NOTES for Joh 1:46

The evangelist John's account of Nathanael's calling is one of the most astonishing passages of the New Testament. The most important moments of this story concern not only Nathanael, but, to some degree, every person. When Philip told Nathanael that he and his friends had found the Messiah, Nathanael expressed doubt and answered with a common joke. But when Philip says to him, "Come and see," we see that Nathanael gets up and goes to see. And this is an action that earned the approval of the Lord Jesus Himself, for He says of Nathanael, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit." In every person's life there is a moment when you must perform a certain action if you truly want to find God, to meet Him. For most modern people this means getting up and going to church, since everyone knows that there gather people who believe God and know Him. And for most of us this means the need to free ourselves from our ideas that we will find nothing interesting there...

To Nathanael, who took this step toward God, the Lord says, "I saw you." Most Christian thinkers since the patristic era incline to the view that "under the fig tree" Nathanael had some experience unknown to us, and perhaps to the evangelist, of meeting God, of His mysterious touch. Perhaps at that moment he sensed the love and care of the Creator. Perhaps he saw God's benefits and thanked Him for them. Or perhaps he simply felt how beautiful the world is that God created. Every person may have such minutes, when he senses that being is not limited by the boundaries of what is visible. And when you understand that at that moment it was Jesus of Nazareth who was beside you, you find the Source of life.