On
the next day, he was determined to go out into Galilee, and he found Philip. Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael, and said to him, “We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, wrote: Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Nathanael said to him, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and said about him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!” Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are King of Israel!” Jesus answered him, “Because I told you, ‘I saw you underneath the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these!”
John 1:43-50
John 1 [35.] Again, the next day, John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. Jesus turned, and saw them following, and said to them, “What are you looking for?”
They said to him, “Rabbi” (which is to say, being interpreted, Teacher), “where are you staying?”
John 1 [39.] He said to them, “Come, and see.”
They came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day. It was about the tenth hour. One of the two who heard John, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his own brother, Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah!” (which is, being interpreted, Christ). He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him, and said, “You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas” (which is by interpretation, Peter). On the next day, he was determined to go out into Galilee, and he found Philip. Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael, and said to him, “We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, wrote: Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
John 1 [46.] Nathanael said to him, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?”
Philip said to him, “Come and see.”
John 1 [47.] Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and said about him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!”
John 1 [48.] Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?”
Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”
John 1 [49.] Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are King of Israel!”
John 1 [50.] Jesus answered him, “Because I told you, ‘I saw you underneath the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these!” He said to him, “Most certainly, I tell you, hereafter you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
John 2 [1.] The third day, there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there. Jesus also was invited, with his disciples, to the marriage. When the wine ran out, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no wine.”
Meaning:
The circle of disciples keeps growing. After Andrew and Simon (John 1:40-42), Jesus calls Philip, and Philip brings Nathanael. The scene moves from doubt to one of the strongest confessions of faith in the Gospel.
- “Follow me”
This time Jesus himself takes the initiative. “Follow me” is the call of a teacher to a disciple, the same call Jesus gave to fishermen and tax collectors (Mark 1:17). Philip came from Bethsaida, the home town of Andrew and Peter, on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee. Friends and neighbours were bringing each other to Jesus.
- “We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, wrote”
Philip sees Jesus as the fulfilment of the whole Old Testament. Moses had spoken of a coming prophet (Deuteronomy 18:15), and Jesus later said, “for he wrote about me” (John 5:46). After his resurrection, “Beginning from Moses and from all the prophets, he explained to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself” (Luke 24:27).
- “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?”
Nazareth was a small village never mentioned in the Old Testament, and Nathanael, from nearby Cana (John 21:2), was sceptical. Philip does not argue. He repeats Jesus' own invitation, “Come and see” (John 1:39).
- “an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!”
Jesus' words recall Jacob, the father of Israel, whose brother was told, “Your brother came with deceit” (Genesis 27:35). Jacob was later renamed Israel (Genesis 32:28). Nathanael is a true son of Israel without Jacob's old guile, an honest man whose doubt was sincere.
- “when you were under the fig tree, I saw you”
The fig tree was a picture of peace and home: “they will sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree” (Micah 4:4). Jewish teachers sometimes studied and prayed beneath one. We are not told what Nathanael was doing there, but Jesus' knowledge of it shows him that he is fully known.
- “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are King of Israel!”
Nathanael's doubt turns to faith. “Son of God” recalls God's words to his anointed King, “You are my son” (Psalm 2:7). Crowds would later hail Jesus as “the King of Israel” (John 12:13).
- “You will see greater things than these!”
Jesus promises more. Next he speaks of heaven opened and angels ascending and descending on the Son of Man (John 1:51), recalling Jacob's dream at Bethel (Genesis 28:12).
The Significance of John 1:43-50
- Bringing others
Andrew brought Simon, and Philip brought Nathanael. Most people come to Christ through a friend who simply says, “Come and see.”
- Honest doubt
Jesus welcomed Nathanael's doubt and met it with evidence. Questions honestly asked can lead to deep faith.
- Fully known
Jesus knew Nathanael before they met. Every believer is known by him, and that knowledge is the ground of trust.
Cross-References:
Deuteronomy 18:15: “Yahweh your God will raise up to you a prophet from among you,” Moses wrote of the coming prophet.
Genesis 27:35: “Your brother came with deceit,” The background to Jesus' words about Nathanael.
Micah 4:4: “they will sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree;” The fig tree as a picture of peace.
Genesis 28:12: “Behold, the angels of God ascending and descending on it.” Jacob's dream behind the promise of greater things.
Conclusion: John 1:43-50 tells how Jesus called Philip, who brought his sceptical friend Nathanael to come and see. Jesus' knowledge of Nathanael turned his doubt into the confession that Jesus is the Son of God and King of Israel. Jesus then promised that he would see greater things still.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible