John 1:50

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.

King James Version · Read in your translation · Open the Explore console

Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
Jesus	Ἰησοῦς Iēsous	G2424	Jesus (i.e. Jehoshua) · noun — nominative singular masculine, a proper name
answered	Ἀπεκρίθη Apekrithē	G611	to conclude for oneself · verb — aorist middle deponent indicative, 3rd person singular
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
said	εἶπεν eipen	G2036	to speak or say (by word or writing) · verb — second aorist active indicative, 3rd person singular
him	αὐτῷ· autō	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — dative singular masculine
Because	ὅτι hoti	G3754	demonstrative · conjunction
I said	εἶπόν eipon	G2036	to speak or say (by word or writing) · verb — second aorist active indicative, 1st person singular
unto thee	σοί soí	G4671	to thee
I saw	εἶδόν eidon	G1492	used only in certain past tenses · verb — second aorist active indicative, 1st person singular
thee	σέ sé	G4571	thee
under	ὑποκάτω hupokatō	G5270	down under · preposition
the fig tree	συκῆς, sukēs	G4808	a fig-tree · noun — genitive singular feminine
believest thou	πιστεύεις; pisteueis	G4100	to have faith (in · verb — present active indicative, 2nd person singular
thou shalt see	ὀπτάνομαι optánomai	G3700	to gaze (i.e. with wide-open eyes
greater things than	μείζω meizō	G3173	big (literally or figuratively · adjective — accusative plural neuter, comparative
these	τούτων toútōn	G5130	of (from or concerning) these (persons or things)

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

John 20:29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.
John 11:40 Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?
Luke 1:45 And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.
Matthew 25:29 For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he…
Matthew 13:12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that…
Luke 7:9 When Jesus heard these things, he marvelled at him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on John 1:43–end

We have here the call of Philip and Nathanael. I. Philip was called immediately by Christ himself, not as Andrew, who was directed to Christ by John, or Peter, who was invited by his brother. God has various methods of bringing his chosen ones home to himself. But, whatever means he uses, he is not tied to any. 1. Philip was called in a preventing was: Jesus findeth Philip. Christ sought us, and found us, before we made any enquiries after him. The name Philip is of Greek origin, and much used among the Gentiles, which some make an instance of the degeneracy of the Jewish church at this time, and their conformity to the nations; yet Christ changed not his name. 2. He was called the day follo…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on John 1:50

Because I said, &c.--"So quickly convinced, and on this evidence only?"--an expression of admiration.

Adam Clarke on John 1:50

Because I said - I saw thee, etc. - As thou hast credited my Divine mission on this simple proof, that I saw thee when and where no human eye, placed where mine was, could see thee, thy faith shall not rest merely upon this, for thou shalt see greater things than these - more numerous and express proofs of my eternal power and Godhead.

John Gill on John 1:50

Jesus answered and said unto him,.... Not as reproving him for his faith, as if he was too credulous, and too easily gave into the belief of Christ, as the Son of God, and true Messiah, upon these single expressions of his; but as approving of it, and surprised at it: because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? some read the words, not by way of interrogation, but as an assertion; "thou believest", or "hast believed", as the Vulgate Latin, Arabic, and Persic versions: thou shall see greater things than these; meaning that he should have larger discoveries of his person, nature, and perfections, and should see things done by him, much more surprising than any th…

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The Church Fathers

Thou shalt be firmer unto faith, saith He, when thou seest greater things than these. For he that believed one sign, how shall he not by means of many be altogether bettered, especially since they shall be more wonderful than those now wondered at?
— Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Gospel of John, Book 2

And Jacob went on, and slept, which is a sign of a peaceful soul: and he saw the angels of God ascending and descending, that is, he foresaw Christ on earth, to whom a host of angels descended and ascended, offering service to their own pious Lord.
— Ambrose of Milan, On Jacob and the Blessed Life 2.4.16

The Lord shows that nothing he had said was so great or sufficient enough to demonstrate all of what he really was. So then he declares what the greater things are that Nathanael would have seen.… He spoke of angels ascending and descending on him, because they assist him in dealing with the whole of creation.
— Theodore of Mopsuestia, COMMENTARY ON JOHN 1.1.50-51

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Fig Tree, The · Afforded a thick shade — Afforded a thick shade
Philip · .Brings Nathanael to Jesus — .Brings Nathanael to Jesus

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

John 1:50

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on John 1:43–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on John 1:50

Adam Clarke on John 1:50

John Gill on John 1:50

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John 1:50

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on John 1:43–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on John 1:50

Adam Clarke on John 1:50

John Gill on John 1:50

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on John 1:47–end

Tyndale Open Study Notes on John 1:48-49