I’m walking through the book of John right now, constantly be refreshed and reminded of the goodness of our Lord. As usual, I’m having difficulty making it out of the first chapter, reading and re-reading and meditating on what God is teaching me. One of the events that sticks out to me in this chapter seems very small and insignificant. If it were a billboard, people would pass by without so much as a second glance, but I’d like to take a moment and stare into this glaring sign and glean from its wisdom.
In the last part of chapter one, Jesus is calling disciples unto Himself. In verse 43, He calls Phillip. Overjoyed at realizing who Jesus is, Philip goes to Nathanael, explaining how they found the Messiah, the promised one of the Old Testament. Skeptical, Nathanael asks if any good can come from Nazareth and upon seeing Jesus questions how He knows him. While most of us have heard this recount before, the interesting section comes in Jesus next few words. “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”
Under the fig tree.
It seems so small, something that most would only glance at on their way to chapter two, but part of me simply wonders what happened under the fig tree. A man who was only a few verses before questioning if Jesus was indeed the Messiah is now following after Christ in total abandon; all because He mentioned how He was with Nathanael under the fig tree. While scholars speculate what this means, a few things can be easily seen.
One, Nathanael was alone. Had anyone else been with Him, they could have told this stranger from Nazareth about him, but only the Messiah knew what happened to Nathanael under that fig tree. Two, Nathanael kept this part of his life private. He didn’t walk through the village sharing openly what happened under the fig tree. Perhaps it was a prayer, a communion with God, a confession of sin or a secret longing that he dared not share with anyone. Nevertheless, only Nathanael and the One True God knew what happened under that tree, and only God could have spoken to Nathanael in such a way so that He knew that this Nazarene was the Son of God.
What then, would you describe your own fig tree experience to be? What is it that you keep so private and secret that even those closest to you may not recognize? Perhaps, it is something shameful, too painful to speak of publicly. Perhaps, it is a particular fear that you dare not share with others; or, perhaps it is simply a time of prayer and communion with God, that inner worship and sweet meditation upon God’s Word.
I pray that you take comfort that even under your own fig tree, Christ knows and loves you deeply. Nathanael’s response to realizing Jesus’ knowledge of him was to follow in total abandon. Will you do the same today? When this Christ calls you to forsake everything else for the sake of following after Him, will you obey? Will you run after Christ with glad delight to obey Him no matter the cost? Remember today that Christ is Lord of your fig tree experience and He is worthy of your worship and obedience.
“Whom have I in Heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart fail; but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” Psalm 73:25-26
