John 1:48

Joh_1:48

When thou wast under the fig-tree, I saw thee.

What was he doing there? Something good evidently. The following suggestions have been made:

I. THAT HE WAS THERE FOR GRATEFUL CONTEMPLATION. A tradition says that at the massacre of the innocents he was hidden by his mother beneath the fig-tree in her garden at Bethlehem. This is too remote a reference, having occurred thirty years before.

II. THAT HE FIRST HEARD OF CHRIST BENEATH THE FIG-TREE. When Philip found him he was seated beneath his own fig-tree. But this was known to Philip and perhaps to others. Our Lords allusion was obviously to some circumstance understood only by Nathanael.

III. THAT IT WAS FOR PRAYER WITH RESPECT TO SOME SPECIAL DIFFICULTY. No doubt Nathanaels devotions were the reverse of those of the Pharisees. But this suggestion is too vague.

IV. THAT IT WAS FOR THE SPECIAL STUDY OF GODS WORD. No doubt Nathanael was waiting for the consolation of Israel. On one memorable occasion, as he sat there with the sacred roll spread out on his knee, light suddenly dawned. The scripture was Genesis, the life was that of Jacob, the passage the vision of the ladder (verse 51), and above all a voice speaking of a seed in which all the families of the earth should be blessed. On that day perhaps Philip summoned him to the presence of the Master. Conclusion:

1. How do you spend your hours of privacy? Some in sinful thoughts, shameful deeds. Let the sinner know that God sees him.

2. Experience proves the worth of meditative prayer (Mat_6:6).

3. Resort to your fig-tree frequently. (S. Buss, LL. B.)

Christs knowledge of His people

I. Their CHARACTERS He understands.

II. Their CONDUCT He observes.

III. Their THOUGHTS He discerns. (T. Whitelaw, D. D.)

Christ the Witness of our secret hours

I. WHAT THIS INCIDENT TEACHES US OF CHRIST. His Divinity. Let us leave the trite and well-trodden method of proving this, and try a simpler way. Jesus demands our adoration as more than man, and on the ground that He alone of all the minds that have lifted up the world with intelligence has the power of reading all mens thoughts and hearts and experiences through and through. The leaders of thought have never been equal to this. Had they even pretended to it ,hey would have been set down as miserable jugglers. A general knowledge of human nature is all that the acutest have attained. The limit of this is soon attained and is not always accurate. But here is a man who all through life knew what is in man. He wanted no information about the diseases He cured. He saw the lack of selfsacrifice in the young man. He judged faultlessly the Pharisees, Judas, Pilate, the faithless wife, the woman that was a sinner. How could He be a Saviour without knowing our real state? the Light of the world without its lying open to His inspection? the Judge without comprehending every secret motive, error, sin?

II. WHAT THIS INCIDENT TEACHES US OF NATHANAEL AND OF THE BLESSING HE RECEIVED.

1. He was not a faultless character, but genuine, lowly, teachable, having a soul open to receive spiritual light.

2. The blessing imports

(1) That which falls on all genuine unconscious goodness that hides itself from men, and therefore is more precious to God. This is one of those new gracious ideas which the gospel brings into the world. Not only is righteousness independent of station or publicity, but it is acceptable to God and a sign of spiritual purity in the degree that it turns to God alone for its Approver.

(2) Attainments are of slow growth. It needs time to form habits. But sincerity in the religious life is indispensable at the very outset. This was Nathanaels one promising, solid grace. Hence the encouragement held out to genuine repentance and the unsparing condemnation of hypocrisy.

(3) The modest and faithful performance of a lower duty prepares the soul for the higher services and privileges. The man that was true under the fig tree afterwards sees angels of God, etc. (Bp. Huntington.)

Nathanael under the fig tree; or, religion in secret

I. IT IS IN SECRET THAT TRUE RELIGION HAS ITS ORIGIN. Thus we perceive that the rise of religion in the soul must necessarily be out of sight. The new creation is accomplished by the secret agency of the Holy Spirit. The origin of great rivers is sometimes wrapped mystery; they rise in Borne inaccessible regions on which human eye has never gazed. For centuries the sources of the Mile were unknown; to discover them was the highest ambition of many an adventurous explorer; but till very recently every attempt had been of no avail. Indeed, the fountain-heads of some of our own rivers lie far away from the haunts of men. If you would trace the Severn to its source, you must ascend the height of Plinlimmon, and there, in a dreary, wild, secluded region, you will find the obscure fountain, where the noble river rises. Truly, this is not an unapt representation of the beginning of the Divine life in the soul.

II. IT IS IN SECRET THAT TRUE RELIGION IS MOST IMPORTANT. This is manifest when we consider that

1. Man is a lonely being. It may be a startling statement, but it is profoundly true. Between man and man there lies a wide distance; beyond a certain point they cannot approach each other; thus every one stands emphatically by himself. A casual visitor to a large town is frequently overwhelmed with a painful sense of loneliness. Man is alone in most of those circumstances which make up the sum of his existence. His thoughts and reflections, his hopes and fears, are for the most part unknown to his bosom friends. The stage of a theatre is generally so decorated as to present a very gorgeous appearance. You might imagine that those who move and talk upon it live in a kind of fairy land. Beautiful forms chatter and dance, amidst sunny groves and laughing streams. All this, however, gives you but a very erroneous idea of what those men and women are in real life. Still, were you allowed to go behind the scenes, where they retire after having played their parts, you might form a sounder estimate of their actual character; but the proceedings there are never beheld by the crowd of spectators who fill the house. But a mans religion follows him into the most retired places; it leaves its impress upon his most private actions; it forms and fashions his most secret meditations.

2. Religious declension invariably begins in secret. This shows how jealous we should always be of the integrity of our inner life. Think of a stream, which, as it winds its way along the meadow, supplies man and beast with its crystal waters. But one day it becomes suddenly thick and troubled. What can be the cause? Somebody has been tampering with the fountainhead. It is in secret that the foundation of our religion is laid. And if the foundation be not firm, the superstructure must be in danger.

3. We can form a more accurate judgment of our religion from our secret life than from anything else. There are two distinct spheres wherein a mans religion may be tested; namely, in public and in secret. Some profess religion from the love of praise--some from a baser motive still, the love of gain. But such motives as these can have no possible influence upon us in secret.

III. TRUE RELIGION IN SECRET IS ACCOMPANIED BY TRUE RELIGION IN PUBLIC. We have a remarkable instance of this in the case of Nathanael. When called upon to act in public, he practised the principles which he cherished in secret.

1. He who has Gods love in his heart cannot altogether hide the fact from others. Religion is not a latent principle, buried up in the depths of the soul; for it displays itself in works of righteousness before the world.

2. The secret life of man cannot but tell on his public life. If a man commune much with God in secret, he cannot be otherwise than God-like in public. Unconsciously to himself, he sheds abroad a powerful influence wherever he goes. (A. Rowlands, B. A.)

The secret side of religion

I. RELIGION HAS A SECRET SIDE TOWARDS GOD, AS WELL AS AN OPEN SIGN TOWARDS MAN. There is a part of religion that is strictly private and personal. From the secret good in Nathanael we may draw the conclusion that there is more good in the world than we know, more good in men than we can see.

II. THE SECRET SIDE OF RELIGION IS THE SURE TEST AND SIGN OF ITS REALITY. From Christs words to Nathanael we may gather

1. Christ bases His estimate of men upon what is inward rather than what is outward, upon what is secret and private rather than upon what is public and open.

2. Christ pursues a method of judgment with men far different from that taken by the world.

3. The secret side of religion is the surest sign of its reality, because free from many evils which often are associated with the public and open.

III. THE SECRET SIGN OF RELIGION HERE SHALL BECOME THE OPEN SIDE HEREAFTER. Christ honoured it in Nathanael, and, to the amazement of the man, made it known. He will recognize and honour and make known the secret goodness of all His servants by and by. Sometimes the secret life of religion becomes openly known here. Hereafter comes the grand and complete revelation. Your Father, that seeth in secret, shall reward you openly. In religion, and in the service of Christ, let every man be true to his own nature. Let no man despise his brother because his brother is not as himself. Let Nathanael be Nathanael, and let Peter be Peter. Behind our open life and public duties let there be a secret life with God, of thought and prayer. (Homiletic Magazine.)

The Old Testament and the New

There is an analogy between what is here said at the opening of the Gospel and what is written at the opening of the Old Testament of the law in the Book of Genesis.

I. The two portions of Scripture REPRESENT THE REIGNING PRINCIPLES OF THE TWO DISPENSATIONS, EACH BY A TYPICAL OCCURRENCE ON ITS THRESHOLD.

1. There, at the garden of Eden, man a transgressor, conscious of his guilt, hides himself under the leaves of a tree to escape the punishment he deserves and dreads, and there the eye of the Almighty searches him out with a summons to judgment.

2. Here, at the introduction of the Gospel, just when the Lamb of God appears to take away the worlds sin, man seeks the same covering, not to hide himself, from God, but to draw near to Him for communion; and here the same searching eye discovers him, not for rebuke, but for encouragement and blessing. Adam was ashamed and hid himself; in Nathanael there was no shame needing to be hid.

II. THE TWO CHARACTERISTIC MOTIVE POWERS OF THE TWO PARTS OF REVELATION, both necessary, the terror of the law, alarming and rousing the conscience, and the attraction of grace moving and melting the heart. Not a jot or a tittle passes from the law till all is fulfilled, because conscience burns in us with its perpetual fire, and in his weakness and self-love every man needs to know that the soul that sinneth, it shall die, yet none the less are we Christians to be mindful that we live under the new dominion of mercy, when no faintest movement of faith is forgotten, and no retiring act of holy obedience is unnoticed and unrewarded. (Homiletic Magazine.)

The fig tree

The advantages of the fig tree as a shade are shown in the following: As we approached, one of the camel-drivers, pointing to a cluster of six large fig trees, cried out, Tacht etteen,--under the fig tree? And soon we felt the pleasantness of this shade; for there is something peculiarly delightful in the shade of the fig tree. It is far superior to the shade of a tent, and perhaps even to the shadow of a rock, since not only does the mass of heavy foliage completely exclude the rays of the sun, but the traveller finds under it a peculiar coolness arising from the air gently creeping through the branches. Hence the force of the Scripture expression, When thou wast under the fig tree. (Mission to the Jews from Scotland.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1:48-49 Jesus captured Nathanael’s attention by knowing his character (1:47), then he captured his worship by supernaturally knowing his previous actions. Nathanael witnessed a miracle and took a remarkable step of faith.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Joh 1:48. Πόθεν whence) Jesus does not answer this question, but shows that He knows even more about Nathanael.—συκῆν, a fig-tree) An emblem of peace and Gospel security [1Ki 4:25; Mic 4:4].—εἶδόν δε, I saw thee) with the Divine eye. Nathanael is reminded of the meditations, which he had had at that time, truly worthy of an Israelite and free from guile.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Joh_1:48. Περὶ αὐτοῦ] therefore to those journeying with Him, but so that the approaching Nathanael hears it, Joh_1:49.

ἀληθῶς] truly an Israelite, not merely according to outward descent and appearance, but in the moral nature which really corresponds to that of an upright Israelite. Comp. Rom_9:6; Rom_2:29. Ἐν ᾧ δόλος οὐκ ἐστί tells by what means he is so. Thus sincere and honest, thus inwardly true, should every Israelite be (not simply free from self-righteousness, but possessing what essentially belongs to truth); and Nathanael was all this. This virtue of guilelessness, as the characteristic of the true Israelite, is not named as belonging generally to the ancient ideal of the nation (Lücke, De Wette; this view arbitrarily passes by the reference to the nation historically which lay much nearer); but in view of the venerable and honourable testimonies which had been uttered concerning the people of Israel (e.g. Num_23:10), whose father was himself already designated אִישׁ תָּם, LXX. ἄπλαστος,[125] Gen_25:27; Aq. ἉΠΛΟῦς,[126] Symm. ἄμωμος.

Jesus here also, as in Joh_1:43-44, appears as the searcher of hearts.

[125] Comp. Plato, Legg. I. p. 642 D: ἀληθῶς καὶ οὔτε πλαστῶς εἰσὶν ἀγαθοί. Soph. 216 C: οἱ μὴ πλαστῶς, ἀλλʼ ὄντως φιλόσοφοι.

[126] Comp. Aristoph. Plut. 1159: οὐ γὰρ δόλου νῦν ἔργον, ἀλλʼ ἁπλῶν τρόπων.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Joh 1:48 . εἶδεν … δόλος οὐκ ἔστιν . The honesty shown in his coming to Jesus is indicated as his characteristic. He had given proof that he was guileless. In Gen 27:35 Isaac says to Esau, “Thy brother has come and μετὰ δόλου ἔλαβε τὴν εὐλογίαν σου ”. And it was by throwing off this guile and finding in God his dependence that Jacob became Israel. So that in declaring Nathanael to be a guileless Israelite, Jesus declares him to be one who does not seek to win blessing by earthly means but by prayer and trust in God.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The end of miracles is to set before us Christ the Almighty, and also the only author of our salvation, that we may apprehend him by faith.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Whence knowest thou me--conscious that his very heart had been read, and at this critical moment more than ever before.

Before Philip called thee--showing He knew all that passed between Philip and him at a distance.

when . . . under the fig tree, &c.--where retirement for meditation and prayer was not uncommon [LIGHTFOOT]. Thither, probably--hearing that his master's Master had at length appeared, and heaving with mingled eagerness to behold Him and dread of deception--he had retired to pour out his guileless heart for light and guidance, ending with such a prayer as this, "Show me a token for good!" (See on Luk 2:8). Now he has it, "Thou guileless one, that fig tree scene, with all its heaving anxieties, deep pleadings and tremulous hopes--I saw it all." The first words of Jesus had astonished, but this quite overpowered and won him.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 48. Whence knowest thou me?] He was not yet acquainted with the divinity of Christ, could not conceive that he could search his heart, and therefore asks how he could acquire this knowledge of him, or who had given him that character. It is the comfort of the sincere and upright, that God knows their hearts; and it should be the terror of the deceitful and of the hypocrite, that their false dealing is ever noticed by the all-seeing eye of God.

Under the fig tree] Probably engaged in prayer with God, for the speedy appearing of the salvation of Israel; and the shade of this fig tree was perhaps the ordinary place of retreat for this upright man. It is not A fig tree, but την συκην, THE fig tree, one particularly distinguished from the others. There are many proofs that the Jewish rabbins chose the shade of trees, and particularly the fig tree, to sit and study under. See many examples in Schoettgen. How true is the saying, The eyes of the Lord are through all the earth, beholding the evil and the good! Wheresoever we are, whatsoever we are about, may a deep conviction of this truth rest upon our hearts, Thou God seest ME!

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

48. Whence knowest thou? Though Christ did not intend to flatter him, yet he wished to be heard by him, in order to draw forth a new question, by the reply to which he would prove himself to be the Son of God. Nor is it without a good reason that Nathanael asks whence Christ knew him; for to meet with a man of such uprightness as to be free from all deceit is an uncommon case, and to know such purity of heart belongs to God alone. The reply of Christ, however, appears to be inappropriate; for though he saw Nathanael under the fig-tree, it does not follow from this that he could penetrate into the deep secrets of the heart. But there is another reason; for as it belongs to God to know men when they are not seen, so also does it belong to Him to see what is not visible to the eyes. As Nathanael knew that Christ did not see him after the manner of men, but by a look truly divine, this might lead him to conclude that Christ did not now speak as a man. The proof, therefore, is taken from things which are of the same class; for not less does it belong to God to see what lies beyond our view than to judge concerning purity of heart. We ought also to gather from this passage a useful doctrine, that when we are not thinking of Christ, we are observed by him; and it is necessary that it should be so, that he may bring us back, when we have wandered from the right path.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(48) The natural explanation of the verse seems to be that Nathanael was at his own house when Philip called him to hear the glad news of the Messiah. The words rendered “under the fig-tree” include the going there and being there. It was the fig-tree of his own garden (1Ki_4:25; Micah 4; Zec_3:10) where, and not at the corners of the streets, or to be seen of men, he was in the honesty of his heart praying to God. Unseen as he thought by any eye, he was seen by Him to whose coming every true Israelite looked, and the answer to the true thought and prayer was then as ever close at hand; but at hand, in the human form in which men find it so hard to read the Divine, and in the ordinary events in which men find it hard to realise God. A travelling Rabbi! He is the Messiah. From Nazareth the All Good cometh! This meeting, then, was not the first. There was an actual Messianic Presence in Nathanael’s inmost thought. He is now startled, and asks, “Whence knowest Thou me?” We have never seen each other before. But in the deepest sense, the Messiah was there; “when thou wast under the fig-tree, I saw thee.”

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

48. under the fig tree] This probably means ‘at home,’ in the retirement of his own garden (1Ki_4:25; Mic_4:4; Zec_3:10); the Greek implies motion to under. Nathanael had perhaps been praying or meditating there; he seems to see that Christ knew what his thoughts had been there. It was under a fig tree that S. Augustine heard the famous ‘Tolle, lege.’

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Nathanael saith unto him, whence knowest thou me?.... This he said as one surprised, that he, who was a stranger to him, should hit upon his general character, and describe the internal state and frame of his soul: this was more surprising to him, than if he had called him by his name Nathanael, as he did Simon; or had said what was the place, of his abode; Cana of Galilee; since this ordinarily was only to be observed, and learned, from a long and familiar acquaintance and conversation: by Nathanael's reply, it looks as if he had no doubt, or fears, about the character Christ gave him; but rather, that he believed it, as every good man must be conscious to himself of his own integrity; only it was amazing to him, how he should know it:

Jesus answered and said unto him; in order to satisfy him, how he could know this inward temper of his mind, and to give him some undeniable proofs of his omniscience, which he himself must acknowledge, being such as none but an all seeing eye could discover:

before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee; in which words Christ gives two instances of his omniscience; the one is, that he knew Philip had called him; he was privy to all that passed between them, though they were alone, and the conversation was had in the most private manner. Christ knew what an account Philip had given of him, and what objection Nathanael had made; and what an invitation Philip had given him to go along with him to Christ, and judge for himself; which is here meant by calling him, and with which he complied: and the other is, that he saw him under the fig tree before that: he was sitting under it, as men in those countries used to do; see Mic 4:4, where he might be reading the Scriptures, and meditating upon them; and if, as some observe, he was reading, and thinking upon Jacob's dream, concerning the ladder which reached from earth to heaven, and on which he saw the angels of God ascending and descending, the words of Christ in Joh 1:51 must strike him with fresh surprise, and give him another convincing proof of his omniscience: or he might be praying here in secret, and so acted a different part from the generality, of religious men of that nation, who chose to pray in synagogues, and corners of the streets, that they might be seen; and likewise proved him to be what Christ had said of him, a true and rare Israelite, without guile and hypocrisy, which were so visible and prevailing among others. It was usual with the doctors to read, and study in the law, under fig trees, and sometimes, though rarely, to pray there. It is said (t),

"R. Jacob, and his companions, were "sitting", studying in the law, , "under a certain fig tree".

And the rule they give about praying, on, or under one, is thus (u):

"he that prays on the top of an olive tree, or on the top of a "fig tree", or on any other trees, must come down, and "pray below".

It is said of Nathanael, in the Syriac dictionary (x); that his mother laid him under a fig tree, when the infants were slain, i.e. at Bethlehem; which, if it could be depended upon, must be to Nathanael a surprising and undeniable proof of the deity of Christ, and of his being the true Messiah; since, at that time, he was an infant of days himself, and was the person Herod was seeking to destroy, as the Messiah, and king of the Jews,

(t) T. Hieros. Beracot, fol. 5. 3. Vid. Shirhashirim Rabba, fol. 16. 4. (u) Ib col. 1. & T. Bab. Beracot, fol. 16. 1. (x) Bar Bahluli apud Castell. Lexic. Polyglott. col. 8437.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

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.

Ver. 48. Before that Philip, &c.] Christ thinks of us when we little think of him. See Rom 5:10.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Whence knowest thou me? - Nathanael was not yet acquainted with the divinity of Christ, and supposed that he had been a stranger to him. Hearing him express a favorable opinion of him, he naturally inquired by what means he had any knowledge of him. His conscience testified to the truth of what Jesus said that he had no guile, and he was anxious to know whence he had learned his character.

Before that Philip called thee - See Joh 1:45.

When thou wast under the fig-tree - It is evident that it was from something that had occurred under the fig-tree that Jesus judged of his character. What that was is not recorded. It is not improbable that Nathanael was accustomed to retire to the shade of a certain tree, perhaps in his garden or in a grove, for the purpose of meditation and prayer. The Jews were much in the habit of selecting such places for private devotion, and in such scenes of stillness and retirement there is something especially favorable for meditation and prayer. Our Saviour also worshipped in such places. Compare Joh 18:2; Luk 6:12. In that place of retirement it is not improbable that Nathanael was engaged in private devotion.

I saw thee - It is clear, from the narrative, that Jesus did not mean to say that he was bodily present with Nathanael and saw him; but he knew his thoughts, his desires, his secret feelings and wishes. In this sense Nathanael understood him. We may learn:

1.That Jesus sees what is done in secret, and is therefore divine.

2.That he sees us when we little think of it.

3.That he sees us especially in our private devotions, hears our prayers, and marks our meditations. And,

4.That he judges of our character chiefly by our private devotions. Those are secret; the world sees them not; and in our closets we show what we are. How does it become us, therefore, that our secret prayers and meditations should be without “guile” and hypocrisy, and such as Jesus will approve!

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Nathanael wonders how Christ should know him, having not been of his familiar acquaintance. Christ tells him he saw him under the fig tree, before ever Philip called him. That was a very hot country, wherein people sought shadowy places; hence we read of sitting under their own vines and fig trees, Mic 4:4; Zec 3:10; and it is likely that those being two luxuriant plants, that had large leaves, and ran out in long boughs, in hot weather they might under the covert of these plants not only sit as in an arbour to converse one with another, but also perform religious duties. Whether Christ saw him there eating and drinking, or conversing with friends, or reading, or praying, the Scripture saith not, and it is but vainly guessed; it is enough that by his telling this to him, he let him know that he saw him, though he was not in his view, and so was omnipresent and omniscient. Christ seeth us, where we are, and what we do, when we see not him; and he seeth our hearts, whether they be single or double, plain, or false and deceitful; which as in many cases it affords us much comfort, so it admonishes us to be at all times in the fear of the Lord.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

48. Under the fig-tree—The Jewish writers often speak of the shade of the fig-tree as the place of meditation and prayer. Probably it was in some such shade, within some enclosure secluded from the possible reach of the human eye of Jesus, that Nathanael won his title of Israelite, (as did Jacob of old that of Israel,) by prevailing prayer with God. As the nation was alive with the hope of the Messiah, and as Nathanael’s mind was doubtless agitated by John’s preaching a Messiah at hand, Nathanael’s prayer was very probably for a sight of the Messiah himself. When Jesus, therefore, showed himself acquainted with that secret supplication, who can wonder at the burst of rapture with which he hails Jesus himself as that very demonstrated Messiah?

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Without any title of respect, or admission as yet of any claims or right in him of whom Philip had spoken. There is, in this query, an abruptness of blunt sincerity which to some extent justifies the eulogium upon his innermost life. Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee irrespective altogether of the excitement he has stirred within theewhen thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee. "The fig tree" was the type of the Israelite home. (1Ki_4:25 Zec_3:10) There, not in the corners of the street, was he accustomed to meditate and pray. The onta clause is in apposition with se , and (though another translation is grammatical) suggests that Christ saw him under conditions which had nothing whatever to do with those under which Philip called him. Eidon is used for the most part of simple sight, and need not necessarily connote miraculous penetration and recognition of all that was passing in his mind. And yet the obvious intention of the evangelist is to convey more than casual observation. As Weiss says, "What is mentioned is not one isolated glance into the depths of the soul, but past events, along with their outward circumstances, are known to Jesus." "I saw thee I have not been ignorant of thee; I watched and thought of thee. The astonishing effect produced by this saying of the Lord has been variously conceived. Some have surmised preternatural optical powers exercised from a distance; others a simple observation without comment at the time when our Lord watched him in one of the places of retirement sacred to solemn meditations and instructions. It seems to me that the occasion to which our Lord referred must have been one of extreme spiritual interest and memorableness to Nathanael; some hour had passed of commanding influence upon his mind one of those periods of visitation from the living God, when lives are recommenced, when an old world passes away and a new one has been made, of which the lips have never spoken, and which are among the deepest secrets of the soul It was the conviction that his secret meditation had been surprised, that the unknown Stranger had fathomed the depth of his consciousness, which wrought and wrung the great confession of which we have here a crisp outline. I saw thee; and by this implication I can sympathize in all thy longings, It is interesting to remember that Rabbi Akiba is described as studying the Law under a fig tree; and Augustine heard the voice which ruled his subsequent life "under a fig tree" ("Conf.," 8:12, 28); and Buddha"s most wonderful convictions and resolves occurred under the bo tree.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Under the fig tree I saw thee - Perhaps at prayer.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Observe here, How Nathanael wondereth that Christ should know him, having (as he thought) never seen him. Christ gives him to understand, that by his all-seeing eye he had seen him, when he was not seen by him: When thou was under the fig-tree I saw thee. Christ’s all-seeing eye is an infallible proof of his deity and god-head. Christ seeth us whatever we do, though we see not him. He seeth the sincerity of our hearts, and will own it, and bear witness to it, if we are upright in his sight.

Observe farther, How Christ’s omnipresence and omniscience convinces Nathanael that he was more than man, even the Messias, God and man in two distinct natures and one person. Rabbi, Thou art the Son of God. Philip called Christ the Son of Joseph; Nathanael calls him the Son of God. Such as believe Christ’s omniscience, will never call in question his divinity.

Observe lastly, How Christ encourages the faith of this new disciple Nathanael, by promising him that he shall enjoy farther helps and means for the confirmation of his faith, than ever yet he had. All that Christ said to him, was only this, that he saw him under the fig-tree, before Philip called him.

How ready art thou, O Lord! to encourage the beginnings of faith in the hearts of thy people, and to furnish them with farther means of knowledge, when they wisely improve what they have received! Never wilt thou be wanting, either in means or mercy to us, if we be not wanting to thee and ourselves.

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

48. Whence knowest thou me? Nathanael, who had never met Jesus before, was surprised to hear himself spoken of as one known. When thou wast under the fig tree. There was something about this answer that filled Nathanael with astonishment. Under the shade and shelter of the fig tree he had some rare experience that is not recorded, and that he supposed unknown to man. That Jesus knew of it and read his soul startled him and dissipated his unbelief.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

48. εἶδεν … ἐρχόμενον. This shews that Jesus did not overhear Nathanael’s question. S. John represents his knowledge of Nathanael as miraculous: as in Joh 1:42 He appears as the searcher of hearts.

ἀληθῶς. In character as well as by birth. The guile may refer to the ‘subtilty’ of Jacob (Gen 27:35) before he became Israel: ‘Lo a son of Israel, who is in no way a son of Jacob.’ The ‘supplanter’ is gone; the ‘prince’ remains. His guilelessness is shewn in his making no mock repudiation of Christ’s praise: he is free from ‘the pride that apes humility.’ It is shewn also in the manner of his conversion. Like a true Israelite he longs for the coming of the Messiah, but he will not too lightly believe in the joy that has come, nor does he conceal his doubts. But as soon as he has’ come and seen,’ he knows, and knows that he is known: thus ‘I know Mine and Mine know Me’ (Joh 10:14) is fulfilled beforehand.

S. John uses ἀληθῶς about 8 times, and in the rest of N.T. it occurs about 8 times (see on Joh 1:8).

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

48.] The Evangelist certainly intends a supernatural insight by the Lord into Nathanael’s character to be here understood; and there is probably no reference at all to the question which Nathanael had just asked. To suppose that Jesus overheard that question, is just one of those perfectly gratuitous assumptions which the very Commentators who here make this supposition are usually the first to blame. Compare ch. 2:25.

ἀληθ. Ἰσρ.] ‘An Israelite who truly answers to the inner and honourable meaning of the name.’ When we reflect what was contained in that name, and Who it is that speaks, we can hardly agree with De Wette that the words are spoken merely in the spirit in which every nation attaches some peculiar virtue, and especially those of openness and straightforwardness, to itself, as deutsch heraussagen, deutsche Treue, or Cicero’s “Romano more loqui.”

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

48. πόθεν με γινώσκεις; “Whence do you know me?” Nathanael had overheard the remark of Jesus, and expresses wonder that He should have known anything about him.

γινώσκειν is a favourite word with Jn., occurring about twice as frequently as it does in the Synoptists, which is all the more remarkable as Jn. never uses the noun γνῶσις, (Luk 1:77, Luk 11:52, and often in Paul). For the supposed distinction between εἰδέναι and γινώσκειν, see on v. 26; Cf. 2:24.

ἀπεκρ. Ἰη. אΔ insert ὁ before Ἰησοῦς, but om. ABLWΓΔ; see on vv. 29, 50.

πρὸ τοῦ σε φίλιππον φωνῆσαι. φωνεῖν is the word used in Jn. for calling any one by his personal name or usual title; Cf. 10:3, 11:28, 12:17, 13:13, 18:33.

ὑπὸ τὴν συκῆν εἶδόν σε, “I saw thee under the fig tree.” ὑπό is not found with the acc. elsewhere in Jn. (see on ὑποκάτω in v. 50). Perhaps it indicates here that Nathanael had withdrawn to the shelter of the fig tree, under which Jesus had seen him.

ὑπὸ τὴν συκῆν. The fig tree is a very familiar object in Palestine, where it was specially valued for the grateful shade of its leaves. National tranquillity is often pictured by the image of every man sitting “under his vine and under his fig tree” (1Ki 4:25, Mic 4:4, Mic 4:1 Macc. 14:12). When Jesus says to Nathanael, “When thou wast under the fig tree,” i.e. probably the fig tree in the precincts of his own house, He alludes to some incident of which the evangelist gives no explanation. What ever it was, the fact that Jesus should have known it impressed Nathanael so much that he broke out into the confession, “Thou art the Son of God, Thou art the King of Israel.” The power which Jesus had of reading the secrets of men’s hearts is alluded to again, 2:24, 25, 4:19, 29.

This episode has been compared1 with the story of the prolonged meditation of Gautama under the Bodhi tree, where he attained Buddha-hood, and thenceforward began to gather disciples. But there is no real parallel. It was not Jesus, but His disciple Nathanael, who meditated under the fig tree, nor is there any hint (as in the Buddha legend) that Jesus received “enlightenment” thus.

Cheyne2 gets rid of the fig tree by the supposition that there has been a misreading of an Aramaic original, the words וְאַתָּה מִתְחַנֵּן, “when thou wast making supplication,” being mistaken for ואַתָּה תַּהַת הַתְּאֵנָה, “when thou vast under the fig tree.” This is not convincing.

Other fanciful hypotheses about Nathanael are that the incident indicated here is another version of the story of Zacchoeus in the sycamore tree (Abbott, Diat. 3375 f.); or that in him we are to see a figure symbolical of Paul, an Israelite who broke through the prejudices of his early training (sufficiently answered by Moffatt, Introd. to N.T., p. 565); or that we are to equate him with the Beloved Disciple (cf. Introd., p. xxxvii). But the simplest interpretation is the best. Nathanael was a real figure, and his call was vivid in the mind of the aged disciple whose recollections are behind the Fourth Gospel.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Ver. 48. “Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him and says of him: Behold a true Israelite, in whom there is no guile.”

Nathanael is one of those upright hearts who have only to see Jesus in order to believe in Him; Philip is not mistaken. Jesus Himself, as He sees him, also signalizes in him this quality. Penetrating him, as He had penetrated Simon, he utters aloud this reflection with regard to him (περὶ αὐτοῦ): “Behold...” We can make the adverb ἀληθῶς, truly, qualify ἴδε, Behold really an Israelite without guile;” in this case, the idea without guile is not placed in connection with the national Israelitish character; it is applied to Nathanael personally. But we can make the adverbἀληθῶς qualify the word Israelite: a true (truly) Israelite, and that as being without guile.” In that case, it is the national character, as well as that of Nathanael, which Jesus signalizes, and there may be, perhaps, an allusion to the name Israel (conqueror of God) which was substituted for Jacob (supplanter), after the mysterious scene, Genesis 32, where the new way of struggling took the place, in the patriarch’s case, of the deceitful methods which were natural to him. However, Joh 6:5 and Joh 8:31, where the adverb qualifies the verb to be, must not be cited for this meaning.

Frédéric Louis Godet — Commentaries on Luke, John, Romans, and 1 Corinthians — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1870s–1890s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.