Jesus Sees Nathanael Under a Fig Tree

Our Bible is filled with lots of stories and tidbits of information. Jesus is always teaching His disciples, but many times His lessons seem coded and hard to understand. After doing an extensive study on fig tress, we suddenly see fig trees are important symbols in Jesus' teachings. Let us examine John 1:43-51 to get a deeper insight into Jesus' first interaction with one of His students, Nathanael. 

In the Gospel of John, we are told Jesus sees Nathanael under a fig tree. The interaction can seem puzzling. Why is it important Nathanael was under a fig tree? What do Jesus’ words mean and why does Nathanael say the things he says? For the answer, let’s look at the text.

43 The next day He decided to go to Galilee, and He *found Philip. And Jesus *said to him, “Follow Me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip *found Nathanael and *said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses wrote in the Law, and the prophets also wrote: Jesus the son of Joseph, from Nazareth!” 46 Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good be from Nazareth?” Philip *said to him, “Come and see.” 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and *said of him, “Here is truly an Israelite, in whom there is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael *said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Nathanael answered Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel!” 50 Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And He *said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” (John 1:43-51)

Verse 43 states Jesus travels to the region of Galilee. Once in Galilee, Jesus finds Philip. There is no text, but we can assume Jesus talks to Philip, and Philip decides from the conversation, Jesus is the Messiah.

Verse 45 states Philip finds Nathanael and says, “We have found Hum of whom Moses wrote in the Law.” The Scripture Philip is quoting is Deuteronomy 18:15-19

15 “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen; to him you shall listen. 16 This is in accordance with everything that you asked of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, saying, ‘Do not let me hear the voice of the Lord my God again, and do not let me see this great fire anymore, or I will die!’ 17 And the Lord said to me, ‘They have spoken well. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them everything that I command him. 19 And it shall come about that whoever does not listen to My words which he speaks in My name, I Myself will require it of him. (Deuteronomy 18:15-19)

The prophet is Deuteronomy 18 is given to Israel in regards to the Israelites becoming scared at the foot of Mount Sinai while receiving the 10 commandments. The Israelites tell Moses they do not want to hear from God directly because it was a very intense and scary experience.

22 “These words the Lord spoke to your whole assembly at the mountain from the midst of the fire, from the cloud, and from the thick darkness, with a great voice, and He added nothing more. He wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me. 23 And when you heard the voice from the midst of the darkness, while the mountain was burning with fire, you approached me, all the heads of your tribes and your elders. 24 You said, ‘Behold, the Lord our God has shown us His glory and His greatness, and we have heard His voice from the midst of the fire; we have seen today that God speaks with mankind, yet he lives. 25 Now then, why should we die? For this great fire will consume us; if we hear the voice of the Lord our God any longer, then we will die! 26 For who is there of humanity who has heard the voice of the living God speaking from the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived? 27 Go near and listen to everything that the Lord our God says; then speak to us everything that the Lord our God speaks to you, and we will listen and do it.’

28 “Now the Lord heard the sound of your words when you spoke to me, and the Lord said to me, ‘I have heard the sound of the words of this people which they have spoken to you. They have done well in all that they have spoken. 29 If only they had such a heart in them, to fear Me and keep all My commandments always, so that it would go well with them and with their sons forever! 30 Go, say to them, “Return to your tents.” 31 But as for you, stand here by Me, that I may speak to you all the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments which you shall teach them, so that they may follow them in the land which I am giving them to possess.’ 32 So you shall be careful to do just as the Lord your God has commanded you; you shall not turn aside to the right or to the left. 33 You shall walk entirely in the way which the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live and that it may be well for you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which you will possess. (Deuteronomy 5:22-33)

In Deuteronomy 5 verses 6-21, the israelites are given the ten commandments. The Israelites come to Moses to ask God stop giving them ordinances and decrees. God then agrees to give the rest of the Torah to Moses. Moses would then act as an intercessor and deliver God’s words to the people. 

The prophet written about in Deuteronomy 18 is also an intermediary between God and the people. All prophets were given God’s word and were responsible to act as an in-between between God and the people. All true prophets of God fulfilled Deuteronomy 18:15 because God has never spoken directly to His people since Mount Sinai. However, Deuteronomy 18:15 was also seen as a Messianic verse. The Israelites believed there would be a prophet who would be the Messiah. 

Verse 46 of John 1 asks if anything good can come out of Nazareth. Nazareth was not known for any prophecy. If you search the Scriptures, which it seems as though Nathanael has done, then the Messiah was not to arise out of Nazareth. No, the Messiah was supposed to come from Bethlehem.
But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
Too little to be among the clans of Judah,
From you One will come forth for Me to be ruler in Israel.
His times of coming forth are from long ago,
From the days of eternity.” (Micah 5:2)



 The priests and scholars all took this verse from Micah 5:2 as being a Messianic prophecy. We see this explained in Matthew 2:1-6 when the Magi come to Jerusalem and ask where the King of the Jews was born.

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, 2 “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet:
6
‘And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah,
Are by no means least among the leaders of Judah;
For from you will come forth a Ruler
Who will shepherd My people Israel.’” (Matthew 2:1-6)

Verse 47 of John 1 has Jesus seeing Nathanael and saying, “Here is truly and Israelite, in whom there is no deceit.” Jesus is quoting Psalm 73 and 32.

God certainly is good to Israel,
To those who are pure in heart! (Psalm 73:1)

Note: to be pure in heart means to have no guile, to not be deceitful, to not be cunning.

How blessed is he whose wrongdoing is forgiven,
Whose sin is covered!
2
How blessed is a person whose guilt the Lord does not take into account,
And in whose spirit there is no deceit! (Psalm 32:1-2)

Psalm 32 means that a person is blessed whose wrongdoing is forgiven and whose sin is covered. How is one’s sins forgiven? It is by repentance. We can see from Psalm 32, Nathanael was a sinner, but he repented of his sins. Nathanael’s sins were forgiven and he was considered a man in whom there was no deceit. Nathanael’s heart was pure, and God is good to those who have a pure heart (Psalm 73:1).

Psalm 32 is related to both Psalm 84 and Psalm 1.

In Psalm 84, we read the blessed man will appear before God in Zion.

Blessed is the person whose strength is in You,
In whose heart are the roads to Zion!
6
Passing through the Valley of Baca they make it a spring;
The early rain also covers it with blessings.
7
They go from strength to strength,
Every one of them appears before God in Zion. (Psalm 84:5-7)

In Psalm 1, we read the righteous man is like a tree planted by rivers of water.

Blessed is the person who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
2
But his delight is in the Law of the Lord,
And on His Law he meditates day and night.
3
He will be like a tree planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season,
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers. (Psalm 1:1-3)

A blessed person will delight in the Torah and mediate on it day and night. When we view Psalm 1 in reference to Nathanael, we see Nathanael was a man of much Torah learning. he knew Scripture and meditated on it day and night. Moreover, Jesus says Nathanael was under a fig tree. The fig tree represents Israel’s spirituality. Piecing Jesus’ words together, we can see Nathanael was Torah scholar with a clean, pure heart. Nathanael repented of his sins and was forgiven for his wrongdoing.

Verse 48 Nathanael asks how Jesus knows him.

Verse 48 continues with Jesus saying he saw Nathanael under the fig tree. This could have been Jesus having an ability to see Nathanael sitting under the fig tree or this could just be a figure of speech. Remember the fig tree is Israel’s spirituality. Sitting under the fig tree was a phrase used for someone learning Torah. Nathanael could have been under a fig tree before he came to Jesus or he could have been learning the Torah before he came to Jesus.

Verse 49 Nathanael says Jesus is Rabbi. This means, Nathanael has accepted Jesus as his teacher. Rabbi means “my teacher”. This title is not given to any person; it is only given to the teacher whom the student is studying under. When Nathanael addresses Jesus as Rabbi, he is saying Jesus is now his teacher and he will be following Jesus.

Why did Nathanael recognize Jesus as the King of Israel and the Son of God? Nathanael knew Scripture and knew Psalm 139.

Lord, You have searched me and known me.
2
You know when I sit down and when I get up;
You understand my thought from far away.
3
You scrutinize my path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
4
Even before there is a word on my tongue,
Behold, Lord, You know it all.
5
You have encircled me behind and in front,
And placed Your hand upon me.
6
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is too high, I cannot comprehend it.
7
Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
8
If I ascend to heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there.
9
If I take up the wings of the dawn,
If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,
10
Even there Your hand will lead me,
And Your right hand will take hold of me.
11
If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me,
And the light around me will be night,”
12
Even darkness is not dark to You,
And the night is as bright as the day.
Darkness and light are alike to You.
13
For You created my innermost parts;
You wove me in my mother’s womb.
14
I will give thanks to You, because I am awesomely and wonderfully made;
Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.
15
My frame was not hidden from You
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully formed in the depths of the earth;
16
Your eyes have seen my formless substance;
And in Your book were written
All the days that were ordained for me,
When as yet there was not one of them. (Psalm 139:1-16)

Verse 50 Jesus says Nathanael will see greater things.

Verse 51 Jesus says Nathanael will see angels ascending and descending on Him. This verse is a quote from Genesis 28. Jacob has just deceived his father Isaac and had taken the blessing away from Esau. Jacob is sent away to Aram to his uncle Laban’s to find a wife. When the sun sets, Jacob lies down and has a dream.

Then Jacob departed from Beersheba and went toward Haran. 11 And he happened upon a [g]particular place and spent the night there, because the sun had set; and he took one of the stones of the place and made it a support for his head, and lay down in that place. 

12 And he had a dream, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth with its top reaching to heaven; and behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 Then behold, the Lord was standing above it and said, “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your [i]descendants. 14 Your descendants will also be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, and to the north and to the south; and in you and in your descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15 Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” 16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “The Lord is certainly in this place, and I did not know it!” 17 And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!” (Genesis 28:10-17)

Things to note, in verse 12, our English states angels were ascending and descending on “it”. This is not correct. the Hebrew states, the angels were ascending and descending on “him”. The ladder is a person.

Jesus is stating in John 1:51, He is the ladder being spoken of in Genesis 28. He is the ladder which connects heaven and earth. Jesus is the gate of heaven. Knowing Jesus is the gate of heaven, this gives further clarification to Jesus state in John 14:6: 6 Jesus *said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me. (John 14:6). Jesus is the ladder which connects the earth to heaven. Jesus is the prophet and the intercessor who connects us with the Father.