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.