ANOTHER REASON THAT I AM THE LONGTIMEBELIEVER
The confusion about who Yeshua (Jesus) was and what His mission was had been speculated about during the time He was on earth. Some saw Him as a man sent by G-d to throw off the shackles of the Roman occupation. Others saw Him with another mission. One of the reasons I am a believer is because of what I found in the Gospel of John. The following will be my attempt to put light on this confusion.
In the 1st chapter of the Gospel of John we read: (all scripture is from the NASV)
43 The next day He purposed to go into Galilee, and He *found Philip. And Jesus *said to him, “Follow Me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip *found Nathanael and *said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46 Nathanael said to him, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” Philip *said to him, “Come and see.” 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and *said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael *said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Nathanael answered Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel.” 50 Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And He *said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
The question that should come into anyone who is paying the slightest bit of attention should be: “THAT DOESN’T MAKE ANY SENSE. WHY WOULD ANYONE SAY THAT SOMEONE IS THE SON OF GOD; THE KING OF ISRAEL” BECAUSE SOME GUY SAW HIM UNDER A FIG TREE? It makes no sense!
I asked pastor after pastor about this passage and never received a satisfactory response, so I spent a lot of time studying Fig Trees in a concordance to find the answer,. And as they say, “I found it”.
The answer is found in two chapters of the old testament profits.
Remember, in verse 45 ”Philip *found Nathanael and *said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
So there was a clue all along.
You must remember Israel was under the control and domination of the Romans and many people were looking for someone to bring them out of that condition and into a period of peace. There were others who were looking for the salvation of Israel in another way,
Luke: 2: 25-38
25 And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s [j]Christ. 27 And he came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, [k]to carry out for Him the custom of the Law, 28 then he took Him into his arms, and blessed God, and said,
29 “Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace,
According to Your word;
30 For my eyes have seen Your salvation,
31 Which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
32 A LIGHT [l]OF REVELATION TO THE GENTILES,
And the glory of Your people Israel.”
33 And His father and mother were amazed at the things which were being said about Him. 34 And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and [m]rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed— 35 and a sword will pierce even your own soul—to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”
36 And there was a prophetess, [n]Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in [o]years and had lived with her husband seven years after her [p]marriage, 37 and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers. 38 At that very [q]moment she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.
There were others who were looking for another Messiah who would bring in an age of peace through overthrowing the Romans and establishing the “Kingdom of God”.
Mark 6:23 And he swore to her, “Whatever you ask of me, I will give it to you; up to half of my kingdom.”
Luke 22:29 and just as My Father has granted Me a kingdom, I grant
Luke 22:30 that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
Jesus finally confirms where His Kingdom is and what profesies He is fulfilling in John
John 18:36Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.”
So what about “the fig tree”?
The fig tree is mentioned many times in the Jewish scriptures and in many of the references it is paired with “the vine”. The prophets who are of note in the confusion of Jews as to whether He was here to lead a revolt and overthrow the Romans or be the salvation of Israel and Jerusalem are: Zechariah and Micah.
Zechariah speaks of Jesus’ (Yeshua in Hebrew) Day and Micah speaks of the 2nd coming:
Joshua (Yehoshua in the Hebrew) , the High Priest
3 Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and [a]Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. 2 The LORD said to Satan, “The LORD rebuke you, Satan! Indeed, the LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?” 3 Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and standing before the angel. 4 He spoke and said to those who were standing before him, saying, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” Again he said to him, “See, I have taken your iniquity away from you and [b]will clothe you with festal robes.” 5 Then I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments, while the angel of the LORD was standing by.
6 And the angel of the LORD admonished Joshua, saying, 7 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘If you will walk in My ways and if you will perform My service, then you will also govern My house and also have charge of My courts, and I will grant you [c]free access among these who are standing here.
The Branch
8 Now listen, Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who are sitting in front of you—indeed they are men who are a symbol, for behold, I am going to bring in My servant the [d]Branch. 9 For behold, the stone that I have set before Joshua; on one stone are seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave an inscription on it,’ declares the LORD of hosts, ‘and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. 10 ‘In that day,’ declares the LORD of hosts, ‘every one of you will invite his neighbor to sit under his vine and under his fig tree.’”
Micah speaks of the 2nd coming in the following except from Micah 4:
Micah 4New American Standard Bible (NASB)
Peaceful Latter Days
4 And it will come about in the last days
That the mountain of the house of the LORD
Will be established [a]as the chief of the mountains.
It will be raised above the hills,
And the peoples will stream to it.
2 Many nations will come and say,
“Come and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD
And to the house of the God of Jacob,
That He may teach us about His ways
And that we may walk in His paths.”
For from Zion will go forth the law,
Even the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
3 And He will judge between many peoples
And render decisions for mighty, [b]distant nations.
Then they will hammer their swords into plowshares
And their spears into pruning hooks;
Nation will not lift up sword against nation,
And never again will they [c]train for war.
4 Each of them will sit under his vine
And under his fig tree,
so, many of the people of Israel were looking for the time in Micah and some were looking for the time in Zechariah and fortunately for us gentiles it was Zechariah’s prophesy that was fulfilled in that day.
Now we are awaiting that 1000 years of peace and another Spirit carrying either a vine or a fig tree. Amen and Amen.