“heaven open” is the symbol of free intercourse between God and man (Mt 3:16; Lu 3:21; Isa 64:1; Ac 7:56) which was accomplished by Christ (Heb 10:19-22).

Matt 3:16  As soon as Jesus was baptised, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him.

Luke 3:21  When all the people were being baptised, Jesus was baptised too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened

Isaiah 64:1 Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains would tremble before you!

Acts 7:56  “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

Heb 10:19-22  Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body,  and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.

“angels . . . ” cf. “And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.” (Genesis 28:12 KJV)

Genesis 28:12  He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.

Notice that the ladder is equated by Jesus as being Himself. What is the function of a ladder?  How does Jesus fulfill this function between us and heaven?

“Son of man” (Dan 7:13,14). Note that Jesus is both the Son of God as Nathanael called Him and the Son of man as Jesus called Himself. What does this have to do with Him being the ladder between earth and heaven?

Dan 7:13-14  “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshipped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.

Note that as immature as the faith of Nathanael was, Jesus accepted it. We don’t need to be spiritual giants to get saved.

It was probably not a revelation from Jesus of seeing you under a fig tree that triggered your faith, causing you to finally place your trust in Him, but the additional promise that Jesus made to Nathanael was valid for you when you also believed. Has Jesus fulfilled this promise to you? How?

When Nathanael becomes convinced, he is totally, completely convinced.  He is a student of the scriptures, and he immediately puts it all together and knows Jesus to be the Messiah.  The Son of God and the King of Israel are both Messianic titles.  Notice that Jesus had called Nathanael a true Israelite and Nathanael calls Jesus the “King of Israel.” This implies that Jesus will be Nathanael’s King from now on.  It is interesting to note that the title Nathanael ascribes sincerely to Jesus at the beginning of His ministry is given to Him in mockery at the end (Matt 27:41-42).

Matt 27:41-42  In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him.  “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him.

There is a difference between head-belief and heart-belief. Nathanael’s enthusiasm showed his faith in Who Jesus was and indicated that he was putting his trust in Christ. Intellectual belief that Jesus is the Son of God will not save you. Even the demons believe in Who He is (Mark 3:11). A true relationship with Christ comes only from placing your trust (faith) fully in Him and in Who He is (Rom 10:10).

Mark 3:11  Whenever the evil spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.”

Romans 10:10  For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

We may not know exactly what experience Jesus was referring to, but Nathanael certainly did.  Jesus possessed knowledge which no man could have apart from God.  This miracle accomplished its purpose: notice the result in the following verse.

Calvin points out that “We should also gather from this passage a useful lesson, that when we are not even thinking of Christ we are observed by Him; and this must needs be so, that He may bring us back when we have withdrawn from Him.”

Jesus is always interested in what we are doing. Why? Because He loves us so. It should comfort us to know that He knows us completely and yet loves us unconditionally.

From “On Another’s Sorrow” by William Blake:

            Think not thou canst sigh a sigh,
And thy Saviour is not by;
Think not thou canst weep a tear,
And thy Saviour is not near.

A true Israelite, one who is upholding the covenant of God, is one in whom there is no guile. “guile” (KJV) = dolos = bait for catching fish; therefore any cunning contrivance for catching or deceiving.  The term was used by the Greeks for, among other things , the Trojan horse. Biblically it is used of Jacob before his conversion; in fact, one translator renders this part of the verse as “an Israelite in whom there is no Jacob.” (Temple)  Having no deceit or guile was also an attribute of the Messiah (Isaiah 53:9) and is an attribute of one who is blessed of the Lord (Psa 32:2). Why did Jesus place such store in this quality?

Isaiah 53:9  He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.

Psalms 32:2  Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit.

Note that Jesus only praises Nathanael, and does not say a word about his doubts or prejudices. Jesus does not condemn us (John 8:11). He is always looking for the good in us and when He finds it; he encourages us with it and even brags about us to others. Jesus only has good words for us or words that are good for us.Joh 8:11  “No-one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

We don’t know that Nazareth had a bad reputation.  Nathanael was from Cana, which was only about 3 or 4 miles from Nazareth, so he would know of Jesus’ home town. He was probably expressing skepticism at the possibility of the Messiah coming from such an insignificant town. It would be like someone telling us that the person around whom all of history was going to revolve was born in some tiny little town near where we live. In addition, it was believed at that time that the Messiah would not come from Galilee.

Nobody had ever heard of this Jesus, who was the son of an insignificant carpenter from an insignificant backwater village called Nazareth, and Nathanael was skeptical because Jesus didn’t fit his ideas of how and from where the Messiah would come. We may also have preconceived ideas and prejudices that keep us from growing in our relationship with God because we don’t think that He will speak to us in that way, or through that person, or say that thing.

“Come and see.” = the perfect answer to the skeptic.  Observe that Philip did not try to present arguments to convert Nathanael; instead he just invited him to meet Jesus. The best way for someone to be convinced of who Jesus is would be for them to find out for themselves (John 12:32). It is important to note that before we can introduce anyone to Jesus, we must know Him first.

Joh 12:32  But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.”

Philip wastes no time in sharing that which he has discovered. Why?  Note that even with Philip’s limited capabilities he is able to win one to Christ.  Note also the use of the word “we” by Philip; he has already grouped himself with the other disciples.

Nathanael’s name is not found in the other gospels, while that of Bartholomew, which means “son of Tolmai,” is not found in John. They are undoubtedly the same person. Nathanael means “gift of God” and is of Hebrew origin while Bartholomew is of Aramaic origin. It was quite common to have 2 names; an example is Peter whose name was Simon Barjona, or Simon son of Jonah, before Jesus changed it.

How could this gospel call Jesus the “son of Joseph” when in this very chapter it has already called Him the “son of God?”  This has been called the irony of John.  He assumes his readers know that it is just Philip speaking and Philip could not yet know the details of the virgin birth.

“Moses wrote about in the law, and about whom the prophets also wrote” = the whole of the Old Testament. Specifically, Moses wrote of a Prophet like him Whom God would raise up (Deut 18:15, 34:10).

Deut 18:15  The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him.

Deut 34:10  Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face,

Some of the Messianic prophecies are:

Gen 3:15 12:3 49:10 Deut 18:15 Psalms 2:2 45:2 68:18 69:21 110:1 118:22 132:11 Isa 2:4 7:14 9:2,7 11:10 25:8 28:16 42:1 49:6 52:14 53:2 Isa 55:4 59:16 61:1 62:11 63:1 Jer 23:5 Eze 17:22 Dan 2:34,44 7:13 9:25 Mic 5:2 Hag 2:7 Zec 3:8 6:12 9:9 11:12 12:10 13:7 Mal 3:1

Bethsaida means “house of fish.”  There may have been 2 Bethsaidas, one on the southeastern shore of the Sea of Galilee where the Jordan River empties into it (Bethsaida Julias), and the other on the northwestern shore of the same lake, near the town of Capernaum, Bethsaida of Galilee. 

Since this is also the town of Andrew and Peter, Philip would be more inclined to follow their example of following Jesus.

John and Andrew sought Jesus after being pointed in that direction by John the Baptist; Andrew brought his brother, Simon to Christ; but Philip wasn’t looking for Christ and wasn’t brought to Him by anyone else. Jesus sought him out, much like He did Paul on the road to Damascus. It shows that Christ cannot be bound by our thoughts or by our methods.

Philip means “lover of horses.”  He may have been named after Philip the tetrarch who rebuilt Bethsaida.  He seems to have no special abilities; he is quite ordinary.  Every time we see him he seems to not know what to do.  When faced with the problem of feeding the multitude, he pointed out that it would take a great deal of money; when the Greeks came to him, he had to ask Andrew what to do; and when in the upper room, it was Philip who asked Jesus to show them the Father.  He is at best ordinary, and yet in this verse we see that Jesus went out of His way looking for him for the purpose of asking him to join His group of disciples, and if He did that for Philip, He will do that for you.

This shows us the completeness of the love of God for us. He has sought each one of us out. That was His whole purpose in coming to earth (Luke 19:10). Jesus didn’t come to earth because of our prayers to Him; He came because of His love for us. His mercy is like a fountain that flows on its own, not a well that needs to be pumped. He goes after the lost sheep — not because it is bleating — but because it is lost.

Luke 19:10  For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”

“Follow Me.” Was this a demand or an invitation? It was both and it still is today. It was the beginning of a journey for Philip as it is for us — an incredible journey filled with excitement and joy and fulfillment — a journey filled with trials and hard times which are tempered with wonderful victories and spiritual growth. Most of all it is a journey of relationship. Man walking with God and God choosing to be Mentor, Counselor, Friend, Confider, and Father to man. What a wonderful journey!

Philip could have chosen to not follow Christ but he made a decision right then to do so. We, too, may choose to not follow Him. There are many reasons for us to make the wrong decision. We may, like the Pharisees, think that we don’t need to follow someone else — that we are self-sufficient. Or we may put off the decision, like the young man who wanted to go bury his father first (Luke 9:59). But procrastination is not just putting off the decision until later; it is saying “No” to the Lord’s invitation to follow Him right now. What about you? Have you said “No” to Jesus’ invitation to follow Him or have you been putting it off? Now is the day of your salvation (Heb 4:7). Won’t you make the right decision right now?

Luke 9:59  He said to another man, “Follow me.” But the man replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

Heb 4:7  Therefore God again set a certain day, calling it Today, when a long time later he spoke through David, as was said before: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.”

Andrew seems to be always bringing people to Jesus. (John 6:8-9, 12:20-22)  How about you?

John 6:8-9  Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up,  “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”

John 12:20-22 Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the Feast.  They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.”  Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.

Jesus renamed Simon.  The name of a person stood for the whole person.  It summed up the whole person, speaking of his personality and other attributes.  Thus when Jesus said to the Father, “I have manifested Thy name” (John 17:6 KJV), it indicated that He had revealed the whole divine nature of God. (NIV even translates it that way.) Also, when a person changes another’s name, it indicates that authority rests in the personage of the changer. (2Kings 23:34, 24:17) When God changes someone’s name, it indicates a change in character or nature of the changee. (Gen 32:28, 17:5)

John 17:6   “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word.

2 Kings 23:34  Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim son of Josiah king in place of his father Josiah and changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz and carried him off to Egypt, and there he died.

2 Kings 24:17  He made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s uncle, king in his place and changed his name to Zedekiah.

Gen 32:28  Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome.”

Gen 17:5  No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.

When Jesus saw Simon, He immediately changed his name.  This is an indication of the authority possessed by Jesus.  Simon is from henceforth Jesus’ man.  This name change also indicated a change in the character of Simon; he was now Peter, or “rock.” But, as Morris points out, “Peter appears in all the Gospels as anything but a rock.  He is impulsive, volatile, unreliable. But that was not God’s last word for Peter.  Jesus’ words point to the change that would be wrought in him by the power of God.” (p. 161)

This shows us how Jesus looks at men. He doesn’t just see us as we are; He sees us as what we can become. Jesus looked at Peter and saw not just a headstrong Galilean fisherman, but the one who had it in him to be the rock on which Jesus would build His church.

The question becomes: what does Jesus see in you? What vast potential has He spotted? Has He changed your name? Have you ever asked Him?  If you know, are you living up to it?