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.