48“’How do you know me?’ Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, ‘I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.’ 49Then Nathanael declared, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.’”
In the last passage we saw the skepticism of Nathanael when he did not think anything good could come from Nazareth and the response from Phillip was to guide Nathanael to Jesus. His first statement to Nathanael was to tell him a little bit about himself—how he was “an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit.” We see a skeptic and how a follower of Jesus responded to that skepticism. Philip brought him to Jesus so that Jesus could speak with him. In this first verse we get the continuation of the conversation and we see Phillip was correct to lead Nathanael to Jesus because this is a heart that needed more than what Phillip was able to provide. In the end, though, there is another heart transformed with their encounter. A new disciple is won with just a couple of sentences from Jesus.
The first verse of the passage today starts with Nathanael’s response to Jesus’ first statement. It seems that Nathanael is taken aback because Jesus explained that he is “an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit.” This must be a way then that Nathanael himself would describe who he is, and we can see that the encounter with Jesus has already switched his perspective from mocking to inquisitive. The next statement Jesus makes will again change Nathanael’s perspective on Jesus. Jesus says, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.” Jesus is exercising his divine nature here and can see Nathanael when no one else was around and saw what he was doing.
In the next verse we see how Nathanael’s perspective makes a final shift changing from inquisitive to understanding and revelation. He declares “‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.” From this one statement of where Nathanael was Jesus made him understand that Jesus saw him and saw something no one else could know. This will be a theme throughout the rest of the book of John—Jesus revealing to people things that no one else knows which brings them to the revelation that He is the Son of God and the King of Israel. This revelation comes with a promise that will be explored more in the next passage.
As Christians, we need to recognize when someone needs an encounter with Jesus. Philip was able to recognize the extents of his ability and when Jesus was needed to bring about a life change. Philip was not able to see his friend by the fig tree before he went up there but God was, and Philip enabled the work of Jesus by saying “come and see.” Then Jesus called Nathanael and changed his heart from a skeptic, or mocker, and made him curious then brought about a revelation in his life which made him believe. It is the same steps He takes in our lives today. We can still encounter Jesus through revelation that is in His word where He speaks to us and shows us ourselves so He can motivate and change us to be more aligned with Him. That is so important—to always be aligned with Him through prayer and the reading of His words in the Bible.
For those who are not Christians, He is calling to you. He sees you by the fig tree where no one else sees you and he knows you. Accept his call like Nathanael did. He has already made the way, you just have to accept Him as Lord of your life.
The Traveling Mountains 
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