Sermon prepared for Messiah Lutheran Church, Auburn WA

by Pastor Gregory S. Kaurin

8:30 & 11 AM traditional services, 1/19/03

 

Text: John 1:43-51 (& Psalms 139:1-5, 12-17)

Sermon:

Nathanael, the Philosopher

 

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What’s the deal with fig trees, anyway?  It seems to all start in Genesis, after the fall.  Adam and Eve sewed some fig leaves together, the Bible tells us, to make the first pair of skivvies.  I’ve always thought that was a strange choice.  I’ve always wondered if there was any meaning behind that: fig leaves.  Maybe, they couldn’t find any nice big grape leaves, and, in their guilt and embarrassment, they quickly grabbed the first bush in reach.

Then, many years later, under the reign of the great King Solomon and Son of David, the fourth chapter of 1^st Kings tells us that:  [In those days] “Judah and Israel lived in security, everyone lived under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan to Beersheba, throughout the lifetime of Solomon.  They became numerous, as many as the sands on the sea-shore.  They ate and drank and were happy.”[1]

There are a lot of references to figs and fig trees in the Bible.  In that culture, and also in Greece and Egypt, figs and their trees were a symbol of prosperity and big families.  Figs meant a lot: food and symbol.

They are mentioned in the New Testament, too.  Jesus once mind-blasted a fig tree for not having any fruit (even though it was off-season), and it withered within hours. 

And there is this fig tree under which Nathanael sat when Philip found him.  Nathanael (who is probably the disciple whom Matthew, Mark and Luke call by his Hebrew name, “Bartholomew”) is only mentioned in passing in the Bible, except here, under the fig tree, where Jesus saw him.

 

So, what’s the deal with the fig tree anyway?  In the early 400’s AD, St. Augustine wrote about Nathanael’s fig tree and said this:

 

We must inquire whether this fig-tree signifies anything. Listen, my brethren. We find the fig-tree cursed because it only had leaves [for Jesus], and not fruit.  In the beginning of the human race, when Adam and Eve had sinned, they made themselves girdles of fig leaves.  Fig leaves thus signify sins. So, Nathanael was under the fig-tree, just as he was under the shadow of death.

 

I have great respect for St. Augustine, but he usually managed to find the darkest understanding for everything, and for him everything physical somehow related sin and death.  I do agree that this fig tree, and Nathanael under it, meant something to St. John; he made such a point of it.  Jesus made such a point of it.

Was it because the story was so memorable?  St. John even remembered the kind of tree that Jesus saw him under.  Or, was the point that Jesus’ prophetic sight was so clear that he even knew what kind of tree Nathanael was sitting under?

 

I’m going to go out on a limb here.  (Okay, bad pun, but I really do want to get to the root of this question!)  I suggest that Nathanael’s fig tree was even deeper and more personal than what appears on the surface.  I think that Jesus, Nathanael, and those around understood that Jesus was talking about something bigger than fig trees.

I think that Jesus, in that one statement, when he said, “I saw you under the fig tree,” said not only where Nathanael was sitting, but also what was in Nathanael’s heart of hearts.  Jesus had uncovered his greatest desire, a desire that Nathanael himself was afraid to admit.

 

That passage I read to you from 1^st Kings was well-known in Jesus’ day.  To ‘sit under a fig tree’ was to long for days like those in King Solomon’s time.  Actually, it was even more than that.  To ‘sit under a fig tree’ was to wish for the new King David, for the Messiah.

Philip had one great talent for which he was known: inviting people to meet Jesus.  He started by inviting Nathanael.  Philip would go on to invite Samaritans, and then an Ethiopian eunuch.

But Philip began here with this pessimistic philosopher brooding under his fig tree, Nathanael.  (Actually, my philosopher wife informed me that philosophers don’t “brood.”  She said, “That’s too cheerful for them.”)

So, Perky Philip said to Brooding Nathanael, “We’ve found him!  The one promised by Moses and the Prophets, Jesus Bar Joseph, from Nazareth.”

To which Nathanael, the pessimistic philosopher, quipped, “Puh-lease…can anything good come of Nazareth.”

 

There’s one thing I’ve learned about pessimistic, and even cynical people.  They are often cynical and pessimistic about the things they want the most.  They use their doubts to cover over the things they want the most.  They sometimes truly believe that saying it out loud will jinx whatever slim chance there is.  They’re so afraid to hope and be disappointed, that they go around as though their hopes are too impossible and already dashed.  And yet they do hope. 

I think of Larry King.  For devotions at our last Stephen Ministry meeting, one of our members was sharing from Larry King’s book about his struggle with prayer.  Through all his interviews with religious people he questioned, doubted, questioned and doubted the validity of prayer, and of God himself.  All the while, Larry King admits he was wanting and wishing and hoping.

 

Really, a touch of cynicism, a bit of reserve, is not a horrible thing—even in faith, as long as it’s open, revealed and honest.  Jesus embraced Nathanael’s honest doubts.  Nathanael said what was on his mind; he voiced his doubts against Philip’s enthusiasm, “Can anything good come of Nazareth.”

He questioned and doubted.  Did you notice, though: doubts aside, Nathanael got up… and he followed Philip …to this Jesus of Nazareth?  He questioned and doubted, but he wished, and wanted, and in his heart, too painful to admit, he hoped.  “Can, can anything good come from Nazareth?”

While he was just arriving on the spot, Jesus said loud enough for everyone around to hear, as if they were close friends, “Ah, here truly is an Israelite in which there are no hidden agendas, no false smiles or pretenses …no deceit.”

And Nathanael was taken aback.  “What?  Do I know you from somewhere?”

That’s when Jesus answered, “I saw you…under the fig tree.”

Now, Nathanael may have been sitting under an actual fig tree at the time, but the real point that Jesus was making was this, “I know you, Nathanael, inside and out.  I know what you really want.  I know what you were praying for as you followed Philip.  Doubts and cynicism aside, you want the fig trees of Solomon’s reign; you want the new King David; you want the Messiah.”

At that moment, Nathanael knew who was in front of him.  His response to Jesus made perfect sense.  He grabbed two titles of the Messiah from his scriptures, “It is you, the son of God, and the king of Israel.”

And to that Jesus answered with a promise that fulfilled Nathanael dreams, (and Jacob’s dream,) with angels ascending and descending, heaven and earth connected.  “You will see all this, through the Son of Man.”

 

There’s a bit of fear and reserve in all of us, even within the Philips of the world who act on their hopes and optimism first.  There is a bit of healthy and unhealthy doubt in all of us.

God knows it.  As our psalm said, he knows all our ways.  He was the one who knit you together, and saw you before the stars swirled and before the earth cooled.  He knew you then, and he knows you now.  He knows what you want, and more important what you need.

Even in the midst of praying, or other times, we might absolutely believe in everything—in God, in forgiveness, in everlasting life and health—and yet we crave more hints, more signs.  “Come on, God—do something!  Show me something, so that I can know that it’s all true.”

I believe that Jesus’ answer is gentle but firm to each and every one of us, “I have.  I have shown you.”

Look around, and listen.  There are miracles and words of God all around.  The fact that a new day started, the sun rose, and that you woke up says that there is a God.  He has shown you.

And there in your Bible was Jesus Christ, embodying that God and his love.  The fact that he was willing to stretch his arms wide on a cross in order to embrace the world tells you everything you need to know about God and his love for you, and everyone else.  He has shown you.

God tells each one of us, “I’ve seen you under the fig tree, doubting and questioning, doubting and questioning, but wishing and wanting and hoping.”  You may question this, or question that, but never question God’s love for you.  It’s marked on your forehead, and the signs are all around you, including the hugeness, infinite art and order of creation, including miracles great and seemingly insignificant.  But you will see greater things.  You will see heaven.

So, enough with Nathanael and his fig tree!  Now it’s time to take Philip’s example.  It’s time to invite others to experience the peace and quiet assurance that you get here.  Tell them about it.  Tell them something you’ve learned, or why you bother with church and God.  Get out from under your fig tree and pick a neighbor or two.  Tell them to “Come and see.”  He has shown you.  Now show others.

 

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