The Biblical account here gives us the name of only one of the ―two disciples‖ mentioned; namely, Andrew,
Simon Peter‘s brother. The other is left mysteriously anonymous; but with a little reading between the lines,
we can assume that his identity is none other than Yochanan the Gospel writer, whom we could also call
―Yochanan the Priest‖. This is especially plausible, since it is clear that the writer of Yochanan‘s Gospel is
characteristically humble and prefers not to refer to himself by name. He prefers the classification, ―Dear
Disciple‖ or ―the disciple that Y‘shua loved‖. Mystery, then, seems to be a key to understanding the priest
known as Yochanan. In any case, the Gospel story makes it clear that this anonymous disciple of Yochanan
the Immerser was a companion of Andrew and that both left the Immerser to follow Y‘shua. Andrew, in turn,
recruited Simon Peter who comes to the center stage in many of the subsequent Gospel stories. But, our
anonymous disciple remains strangely in the shadows.
As the story of Y‘shua‘s life and ministry continues, Yochanan the Priest doesn‘t appear as one of the main
characters ―on the scene‖, such as the ever-present Peter. Again, we shouldn‘t confuse him with Yochanan,
son of Zebedee, who was a member of Y‘shua‘s inner circle. Perhaps this was simply an aspect of
Yochanan the Priest‘s humility. He was quite content to stand on the sidelines as an intense observer,
filtering out each event of Y‘shua‘s ministry through his own priestly perspective.
But, there is possibly another reason for Y‘shua‘s affection for the ―Dear Disciple‖ ; namely, the simple fact
that Yochanan the Gospel writer was indeed a priest. As mentioned earlier, most of the priests were
members of the wealthy and influential party of the Sadducees. To have such a person as a disciple would
have been a great honour for Y‘shua, giving His movement more credibility with the people. Moreover, if he
had been an Essene, he would have been a seeker after YHWH and had the kind of spiritual walk that
Y‘shua offered.
―(46) And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him,
Come and see‖. What was a Nazarene? A Nazarene was someone who was despised and rejected.
Nathaniel‘s question reflects the negative viewpoint people had for Nazarenes. People who were from
Nazareth were people who were despised and rejected.
―(47) Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!
(48) 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. (49) Nathanael answered and
saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel‖. When Y‘shua sees Nathaniel
coming, curiously He calls him an ―Israelite in whom is no guile‖. When Nathaniel hears this, he asks, ―How
do you know me?‖ Y‘shua‘s answer is a strange one: ―Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig
tree, I saw you‖. What is going on here? In this story, there are several items of interest from a Jewish
perspective. Nathaniel believed because Y‘shua previously saw him under a fig tree meditating. He is now
about to tell him other things to let Nathaniel know this is no ordinary Man he is dealing with. It is recorded in
Jewish literature that one of the best places to meditate is under a fig tree. One example is Midrash Rabba
62:2, where it tells of Rabbi Akiba and his disciples being accustomed to sitting under a fig tree to study.
It wasn‘t that he was merely sitting under a fig tree, but that Nathaniel was meditating upon Scripture. What
impressed him about Y‘shua is not only that he saw him under a fig tree (a supernatural deed), but that
Y‘shua also knew what Scripture he was meditating on. Jacob was an Israelite in the Old Covenant in whom
there was much guile, and was even famous for much guile. Jacob was also the first person to be called
Israel. By calling him an Israelite and using the term ―guile‖, Y‘shua was connecting Nathaniel with Jacob.
Nathaniel recognised this because he happened to be meditating upon a special portion of Genesis, which
talked about Jacob.
―(50) Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest
thou? thou shalt see greater things than these. (51) And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you,
Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son
of man‖. Y‘shua gives Nathaniel another clue to further let him know that Y‘shua was actually reading his
mind from a distance, a supernatural deed. The specific Scripture Nathaniel was meditating on was Genesis
- In that Scripture, Jacob is forced to flee from the home of his father because of his guile. While he is
spending the night in Bethel (his first stop), he has a dream. In this dream, he sees angels ascending and
descending on a ladder from Heaven. So, Y‘shua knew what was in the mind of Nathaniel. It is this
recognition on the part of Nathaniel that causes his response, ―You are the Son of God! You are the King of
Israel!‖