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Peter identified Christ in Matthew 16:16 by divine revelation. Can we assume the same occurred to Nathanael in John 1:49?

In both the Gospels of Matthew and John, we read of Jesus being identified as the "Son of God":

John 1:48-49: "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.' 49Nathanael answered Him, 'Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel'” (emphasis added).

Then, we have the verse with which most are familiar:

Matthew 16:16-17: "Simon Peter answered, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.' 17And Jesus said to him, 'Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.'"

Since we know Peter received a divine revelation from the Father (Matt. 16:16), might we conclude the same of Nathanael in John 1:49?

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    +1 for comparing these two passages, but the question is very vague. Why do you mention 'the Holy One of God' but that's not mentioned in either of the quotes? Also, why is the emphasis on 'the Son of God' instead of 'the Christ' or 'the King of Israel' in the question?
    – Only True God
    Jun 15, 2021 at 23:02
  • @OneGodtheFather Thanks for that. I corrected. +1.
    – Xeno
    Jun 15, 2021 at 23:04

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John 1:48-49:

Nathanael said to Him, 'How do You know me?'

Nathanael expressed surprise.

Jesus answered and said to him, 'Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.'

Apparently, Nathanael had a moment of personal quiet time with God under the fig tree just between him and God.

49Nathanael answered Him, 'Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel'”

Nathanael was impressed that Jesus knew that special moment and concluded Jesus had to be the Son of God to know that.

On the other hand, we have in Matthew 16:16-17:

Simon Peter answered, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.'

Peter declared a propositional truth.

17 And Jesus said to him, 'Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.'

Jesus explained the source of Peter's knowledge as a matter of fact.

The two incidents were rather different kinds of experiences from Nathanael and Peter's points of view. They both received special revelations from God but in different manners of experiences. The source of knowledge was the same but the methods of deliveries were different.

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We cannot infer that the same thing happened to him in the same way, but there was a revelation, however, there are no elements in Scripture that provide more data on Nathanael's previous experience (we do not know what happened under the fig tree).

We can teach from this crossing of texts that Jesus revealed himself in particular ways to each one, but we cannot say with truth that it was the same way.

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    Perhaps we cannot infer this. It does, nonetheless, seem incredible that Nathaniel's revelation was so accurate upon so brief an encounter with Jesus. It also appears that John the Baptist was the first to recognize Christ as the Messiah. Of course, his was not that of flesh and blood because we know that John was "filled with the Spirit" since birth (Lk. 1:15).
    – Xeno
    Jun 15, 2021 at 22:57
  • @Xeno Why would you think it's incredible? Nathanael is told just beforehand that "We have found the One Moses wrote about in the Law, the One the prophets foretold." Who is that? The Messiah! The Messiah = the King of Israel = the Son of God. What's interesting to me isn't the accuracy but the rapidity of the identification. Why did he come to that conclusion so quickly?
    – Only True God
    Jun 15, 2021 at 23:10
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    @OneGodtheFather I suppose I should have said it was "very interesting". Nonetheless, you will recall that Peter was told virtually the same thing by Andrew only 8 verses earlier: "[Andrew to Simon], 'We have found the Messiah' (which translated means Christ)" (Jn. 1:41). That is why I remarked that such an immediate recognition by Nathaniel was "incredible".
    – Xeno
    Jun 15, 2021 at 23:22

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