Context No. 4118 of 4322 · John
Context · Reflection
John 1:46-51: in context
46Nathanael said to him, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 47Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and said about him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!” 48Nathanael 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.” 49Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are King of Israel!” 50Jesus answered him, “Because I told you, ‘I saw you underneath the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these!” 51He said to him, “Most certainly, I tell you all, hereafter you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
When Philip tells Nathanael they have found the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, Nathanael is skeptical: can anything good come out of Nazareth? But he comes to see, and Jesus greets him with a surprising word: behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit. Astonished, Nathanael asks, how do you know me? And Jesus replies, before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.
Jesus had seen and known Nathanael before they ever met. This so overwhelms Nathanael that his skepticism melts into faith: Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel. What moved Nathanael was the discovery that Jesus already knew him, had seen him where he thought himself unseen, and knew his heart. There is a wonder here that touches each of us. Christ knows us fully, even before we come to him. He sees us where we think ourselves unnoticed; he knows our hearts, our honest struggles, our hidden moments. The One we come to seeking is the One who has already seen and known us.
Do I marvel that Christ already knows me fully, having seen me where I thought myself unnoticed and knowing my heart, and does being so completely known by the One who still calls me to himself fill me with comfort and awe?
Sources
- John 1:47-48: "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!... Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you."
- John 1:49: "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are King of Israel!"
- John 1:50: "Because I told you, I saw you underneath the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these!"