5    The Balance of Salvation  (John 1:38–51)

And Jesus turned and saw them following, and said to them, “What do you seek?” They said to Him, “Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are You staying?” He said to them, “Come, and you will see.” So they came and saw where He was staying; and they stayed with Him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. One of the two who heard John speak and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He found first his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which translated means Christ). He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter). The next day He purposed to go into Galilee, and He found Philip. And Jesus said to him, “Follow Me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Nathanael said to him, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” 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 Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” And He said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” (John 1:38–51)

The Bible reveals God to be infinitely beyond human understanding. In Isaiah 55:8–9 He said, “’For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.’” “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!” exclaimed Paul in Romans 11:33.”How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!” Job 5:9 describes God as the one “who does great and unsearchable things, wonders without number,” while Job 11:7–9 asks rhetorically, “Can you discover the depths of God? Can you discover the limits of the Almighty? They are high as the heavens, what can you do? Deeper than Sheol, what can you know? Its measure is longer than the earth and broader than the sea.” Job 37:5 says that God does “great things which we cannot comprehend.” David wrote in Psalm 40:5, “Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders which You have done, and Your thoughts toward us; there is none to compare with You. If I would declare and speak of them, they would be too numerous to count.”

Not surprisingly, then, the interface of the infinite God’s sovereign will and purposes with human actions and responsibility results in a number of apparent paradoxes. For example, Judas’s betrayal of Jesus was part of God’s predetermined plan (Luke 22:22), as Jesus affirmed: “For the Son of Man is to go just as it is written of Him” (Mark 14:21). But that did not excuse his sin, which he entered into willingly (Matt. 26:14–16; John 12:4), or lessen his guilt. In the second half of Mark 14:21 Jesus went on to say, “Woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.” Judas was sentenced to eternal hell because of his choice to betray Jesus. The historical record in Exodus also displays the interaction of God’s sovereignty and human responsibility, noting ten times that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart (4:21; 7:3; 9:12; 10:1, 20, 27; 11:10; 14:4, 8, 17) and ten times that he hardened his own heart (7:13–14, 22; 8:15, 19, 32; 9:7, 34–35; 13:15).

Another apparent paradox involves the authorship of Scripture. The Bible claims God as its author; “All Scripture is inspired by God” (2 Tim. 3:16), and “no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will” (2 Peter 1:21). Yet Jesus introduced a quote from the Old Testament with the words “Moses said” (Mark 7:10; cf. 10:3; 12:26; Matt. 8:4; 19:8; Luke 5:14; 20:37), and referred to the Old Testament as the writings of Moses and the prophets (Luke 24:27, 44; John 5:45–46; 7:19–23). Peter referred to Paul’s writings as Scripture (2 Peter 3:15–16), and noted that in the inspiration process, “Men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God” (2 Peter 1:21). Thus the Bible, though written by some forty human authors over a period of approximately 1,500 years, is nevertheless one unified book with one Divine author.

The Bible teaches that it is impossible for believers to live the Christian life on their own. “Are you so foolish?” Paul chided the Galatians. “Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” (Gal. 3:3). Earlier in that epistle he wrote, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me” (2:20). Yet the same apostle who wrote, “the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God” also wrote, “Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified” (1 Cor. 9:26–27), and likened the Christian life to a fight (1 Tim. 6:12; 2 Tim. 4:7), a race (1 Cor. 9:24), and labor-intensive farming (2 Tim. 2:6). He also commanded believers, “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God” (Rom. 6:12–13).

Stressing the responsibility of the believer, the New Testament frequently depicts the Christian life as a walk of obedience (Rom. 14:15; 2 Cor. 5:7; Eph. 2:10; 4:1, 17; 5:2, 8, 15; Phil. 3:17; Col. 1:10; 2:6; 1 Thess. 2:12; 4:1; 1 John 1:6–7; 2:6; 2 John 4, 6; 3 John 3–4). Among the many obligations of the Christian walk are prayer (Rom. 12:12; Eph. 6:18; Col. 4:2; 1 Thess. 5:17; 1 Tim. 2:8; James 5:13), reading (1 Tim. 4:13), and studying (Acts 17:11) the Bible, having a reverential fear of God (Acts 9:31; cf. Job 28:28; Ps. 111:10; Prov. 1:7; 3:7; 9:10; 15:33; Mic. 6:9), partaking of the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor. 11:23–26), being thankful (Phil. 4:6; Col. 1:12; 3:15–17; 1 Thess. 5:18), being joyful (Rom. 12:12, 15; 14:17; 15:13; 2 Cor. 13:11; Phil. 2:18; 3:1; 4:4; 1 Thess. 1:6; 5:16; 1 Peter 4:13), forgiving one another (Matt. 6:14–15; 18:21–35; Mark 11:25; Luke 17:3–4; Eph. 4:32; Col. 3:13), and turning away from evil (Job 28:28; Pss. 34:14; 37:27; 101:4; Prov. 3:7; 4:27; 16:17; Jer. 18:11; 25:5; 35:15; Ezek. 33:11; 1 Peter 3:11), such as lying (Eph. 4:25; Col. 3:9), sexual immorality (1 Cor. 6:18; Eph. 5:3; 1 Thess. 4:3, 7), anger (Matt. 5:22; Eph. 4:31; Col. 3:8; James 1:19–20), abusive speech (Eph. 4:29; 5:4; Col. 3:8; James 3:8–10), and covetousness (Ex. 20:17; Mark 7:21–22; Rom. 7:7–8; 13:9).

Paul brought together the human and divine sides of living the Christian life when he commanded the Philippians, “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure” (Phil. 2:12–13; cf.4:13). The apostle exemplified that truth; as he wrote to the Colossians, “For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me”(Col. 1:29; cf. 1 Cor. 15:10; 2 Cor. 3:5; Gal. 2:8).

But of all the issues involving the relationship of divine sovereignty to human responsibility, the most basic is that of salvation. The biblical teaching that salvation is a divine act that demands a human response may be likened to a clearly marked, but narrow path between two chasms. To err on either side of that path is to plummet to spiritual ruin.

Scripture clearly reveals that salvation is a divine act. Unbelievers are “dead in [their] trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1), “separate from Christ, … having no hope and without God in the world” (Eph. 2:12), “alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds” (Col. 1:21), enemies of God (Rom. 5:10), hostile to God (Rom. 8:7), unable to please Him (Rom. 8:8), “darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart” (Eph. 4:18), “foolish …, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending [their lives] in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another” (Titus 3:3), “pursu[ing] a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousing, drinking parties and abominable idolatries” (1 Peter 4:3). Obviously, such people are utterly unable to save themselves.

Given fallen humanity’s total depravity, complete helplessness, and utter lack of spiritual resources, there would be no salvation unless God provided it (Gen. 49:18; 1 Sam. 2:1; Pss. 3:8; 21:1; 35:9; 37:39; 98:2; 149:4; Isa. 43:11; 45:21–22; Jonah 2:9; Acts 4:12; Rev. 19:1). Thus, the Bible teaches that salvation is wholly by God’s grace and not by human works (cf. Acts 15:11; Rom. 3:20–30; 4:5; 5:1; 6:23; Gal. 2:16; 3:8–14, 24; Eph. 1:7; 2:5, 8–9; Phil. 3:9; Titus 3:5; Rev. 1:5). Further, God Himself chose the redeemed for salvation in eternity past (Acts 11:18; 13:48; Rom. 8:28–30; Eph. 1:4–5; Col. 3:12; 1 Thess. 1:4; 2 Thess. 2:13; 2 Tim. 1:9; Titus 1:1; 1 Peter 1:1–2; 2:9).

But the Bible is equally clear that no one is saved apart from faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Implicit in the biblical commands that sinners repent (Matt. 3:2; 4:17; Mark 6:12; Luke 5:32; 13:3, 5; 15:7, 10; 24:47; Acts 2:38; 3:19; 17:30; 26:20; 2 Peter 3:9) and believe in Christ (Mark 1:15; Luke 8:12; John 1:12; 3:15–18; 4:39, 53; 5:24; 6:29, 35, 40, 47; 7:38; 9:35–38; 11:25–26; Acts 16:31; Rom. 1:16; 10:9–10; 1 Cor. 1:21; Gal. 3:22; Eph. 1:13; 1 Tim. 1:16; 1 John 3:23; 5:1, 13) is their responsibility to do both. In fact, Scripture condemns sinners for not doing them (Matt. 11:20–21; 12:41; John 3:36; 12:36–40; 2 Thess. 2:12; Jude 5; Rev. 9:20–21; 16:9, 11).

In a passage that perfectly illustrates the biblical balance between divine sovereignty and human responsibility, John records the call of Jesus’ first disciples to salvation. We meet first the seeking souls, and then the seeking Savior.

THE SEEKING SOULS

And Jesus turned and saw them following, and said to them, “What do you seek?” They said to Him, “Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are You staying?” He said to them, “Come, and you will see.” So they came and saw where He was staying; and they stayed with Him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. One of the two who heard John speak and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He found first his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which translated means Christ). He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter). (1:38–42)

As noted in the previous chapter of this volume, John the Baptist had pointed out Jesus, the Lamb of God, to two of his disciples, Andrew and John (cf. the discussion of v. 40 below), who then followed Him (1:35–37). This section continues the story of their initial encounter with Jesus. As Andrew and John walked after Him, Jesus turned and saw them following, and said to them, “What do you seek?” He did not ask that question for His benefit, since in His omniscience He already knew what the two wanted. That they were followers of John the Baptist indicated that they were convicted of their sin and seeking the forgiveness and righteousness Messiah would bring. Instead, the Lord asked the question to challenge them to consider their motives; He did not ask them whom they were seeking, but what they were seeking. R. C. H. Lenski notes,

Perhaps intimidated by Jesus’ presence, Andrew and John replied not by answering His question directly, but by asking one of their own: “Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are You staying?” Rabbi was a title of respect and honor, which, as John translated for his Gentile readers (cf. vv. 41, 42; 9:7), means Teacher. By asking the question, where are You staying? Andrew and John were not merely asking where He was residing. They were courteously requesting an extended private interview with Him. The question also signaled their willingness to become His disciples.

Jesus’ immediate response to them, “Come, and you will see,” was the invitation Andrew and John were hoping for. But Jesus “is in fact bidding these men do something more than discover where He is staying for the night; He is inviting them to come and gain from Him an insight into the mind and purpose of God Himself” (R.V.G. Tasker, The Gospel According to St. John, The Tyndale New Testament Commentaries [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1975], 52). Jesus knew their hearts, that they were honest, sincere seekers. They had already been drawn to Him by the Father (6:44) and convicted of their sin by the Holy Spirit (cf. 16:8). The honest seeker will always find Him (Deut. 4:29; 1 Chron. 28:9; 2 Chron. 15:2; Jer. 29:13) because, as He promised, “If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know of the teaching, whether it is of God or whether I speak from Myself” (John 7:17). On the other hand, Jesus will not commit Himself to the insincere and hypocritical, no matter what their outward profession may be:

Jesus never put off the sincere, Spirit-prompted seeker. He was never too busy to show compassion for lost sheep who were seeking a Shepherd (Matt. 9:36). To one so desperate to see Him that he cast aside his dignity and climbed a tree Jesus said, “Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house” (Luke 19:5). In response to His invitation, Andrew and John came and saw where He was staying; and they stayed with Him that day. For them, like Zaccheus, the day they met Jesus was to be the day of salvation (cf. the discussion of v. 41 below).

So vividly etched in his mind was that life-changing encounter that John recorded the precise time, noting that it was about the tenth hour. The day was drawing to a close, and darkness was fast approaching. In an era before electric lighting, this was the time of day when people began wrapping up their outdoor activities, and travelers began seeking shelter for the night. Thus, Andrew and John might have been expected to seek lodging in a nearby village.

But instead of seeking shelter, Andrew and John sought the Savior. As they had hoped He would, Jesus graciously extended to them an invitation to stay with Him for the night, as His statement, “Come, and you will see,” implies. John does not record what they discussed that memorable evening, but the Lord undoubtedly “opened their minds to understand the Scriptures” (Luke 24:45) as “He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures” (Luke 24:27). Whatever He said was enough to persuade them that He was indeed Israel’s Messiah, as Andrew’s excited testimony to his brother Peter the next day indicates (see the discussion of vv. 40–41 below).

The reference to the tenth hour is the first mention of time in John’s gospel. This detail offers one of the many evidences that its author was an eyewitness to the events he recorded (see the discussion of this point in the Introduction). The truth that the apostles were eyewitnesses to Jesus is one which John stressed in his first epistle: “What we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life … what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also” (1 John 1:1, 3). Because they were “witnesses of all the things [Christ] did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem” (Acts 10:39), the apostles’ testimony was unassailable (cf. Luke 24:48; John 15:27; Acts 1:8, 22; 2:32; 3:15; 4:33; 5:32; 10:39–41; 13:31; 2 Peter 1:16). So important was that testimony that when the apostles sought a replacement for Judas Iscariot, they looked for someone who had “accompanied [them] all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among [them] beginning with the baptism of John until the day that He was taken up from [them]” (Acts 1:22–23). This incident marked the beginning of John’s firsthand observation of Jesus’ life and ministry.

Verse 40 names one of the two who heard John the Baptist speak and followed Jesus as Andrew. As noted above, the other disciple was John, who throughout his gospel does not name himself. (For biographical information on John and evidence that he is the unnamed disciple, see the Introduction to this volume.) Andrew is identified as Simon Peter’s brother, since Peter was more widely known than his less prominent brother. Here, as in his other two appearances in John’s gospel, Andrew brings someone to meet Christ. In 6:8–9 he brought a young boy with barley loaves and fish to Him before the feeding of the 5,000, while in 12:20–22 he brought some Greeks to meet Him. After spending the rest of the day (and by implication the night) with Jesus (v. 39), Andrew the following day found first his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which translated means Christ). (A number of commentators believe the Greek text suggests that John also found his brother James shortly afterward.) The time spent with Jesus had convinced Andrew and John of His true identity. That does not mean, however, that they fully understood the implications of Jesus’ messiahship; the disciples’ understanding of that would grow over the years they spent with Him.

Messiah transliterates a Hebrew or Aramaic term that, like its Greek equivalent Christ, means “anointed one.” In the Old Testament it was used of the high priest (Lev. 4:3, 5, 16; 6:22), the king (1 Sam. 12:3, 5; 16:6; 24:6; 26:9; 2 Sam. 1:14; 22:51; 23:1), the patriarchs (Ps. 105:15), and the people of God (Ps. 28:8). But supremely, the term referred to the prophesied (e.g., Dan. 9:25–26) Coming or Expected One (Matt. 11:3), God’s anointed Deliverer and King, His Son the Lord Jesus Christ.

Not content with merely delivering the good news that he had found the Messiah, Andrew actually brought Peter to Jesus. When he arrived, Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter). Jesus’ penetrating, omniscient look saw not merely Simon, but also the man He would mold him into. Jesus therefore called him Cephas, the Aramaic word for “rock,” which, as John again translated for his Gentile readers, is rendered Peter in Greek. That name would both inform Simon of the rock that he was to become, and challenge him to pursue it. Over time, Jesus would transform Simon’s character to match the new name He had given him, and use him as the foundational leader in the earliest days of the church (cf. Acts 1:15ff.; 2:14ff.; 3:1ff.;4:8ff.; 5:1–11, 15, 29; 8:14–24; 9:32–11:18; 12:3–19; 15:7–11).

In my book Twelve Ordinary Men I wrote the following concerning the significance of Jesus giving to Simon the name Peter:

Seeking souls will always find Christ receptive; as He later promised: “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out” (6:37).

THE SEEKING SAVIOR

The next day He purposed to go into Galilee, and He found Philip. And Jesus said to him, “Follow Me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Nathanael said to him, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” 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 Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” And He said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” (1:43–51)

Unlike the first disciples (Andrew, John, Peter, and possibly James), who were introduced to Jesus by another person, Jesus took the initiative in calling Philip. In any case, whoever initiates the contact, those who come to Christ do so only because God first sought them. In John 6:44 Jesus said, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him,” while in 15:16 He added, “You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you.” That Jesus found Philip and … said to him, “Follow Me” established that he was brought by no one, nor did he look for Jesus, but rather the contact was initiated by the Lord Himself. Though this is distinct from the others, their being brought to Jesus by another refers only to the human contact, not the sovereign divine election by God. That is true of everyone who comes savingly to Jesus. Philip’s response of faith is not recorded, but it certainly took place.

The phrase the next day indicates that it is now the day after Andrew found Peter and brought him to meet Jesus. Jesus purposed to leave the section of the Jordan River where John the Baptist was ministering and go into Galilee. Where Jesus met Philip is not stated, but he, like Andrew, Peter, and John, was a Galilean. He was from Bethsaida, a fishing village (its name means “house of fishing,” or “house of the fisherman”) located on the northeast shore of the Sea of Galilee, not far from Capernaum. Bethsaida was also the hometown of Andrew and Peter who, though they later moved to Capernaum (Mark 1:21, 29), remained identified with the village where they grew up. In the same way, Jesus was associated with Nazareth (Matt. 26:71; Luke 18:37; Acts 10:38; 26:9), where He grew up, instead of Bethlehem, where He was born (Matt. 2:1), or Capernaum, where He moved to from Nazareth (Matt. 4:13).

Like Andrew, Philip could not keep the good news about Jesus to himself, but immediately went and found his friend Nathanael. “Philip’s part in the calling of Nathanael is like that of Andrew in the calling of Peter, and that of Peter and Andrew in his own. One lighted torch serves to light another; thus faith propagates itself” (Frederic Louis Godet, Commentary on John’s Gospel [Reprint; Grand Rapids: Kregel, 1985], 331–32). Nathanael (“God has given”) is called Bartholomew in the Synoptic Gospels, which never use the name Nathanael, just as John never uses Bartholomew. Evidently Nathanael was his given name and Bartholomew (Bar-Tolmai; “son of Tolmai”) his surname. In the lists of the twelve apostles in the Synoptic Gospels, his name immediately follows Philip’s. John’s only other mention of him notes that he was from the Galilean village of Cana (21:2).

Having found Nathanael, Philip excitedly said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” The use of the plural pronoun we shows that Philip now included himself as one of Jesus’ followers. The Law and the Prophets is the common New Testament designation of the Old Testament (Matt. 5:17; 7:12; 11:13; 22:40; Luke 16:16; Acts 13:15; 24:14; 28:23; Rom. 3:21). Aware of Nathanael’s intense love of the Old Testament Scriptures, Philip declared that he had found the One who fulfilled them (cf. 5:39; Deut. 18:15–19; Luke 24:25–27, 44–47; Acts 10:43; 18:28; 26:22–23; Rom. 1:2; 1 Cor. 15:3–4; 1 Peter 1:10–11; Rev. 19:10). As noted in the discussion of verse 45, Jesus was often associated with Nazareth, where He grew up. Philip’s identification of Him as the son of Joseph must not be misconstrued as a denial of Christ’s virgin birth (as it was by the unbelieving Jews in 6:42). It may suggest, however, that Jesus had not revealed that truth to the disciples during the brief time they had spent with Him. Philip identified Jesus the way people in that day were usually identified, by the name of their father and the village they came from. Thus, Jesus was commonly viewed as Joseph’s son (Luke 3:23), which He was legally, though not biologically.

Nathanael’s initial skepticism mirrors that of Thomas at the end of John’s gospel (20:24–25). His dubious reply to Philip, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” reflects his incredulity that the Messiah could come from such an insignificant town, of which Moses and the prophets said nothing (Nazareth is not mentioned in the Old Testament, the Talmud, the Midrash, or any contemporary Gentile writings). It also shows his disdain for the town itself; just as the Judeans looked down on Galileans in general (cf. 7:52; Acts 2:7), so also did the rest of the Galileans look down on the inhabitants of Nazareth. Since Nathanael’s hometown of Cana was about ten miles north of Nazareth, his disdain may also reflect a local rivalry between the two towns.

Philip’s reply, echoing the Lord’s reply to Andrew and John in verse 39, was simple and compelling: “Come and see.” Idle speculation is no substitute for personally investigating Christ. Philip was certain that his friend’s questions would be answered and his doubts satisfied when he met Jesus, just as his had been. Despite his preconceived notions about Nazareth, Nathanael rose above his prejudice and went with Philip to meet Jesus.

As he approached, Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” From the human perspective, Nathanael came to Jesus through the witness of Philip. But, as his interview with Jesus reveals, he did so only because Jesus had first sought him. Gerald L. Borchert perceptively notes,

Jesus described Nathanael as an Israelite indeed, in whom

there is no deceit! His point was that Nathanael’s blunt, honest reply to Philip revealed his lack of duplicity and eagerness to examine Jesus’ claims for himself. Jesus may have been alluding to Jacob (and by implication the nation descended from him) who, in contrast to Nathanael, was a deceiver (Gen. 27:35; 31:20). But unlike many of his fellow Jews, who were hypocrites (Matt. 6:2, 5, 16; 15:7; 22:18; 23:13ff.; Luke 12:1, 56; 13:15), Nathanael was an Israelite indeed. Alethos (indeed) means “genuinely,” “in truth,” or “actually.” Paul pointed out how mere external conformity to the rites, rituals, and observances of Judaism did not make one an Israelite indeed:

It is those who continue in Jesus’ word who are His true (alethos) followers (8:31). Nathanael was a true disciple from the beginning, as his response makes clear.

Taken aback by Jesus’ omniscient recognition of him, Nathanael exclaimed, “How do You know me?” Jesus’ reply was even more shocking: “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” Not only did Jesus accurately sum up Nathanael’s character without having met him, He also displayed a supernatural knowledge of information known only to him. Most likely the fig tree in question was the place where Nathanael studied and meditated on the Old Testament Scriptures. Not only did Jesus supernaturally see Nathanael’s physical location, but He also saw into his heart (cf. Ps. 139:1–4).

Whatever happened under the fig tree, Jesus’ supernatural knowledge of it removed Nathanael’s doubt. Overwhelmed by Jesus’ omniscience, he answered Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel.” In that outburst of confident faith, Nathanael acknowledged Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah. The two titles are also used of the Messiah in Psalm 2:6–7: “But as for Me, I have installed My King upon Zion, My holy mountain. I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, today I have begotten You.’”

John’s purpose in writing his gospel was so people “may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God” (20:31), who shares the same nature as God (1:1). To the earlier testimony of John the Baptist that Jesus is the Son of God (1:34), the apostle added that of Nathanael. The use of the definite article indicates that the title here is used in its fullest sense, affirming Jesus’ absolute equality with God. Throughout His earthly ministry, Jesus’ followers repeatedly acknowledged that He was the Son of God (cf. 6:69; 11:27; Matt. 14:33; 16:16; cf. Luke 1:32, 35), with a growing understanding of the riches of that marvelous truth.

The Old Testament described the Messiah as the King of Israel in such passages as Zephaniah 3:15 (“The Lord has taken away His judgments against you, He has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; you will fear disaster no more.”), Zechariah 9:9 (“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, humble, and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”), and Micah 5:2 (“But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity.”). At the triumphal entry, the crowd “began to shout, ‘Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel” (12:13). By addressing Jesus as King of Israel, Nathanael also acknowledged Him as his personal King.

Jesus’ reply, “Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe?” should probably be understood not as a question, but as a statement of fact. Thus, Nathanael is the first person in John’s gospel reported to have believed in Jesus (though the disciples called earlier had as well). The Lord’s display of supernatural knowledge in seeing Nathanael under the fig tree was enough to make him a believer, but Jesus promised that he would see greater things than that. The first of the thirty-seven miracles of Jesus recorded in the gospels would soon take place in Nathanael’s own hometown of Cana (2:1–11). In addition, Nathanael would witness countless other miracles beyond those recorded in Scripture (cf. 21:25).

Speaking specifically of those greater things that Nathanael and the other disciples would see, Jesus solemnly assured him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” Jesus was probably alluding to Jacob’s dream, in which he saw angels ascending and descending from heaven on a ladder (Gen. 28:12). The point of this statement is that Jesus is the link between heaven and earth, the revealer of heavenly truth to men (1:17; 14:6; Eph. 4:21), the “one mediator … between God and men” (1 Tim. 2:5), and the mediator of a new (Heb. 9:14; 12:24) and better (Heb. 8:6) covenant. In John 3:13 He declared to Nicodemus, “No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man” (cf. 6:33, 38, 41–42, 50–51, 58, 62; 13:3; 16:28; 17:8). That truth would become increasingly clear to Nathanael and the rest of the disciples as they observed Jesus’ life and ministry.

This is the first of thirteen occurrences in John’s gospel of the title Son of Man, Jesus’ favorite way of referring to Himself (He did so about eighty times in the gospels). In John’s gospel, it is associated with Jesus’ suffering and death (3:14; 8:28; 12:34), His provision of salvation (6:27, 53), and His authority to judge (5:27; 9:35, 39). In the future, the Son of Man will receive the kingdom from the Ancient of Days (Dan. 7:13–14). As with His other titles in this section, Nathanael (and the others who were present) did not immediately grasp the full significance of what it meant for Jesus to be the Son of Man.

This passage, which records Jesus’ call of His first disciples to salvation, pictures the balance of salvation taught throughout Scripture. Salvation takes place when seeking souls come in faith to the Savior who has already sought them.