Also Known as Nathanael
Bartholomew was reluctant, to say the least, about Jesus; when Philip ran to him and told him that they had found the one Moses spoke of, he replied: Can anything good come from there (i.e., Nazareth)? Jews in general didn’t hold Nazareth in high regard—it was in Galilee, which Matthew 4:15 calls: “Galilee of the Gentiles.” This was not the town for good Jewish boys and girls.
Philip didn’t argue with Bartholomew and try and explain how indeed something good could come from Nazareth; he told Bartholomew to come and see for himself. And it doesn’t take long to completely turn him around. When he meets Jesus, he almost instantly says, “Rabbi you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.” (John 1:49)
Some of the disciples took a bit longer to recognize who Jesus was. Not Bartholomew. He went out of the gates running! Readers don’t see a lot more about Bartholomew, but this verse alone tells us he was on fire for Jesus—it’s hard to imagine that flame ever extinguished.
The tradition is that Bartholomew was a missionary in India and Armenia. A church was erected on the site that he is believed to have been martyred. How he was martyred is much speculated—theories range from beheaded to skinned alive. The reason for his martyrdom: converting the king of Armenia to Christianity.
Bartholomew was reluctant, to say the least, about Jesus; when Philip ran to him and told him that they had found the one Moses spoke of, he replied: Can anything good come from there (i.e., Nazareth)? Jews in general didn’t hold Nazareth in high regard—it was in Galilee, which Matthew 4:15 calls: “Galilee of the Gentiles.” This was not the town for good Jewish boys and girls.
Philip didn’t argue with Bartholomew and try and explain how indeed something good could come from Nazareth; he told Bartholomew to come and see for himself. And it doesn’t take long to completely turn him around. When he meets Jesus, he almost instantly says, “Rabbi you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.” (John 1:49)
Some of the disciples took a bit longer to recognize who Jesus was. Not Bartholomew. He went out of the gates running! Readers don’t see a lot more about Bartholomew, but this verse alone tells us he was on fire for Jesus—it’s hard to imagine that flame ever extinguished.
The tradition is that Bartholomew was a missionary in India and Armenia. A church was erected on the site that he is believed to have been martyred. How he was martyred is much speculated—theories range from beheaded to skinned alive. The reason for his martyrdom: converting the king of Armenia to Christianity.
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