{"id":807,"date":"2024-06-12T12:00:59","date_gmt":"2024-06-12T16:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/leadershiponfire\/?p=807"},"modified":"2024-06-17T14:05:56","modified_gmt":"2024-06-17T18:05:56","slug":"meeting-the-apostle-bartholomew-nathaniel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/leadershiponfire\/2024\/06\/meeting-the-apostle-bartholomew-nathaniel\/","title":{"rendered":"Meeting the Apostle Bartholomew (Nathaniel)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

In our study of the first twelve apostles, we\u2019ve examined the lives and ministries of those both known and unknown: Peter<\/a>, Andrew,<\/a> James son of Zebedee<\/a>, John<\/a>, and Philip<\/a>. There are some we know much about, and others whose lives remain mysterious. In this study, I\u2019ve discovered a third category of the twelve: those who have well-documented histories but, for whatever reason, we don\u2019t hear much about their contributions to the faith.<\/p>\n

The Apostle Bartholomew (also called Nathanael or Nathaniel) is one such church leader. From his times with Jesus to his work throughout the ancient world, read on to learn about his contribution to the early church.<\/p>\n

Who was Bartholomew?<\/h3>\n We have no information on Bartholomew\u2019s early life. Sometimes New Testament references call him Bartholomew and other times call him Nathaniel. Scholars believe Bartholomew was his surname while Nathaniel was his given name<\/a>. The dual names is confusing to some. In some passages he is Bartholomew and others, Nathaniel. We don\u2019t know if he was married, had any<\/p>\n The Apostle Bartholomew By Peter Paul Rubens<\/a>, Public Domain.\u00a0<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n children, or any siblings. He was from Cana<\/a>, the city where Jesus performed His first miracle<\/a>.<\/p>\n It was Philip who introduced the Apostle Nathaniel to Christ:<\/p>\n Philip found Nathanael and told him, \u201cWe have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote\u2014Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n \u201cNazareth! Can anything good come from there?\u201d Nathanael asked.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n \u201cCome and see,\u201d said Philip.<\/span><\/em> (John 1:45-46<\/a>, NIV) \n<\/span><\/p>\n Bartholomew\u2019s walk with Jesus<\/h3>\n*** ** There are eleven mentions of Bartholomew (four) and Nathaniel (seven). The major story we have of Bartholomew is under the identity of Nathaniel:<\/p>\n ** When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, \u201cHere truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n ** \u201cHow do you know me?\u201d Nathanael asked.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n ** Jesus answered, \u201cI saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n ** ***Then Nathanael declared, \u201cRabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n Jesus said, \u201cYou believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.\u201d<\/span><\/span> He then added, \u201cVery truly I tell you, you will see \u2018heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/em> (John 1:47-51<\/a>)*** ***\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Otherwise, we see him:<\/p>\n \nSending out the twelve:<\/strong> Along with the others, Bartholomew was sent out to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, and drive out demons (Matthew 10:1-8<\/a>, Mark 3:13-19<\/a>, Luke 6:12-16<\/a>).<\/li>\nThe Last Supper:<\/strong> Along with the other twelve, Philip was present at the Last Supper (Matthew 26:17<\/a>, Mark 14:12<\/a>).<\/li>\nJesus appears after the resurrection:<\/strong> Bartholomew was present with six of the twelve when Jesus appeared after rising from the dead (John 21:1-14<\/a>).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n**Bartholomew after the resurrection<\/h3>\n****** There\u2019s one other mention of the Apostle Bartholomew in the New Testament, found in Acts 1:12-14<\/a>, speaking of the election of Matthias to replace Judas:<\/p>\n Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day\u2019s walk from the city.<\/span> When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James.<\/span> They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.<\/span> <\/em>(NIV)<\/p>\n Later accounts<\/h3>\n Bartholomew had a rich apostolic ministry throughout much of the ancient world. There are two testimonies about his work in India<\/a>. both recorded by Eusebius and Jerome. Some suspect his work was in Ethiopia, Yemen, or Saudi Arabia rather than India. Along with the Apostle Jude Thaddeus, Bartholomew was also involved in missionary work in Armenia (now Turkey).<\/p>\n There are four different accounts of his death. In the first, he was kidnapped, beaten, and drowned. The second story depicts him crucified upside down. In the third, he was skinned alive and beheaded. The fourth account is the most detailed. In it, he was tortured and executed for healing and converting Polymius, a local king of Armenia, to Christianity. The accuracy of this story<\/a> is\u00a0 of debate, as there\u2019s no record of a King Polymius under the Arsacid dynasty of Armenia.<\/p>\n There are three apocryphal writings attributed to Bartholomew:<\/p>\n \nThe Gospel of Bartholomew<\/em>, which is lost<\/li>\nThe Questions of Bartholomew<\/em><\/a><\/li>\nBook of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, by Bartholomew the Apostle<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n******* ** *******Most agree these works weren\u2019t written by Bartholomew himself, and vary in their historical value.<\/p>\n Summary<\/h3>\n********* ** Even though the details vary about Bartholomew\u2019s ministry, we are able to see he had a powerful influence on many people. Thanks to him, we know that the best thing in history came out of Nazareth.<\/p>\n ** \u201cNazareth! Can anything good come from there?\u201d Nathanael asked.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n ** *********\u201cCome and see,\u201d said Philip.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n (John 1:46<\/a>, NIV)<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In our study of the first twelve apostles, we\u2019ve examined the lives and ministries of those both known and unknown: Peter, Andrew, James son of Zebedee, John, and Philip. There are some we know much about, and others whose lives remain mysterious. In this study, I\u2019ve discovered a third category of the twelve: those who […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5168,"featured_media":870,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[134,209,399,35,32],"tags":[612,615,581,618,578],"class_list":["post-807","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bible-education","category-bible-history","category-church-history","category-leadership","category-ministry","tag-apostle-bartholomew","tag-early-church-apostles","tag-early-church-history","tag-saint-bartholomew","tag-twelve-apostles"],"yoast_head":"\nMeeting the Apostle Bartholomew (Nathaniel)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"We know about a few of the twelve in detail, but all have a story. 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