How do you interpret John 1:48? My wife and I got a chance to see a fig tree in the Atlanta Botanical Gardens once. It is an interesting tree in that its leaves are large and they extend all the way to the bottom of the tree such that it would be fairly easy to hide near its trunk. Is that the idea in this passage? Was Nathanael praying under a fig tree where no-one (but God) could see him? --Alberto Schirmer (Atlanta, Georgia)
I have never come across the hiding motif in any commentary, though I may have missed something. Whatever Nathanael was doing under the tree, God isn't telling us! Jesus knew. Our focus is on Nathanael's response of faith, not the nature of his activity under the tree. Personally I love the way Jesus sees the good in this honest Israelite. He tells him in verse 51 that he will see the angels "ascending and descending" on the Son of Man. This is a reference to Genesis 28:12 (Jacob's ladder). Angels entered the presence of God by way of this ladder. John 1:48 anticipates John 14:6. Thus for us Jesus is the "Stairway to Heaven." What a thought! Nathanael will come to appreciate Jesus as far more than a clairvoyant or prophet; he will in time come to appreciate him as the only way to God.
This article is copyrighted and is for private use and study only. © 2003. Reprints or public distribution is prohibited without the express consent of Douglas Jacoby.
