Under The Fig Tree

"Nathanael said to Him, 'How do You know me?' Jesus answered and said to him, 'Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.' Nathanael answered and said to Him, 'Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are King of Israel!'"

John 1:48-49

Fig tree? Who said anything about a fig tree?

Well, Jesus did -- for starters.

Here Jesus is beginning to draw followers to Himself and we have the encounter with Nathanael -- pretty much the only time he is mentioned directly in scripture -- who ends up being one of the 12.

Philip, upon accepting Jesus' invitation to follow, tracks down Nathanael and says they've found 'Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote -- Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.'

After initially balking -- because "what good could come out of Nazareth?" -- Nathanael goes to check things out for himself.

As he approaches, Jesus declares "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit."

When Nathanael asks how Jesus knew him, Jesus responds by saying He saw Nathanael under this seemingly random fig tree.

The personal significance of the fig tree to Nathanael is unknown. Whatever it was, it really struck a chord with him.

Perhaps under a fig tree at his home or in his village is where Nathanael studied the scriptures to which Philip referred. Or maybe he was under a fig tree during a significant moment of his life. It could simply have been the fact that Jesus was able to pull something presently unseen from Nathanael's life and attach it to his identity.

Consider this for our lives today: The fig tree, referenced 30 times throughout scripture, is presented as varying types of the nation Israel, the law, tradition, ritualism and works of man.

We can gather that Nathanael was waiting, searching, for the Messiah based on his and Philip's knowledge of Old Testament prophecy.

Being under the law, and knowing the words of the prophets as he did, Nathanael had to know that his current state was not what God ultimately intended for his life. He had to know true salvation from the Messiah was near.

That's why, when presented with the hometown of his Messiah, Nathanael was able to look past his own expectations and see Jesus for who He is.

Jesus saw him under the fig tree. Take it for what you will, but practically speaking -- Jesus saw Nathanael, as he does all mankind, under a broken system -- a fig tree.

Whether it was the pharisee or sadducee, clinging to tradition over truth; the nation Israel seeking a glorious conquering king over a humble but flawless servant and choosing the convicted murderer over the Righteous Savior; or even Adam and Eve trying to cover their sin with the very leaves of the fig tree, God looked down on His creation and saw us.

He saw the machinations we'd create in an attempt to find our own righteousness. He saw the traditions and the rituals of religion that we'd grab hold of in order to numb the desire for a vibrant, living relationship with Him. And He saw that ultimately, for as impressive and big as our "trees" might grow, there would come a time where no fruit would be found on them. There would come a time where they'd wither.

For every broad-spreading tree we could ever plant in attempt of reaching heaven, no tree could reach high enough to get us there. So God provided a different tree for us to kneel under. A Righteous Tree. A Perfect Tree. A tree flowing with streams of mercy.

That's Jesus' message to you today. He saw you. He came here to die for you. He wants you to follow Him. Forget all your trees, only He can bridge the gap between you and heaven.

"Because I said to you, 'I saw you under the fig tree,' do you believe?" Jesus said to Nathanael. "Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man."

Jesus drew on Nathanael's knowledge of the scripture, knowing he'd remember the story of Jacob seeing a ladder between heaven and earth in the book of Genesis. And in this one thought, Jesus showed that the ladder -- the tree, for lack of a better word -- was Himself.

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"Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings." -- Genesis 3:7

"And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it. When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. In response, Jesus said to it, 'Let no one eat fruit from you ever again.' And His disciples heard it." -- Mark 11:13-14

"He also spoke this parable: 'A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, 'Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?' But he answered and said to him, 'Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that, you can cut it down." -- Luke 13:6-9