ISB ~ John 1 v49

Son of God … King of Israel:Titles closely connected in ancient Israel, where King David and his successors are called the “sons” of Yahweh (2 Sam 7:14; Ps 2:7; 89:26-27). Unlike his Davidic predecessors, however, Jesus is the Son of God by nature and not by a covenant of divine adoption (1:18) (CCC 441-42).

• Nathanael speaks from his knowledge of the OT. (1) That he was “called” while sitting “under the fig tree” (1:48) recalls how neighbors will “invite” one another under their “fig tree” in the messianic age (Zech 3:10). Judaism linked this hope with the coming of the royal “Branch”, a messianic figure mentioned by Zechariah (Zech 3:8; 6:11-13) and modeled on his contemporary Zerubbabel, who rebuilt the Temple after the Exile (Hag 1:14; Zech 4:9). (2) Mention of Jesus’ hometown suggests a connection with Is 11:1, where the “branch” that will sprout from David is a term (Heb. netser) linked to the word “Nazareth” (1:46). Once these oracles converged in the mind of Nathanael, he could reason that Jesus is the messianic “Branch” and thus the royal Son of God.

• Allegorically (St. Augustine, Tract. on John 7, 21): the shade of the fig tree is the shadow of sin and death. Nathanael is the Church, who is known in advance by the mercy of God, cleansed of all guilt and impurity, and summoned by the apostles to come forth from darkness to live in the light.