one; there is nothing false in him.” Nathanael asked him, “How do you know me?” And Jesus said to him, “Before Philip called you, you
were under the fig tree and I saw you.” Nathanael answered, “Master, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” But
Jesus replied, “You believe because I said: ‘I saw you under the fig tree.’ But you will see greater things than that. Truly, I say to you,
you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”

Reflection:

Philip is an interesting disciple of the Lord. He was personally sought by Jesus
Himself (Jn. 1,43). Normally, people bring people to Jesus. Andrew brought Peter to Jesus.
In our gospel today, Philip brings Nathanael to the Lord. He convinces the doubtful
Nathanael to come and see Jesus Himself. In that encounter, Nathanael is struck by the Lord’s
deep knowledge of his person. For the shade of the fig tree is not only the place where knowledge
is nurtured by those who seek the truth, it is also the place where young rabbinical students spend
time to pray. So Nathanael must have been studying to be a rabbi at that time. That is
why he knows the joke about Nazareth as a backwater place where persons of great stature
cannot be produced. But what triggered the response of Nathanael equating Jesus
with the Messiah? It is because during his time, all Israelites of goodwill pray for the coming
of the Messiah. And naturally, Nathanael being a pious rabbinical student prays for
that as well. That is why Jesus refers to him as a true Israelite. And having inferred in his
heart that Jesus is indeed the promised one, he made a confession of faith.

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