Disciple #6 Pure Nathanael
The sixth disciple we are going to look at is Bartholomew and/or Nathanael. Most Bible scholars believe Bartholomew’s other name is Nathanael. Nathanael is mentioned in John but never mentioned in Matthew, Mark or Luke. Because ‘Bartholomew’ follows ‘Philip’ in three of the lists (Matt. 10:2-4; Mark 3:16-19; Luke 6:14-16), some scholars have identified him with the ‘Nathanael’ whom Philip brought to Jesus (John 1:45-51; Bartholomew is never mentioned in John, nor is Nathanael in Matthew, Mark, or Luke).
John 1:43-51
43 The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, “Follow Me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 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.”
46 And Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”
Philip said to him, “Come and see.”
47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!”
48 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.”
49 Nathanael answered and said to Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”
50 Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And He said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”
Pure
I call Nathan pure because Jesus said Nathan had pure motives verse 47. Nathan was a true Israelite, he was looking for the messiah and knew all about Him from the scriptures (vs 44). This is an account that shows if a person is truly seeking after God, and not the god they want, they will find God. The parallel to Nathan is Jacob, who was the father of the Israel nation. Israel got their name from Jacob in Genesis 32:28, when God changed his name from Jacob to Israel. The focus of the story of Nathan is more about the focus on Jacob.
Jacob’s name means “supplanter” or to trade with another by means of trickery. Nathans name means a gift from God. Perhaps the reason these two men had such different character traits is how their parents viewed them. One parent saw their son as a schemer, the other saw their son as a gift from God. Jacob is well remembered for his trickery with his dad, Isaac.
Isaac was old in years and Jacobs’s older brother Esau, by about one minute, was to receive the birthright and blessing from Isaac. Jacob swindled his brothers birthright from him with a bowl of stew, when Esau came back from hunting, hungry. Jacob grew up swindling because he knew Esau was his daddy’s favorite son. As Isaac was dying in bed with poor eyesight, he called Esau in to his bedside to receive the blessing, Jacob and his momma devised a plan to put sheep’s wool on Jacob’s arms and neck so he would appear like his hairy brother. Jacob and his momma pulled the scheme off and Jacob received Esau’s birthright. When Esau found out about the trick he was so mad he wanted to kill Jacob. When momma found out Esau wanted to kill Jacob, she told Jacob to go to her brother’s house in a distant land (Gen 27).
On his way to uncle’s house, Jacob stops at a place to camp overnight. During the night Jacob has a vivid dream that gave him a glimpse into the future. Jacob dreamed of a ladder going from earth to heaven and angels going up and down that ladder. This dream was symbolic that through him, he will be a link between heaven and earth. That link later became the Israel nation and ultimately Jesus. However, this dream caused Jacob to think about God, but he still didn’t end his deceitful ways. When Jesus tells Nathan he will see the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man in John 1:51, this is a direct reference to Jacob’s ladder.
Jacob continues his journey and goes to his uncle’s house (Laban) and falls in love with Laban’s daughter Rachel. Laban in turn tricks Jacob into serving him for fourteen years to get Rachel as his wife, he also got beautiful Rachel’s ugly sister Leah, from one of Laban’s deceptions. Jacob continues with his deception with a sheep breeding program of Laban’s herd, so Jacob ends up with a large flock of sheep (Gen 30:42). Jacob and Laban finally part ways and Jacob hears the Lord tell him to go back to his fathers land.
On the way back home, Jacob became terrified when he found out big, mad brother Esau was coming to meet him. During the night before he met Esau, Jacob wrestled with Jesus and would not let go until Jesus blessed him. Jesus finally blessed him and changed his name to Israel (Gen 32:28), because He told Jacob, “you have struggled with God and men and have prevailed.” From that moment forward Jacob was a new man, and a true God follower, he was never the same. When Esau and Jacob met, Esau didn’t punch Jacob in the nose, but instead hugged him and kissed him, the Lord had gone ahead of Jacob to restore their relationship.
I relate so well to Jacob, because I too was a schemer and deceiver. I would say I was a Christian and relied totally on God, but I still took it upon myself to manipulate in business and not rely on God. Finally, I had enough scheming and grew tired of struggling with God and man and totally gave every thing to Christ. From that time forward my occupation even changed, I went from provider to pastor. I no longer had to work my schemes to provide, God would take care of all that. I have a higher calling now, that is to show people the ladder from earth to heaven. That ladder is named Jesus.
Jacob was a schemer and deceiver until he became a true God follower, Nathan was already there. Jesus told him in John 1:47 “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” Notice when Philip came to Nathan, he described Jesus as the one whom Moses and the prophets wrote about. The reason why Philip said this to Nathan because he knew Nathan was a student of scripture. However, Nathan was in for a surprise.
Knock Nathan Over with a Feather
Have you ever been so amazed, you were dumbfounded? A person could walk up to you and knock you over with a breeze. This is Nathan; it didn’t take much for him to recognize Jesus as The Son of God and the King of Israel. However, Nathan was still skeptical, because he knew the Messiah would come out of Bethlehem and not Nazareth. This is why Nathan’s first response in John 1:46 “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”
Nathan approached Jesus, and I don’t believe Nathan approached Jesus with skepticism, because Nathan had a pure heart, he was truly looking for the Christ. However, he still had his questions because Jesus was from Nazareth. When Jesus approached Nathan like he knew him, Nathan asked “How do you know me” (vs 48). Jesus replied that He saw him under a fig tree before Philip brought him. “Under a fig tree,” this amazed Nathan.
Nathan had moral preparation for discipleship. Like many of Christ’s friends, Nathanael was disciplined and fitted beforehand for the new fellowship. Nathan was true and spiritual, and not merely a nominal, a national, Israelite. There were many descended from Abraham who were not Abraham’s children spiritually. Nathan had no deceit found in him, he was not free from sin, but transparent in character, candid, open to the light, anxious to be holy and to find God. Such training as this was the best preparation for true Christian discipleship.
In Palestine the fig tree stood for peace, security, rest, and worship (cp. 1 Kings 4:25; Micah 4:4). Very often a man would seek solitude and worship under his fig tree. He was devout, meditative, and prayerful. It seems likely that, “under the fig tree,” he was engaged in the study of the Scriptures and in prayer. No doubt this is what Nathanael had been doing. When Jesus told Nathanael that He had seen him under his fig tree, He was telling Nathanael that He knew everything about him, even the deepest longings of his heart. Jesus knew Nathanael’s despair and sense of hopelessness; He knew his longing for peace, release and freedom. That was enough to cause Nathanael to give his life to Jesus forever. Nathanael’s faith will never be more than it embraces at this moment! He rightly says Jesus is the Son of God and the King of Israel.
The Ladder to Heaven
Jesus then tell Nathan in John 1:50-51 that he will see greater things than this little miracle.
John 1:51 And He said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”
The idea with the angels of God ascending and descending is a picture of open access into the very presence of God: the door of heaven is open and the angels are ascending from earth to heaven. Jesus was saying He is Jacob’s ladder; the ladder is a symbol of Him. Jesus is the One who opens heaven. He is the One who reaches from earth to heaven, the One who man’s communication is carried up into heaven. Man now has constant communication with God, the gap between man and God has been bridged with the cross. This is the good news of Jesus Christ, we can now have an advantage over life (John 10:10), a loving savior who will always have our best interests at heart to draw us closer to him.
Imagine a ladder, a ladder is used to reach places that are out of our natural reach or grasp. We use a ladder to give us an advantage over being low to the ground. Many Christians forget about the world that is lost as a goose in a snowstorm, they lay their ladder on the ground, or against the wrong wall, and use it to get people in their church and not to Christ. The truth of the matter is we are nothing but ladder holders.
At cowboy church one time we had to use a thirty foot tall ladder to redirect our spot lights in the arena. A group of us, after we extended the ladder thirty feet up in the air, looked at each other to determine who would act like a monkey and climb the ladder. I obviously wasn’t a good candidate, because if I fell, I couldn’t preach on Sunday. Some thought that was a GOOD reason for me to climb the ladder. Jason Danielson wasn’t even in the running; he gets nervous standing on a chair. Jeremy Payne simply said “not me!” Finally, Billy Eldridge appeared to be the most logical candidate. Billy is young, has strong hands from being a plumber, and is basically fearless…or crazy (the verdict is still out). Billy jumped on the ladder and scurried to the top, while Jeremy and I held the ladder steady.
This is how we should view our Christian obligation to the world, point people to the ladder that goes all the way to heaven and gives people constant communication with the God of the universe. The God who gives people a hope for life, a love for their fellow man, and assurance of eternal life, this is the ladder we need to point people to. Too many people only look to the ladder holders and not the ladder. As Christians, we need to be people of integrity, trustworthy, so people will have confidence in the ladder for which we hold. Man only has access to God through Christ (John 14:6)
Wrong Wall
It’s important to use your talents, but if that’s the end of it, there is a disillusionment that sets in between the ages of 35 and 50. This is commonly called the mid-life crisis, or second childhood. I believe that it is more a phenomenon of a wrong value system than it is the age group in which it occurs. All of a sudden you realize the ladder you’ve been climbing is leaning against the wrong wall .
We would never lean against the wall of power and prestige. But, as church people, we sometimes assume that we are immune to the temptations of power. We don’t make much money. Society gives us so little power that we think ambition--the drive to succeed, achieve and have prestige and influence over others--is a problem only for people in business or politics, not for people like us.
We thus sometimes fail to see how we get caught up, for the very noblest of reasons, in the same ambitions that motivate everybody. Eventually, the people climbing to the top of the body of Christ can look just like those scrambling to the top of General Motors. Often you can’t tell much difference between our leaders and those of the world .
Sometimes we need to go the reverse direction, instead of going up we need to come down and be humbled. Each New Year’s Day, the world focuses its attention on Pasadena, California, U.S.A., home of the Tournament of Roses Parade and Rose Bowl Game. It’s a celebration that’s more than a century old - a festival of flowers, music and sports unequaled anywhere in the world. Often, a national title is decided here. It is a rich tradition of excellence in football.
Or so the story goes. But in 1929, the Rose Bowl became more famous for a gaffe than for excellence. The University of California was playing Georgia Tech; late in the second quarter of a scoreless game, Georgia Tech had the ball on their own 36 yard line.
Georgia Tech fumbled, and the ball squirted loose to Cal center Roy Regals at the 40 yard line. Regals began to head for the Georgia Tech end zone; he got to about the 36, and a Georgia Tech player hit him. Regals spun off of him, and as he spun he seemed to lose his sense of direction - he then began to head the opposite way.
He ran for sixty yards trailed by one of the University California defensive backs. Finally, the Cal defensive back caught up with Regals at the five yard line, and grabbed onto him and turned him around and said, "You’ve been running the wrong way!" But it was too late - suddenly Georgia Tech players smothered them and Roy Regals was downed on his own one yard-line.
Not only did Cal lose a chance to begin a series from inside the Georgia Tech 40 yard line, but they now had to start from their own 1. Georgia Tech held them; California tried to punt, but the punt was blocked, and a California player recovered the ball in his own end zone, for a 2-point safety. That gave Georgia Tech a 2-point lead, and - as it turned out - provided the margin of victory: Georgia Tech beat the University of California 8-7. Roy Regals is forever known as "Wrong Way Roy Regals."
We’re all have moments similar to Roy Regals. Sometimes we have the right instincts, but we go in the wrong direction, and it’s dangerous. We start going in the right direction, but we get hit or disappointed by the people holding the ladder and we turn the other way. We lay the ladder down to reach other people, or we look at the people holding the ladder and it turns many people away. With all the scandals that take place in church today, the world has become skeptical of the church. We will be held accountable for not being trustworthy to hold the ladder, but each man is still accountable for not climbing the ladder of Christ.
As fathers, we must be able to hold the ladder for our children. We need to apply Christian principals of peace, joy, self control, and kindness so our children will take our lead, trust us enough to climb the ladder to Christ. Many parents take the ladder and remove it from leaning toward heaven and place it on the wall of sports, education or popularity. We will only find, later in life, when those children never developed a heart for God, we had the ladder against the wrong wall.
The Surprise
Nathan’s life of devotion to God never left him in a state of “status quo.” Nathan was constantly searching for God and when Philip told him about the Jesus that Moses and the other prophets spoke of, Nathan checked it out. If Nathan would have remained content with what he knew, he would have missed Jesus. Nathan was created for a time as this. Nathan had an instinct for God and followed that instinct which led him to exclaim “Jesus you are the Son of God.”
We have a golden retriever named Sandy who is bred to retrieve birds. Hunter and I went pheasant hunting in Hugo Oklahoma and took Sandy with us. During the hunt, there were two Labrador Retrievers, who are also bred to retrieve birds. As soon as we shot a bird the two labs immediately ran to the downed bird and retrieved it, as they were suppose to. Sandy would watch the bird fall from the sky, watch the labs then look up at me. Sandy appeared to be somewhat familiar with retrieving birds, but she did not know exactly what to do. Her instincts were telling her, there is something she should be doing in regards to the birds, but her brain didn’t know how to act on that instinct. Needless to say, Sandy did not live up to her name and retrieved zero birds! She had the instinct but not the faith to follow that instinct, Sandy believes her purpose in life is to be fed, played with and petted, in the moment her instinct was required of her, she became confused, and never fulfilled her mission.
Nathan did not believe his life was only to be fed, played with or petted, Nathan was a true God seeker and was willing to go beyond what he thought he believed and seek out for himself. Nathan, believed the messiah was coming from Bethlehem (Micah 5:2). Sandy didn’t have the gumption to go check out the birds for herself, but Nathan had the internal fortitude to go see Jesus for himself, and he was not disappointed. Anyone, anytime, anyplace when they check out Jesus they will never walk away disappointed. Jesus is calling each person into a relationship with Him, He has plans to help you (Jeremiah 29:11), you can call on Him anytime and He will show you things you do not know (Jeremiah 33:3).
The End
A lady came to me one time with a horse problem. She told she had a horse with a good pedigree (champion parents) but she needed someone to work with him and train him. The horses name was Jack and I agreed to evaluate the horse. I took the horse home and his first task was for me to get on his back. I gently placed the saddle on the back of Jack and he didn’t flinch at all, so step one was successful. The next step involved me taking him out into the pasture and see if he knew what a cow looked like. We rode up on the herd of cattle and Jack’s ears perked up as he watched the cattle. To my surprise, Jack did quite well tracking the cattle, so he passed this test with flying colors. I was thinking to myself Jack may be a decent cow horse.
In my opinion the test for all horses is how they react when a rope is thrown off their back, sailing pass their eyes. Again Jack passed this test with flying colors. The next test involved Jack running down a cow and allowing me to rope the cow, tie off on the saddle horn, and allow the cow to drag his feet behind Jack. Again, Jack passed this test with ease. The final test involved getting Jack into the roping box, to see if Jack would obey my commands and leave the box when the steer came out of the chute. Jack failed this test. I now have my work cut out for me, I need to get Jack comfortable in the roping box and teach him how to come out in time to catch the steer. This will be accomplished with repetition and training, over and over again.
The reason why I tell the story of Jack is because God does the same thing with us. The first test He gives us is to see if we are willing to take the ladder of Christ and place our trust in Him, to see if we are willing to give him the reigns. When Jesus becomes our Lord, in essence He becomes our master and we become His slaves. The greatest advantage to us means we no longer have to worry about each day, or about the direction our lives take, our lives becomes His. After this test, He will then test us the rest of our life. Life actually becomes going from test to test. However, praise God, He will never put us in a test we can not pass, He wants us to succeed in these tests. The question always boils down to one thing, who has the reigns, you or God.
Bartholomew/Nathanael passed each test the Lord required of him. The missionary work of Bartholomew is linked with Armenia (present day Armenia, eastern Turkey, northern Iraq, north western Iran) and India. Other locations include Egypt, Arabia, Ethiopia and Persia (Iran). Bartholomew met his final test in India. Traditionally he met his death by being flayed or skinned alive, and then beheaded. Derbent, north of present day Baku on the Caspian Sea may have been his place of martyrdom. Alternatively he may have suffered this cruel fate in what is now India. Bartholomew/Nathan was willing to risk it all, he placed his ladder against the correct wall, he investigated Jesus, he found Jesus to be the Son of God, King of Israel and King of his life.
The ladder to God is through Jesus Christ. How are you doing as a ladder holder, pointing the people that come into your life to Jesus? Which rung of the ladder are you one, or are you on the ladder. Many people get on the ladder with a salvation experience, but they stop at the first rung. The Bible says to move from them milk of the word to the meat, meaning we are to grow up spiritually. The Bible says there are three kinds of people in the world
1. Carnal Christians (1 Corinthians 3:1)
2. Mature Christians ( 1 Corinthians 2:15)
3. Non Christians (1 Corinthians 2:14)
A carnal Christian stops at the first rung, he never develops a habit of Bible study and talking with God, he tries to hang on to the reins like Jacob did, until Jacob wrestled with God and became totally sold out to Christ. A carnal Christian likes to argue about the non essential items of small details of the Bible, he judges other people based on outward appearances, he never produces the fruit of drawing close to God in other peoples life. The spiritual Christian has true joy, peace, self control and builds other Christians up. The spiritual Christian tests all things in light of scripture, and always assumes others are better than himself.
