Church Fathers Commentary John 1:47-51

"Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! 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. Nathanael answered him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art King of Israel. Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee underneath the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these. And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye shall see the heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man." — John 1:47-51 (ASV)

St. John Chrysostom: Nathanael, puzzled that Christ would come from Nazareth, showed how carefully he had read the Scriptures. The fact that he did not reject the news when it was brought to him, however, showed his strong desire for Christ’s coming. He simply thought that Philip might be mistaken about the place. It follows, Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and said of him, “Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!” There was no fault to be found with him, even though he had spoken like someone who did not believe, because he was more deeply read in the Prophets than Philip was. He calls him guileless because he had said nothing to gain favor or to gratify malice.

St. Augustine of Hippo: What does this mean: in whom is no guile? Did he have no sin? Was no physician necessary for him? Far from it. No one was ever born with a nature that did not need the Physician. Guile is when we say one thing and think another. How, then, was there no guile in him? Because, if he was a sinner, he confessed his sin; whereas if someone who is a sinner pretends to be righteous, there is guile in his mouth. Our Lord, then, commended Nathanael's confession of sin; He did not declare him to be without sin.

Theophylact of Ohrid: However, despite this praise, Nathanael did not immediately accept it, but waited for more evidence and asked, “How do you know me?”

St. John Chrysostom: He asks as a man; Jesus answers as God. Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” He did not see him merely as a man but discerned him from above as God. He says, “I saw you”—that is, I saw the character of your life—when you were under the fig tree, where Philip and Nathanael had been talking together alone, with no one else seeing them. For this reason, it is said that upon seeing him from a distance, He said, “Behold an Israelite indeed,” from which it is clear that this was said before Philip came near, so that no suspicion could be cast on Christ's testimony. Christ did not say, “I am not from Nazareth, as Philip told you, but from Bethlehem,” in order to avoid an argument. He also knew it would not have been sufficient proof of His being the Christ. Instead, He preferred to prove it by showing He had been present at their conversation.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Does this fig tree have any meaning? We read of one fig tree that was cursed because it had only leaves and no fruit. Again, at the creation, Adam and Eve, after sinning, made themselves aprons of fig leaves. Fig leaves, then, signify sins. Nathanael, being under the fig tree, was under the shadow of death. Our Lord, therefore, seems to say, “O Israel, whoever among you is without guile—O people of the Jewish faith—before I called you by My Apostles, while you were still under the shadow of death and could not see Me, I saw you.”

St. Gregory the Great: “When you were under the fig tree, I saw you;” that is, when you were still under the shadow of the law, I chose you.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Nathanael remembered he had been under the fig tree, where Christ was not physically present, but was present only through His divine knowledge. Therefore, knowing he had been alone, he recognized our Lord's divinity.

St. John Chrysostom: The fact that our Lord had this knowledge, had penetrated his mind, and had praised rather than blamed his hesitation, proved to Nathanael that He was the true Christ. Nathanael answered and said to Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel.” It is as if he said, “You are the One who was expected; You are the One who was sought.” Having received sure proof, he made his confession, which showed his devotion, just as his earlier hesitation had shown his diligence.

Many who read this passage are perplexed to find that while Peter was called blessed for confessing Jesus to be the Son of God after seeing His miracles and hearing His teaching, Nathanael, who makes the same confession earlier, receives no such blessing. The reason is this: Peter and Nathanael both used the same words but not with the same meaning. Peter confessed our Lord to be the Son of God in the sense of being truly God, whereas Nathanael confessed Him in the sense of being a great man. For after saying, “You are the Son of God,” he adds, “You are the King of Israel.” However, the Son of God is not the King of Israel only, but of the whole world.

This is clear from what follows. In Peter's case, Christ added nothing more, but, as if his faith were perfect, said that He would build the Church on his confession. With Nathanael, however, whose confession was deficient, Christ leads him toward higher things. Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” It is as if He said, “What I have just told you has seemed a great matter to you, and you have confessed Me to be King of Israel. What will you say when you see greater things than these?”

He then shows what this greater thing is: And He said to him, “Verily, verily, I say to you, Hereafter you will see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.” See how He raises him from earthly thoughts and compels him to understand that Christ is not a mere man. For how could He be a mere man if angels ministered to Him? It was, as it were, saying that He is the Lord of the angels. For He must be the King's own Son if the King's servants ascend and descend upon Him—descending at His crucifixion and ascending at His resurrection and ascension. Angels also came and ministered to Him before this, and angels brought the good news of His birth. Our Lord used the present as proof of the future. After the power He had already shown, Nathanael would readily believe that much more was to follow.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Let us recall the Old Testament account. Jacob saw in a dream a ladder reaching from earth to heaven, with the Lord resting upon it and the angels ascending and descending on it. Finally, Jacob, understanding what the vision meant, set up a stone and poured oil on it. When he anointed the stone, did he make an idol? No, he only set up a symbol, not an object of worship. You see the anointing here; see the Anointed One as well. He is the stone that the builders refused. Since Jacob (who was also named Israel) saw the ladder, and Nathanael was an “Israelite indeed,” it was fitting for our Lord to refer to Jacob's dream. It was as if He said, “The dream of the one whose name you bear has appeared to you, for you will see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.” If they descend upon Him and ascend to Him, then He is both above and below at the same time: above in Himself, and below in His members.

Good preachers who proclaim Christ are like the angels of God; that is, they ascend and descend upon the Son of Man, like Paul, who ascended to the third heaven and also descended to give milk to babes. He said, “We will see greater things than these,” because it is a greater thing for our Lord to have justified us whom He has called, than it was for Him merely to see us lying under the shadow of death. For if we had remained where He saw us, what good would it have done?

It is often asked why Nathanael, to whom our Lord gives such a testimony, is not found among the twelve apostles. We may believe, however, that our Lord did not place him among the disciples precisely because he was so learned and well-versed in the Law. He chose the foolish... to confound the world. Intending to break the neck of the proud, He did not use an orator to win over a fisherman; instead, He used a fisherman to win over the emperor. The great Cyprian was an orator, but Peter the fisherman came before him. And it was through Peter that not only the orator, but also the emperor, came to believe.