and practical invitation, "Come and see."
Many who speak about Christ have met Nathanael's reaction and been stung by it.
How many since Philip's day have gone through what he found! They were blessed in their own soul, and the question of salvation was clear to them. So they thought everyone would listen to their testimony and accept it too. But disappointment, perhaps keen disappointment, awaited them. They had spoken to dull and even deaf ears, and spoken in vain. The reason was not hard to find. Those they spoke to had never known personal dealings with Christ.
- Found. Philip had only just begun to follow Jesus, yet the joy of it sent him straight out to find Nathanael, as Andrew had gone to find Peter.
- Written. Philip announced that the search of the Law and the prophets was over. The prophet like Moses, the theme of prophecy, now had a name and a face.
- Lowly. He tied that glory to "Nazareth" and "son of Joseph," the very words that offended. Yet the Lord stands above all earthly ties, and so He can stoop to the lowest.
- Imperfect. His description was neither lofty nor accurate, and he had followed Christ for only a day. It still carried a man to Jesus.
- Invited. When his words met an objection, Philip did not argue. He said, "Come and see." A meeting with Christ does what testimony alone cannot.
And Nathanael said to him, Can anything good come out of Nazareth? Philip says to him, Come and see.
Philip has just told his friend that the One the Scriptures promised has come — Jesus of Nazareth. That last word almost ends the conversation. Nathanael's blunt question and Philip's three-word reply raise two lasting issues: why the Saviour's address was one people despised, and how to answer a doubter.
To call a man a Nazarene was an insult in that day. One writer explains why:
It was the well-understood language of contempt in that day: He should, in other words, be called a Nazarene. Nazareth was the most scorned of places. The men of Judea looked down on Nazareth. The Galileans despised it too, even though it was part of their own district. Later we read of an Israelite with no deceit in him. When he heard of Jesus being there, he exclaimed, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" So if one spot in Palestine matched the rejection Christ received more than any other did, it was Nazareth.
Nathanael was waiting for Israel's Saviour. Nothing about this name fit what he expected:
A place not even named in the Old Testament. In Galilee, too. And a village that produced so little good that it had quite a bad name among those who knew it. For Nazareth to be the home of Israel's Saviour strained Nathanael's mind almost to refusal. Philip's wise reply led him to come and see. Was he disappointed? Does God ever disappoint the man or the woman who is content to receive and learn Christ in the unexpected place?
Nathanael did not doubt that the Messiah would come. What staggered him was the address and the family name attached to Him:
He believed in the glory of the Messiah's Person, as far as the Old Testament had revealed it in advance. But it had never occurred to him that the Messiah could be "from Nazareth," let alone "the Son of Joseph." Even a Galilean, a man others already looked down on, thought that village contemptible... If Philip had said "from Bethlehem, the Son of David," the waiting Jew would have felt no such shock. But in truth, the Lord stands here wholly above all earthly ties, and so He could come down to the lowest.
Commentators differ on what lies behind the question. One hears in it the ordinary scorn of the day:
He does not hide that Christ had come from Nazareth, a place people despised. No doubt Nathanael's objection voiced the common prejudice of the Jews.
Another writer hears something else in the same words — not a sneer, but the voice of a searching heart:
His answer — "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" — is not the language of popular prejudice. Such words may well have been common on the lips of scorners. But this is the language of a soul just emerging from a place where deep searching had led to some humbling and unsettling experiences in the heart and conscience. ... So he went at once when Philip called him. He would walk to Nazareth, for a soul convicted of its own sin can call nothing common or unclean except itself. If Nazareth is vile, Nathanael in his own eyes is viler still.
Philip offers no defence of Nazareth and no counter-argument. He hands the question over to the Person Himself:
How wisely Philip met him! Argument would never have convinced Nathanael. But Philip knew what time spent with Christ had done for him. So he answered quietly, "Come and see."
The invitation puts the burden of testing where it belongs — on the objector's own eyes, before his verdict is fixed:
Nor was it so remarkably successful, for we find that Nathanael at once began to object, saying, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" And it was not until Philip said, "Come and see. Prove it for yourself before you judge," that Nathanael was drawn to Jesus.
One sight of Jesus overturned everything Nathanael had said:
How that little word "Nazareth" came between Nathanael and the Son of God! But when he sees Jesus, he finds that Philip has not said half enough, and falls down in worship at once.
The same two words are still ours to say — and they test the one who says them:
How beautiful, if someone has criticism about the Lord Jesus, to say, Come and see. But how often, sadly, we do not have the strength to say "Come and see", because what do people see in us? ... Can I say to everyone in my neighbourhood, "Come and see", when it comes to the Lord Jesus?
- Despised — Nazareth was the most scorned town in the land. Even Galileans looked down on it. The address matched the rejection Christ came to bear.
- Unnamed — the village never appears in the Old Testament. Nathanael had no room in his thinking for a Messiah from there. "Bethlehem, the Son of David" would have raised no objection.
- Disputed — commentators differ. One hears the common prejudice of the day. Another hears a soul just humbled by deep searching.
- Invited — Philip did not argue. He said, "Come and see." Argument would never have convinced Nathanael; a sight of Christ did.
- Undersold — one sight of Christ ended the prejudice and brought worship. Philip had not said half enough. "Come and see" is still the invitation to give.
Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and says of him, Behold [one] truly an Israelite, in whom there is no guile.
Philip's invitation brings Nathanael face to face with a stranger. The stranger greets him by naming his inner character. The words show two things at once: what kind of man Nathanael was, and what kind of person could know it. (Where the ESV reads "no deceit," older translations read "no guile." The writers quoted below use that word.)
Christ's greeting is not a declaration that Nathanael was sinless. It marks a narrower quality, and the distinction matters:
That is not equivalent to saying "In whom is no sin." Guile is sin, it is true, yet there is much sin that is not guile. Guile is hypocrisy, empty pretence, unreality, a lack of uprightness and honesty. Nathanael was a man who, though a sinner, was honest.
The same writer contrasts Nathanael with the religion around him. The nation kept up its ceremonies after God's presence had gone — "an empty shell without a kernel."
One writer links this word to Psalm 32, and to what had already happened to Nathanael in private.
In the case of Nathanael (John 1) the Lord seems to have had a silent glance at Psalm 32. That Psalm reveals the secret of having "no guile" in the spirit: confession of all the secrets that might try to hide themselves before God, and pardon meeting them. Nathanael, we may judge, had been confessing in this way. The fig tree is always the symbol of repentance. The Lord sees him in the light of this Psalm.
Honest confession and guile cannot live together. So this description fits any repentant person, not Nathanael alone:
How can a soul that is truly unburdening itself in the fear of God be full of guile? Does not its very relief depend on the completeness and truthfulness of its confessions? Would it be what it is if there were any pretending or concealing?
The greeting is God's estimate spoken out loud. One writer compares it with another surprising title given to an unlikely man.
So He greets Nathanael on the ground of God's estimate of him: "Behold an Israelite indeed in whom is no guile." He greets him as He greeted Gideon in his day: "The LORD is with you, O mighty man of valor." In God's esteem the poor threshing man of Manasseh was a mighty man of valour, for God had purposed it so. And so, in the reckoning of the mind of Christ, Nathanael was a guileless Israelite. In a divine way he had been acquiring that name under the fig tree. By that name the Son of God knows him.
By every ordinary measure Nathanael was a stranger to Jesus. Yet Jesus read him at a glance.
Again Jesus took the initiative. By His opening words about Nathanael He revealed Himself as the Discerner of the hearts of men. Here was an Israelite, not without sin, but without guile — that is, without deceit or dishonesty. Here was a man who was straight and honest in his spirit before God, and Jesus knew it. The Lord was showing Himself to be the Judge of all, before whom every man lies open and exposed, and who can put every man in his proper place... Nathanael came to see Jesus of Nazareth, and he discovered One who knew all about him and read him through like an open book. Who could this Jesus be?
That verdict comes from the One who sees everything. So it settles the question of reputation: "if He approves, you need not be much concerned that men blame you."
A person with something to hide dreads exposure. Nathanael had nothing to hide.
But if someone has nothing to hide, then he does not fear the light. No doubt Nathanael illustrates this in John 1:47-48. Having "no guile," no deceitful covering up of evil, he could come with confidence to the Lord Jesus. Certainly in coming to Him one finds himself exposed as he really is, and honesty does not object to this.
One writer reads this scene as a picture of Israel's future. The name "Israelite" carries the point: the man first called Jacob was the opposite of guileless.
Jacob was a crooked man, always trying to gain by craft what it was God's purpose to give him by grace. In other words, he was a man full of guile. But by the end of God's ways with him, Jacob's character showed three marks: self-judgment, spiritual understanding and worship. The remnant of Israel will be brought to the same end. God's chastening will purify them in practice, and at the same time show their integrity, for in all their trouble they will cling to the LORD.
- Guile — Not the absence of sin, but the absence of pretence. It means no hypocrisy and no dishonesty of spirit.
- Confession — Guile goes when a person owns everything before God. For Nathanael that happened under the fig tree.
- Reckoning — Christ says out loud what Nathanael became in secret, just as He called Gideon a mighty man before Gideon had done anything.
- Discernment — The greeting proves the Speaker: He reads a man He has never met like an open book.
- Confidence — Nathanael hid nothing, so Christ's searching look was no threat. An honest heart comes to the light without fear.
Nathanael says to him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said to him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig-tree, I saw thee.
A stranger had just described Nathanael to his face, and Nathanael asks how this man could know him. The Lord answers by naming a private hour under a fig tree, and that one sentence settles who Jesus is.
Kelly reads the Lord's reply as evidence. Jesus names a private spot, and in doing so shows that He is God while standing there as a man.
He is God always and everywhere in this Gospel. Unseen, Jesus had seen Nathanael. He had seen him in a place where Nathanael must have thought no one could see him. But He who heard the thoughts of his heart in that spot "under the fig tree" saw him. This was the unanswerable evidence of His own glory, of omniscience, and omnipresence. Yet the One who saw him was plainly a man in flesh and blood. He could be no one else than the promised Messiah, Immanuel... the "ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days" (Micah 5:2). His prejudice vanished at once, like mist before the sun in its strength.
The Lord had already called Nathanael a man without guile. Bellett links that word to the Psalm of the man whose sins are forgiven. He reads the fig tree as the place where Nathanael had been pouring out his heart to God.
I believe Nathanael's "guilelessness" was the guilelessness of this Psalm, not just his natural character. He had been under the fig tree in the spirit of this Psalm. There he poured out his heart as a man convicted of his sin, and that freed his spirit from guile. Here we learn that a confessing spirit is a guileless spirit. Jesus had been in the secret of his soul while he was under the tree.
Another writer takes the point further. Honesty like this rests on knowing your sins are forgiven.
I believe "under the fig tree" was a place of complete secrecy. There he dealt with the Lord about his sins. No one can be without guile until he knows his sins are forgiven. "Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered." "Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit."
The older translation this writer used ends the Psalm with "in whose spirit there is no guile" — the same word the Lord had just used of Nathanael.
The timing matters. Philip's invitation did not start this story. Something was already at work in Nathanael before any human voice reached him.
Under the fig tree, I believe, he had been confessing himself a sinner and thinking over his condition before God. It is the spirit of confession which, in God's reckoning, makes us "guileless". That is the character in which the Lord recognises Nathanael... So the Lord had already been with him in spirit before Philip called him. The longings of an awakened soul are always dear to Him.
Moments earlier Nathanael had doubted that anything good could come from Nazareth. One sentence about a tree removed the objection.
That question drew out an answer. It settled every doubt in his mind for ever: "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you." Nathanael was won. Alone under the tree with God, Jesus of Nazareth had seen him... What did it matter to Nathanael now where the Lord had lived! All his prejudice vanished in a moment.
Commentators differ on how much weight the tree itself carries. Some treat it as no more than the spot where he prayed. Kelly argues that the detail is deliberate, because Scripture uses the fig tree as a picture of Israel.
The fig tree is not just a fact or an isolated detail. It carries the meaning it usually has in Scripture. In our Lord's great prophecy the fig tree stands for the nation, and one cannot doubt it does so here. Suppose Nathanael was there thinking before God about the expected Messiah and the hopes of the chosen people... Then we can better imagine how forcefully the words of Jesus struck the heart and conscience of this guileless Israelite.
- Seen. The private hour under the tree was never private. Jesus names a place no one else could have seen. Kelly calls this the unanswerable evidence of His omniscience and omnipresence.
- Searched. What He saw there was confession. A confessing spirit is a guileless spirit. That is why the Lord could greet Nathanael as an Israelite without deceit.
- Sought. "Before Philip called you" puts Christ ahead of the invitation. The longings of an awakened soul were already dear to Him before any messenger arrived.
- Settled. One sentence undid the Nazareth prejudice. Nathanael stopped asking where the Lord came from once he knew the Lord had been with him.
- Symbol. Some read the fig tree as the quiet place of repentance. Others read it as the picture of Israel, since Scripture uses the fig tree as a symbol of the nation.
Nathanael answered and said to him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God, thou art the King of Israel.
Jesus has just told Nathanael what he was doing alone under the fig tree. Nathanael answers with two great titles. The Lord replies by promising him something greater still.
Nathanael confesses to a man who knew his hidden moments. One writer ties that secret place to sins settled with God.
Nathanael brings out His glories in John 1. There Christ is the One who knows everything. I believe "under the fig tree" was a place of complete secrecy. There he dealt with the Lord about his sins. No one can be free of deceit until he knows his sins are forgiven. "Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered." "Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit."
The fig tree itself carries meaning, and so do the two names Nathanael uses.
The fig tree here is not just a fact or an isolated detail... In the Lord's great prophecy the fig tree stands as the symbol of the nation, and one cannot doubt it does here... It was a confession of the Messiah exactly as Psalm 2 presents Him. He might be Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph; but He could be, He was, none other than "My (Jehovah's) king," "the Son" (Psalm 2:6, 12), though not yet anointed on Zion, Jehovah's holy hill.
The same two titles later became the grounds for rejecting Him. What one man owned here, the nation refused.
With the deceit gone from his soul, he sees everything clearly. He confesses Christ as the Son of God and the King of Israel. These are the two titles under which, according to Psalm 2, the Jewish nation rejected Christ. In the court of the high priest, the nation denied that Christ was the Son of God; in the court of Pilate, they rejected His claim to be the King of Israel.
Nathanael names "Son of God" first. One writer explains where the emphasis lay.
He is "the Son of God," and He is also "the King of Israel." As a sincere and godly Israelite he was waiting for the King, and he would have been inclined to put all the emphasis there. But he stood in front of this Judge of men, this Searcher of hearts. So the whole emphasis fell on this: He must be the Son of God. And if that, then the King of Israel. Then note how in verse 50 Jesus accepted Nathanael's homage as not misplaced but as the fruit of faith.
The Lord does not correct the confession — He enlarges it. Kingship over one nation is not the whole of what He will be.
Nathanael owned Him as Son of God and King of Israel. But our Lord replied to him, "You will see greater things than these… From now on" — that is how it should read — "you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man." He meant: My title in Israel is a small thing, but you will see Psalm 8 fulfilled.
Some treat His Kingship over Israel as finished, and turn it into a reign in believers' hearts. Kelly answers from what His death declared.
For many Christians the Son of God's Kingship over Israel is a dead letter. They say Israel is a broken vessel that will never be used again. So they speak of His "reigning in the hearts of His spiritual people." But His death was to attest that He is "the King of the Jews," not "the King of the Church." Scripture never describes Him that way.
Nathanael stands for more than himself. He came to God by faith outside the appointed place, and he knew the Lord at once.
Someone who came to God by faith, not in the appointed place but under a fig tree, could stand before God in holy confidence — a true Israelite with no deceit in him. That was Nathanael, taught by God, recognising Jesus at once as Son of God and King of Israel. He is a sample of Israel in the days to come, when the nation takes its place of nearness to God under the covenant, as a kingdom of priests and a holy nation, by recognising Jesus as the Son — the sacrifice and the priest.
- Seen — Christ knew the secret place. There Nathanael had dealt with God about his sins, and no one can be free of deceit until his sins are forgiven.
- Owned — both titles come straight from Psalm 2: Jehovah's Son and Jehovah's King, not yet anointed on Zion.
- Weighted — before this Searcher of hearts, the weight fell on Son of God. If He is that, then He is King of Israel too.
- Enlarged — the Lord does not deny the titles but promises greater: "My title in Israel is a small thing, but you shall see Psalm 8 fulfilled."
- Rejected, then restored — the nation denied both titles, before the high priest and before Pilate. Nathanael, quick to own Him, is a sample of Israel in the days to come.
Jesus answered and said to him, Because I said to thee, I saw thee under the fig-tree, believest thou? Thou shalt see greater things than these.
Nathanael has just called Jesus the Son of God and the King of Israel. The Lord answers with a question: was one small proof of His knowledge enough to produce all that? He does not stop there. He promises Nathanael far greater sights than the one that convinced him.
Nathanael believed because Jesus described a private moment no one else had witnessed. That was real, but the Lord treats it as a start, not a finish.
Nathanael recognised that Jesus had supernatural power. He could tell him exactly what was in his heart, and He saw him when nobody else saw him. But He was going to tell him greater things. There must be more: "You will see greater things."
The Lord does not cut Nathanael's confession short. He answers it by giving more than Nathanael can hold.
The Lord did not check the flow of grace and truth. Nathanael had to borrow many vessels, until there was not one more to receive the blessing that would still overflow… These are truly "greater things." From then on Nathanael saw a pledge of them in the way God's angels waited on the One whom man despised and the nation hated. Their contempt brought them shame and ruin. But through it God worked out His heavenly purposes, and a far larger sphere of blessing and glory than in Israel or the land.
Jesus does not take back the titles Nathanael gave Him. He calls them small next to what He names next.
Nathanael acknowledged Him as Son of God and King of Israel. But our Lord replied to him, "You will see greater things than these… Henceforth" (as it should read), "you will see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man." That is: My title in Israel is a small thing, but you will see Psalm 8 fulfilled.
The promise points two ways at once. It looks down over the earth and up into an opened heaven.
The Lord recognises the faith of Nathanael, drawn out by the Lord's own words. Nathanael has confessed Christ, according to Psalm 2. The Lord now announces to him His further glory as the Son of Man, according to Psalm 8. As the Son of Man He will be set over all the works of God's hands, with all things put in subjection under Him. If the earth beneath will be in subjection under Him, the heavens above will be opened over Him. The angels find their glorious object of service in Christ on earth, and they will establish relations between heaven and earth.
The fig tree is more than a place in the story. It also points to who Nathanael stands for — the faithful few in Israel.
The fig tree, under which the Lord saw Nathanael, was the symbol of Judaism. The terms of his confession are found in Psalm 2, and they are applied to Christ in His Jewish relations. They mark Nathanael as representing the Jewish remnant.
Commentators differ on how much of this promise Nathanael saw in his own lifetime. Some point to what began at once. Others look on to the coming day of glory. They agree on one thing: the title Jesus chooses here never runs out.
The titles "King of Israel" and "Son of God" in this special character will come to an end. The old world will pass away, and the new world will come in. There will be no Israel any more in the new, eternal world. There will be no King of Israel in eternity. This is the sense of the words, "You will see greater things"… But as the glorified Man He will be the object of our adoration for ever.
What began with a handful gathered around Jesus is heading somewhere far bigger.
The gathering work had already started in a small way with Andrew and Peter, Philip and Nathanael, and it was going to go on and grow. About that work He said to Nathanael, "You will see greater things than these." Well, blessed be God, so we shall… We are going to see Christ in His central place of authority, ruling in power. All things will be subject to Him, and the whole church of God will be joined with Him in His glory.
- Small beginning. One word about a fig tree convinced Nathanael. The Lord accepts that faith and at once promises more.
- Greater given. The Lord does not stop the flow of grace at Nathanael's confession. Nathanael keeps borrowing vessels while the blessing overflows.
- Wider glory. He moves Nathanael from Psalm 2 to Psalm 8. King of Israel is "a small thing" next to Son of Man, with all things put under Him.
- Heaven opened. Earth beneath will be subject to Him and heaven above opened over Him, with angels linking the two.
- Lasting object. Israel's titles belong to the old world. As the glorified Man He is the object of our adoration for ever, and the church shares that glory with Him.
And he says to him, Verily, verily, I say to you, Henceforth ye shall see the heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of man.
Nathanael has just called Jesus the Son of God and the King of Israel, and Jesus tells him he has not yet seen the half of it. With a double "truly, truly," He points past Israel's throne to an open heaven and to angels moving around a Man.
Commentators read Jesus' reply as a move from one psalm to another: from the King in Zion to the Son of Man over all things.
Nathanael acknowledged Him as Son of God and King of Israel. But our Lord replied to him, "You will see greater things than these … Henceforth" (so it should read), "you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man." That is: My title in Israel is a small thing, but you will see Psalm 8 fulfilled.
One writer traces the title to Christ's rejection, and then to its reach:
In the Gospel of John the title "the Son of Man" appears from the very start, because the Gospel already views Christ as rejected... Christ's glory will be great when He reigns in a future day as King in Zion among a restored Israel, and His people are willing in the day of His power. His wider glories as the Son of Man will infinitely surpass all of it. Then His name will be excellent in all the earth. All will acknowledge His dominion over every people and over all created things, and everything that has breath will praise Him.
Some translations read "hereafter," which pushes the whole promise into the future. Writers argue the word should be "henceforth" — starting now. That changes what Nathanael could expect.
But the Lord tells him of greater things he should see... henceforth (not "hereafter," but henceforth) you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man. It is the wider, universal glory of the Son of Man (according to Psalm 8). But the most striking part of it was true from that very moment, because of the glory of His person. His person did not need the day of glory to command the attendance of the angels of God.
Angels belong in heaven, so we expect them to come down before they go up. The verse puts it the other way round.
The angels of God were not first descending on the Son of Man. They were first ascending from Him, and then descending on Him. He was the point the angels went from and returned to.
He gives the orders; He does not just receive help.
Angels are now the servants of One who is a Man — "it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come," but to MAN... You will see the Son of Man at the central exchange of divine authority; His word is law, His angels do His bidding in all quarters of His universe.
Long before, Jacob dreamed of a stairway between earth and heaven with angels on it:
This will be the fulfilment of Jacob's dream in Genesis 28:12. It shows restored communication between heaven and earth, once cut off by the corruption of sin. But Christ Himself is the Mediator, and in Him the restoration is accomplished. His worldwide title, "Son of Man," takes in not only Israel but all mankind.
But commentators differ. One writer puts Christ at a different point in the dream:
Christ has Jacob's place, not the ladder's. Jacob was at the foot of the ladder, and these messengers were coming down and going up from God to him, and from him to God. Now God's angels would have the Son of Man as the object of their service from an open heaven. There is no ladder in view.
An opened heaven appears again and again in the New Testament.
Whenever the heavens open, it is in connection with Christ. When He was on earth, "the heavens were opened to Him." At last heaven could look down and see on earth One in whom the Father found all His delight. After the ascension, Stephen can say, "I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." The heavens are opened now so that believers on earth can look up and see a Man in the glory... In the future we will still see the "heavens open," so that angels may wait on Christ — the Son of Man. This will be in the days of His reign, when heaven will be in touch with earth.
- Greater confession. Nathanael called Him King of Israel. Christ answered that this title is a small thing next to what is coming.
- Greater sphere. Jesus moves from Psalm 2 to Psalm 8. A throne in Zion gives way to a name excellent in all the earth and dominion over all created things.
- Greater now. Read "henceforth," and the promise starts at once. The glory of His person commanded the attendance of angels long before any day of public glory.
- Greater centre. The angels ascend first, so He is the point they go from and return to. God subjected the world to come to a Man, not to angels.
- Greater sight. Heaven only ever opens in connection with Christ. It opened over Him on earth, then for Stephen to see a Man in glory, and at last over the reigning Son of Man.