The next day, Jesus told a man from the town of Bethsaida named Philip: “Follow me,” and from there Philip went and told his friend Nathanael (who was sitting under a fig tree): “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote: Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

Nathanael was not convinced so he replied: “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?”

“Come and see,” replied Philip.

Later, as Nathanael approached Jesus, Jesus said: “Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false.”

Nathanael replied, “How do you know me?” to which Jesus answered, “I knew you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.” Jesus was showing Nathanael that He [Jesus] knew everything.

Nathanael was astounded that Jesus knew this information, so he replied, “Rabbi [teacher], you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.” To which Jesus replied: “[Do] you believe because I saw you under a fig tree. You shall see greater things than that. I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man [Jesus].”

In this passage we see Jesus call Philip to follow Him, and Philip willingly believe and follow. The lesson for us is that we must believe in Jesus with the innocent faith of a child rather than the worldly cynical desire for proof.

Contrary to this however was when Nathanael was told about Jesus by Philip, but he didn’t believe because Philip had said Jesus was from Nazareth. Nazareth was a town that was distant from the culture and tradition of the capital of Jerusalem; further, it had a reputation for being wild because the Romans had trouble controlling the local people. In Nathanael’s mind, this made it impossible to believe that Jesus Christ would come from a place like that.

As Nathanael approaches Jesus, Jesus calls him a true Israelite (a Jew), who is honest, to which Nathanael asks how Jesus knows him. Jesus refers to him in this way because a true Israelite would be an independent, honest and hardworking man who would be suspicious of outsiders, and in answer to the man’s question, Jesus says he knew Nathanael even before they officially met: when he was sitting under a fig tree. Nathanael is stunned by this: How could Jesus know that Nathanael had been sitting under a fig tree? unless he was the Son of God.

Immediately on hearing Jesus’ answer Nathanael speaks excitedly that Jesus is indeed the Son of God, to which Jesus patiently tells the man he should not believe simply because Jesus had proven himself; rather, he should believe without having any proof.

Jesus ends the passage by stating that Nathanael (and all of us) will see greater things than Jesus’ knowing Nathanael under the tree, and that will be how Nathanael (and us) will see the angels of heaven arriving down and going up from the Son of God.