Nathanael was from Cana in Galilee and we meet him only in John’s Gospel as the synoptic gospels refer to him as Bartholomew. One day his friend Philip surprised him by declaring that he and some others had found the Messiah. Philip spoke with enthusiasm about Him and described Him as the One of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets had spoken. He was called Jesus, the son of Joseph, and finally, if the proper word order is followed, He was from Nazareth.
To Philip this was an exciting discovery, but to his disappointment Nathanael ‘poured cold water’ on it all by asking the tired old question, ‘Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?’. Instead of saying ‘Yes’, or arguing the possibility, Philip simply said ‘Come and see’. A meeting with the Saviour, then or now, dispels all doubt. So, they go to see Jesus. As they approached, the Lord said, ‘Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile’. Although Nathanael did not know the Lord, clearly the Lord knew him. He could see right into his heart – here was a man who was ‘all Israel, and no Jacob’. Upright, honest, unassuming and open, Nathanael was indeed the epitome of a true Israelite. Nathanael responded, ‘How do you know me?’, perhaps thinking that Philip had already spoken of him to the Lord. ‘I saw thee under the fig tree’, said the Lord. Now, we may enquire what Nathanael was doing sitting under a fig tree. Well, to ‘sit under a fig tree’ is where thoughtful Jews sat out of the sun to rest peacefully and to meditate on the goodness of Jehovah. It is possible that as he sat there he also meditated on the promise of the coming Messiah. The Lord is saying, ‘I saw you, you were thinking about the Messiah; well here I am!’ Nathanael, quoting Old Testament scripture, said, ‘Thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel’. In view of this response of faith the Lord promised Nathanael that he would see even greater things. Then, to all the disciples, He compared Himself to Jacob’s ladder – the way to heaven – the only connection between heaven and earth.
Nathanael did indeed see greater things. In John 21. 2 he is one of a select band that saw the Lord just after His resurrection. We, with him, have still greater things to see in glory.
