Our Savior Lutheran Church

The Word

The apostle we look at this week bears a compound name. John, who wrote the most about him, called him Nathanael (John 1:45-51). The other Gospel writers identified him as Bartholomew (Matthew 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:14). We’ll call him Nathanael Bartholomew after the pattern of Simon Peter, who also had two names.

Essentially all we know about Nathanael Bartholomew we discover in his initial encounter with Jesus. Nathanael’s friend Philip brought him to meet the One who seemed to fulfill the Old Testament messianic prophecies. Jesus looked into this man’s heart and commended him for a dominant character trait. Then the Lord alluded to an Old Testament incident that forced Nathanael Bartholomew to change his opinion of this particular Nazarene.

A Scrupulously Honest Man – John 1:43-51

The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me. [44] Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. [45] Philip 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. [46] And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see. [47] Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! [48] Nathanael 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. [49] Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel. [50] Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these. [51] And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.

The Way To God – Genesis 28:10-13a, 15-17

And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba, and went toward Haran. [11] And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep. [12] And he dreamed, 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. [13] And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac. …

[15] And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.

[16] And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not. [17] And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.

Seeing the Risen Lord – John 21:2-14

There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two other of his disciples. [3] Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing. [4] But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus. [5] Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No. [6] And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes. [7] Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher's coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea. [8] And the other disciples came in a little ship; (for they were not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits,) dragging the net with fishes. [9] As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread. [10] Jesus saith unto them, Bring of the fish which ye have now caught. [11] Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, a hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken. [12] Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord. [13] Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth them, and fish likewise. [14] This is now the third time that Jesus shewed himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the dead.

Observations

It should surprise no one that pragmatic Philip sought the opinion of a friend who also applied stringent criteria when assessing important situations. While Philip used logical tests on problems, Nathanael Bartholomew applied moral standards. He wanted to know how Jesus measured up to the righteous requirements of God’s Law.

Jesus challenged Nathanael Bartholomew’s limited understanding of righteousness in two ways. First, the Lord wanted him to realize that true righteousness was a matter of the heart rather than outward conformity to legal standards. Secondly, He wanted His newest follower to recognize that access to God comes only through an intimate relationship with Him. He is the “gate of heaven” (Genesis 28:17; see John 1:51).

Observation 1

No matter how many good things we do, we cannot save ourselves by good works.

Nathanael was a God-fearing Jew. He was scrupulously honest. Unfortunately he relied on his own good works and self-righteousness to earn eternal life. In this, Nathanael was dangerously wrong.

To Nathanael’s credit, when he discovered that the only way to heaven was to put his faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, he did so. When he took this step, Nathanael experienced the transforming work of the Holy Spirit in his life that he could never have achieved through his own efforts. Nathanael came to realize that even his ancestor Abraham had been saved by faith. Paul expressed this point to the Roman Christians when he wrote:

“Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all” (Romans 4:16).

Observation 2

We begin to realize our hopeless, futile situation when we recognize God’s holiness and our sinfulness.

Nathanael was impressed with Jacob’s experience at Bethel. God had revealed His greatness and holiness to this Old Testament scoundrel in a dream. When he woke, he could only whisper, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it” (Genesis 28:16).

When Jacob caught a glimpse of God’s greatness and holiness, he recognized his own sinful condition. He saw himself as a deceiver and manipulator. I believe he experienced justification by faith that night at Bethel.

Though Nathanael was an honest man, he, too, discovered he needed a Savior. Even though he was not a deceiver and manipulator like Jacob, he was still among those who “fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 2:23). Furthermore, his own self-righteousness could not earn him a place in heaven.

Observation 3

Faith in Jesus Christ as your personal Savior from sin is the only way to inherit eternal life.

When God revealed Himself in a dream at Bethel, Jacob saw a “stairway … reaching heaven, and God’s angels were going up and down on it” (Genesis 28:12). Jesus alluded to this incident as He promised Nathanael Bartholomew that he would see great miracles in the future (John 1:50-51). On the evening before His crucifixion, Jesus told Nathanael Bartholomew and the other apostles, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). Within a few days Nathanael Bartholomew, from Cana in Galilee (John 21:2), would be ready to spend the rest of his life pointing to Jesus of Nazareth as the only way to God.

We, too, must face the question of Jesus’ claims about Himself. Have you accepted the gift of faith in the Lord Jesus, the Son of God, as your personal Savior from sin? He is the only way to God.

To Discuss

1. What region of the country do you tend to look down on as backward or out-of-touch? How hard would it be for you to accept spiritual leadership from someone from there?

2. Philip thought that once Nathanael met Jesus he would forget his objection based on geography and prophecy (John 1:46). What could Nathanael learn about Jesus from a direct encounter that he could not learn by studying Him from a distance?

3. Do you think Nathanael was immodest or frank when he casually accepted Jesus’ assessment that he was an exceptionally honest man (John 1:47-48a)? Why?

4. Why do you suppose Jesus’ demonstrations of supernatural vision convinced Nathanael to call Him “Rabbi,” “Son of God,” and “King of Israel” (John 1:49)?

5. What conclusions did Jacob draw about Bethel from the vision of angels ascending and descending the stairway (Genesis 28:16-17)?

6. What claims was Jesus making about Himself by telling Nathanael “You will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man” (John 1:51)?

7. Many think Nathanael was meditating on Jacob’s encounter with God at Bethel (Genesis 28:10-17) while he sat under the fig tree (John 1:50). How would that have increased the impression Jesus’ statements made on Nathanael (John 1:51)?

8. If you had been Nathanael Bartholomew in the fishing boat, when would you have known it was the resurrected Jesus on the shore (John 21:2-14)?

9. How would you have felt when the Lord, who knew you perfectly, rescued your failing fishing trip and then fixed you a warm breakfast?

10. How did you come to realize that Jesus was the only way to get to God? Before that, what had you thought you needed to do to earn God’s approval?

11. What do you find surprising about the fact that God wants to have an intimate relationship with you that involves talking with you and listening to your concerns and dreams?

Nathanael Bartholomew needed to become less rigid and legalistic in his understanding of how God relates to people thorough Jesus Christ. He became more relational and more intimate in his concept of salvation and discipleship.

12. Do you tend to be naturally rule-oriented or relational in your approach to knowing God? How does that affect your feelings of intimacy with Him?

13. How can we help one another in this group grow in personal intimacy with God?

Next Week

Next week we turn our attention to Matthew, the entrepreneur in the ranks of the apostles. Matthew represented a group of wealthy outcasts whom Jesus wanted to reach. His conversion and discipleship opened doors into a needy group many loved to hate.