#4~ THE APOSTLE BARTHOLOMEW 12-28-13
Today we'll continue our study to do with the Apostles; and today we'll bring a few thoughts about the apostle BARTHOLOMEW, also called Nathaniel.
Let me say once again here at the beginning of today's broadcast, that the 12 apostles were chosen by the Lord Jesus Himself, they would be the foundation of the Lords true Church, Jesus being the Chief Cornerstone, they were to preach His gospel, they also received power to heal all manner of diseases and afflictions, they even raised the dead.
~ Listen as I read Matt.10:1-8, and notice that His 12 is mentioned 3 times, indicating that only these 12 would be given these powers, listen.
>Matthew 10: 1-8 And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.
2Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; 4Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.
5These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:
6But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
7And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
8Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.
* Notice, in these verses we see "12", three times, so this leaves every body else out.--- when ever we see a "three" in the scriptures most of the time the Lord is involved.
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* I want to say something about verses 5-7 before we move on.
~Listen as I read them once again;
5These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:
6But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
7And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
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~The legitimate offer of the kingdom of Israel was being made by the rightful King Jesus, had Israel accepted her King, she would have had her long-awaited kingdom.
~ During His earthly ministry the Lord Jesus Christ was offering the Kingdom to the Jewish people, in accordance with the prophesies of the Old Testament.
~However, while the Kingdom was being offered to Israel, this did not rule out Gentiles.
„« Romans 15:8-9 Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision [Jews] for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers: [patriarchs]
9And that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy; as it is written, For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name.
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>Matthew 15:21-28 we read of our Lord's ministry to the Canaanite woman and her daughter who was possessed by a demon. -- He was ministering to gentiles.
~Also, Jesus gave the Great Commission.
„« Matthew 28:19 He said: "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations --
~LISTEN, Jesus said in;
>John 10:16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.
~ This is certainly a reference to the Gentiles; here Jesus was looking forward to the Church Age and to the evangelization of the world. -- Notice, Jesus says "and there shall be one fold."-- He is not speaking about two folds - a Jewish fold and a Gentile fold.
~ If the Jews had received Jesus as their King, He would have set up His Kingdom at that time; and He would still have saved the gentiles.
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~The church was never called to build the Kingdom. -- The Lord Jesus Christ Himself will establish the Kingdom when He returns to the earth. --- The church is a called-out body from the world to manifest Christ and to preach His gospel throughout the world. -- Kingdom business is none of our business.
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„« Back to our study of the apostles.
~ The power He gave to these 12 was their credentials as they went to the nation Israel. -- The prophets of the Old Testament had said that this would be the credentials of the Messiah. -- Having given them this power, they are no longer just disciples but apostles.
~ The Apostles of Jesus, including the Apostle Bartholomew, were missionaries, or leaders of the religious mission in the early Christian Church.
~An apostle of the Lord was a divinely commissioned messenger of the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ, and sent by Jesus Christ.
~ And let me remind us once again, there are no apostles in our day and time, no one today has walked among the 12 disciples, and neither has any one seen the risen Christ which were requirements to be an apostle.
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„« Acts 1:21-22 Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, - no one today has went in and out among the original apostles.
22Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection.
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„« I think it's important to mention this from time to time in our study of the apostles. -- This takes care of the false apostles of today.
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~We're talking about "Bartholomew -- Nathaniel" today.
~ Let me say that the missionary work of Bartholomew is said to have been Armenia which is eastern Turkey today, northern Iraq, north western Iran and India. --- Other locations include Egypt, Arabia, Ethiopia and Persia (Iran).
~ Bible historians say that Bartholomew met his death by being flayed or skinned alive, and then beheaded. -- It is said that he may have suffered this cruel fate in what is now India.
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~ Not much is known about the life of Bartholomew. --- He is mentioned by this name four times in the New Testament -- one time in each of the first three gospels.
Matthew 10:3 -- Mark 3:18 -- Luke 6:14 -- and once in the Acts of the Apostles 1:13.
~ In all four of these books Bartholomew is seen in the lists of Christ's apostles. -- But the name "Bartholomew" is actually a family name, meaning, "son of Tholmai".
~ For that reason, "Bartholomew" is usually identified as the one and the same as Nathaniel, whom John only calls him Nathaniel in his gospel.
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~Bartholomew; is how he is referred to in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, he is never called NATHANIEL in these 3 gospel accounts, or in ACTS either.
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„« Only in Johns gospel is he called Nathaniel. ~ John 1:43-51 & John 21:2.
~John places him among the first disciples to respond to the call of Jesus.
"Nathanial" -means "a gift." --- "Bartholomew" means "son of Tholmai"
~LISTEN ~ In Matthew, Mark, and Luke, where the apostles names are given, Philip and Bartholomew are always coupled together.
„« LISTEN-- In this passage in Matt. their twelve names are arranged in six pairs, which probably corresponded to the arrangement in which they were sent out on their mission.
>Matt.10: 2-4 Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; 4Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him. -- notice the 6 "ands".
~ The names of "Philip and Bartholomew" are coupled together also in
Mark 3:18 and Luke 6:14.
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~LISTEN, John gospel has Philip and Nathaniel coupled together, [not Philip and Bartholomew] another indication that Bartholomew and Nathaniel is the same person.
~ Evidently Philip and Bartholomew were close friends, and Philip wanted his friend Bartholomew to become a disciple of Christ.
~So naturally Philip came to "Nathaniel -- Bartholomew" with the news that he had found the Messiah.
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~About all we know about "Bartholomew, Nathaniel" is what we're told in Johns account.
>John 1:43-51 The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me.
44Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.
45Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. -- remember this is also Bartholomew.
46And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see.
47Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! [No deceit -- no subtlety] Notice, Jesus said Nathaniel was an honest and upstanding man, quit a testimony.
48Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.
"When thou wast under the fig tree" This was a favorite place used by the Jews for meditation. --- Jesus evidently was talking about a specific time which Nathaniel would know about, because nothing about Nathaniel being under a fig tree is seen in these verses.
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49Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.
„« ~I want to point some thing out right here; "Nathaniel -- Bartholomew" was the first disciple that called Jesus "the King of Israel."
~ Last week we pointed out that Andrew and a unnamed disciple, was the 1st disciples that Jesus called to follow Him- come and see in John 1:39 --
~LISTEN-- Andrew would always have that honor, --- and here [Bartholomew -- Nathaniel] will always have the honor of being the 1st follower of Jesus that calls Him "the King of Israel."--- John 1:49.
~ In fact, that title is only found 4 times in the 4 Gospels.
~ Matt.27:42~ Mark 15:32~ John 1:49~ John 12:13~
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50Jesus answered and said unto him, [Nathaniel] Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these. 51And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, {ye-you-your-means everyone in our KJB] Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.
~ The Lord asked Nathaniel, because He saw him under the fig tree, was that the reason he believed. --- Jesus promises him that he will see greater things. -- And during the next three years, Nathaniel did see much greater things than these.
~ This first chapter of John's Gospel reveals Jesus as the incarnation of the Word--He is God, He became flesh, He reveals the Father. -- Then He is introduced by witnesses.
~John the Baptist testifies that Jesus is the revealer of God. --- Andrew testifies that Jesus is the Messiah. --- Philip testifies that Jesus fulfills the Old Testament prophecies to do with the Messiah, -- Nathaniel witnesses that Jesus is the Son of God, the King of Israel. -- All in John 1:
~ The Lord Jesus had two doubters among His apostles. -- The one at the beginning was Nathaniel; the one towards the end was Thomas. -- This man, this skeptic Nathaniel, who wonders whether any good can come out of Nazareth, would confess in this chapter that Jesus is the Son of God, the King of Israel.
~When Nathaniel confessed that the Lord Jesus is the Son of God and the King of Israel, it reveals that something very important did come out of Nazareth.
„« LISTEN- This passage in John 1:43-51 contains really all we know about [Bartholomew -- Nathaniel] and so I want to talk a little on these verses before we move on.
~ LISTEN; back up in verse 45, we have Philip's testimony as a witness of Jesus Christ. He declares that He is the Messiah and Savior predicted in the Old Testament.
45Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, ** and the prophets, ** did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.
~Evidently Nathaniel was not impressed with the town of Nazareth, or any one from there, If Jesus comes from Nazareth, that is all Nathaniel cares to know about Him, or so he thinks.
~ But instead of arguing with [Bartholomew -- Nathaniel] Philip says, "Come and see" -- Phillip simply invites him to meet Jesus for himself.
47Jesus saw Nathaniel coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! ~ Jesus said this was an honest and upstanding man, quit a testimony to do with the character of Nathaniel.
48Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.
~ Perhaps under the shade of a fig tree was a favorite place used by the Jews for meditation. -- And if Nathaniel had been praying concerning the promised Messiah that Philip mentions in verse 45, this would explain Nathaniel's response in verse 49, where he confesses Jesus' deity and Messiahship.
~ Perhaps Nathaniel had been meditating on the account of Jacob's ladder vision in,
„« Gen. 28:12 And he dreamed, [JACOB] and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. -- In Jacobs dream he saw a ladder from earth to heaven, and the angels ascending and descending upon it. -- Jesus says that He is the ladder, the link, between heaven and earth. -- When Nathaniel comes to understand that Jesus is the mediator between God and man, it will be an even greater sign (you will see greater things than these).
„« Jesus replaces any mediating link with heaven. -- >1st. Tim. 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
