John 1:48 Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.
Greetings Friend,
I hope this letter finds you searching for the Kingdom of God and yielding to the conviction by the Holy Spirit. It is my joy now to join in my Master’s work and write to you. I pray that you may bear fruit in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Now let’s take a walk through a scene in the Gospel of John. John was baptizing, not John Mark, the author of the Gospel of Mark, and not John, the disciple whom Jesus loved and the author of this gospel, but John the baptist, the forerunner of the Messiah, that is the Christ, according to old testament prophecy.
The Gospel According to John
1:28 These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.
1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
1:30 This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me.
1:31 And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water.
So John the baptist tells us why he was baptizing with water. Earlier he says of himself, “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.” He says this in response to the Jewish priests and levites asking him who he is and why he is baptizing with water. I have no doubt they asked the people why they desired to be baptized by John. The priests and levites heard the same answer; the people knew of their sin and desired to turn away from sin and turn towards God. The misunderstanding by the priests and levites proves their blindness to sin.
There is so much to say about John the baptist, but let’s review the basics. John was obedient to God and came to baptize the people with water to make a straight way for the Lord. The recognition of sin gives us a sense of direction to whom and what we are seeking.
The Gospel According to Matthew
Matthew 7:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
And who is the Lord we are making a straight way for? He is the promissed Savior the Jews were waiting for. The people being baptized knew the scriptures and were actually seeking after the Lord. Let’s finish this part with John the baptist telling us more about why God told him to baptize and the result of his obedience.
The Gospel According to John
1:32 And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.
1:33 And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.
1:34 And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.
What does Jesus say of John the baptist?
The Gospel According to Luke
7:28 For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.
John prepared the people for their Messiah, the only begotten Son of God. Not only this, but John understands that Jesus is coming as the Lamb of God, the sacrificial Lamb. God holds many names or titles and John the gospel writer makes it clear that Jesus is God. More on that another time.
Now we are getting closer to the fig tree.
The Gospel According to John
1:43 The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me.
The Lord found a lost sheep. Philip followed because the Lord’s sheep hear His voice.
The Gospel According to John
1:44 Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.
1:45 Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.
Now that Philip is brought into the fold, he goes out to tell his friend where to find the Lord. All of these men were actively seeking the promised Messiah.
The Gospel According to John
1:46 And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see.
One of the reasons he says this has to do with his sin, as we will see in a few more verses.
The Gospel According to John
1:47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!
The first thing Jesus says to Nathanael is not, “follow me”, but that Nathanael is honest about his sin. Nathanael is standing in the light. His sin is exposed and Jesus is not going to reveal the details in front of Philip.
The Gospel According to John
1:48 Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.
So Jesus reveals his divinity in His response. Only God knows the fullness of our sin. But are they really talking about sin? You were under a tree before your friend found you and brought you to me doesn’t sound like sin at all. But I’m glad Jesus says it this way and I’m sure you’ll agree in just a few more lines. So let’s look back at Genesis and discover why Jesus is talking to Nathanael about his sin.
The First Book of Moses: Called Genesis
3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
3:7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
Adam and Eve disobeyed the Lord and so sinned by eating the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden. They knew they were naked because they saw their covering was missing. What was this covering? Well it was the original covering given to them at creation. A covering that allowed them to walk with the Lord. So they go to the fig tree to make coverings from their own hands to hide their sin.
The First Book of Moses: Called Genesis
3:8 And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.
The Lord stands before them and the light shines in the darkness. Why would they hide if they believed the fig leaf coverings would work?
The First Book of Moses: Called Genesis
3:9 And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
The Lord is calling his sheep.
The First Book of Moses: Called Genesis
3:10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
His sheep hear his voice. Adam knows his fig leaf covering is for nothing and responds to the Lord in fear because his sin is exposed by the light.
The First Book of Moses: Called Genesis
3:11 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?
The Lord gives them both a chance to respond in truth. See how their responses contrast with what the Lord says of Nathanael.
The First Book of Moses: Called Genesis
3:12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
3:13 And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
The Lord knows us. He sees us before we see Him. He knows how we will respond to Him, but allows us the chance nonetheless. Adam and Eve were of one flesh being married. Nathanael and Philip are not. The sins of our flesh are exposed in fullness before the Lord alone. We may choose to confess some sins to others, but I’m glad we only confess the fullness of them before the Lord.
So what was Nathanael, a man in whom there is no guile, doing under a fig tree? Let’s look forward to the first letter of John, the very same gospel writer, to discover the truth.
The First Epistle General of John
1:5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1:10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
We know Nathanael is looking for the Lord because he goes with Philip after hearing about Jesus of Nazareth. And Nathanael’s response before setting off to meet Jesus? The reputation of Nazareth aside, if someone asks if there is any good in this or that place they are really asking if there is any good left in the world. Nathanael is sitting under the fig tree, the tree of coverings, in agony over his sin. If there is no good in the world then why not just reach out and hide the sin with a fig leaf? The Lord will forgive the deceit. It is just a little covering.
But Nathanael is seeking the Lord. He gets up, walks away from the fig tree, and Philip finds him. Nathanael now stands before Jesus, his sins exposed fully in the light of the Lord. He fashioned no fig leaf covering in vain attempt to darken and hide his sin.
The Gospel According to John
1:49 Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.
1:50 Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these.
1:51 And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.
What wonders, what marvels does Jesus, the Lord God have in store for His Nathanaels? Let’s all pray that we remember the Word, that we hear Jesus, and that we listen to our Lord God while we face the agony of sin and separation from God under the fig tree.
Repent and believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Grace and Peace to You, Friend,
Brian