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There are lots of ideas about Yeshua meant when he addressed his new disciple, Nathanael:

The  following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, "Follow Me."  Now  Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter .  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 .'  And Nathanael said to him, 'Can anything good come out of Nazareth ?' Philip  said to him, 'Come and see .' 

In the Jewish tradition, the zealous actions of Pinchas against Zimri and Cozbi are seen as related to the incident at Shechem.  The zeal with which Pinchas defended the honor of the Mishkan against sexual licentiousness taking place its very opening is compared to the zeal with which Shimon and Levi defended their sister Dinah's purity at Shechem. Additionally, they were zealous for the family honor, the "House."  They ask Jacob if Shechem should be allowed to treat their sister as a harlot.  It is also from Shechem that Joseph was kidnaped and sold, and to there his bones were returned because of his zeal for his lost Land of Promise.  

Although Jacob saw the ladder into the opening to Heaven, it is his sons who act with zeal for the holiness of the Land.  Unlike Pinchas, however, Jacob says their anger was cruel, the punishment of mass murder not fitting the crime.  Yeshua  identifies Nathanael as having this same of zeal, a true son of Israel, yet without the cruelty or deceit of Shimon and Levi.  

Phillip told  Nathanael  that  Yeshua  was from Nazareth, which was situated 6 km from  Sepphoris , a short walk.  Sepphoris was a Roman stronghold improved and fortified by Herod Antipas. It was a city extremely loyal to Roman rule.  Nathanael is unable to control his contempt for the licentiousness of the Roman culture there, such as its theater, and his doubt that anything good could come from that area.  Perhaps only later when Yeshua uses the phrase "without deceit," to hint to the zeal against Shechem does Nathanael connect who Phillip said Yeshua was, "the son of Joseph."  

Joseph was zealous for every master he served after he was sold from Shechem.  The fig tree is also connected traditionally to the portion  Pinchas .  The premise is found in Proverbs 27:18:

He who tends the fig tree will eat its fruit, and he who cares for his master will be honored.

The entire chapter of Proverbs 27 has a context in  Pinchas , but this verse is especially mentioned in the Midrash to describe  Yehoshua , Moses' servant.  Perhaps  Nathanael  was studying this very Torah portion. How it connects is seen in two  subsequent verses of Proverbs:   "Know  well the condition of your  flocks, and  pay attention to your  herds; for  riches are not  forever, nor  does a crown endure to all generations ." (23-24)

Pinchas ' zeal for the House of Adonai is recorded first in the portion. The tribes are then numbered, and the daughters of  Tzelophechad  are given an inheritance with their tribe. In other words, the condition of the flocks is checked after yet another catastrophic failure in the wilderness.  

Tzelophechad's  daughters bring up a national question. Now that Moses has been told to ascend Mount Nebo to look at the Land of Israel, he must know how the manner of succession will be determined.  

Only Caleb and  Yehoshua  are left with first-hand knowledge of the Land. Will it be one of Moses' sons who succeed him, Caleb, or  Yehoshua ?  Or a  cohen  such as  Pinchas  or Elazar? Now  Moses faces "the crown does not endure to all generations" in his case. It will not be one of his own sons who succeeds him, but his faithful servant, Yeshoshua. 

Although  Yehoshua  led the battle against Amalek, it hadn't gone so well.  Without Moshe's hands lifted in support,  Yehoshua  would have lost.  Perhaps this is why the ten spies had no confidence in battle against the Canaanites and Amalekites, and why at first  Yehoshua  is silent and Caleb speaks up on the 9 th of Av.  

The tradition tells us that  Eldad  and  Medad's prophecy was that Moshe would die and  Yehoshua  would lead them in.   When the warriors finally decided to wage a battle after their wilderness death sentence,  Yehoshua did  not go up with them.   Yehoshua  was Moshe's servant.  He remained with him as long as Moshe lived.  Moshe himself led the wars against  Sihon  and  Og .  With these issues in mind, Moshe prays: 

Moses spoke to the Lord, saying,  "Let  the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation  who  shall go out before them and come in before them , who shall lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the Lord may not be as sheep that have no shepherd."  (Nu 27:15-17)

The request is dual: 

 

a.  A leader in war

b.  A leader with a shepherd's heart

The Holy One tells Moshe to ordain  Yehoshua , the  faithful servant:   "At  his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he and all the people of Israel with him, the whole congregation ." (27:21)

According to the Midrash, the Holy One answered Moshe's request for a successor with both a shepherd's heart and zeal for battle with the verse recorded in Proverbs:  "He who tends the fig tree will eat its fruit, and he who cares for his master will be honored ." ( The Midrash Says ,  Bamidbar , " Pinchas ," pp. 378-379)

The fig tree is a symbol of Torah.  Tending it is to behave as  Yehoshua  is thought to have behaved, dedicating his life to serving "Moses," arriving early and leaving late to the place of study, arranging mats for the elders and other students to learn.  A great teacher is first a devoted student who cares nothing for advancement.  He or she simply loves the Torah and will forfeit a normal life for it.  Unlike the  Korachs  of the camp, he has no hidden agendas or dreams of greatness.

The Midrash says,  "Why does the verse liken a Torah student to one who eats the fruit of a fig tree?"  Many trees bear their fruit all at one time.  Fig trees, on the other hand, produce their fruit in staggered amounts. Therefore, figs must be picked at different times, each day when it is ripe.  The Torah is likened to a fig tree because one cannot become a wise student overnight.  Rather, one must patiently and continuously invest years of study to become proficient in Torah." (p. 378-379)

Nathanael was likely a devoted and zealous Torah student. Perhaps when Phillip summoned him from "under the fig tree," Nathanael was in the synagogue arranging seating mats for study sessions, cleaning the building, dusting the scrolls, or serving the local scribes and rabbis so that he could soak up as much Torah as possible.  It would have been something he performed daily, patiently, serving his mentors under the fig tree.  Without zeal, even patience to learn is impossible, but strangely, it takes zeal to be patient!

May we have the zeal of Joseph, Pinchas, and the son of Joseph for the Master's house, serving patiently under the fig tree!

Day by day.