(Matt 8:5, 14; Mark 1:21, 29; Luke 4:31, 38). However, both Bethsaida and Capernaum were situated in Galilee and after 70 CE the whole region around the Sea of Galilee was called “Galilee,”39 and therefore John is not incorrect in mentioning the native place of Philip. He is the only disciple whom Jesus commands in John, “Follow me” (1:43), a command given to other disciples in the Synoptic Gospels (Matt 4:19–22; 8:22; 9:9; Mark 1:17, 20; 2:14). Philip decided to follow Jesus, and this led him to identify Jesus of Nazareth as the Christ to whom the Law of Moses and the OT prophets (the whole of OT) testify (John 1:45).
Philip immediately shared his conviction with Nathanael by witnessing, “We have found him . . .” Thus the circle of God’s new community became bigger by the addition of those who believed Jesus as the Christ and bore witness to him enthusiastically. Since the foundation of this new community is faith in Jesus as the Messiah, Jesus, in John, is revealed and confessed as the Messiah in the initial stage of his ministry, whereas in other Gospels it is divulged later (Matt 16:16, 20 par.).
Nathanael’s immediate question, “Can any good thing be from Nazareth?” (1:46), reflects perhaps the civic rivalry between Cana, Nathanael’s native place (21:2), and the neighboring Nazareth.40 Philip’s response, “Come and see,” looks back to the same invitation given by Jesus to the two disciples (1:39). As Nathanael was approaching Jesus, Jesus called him an Israelite in whom there is no craftiness, because Jesus knew his inner thirst to see the Messiah (1:47), and this explains Jesus’ foreknowledge of Nathanael even before Philip called him, because Jesus had seen him when Nathanael was under the fig tree (1:48). The statement “I saw you . . . when you were under the fig tree” indicates that Nathanael was looking for the Messiah to come and was, therefore, meditating on the Law under the fig tree to search for the Messiah and his activities. Some rabbinic texts claim that the more one studies the words of Law the more relish one finds in them, just like the one who searches on the fig tree finds more fruits on it (e.g., b. `Erub. 54a).41 Nathanael’s action is in line with the Jewish rabbis who studied under fig trees.42 Jesus’ foreknowledge of Philip’s meeting with Nathanael and of Nathanel’s expectation of the Messiah proves that Jesus was divine even while he was a human.
In his first encounter with Jesus, Nathanael confesses that Jesus is the “Son of God” and the “King of Israel” (1:49). His search of the Scriptures had led him to identify both titles as denoting the Messiah, who will subdue the enemies of Israel and establish his kingdom. That Christ will come as King in the family of David in order to rule over Israelites with justice and peace is an OT concept (Isa 11:1–5; 35:4; Zeph 3:14–17; Zech 9:9–10). Christ is also portrayed as the Son begotten by God (2 Sam 7:14; Ps 2:7). The messianic title “King of Israel,” in conjunction with “Son of God,” alludes to these OT passages.
Nevertheless, Jesus questioned Nathanael’s faith, for he had believed in Jesus as the Christ only by seeing his supernatural knowledge (1:50; cf. 2:23–25; 12:37; 20:29). In John, believing in Jesus just by seeing his supernatural deeds causes only an embryonic faith, and genuine faith comes by hearing his words. After pointing out his faith as based on seeing, Jesus gives him a promise that he will see greater things than Jesus’ supernatural knowledge. This promise is given also for all Jesus’ followers, as the plural “you [will see]” in 1:51 shows.
The community of disciples will see greater things throughout Jesus’ life and ministry. Jesus’ promise is introduced with his solemn declaration, “Truly, truly I say to you,” which appears twenty-five times in the Johnnine sayings of Jesus. This implies that Jesus pronounces a heavenly truth that is confirmed and unchangeable. He promises a vision that will be seen collectively by all those who believe in Jesus.
God’s new community, emerged around Jesus, will see “heaven opened” and get a vision of God’s glory (Ezek 1:1; Mark 1:10; Acts 7:56; Rev 4:1; 11:19; cf. 1 Kgs 22:19; Dan 7:13; Matt 26:64; Mark 14:62; Rev 12:1; 15:1; etc.). It will see the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man, just like Jacob saw (Gen 28:12–17). Jacob saw the angels of God ascending and descending on a ladder and at the top of it he saw the Lord God, who revealed himself to Jacob as the God of his fathers.
The Johannine Jesus replaces Jacob’s ladder with the Son of Man on whom the angels were ascending and descending. This means that just as Jacob’s ladder was the means of communication between earth and heaven, John portrays the Son of Man, Jesus, as the way from earth to heaven (John 14:6) and the means of communication with God. Moreover, there is no reference in John for the presence of God who revealed himself to Jacob (Gen 28:13–15). However, for John one can see the same God in the Son of Man. Thus Jesus, the Son of Man, becomes to all people both the way to heaven and the revelation of God’s glory.
The idea of the Son of Man as the mediator between heaven and earth is based on Daniel’s vision of “one like a son of man,” who is the representative of both God and the saints of the Most High and through whom God’s people will possess God’s kingdom, dominion, and authority (Dan 7:9–27). It is possible that Jesus picked up the title “Son of Man” for himself from Daniel 7 to denote the communication between God and humanity.43 At the same time, the term “son of man” was used to refer to the “man of God’s right hand,” implying the “anointed one of God” (Ps 80:17). When John was written, the Jews understood the title “Son of Man” in terms of the “Elect One” of God or the “Christ” (1 En. 37–71; 4 Ezra 12–13). In John, “Son of Man” is spoken by the people on par with “Messiah” (12:34). Thus, the “Son of Man” in 1:51 refers to Christ, who came from heaven to reveal God, his love and life-giving power. He is the place where one can see God’s glory in human form on earth (John 19:5; cf. Ezek 1:26–28). This could be a polemic against the Jewish mystics who claimed that one can see the kingly glory of God in human form only by ascending to heaven (cf. John 3:13).
The whole Gospel of John hereafter will show how Jesus’ promise in 1:51 was fulfilled in the life and ministry of Jesus and how God was creating a new covenant community in the Son of Man. In this sense, 1:51 is a springboard for studying the Gospel of John.
1. Dunn 1989: xxviii.
2. Hengel 2008: 268–89.
3. Schnackenburg 1980–84: 1.234.
4. Contra Haenchen 1984: 1.108, 110. The Greek word theos never means “divine.”
5. Neyrey 2007: 43.
6. While the reference to the blood and flesh indicates mortal humanity (Matt 16:17; 1 Cor 15:50), the expression “the will of man” reflects the Jewish belief that a woman begets a child by a man’s initiative.
7. Kanagaraj 2005: 53.
8. Kanagaraj 1998b: 80–81.
9. Käsemann 1968: 4–26.
10. Milne 1993: 46.
