John 1:48 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Nathanael said to him, "How do you know me?" Jesus answered him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you."

NIV: "How do you know me?" Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, "I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you."

NASB: 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.'

CSB: "How do you know me?" Nathanael asked. "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you," Jesus answered.

NLT: How do you know about me?' Nathanael asked. Jesus replied, 'I could see you under the fig tree before Philip found you.'

KJV: Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.

NKJV: 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 and Jesus have only just met, yet Jesus' first comment is about Nathanael's honesty (John 1:47). Nathanael's reply is understandable: "How do you know me?" This could easily be interpreted as Nathanael shaking his head and asking, "what do you know about me, anyway?" The question is more than a little hypocritical; the first thing Nathanael did when hearing about Jesus was to judge Him based on where He lived (John 1:46).

Jesus' remark about honesty was a subtle joke: the namesake of Israel was Jacob, a habitual liar (Genesis 32:28). Jesus is gently poking holes in Nathanael's use of stereotypes. Jesus describes what Nathanael was doing before Philip approached him. Among the common ways Jesus broke through to resistant people was by proving His divine knowledge. The woman at the well in John chapter 4 will be surprised to find that Jesus already knew everything about her (John 4:39).

The same basic principle holds in encounters with Christ today. Part of the salvation experience is realizing that Jesus already knows who we are, and what we've done, but loves us anyway.

John 1:43–51 shows Jesus recruiting Philip and Nathanael. Philip seems eager to follow Jesus. Nathanael is skeptical, especially because Jesus is from a low-reputation remote town like Nazareth. When Jesus demonstrates His supernatural wisdom, Nathanael proclaims Him as the "Son of God" and "the King of Israel." Jesus responds by predicting even more spectacular signs. He also refers to Himself using the term "Son of Man," an important figure in Jewish prophecy.

The first chapter of John introduces Jesus as "the Word," from the Greek logos. This chapter clearly describes Jesus as God. After this prologue, the chapter describes Jesus recruiting the first of His disciples, as well as a conversation between John the Baptist and the Pharisees. There are seven names or titles for Christ in this chapter, including "the Son of God," "the Word," and "the King of Israel."

The first chapter of the gospel of John equates Christ with God and introduces John the Baptist. The Baptist specifically points to Jesus as the Promised One. Jesus collects the first five of His disciples. In this chapter, Jesus is given seven descriptive names, including "the Word," "the Son of God," and "the King of Israel." This chapter sets the stage for the rest of the gospel, by giving the reader a sense of who Jesus truly is, and why He has come. The rest of the gospel is an exploration of the claims made in this initial passage.

The disciple John wrote the gospel of John decades after the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke were written. The author assumes that a reader is already familiar with the content of these other works. So, John presents a different perspective, with a greater emphasis on meaning. John uses seven miracles—which he calls "signs"— to prove that Jesus is, in fact, God incarnate. Some of the most well-known verses in the Bible are found here. None is more famous than the one-sentence summary of the gospel found in John 3:16.