John 1:47 (ASV)

Passage

Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!

Nearby Context

John 1:45 Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.

John 1:46 And Nathanael said unto him, Can any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see.

John 1:47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!

John 1:48 Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.

John 1:49 Nathanael answered him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art King of Israel.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "jesus", "nathanael", "coming", "saith", "behold", "israelite", "indeed", and "guile". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "jesus" and "nathanael", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 46's "And Nathanael said unto him Can any..." into verse 48's "Nathanael saith unto him Whence knowest thou...", so "jesus" and "nathanael" belong inside that flow. In John context, the local focus is the identity of Jesus, new birth, eternal life, and belief and unbelief.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "jesus" and "nathanael" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.