The next day he decided to go to Galilee, and he found Philip. And Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the town of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one about whom Moses wrote in the law, and also the prophets, Jesus son of Joseph, from Nazareth.” 46 But Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Here is a true Israelite. There is no duplicity in him.” 48 Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.” 49 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.” 50 Jesus answered and said to him, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this.” 51 And he said to him, “Amen, amen, I say to you, you will see the sky opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
Jesus called Philip to follow him (v. 43) and Philip went and told Nathanael (We have found …… (v. 45). That was the opposite of what happened. Jesus found and invited the disciples to, “Come and you will see (v. 39).” Nathaniel and the whole of Israel were awaiting the fulfillment of the promised Messiah, the conquering hero, who would set all things right. The author’s inclusion of Philip’s reference to Moses and the Prophets (v. 45) could have stemmed from an early Christian post resurrection experience of Jesus; “Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them what referred to him in all the scriptures (Lk. 24:27).” Nathanael’s question to Philip, “Can anything good come from Nazareth (v. 46)” was similar to the response from the Pharisees and Jewish leaders who refused to believe in Jesus. They said, “Look and see that no prophet arises from Galilee (Jn. 7:52).” However, Nathanael responded immediately to Philip’s invitation to “Come and see (v. 46).”
When Jesus saw Nathanael coming, he remarked that Nathanael was without guile and was the example of what a true Israelite should be (v. 47). When Nathanael realized that Jesus knew intimate details about him, he accepted Jesus and confessed, “You are the King of Israel (v. 49)." That meant he believed that Jesus was the promised Messiah, a king like David, but not the Messiah followers of Jesus came to understand after the resurrection. Jacob’s Ladder (Gen. 28:12) was being replaced by the Son of Man (v. 51). From that point on, Jesus Christ would be the communication between heaven and earth.
Almighty God, no one comes to you except through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Grant us the grace to be free of guile, and give us the understanding to confess our belief in your Son who obediently suffered and died so that we could enter into your kingdom and share in your Glory. This we pray through the same Christ our Savior. Amen!
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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Faculty of the University of Navarre. The Navarre Bible: New Testament Expanded Edition. Expanded Edition, Four Courts / Scepter, 2008.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
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