Charles Spurgeon Commentary John 1:48

"Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee." — John 1:48 (ASV)

Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.

What was he doing under the fig tree? Jesus knew, and Nathanael knew, but nobody else knew, and perhaps nobody else ever will know. That was a secret between Christ and Nathanael. He was doing something there that he regarded as quite private, and the Saviour's allusion to his being under the fig tree was the plainest proof he could have of Christ's divinity. "Oh!" thought he, "he who can remind me of that secret transaction must be God."

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.

What Nathanael had been doing there, we do not know; probably he had been meditating, or he may have been engaged in prayer. But this announcement was a proof to Nathanael that Jesus could see all things, and read men's hearts, and know what they were doing in their chosen retreats: When thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee. Christ knows all of you who came in here, tonight, in a prayerful spirit, seeking him. And whenever men are seeking him, be sure that he is also seeking them.