1:45 – Philip found Nathanael and said to him, We have found him, of whom Moses and the law, and the prophets, wrote: Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. This is emphasized in various ways throughout the gospel (read Deuteronomy 18:18).
1:46 – Nathanael said, Can any good thing come out of Nazareth? Nathaniel was from Cana in Galilee (read John 21:2). The Galileans despised the people who lived in Nazareth which was also in Galilee. To them, Nazareth was an insignificant village without any prophetic importance (read Matthew 2:23). Philip did the right thing when he said, Come and see. Honest inquiry many times can be a cure for prejudice.
1:47 – When Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, He said, Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit, no fraud or hypocrisy. Don’t you think Nathanael must have been in a state of shock when Jesus revealed He knew some things about him?
1:48 – Nathanael found out Jesus knew more about him than he could have believed was possible. When you were under the fig tree “could be a rabbinical reference to a seat under a fig tree as the right place to study the Torah. Nathanael is praised as a true searcher of the Scriptures (The Interpreter’s Bible).
1:49 – Nathaniel said to Jesus. Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are King of Israel! Whatever doubts Nathanael had about Jesus disappeared. 1:50 – Jesus said, Because I told you, I saw you underneath the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these! “There will be a fuller proof of His Messiahship” (Barnes’ Notes on the New Testament).
Like Nathanael, the Lord knows our thoughts. If today Jesus told us what he knows about us what would he say?
-All of the Scripture passages are taken from the World English Bible (WEB)-
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