A Fig Tree Experience

 John’s gospel is different than Matthew, Mark, and Luke. It was written around 90 AD, which made it the last gospel account written. The other three accounts had been copied and circulated for about 30 years when John wrote his account. Matthew, Mark, and Luke are a more chronological account of the life and ministry of Jesus. John took a different approach.

There are two words in the Greek language for time, one is chronos, which we get our English word “chronology” from. It means ordered time. The other word for time in Greek is kiaros, which describes a particular kind or quality of time. John presents the kiaros of the life of Jesus. He does this by recording seven personal conversations that Jesus had with various individuals, seven signs or miracles with seven I AM statements that point to the kind of Messiah Jesus came to be, and then seven sermons or teachings. In each of these three sets of seven, John reveals the Life of Jesus as the “one-of-a-kind” life; the divine Life of God Himself, in the flesh; the God-Man, Jesus Christ.

The first personal conversation John records Jesus having is with Nathanael in John 1:45 – 51. Nathanael’s friend, Philip, had met Jesus and then went and found his friend and said, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also in the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” And Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip’s response is a classic invitation, “Come and see.”

Nathanael’s view of Nazareth was typical of the day. Nazareth was on the border with Samaria and was suspect for that reason. Nazareth was also on the main highway, called the Way of the Sea, through Israel from the east going down to Egypt. It was on the edge of what is called the Valley of Jezreel, also known as the plain of Megiddo. All of the major caravans traveled this route. It was a trade town and was a long way from the religious center of Jerusalem in more ways than one. Although Nathanael was from Cana, which was north of Nazareth, he still considered it with contempt, like most Jews of his day.

As Philip and Nathanael came toward Jesus, He said, “Behold, a true Israelite in whom there is no guile!” The word “guile” is the Greek word, dolos, from a root word, which meant decoy. It came to be associated with someone who was deceptive and false. Nathanael was surprised by this kind greeting and asked how Jesus could possible know him. The answer Jesus gave caused Nathanael to exclaim the first and most accurate confession of the true identity of Jesus when he said, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 1:49. What did Jesus say that caused Nathanael to be the first to recognize His deity as the Son of God, the King of Israel?

Jesus had simply said, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” Before Philip called Nathanael, he must have been alone with God in a very close and intimate moment, praying for the promised King of Israel, seeking the Lord with all his heart, and receiving the indescribable peace and assurance that God was with him and that his prayer had been heard. The experience must have been similar to the one Jacob had with God in Genesis 28:10 – 22, and may have been what Nathanael was meditating on under the fig tree that day. Jesus did refer to it after Nathanael’s confession by identifying Himself as the Mediator between heaven and earth, 1:51.

This first personal encounter with Jesus sets the stage for the rest of John’s gospel and the meaning of the gospel of grace; God is now with you and is for you, and desires for you to know Him in a personal, intimate, and interactive relationship. God has revealed Himself and His will through His Son, Jesus Christ. As you come and see Him, He reveals Himself to you, for you to know and love, and gives you a fig tree experience. As you declare to Him what He reveals to you, it pleases the Father. He loves to share Himself with you in fig tree experiences. This is what it means to worship the Father in spirit and truth.