John 1:43-51 (St. Bartholomew)
St. John, Galveston 8/24/25
Rev. Alan Taylor
+ In Nomine Jesu +
Grace and peace to you, from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
We commemorate today Bartholomew, one of Jesus’ twelve disciples. Bartholomew is also, and perhaps better known as Nathaniel. In the Gospel reading before us this morning, Jesus called Philip to be His disciple. Philip then went and found his friend Nathaniel, who, when he found out Jesus was from Nazareth, asked, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Later, of course, Nathanael went to say of Jesus, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” For that confession alone, Bartholomew is worthy of commemorating.
Like all of the other apostles, Bartholomew has historically been depicted with the traditional nimbus, the round shape object over his head. The nimbus is a symbol of holiness. Unlike the other disciples, however, Bartholomew is usually depicted with a knife in his hand. The knife isn’t to suggest that Bartholomew was a religious zealot. Rather, it signifies the manner in which he was believed to have been martyred for his confession of Christ, his skin having been carved away from his body while he was still alive.
We commemorate Bartholomew though, not because of his heroism, but because of his steadfast faith in Jesus Christ, and because he proclaimed the Gospel of Jesus unashamedly in remote and often hostile areas of the world. Bartholomew is known as the Patron Saint of the Armenian Church, because he is believed to have proclaimed the Gospel in Mesopotamia and in Armenia, areas known today as Iran and Azerbaijan. Indeed, Bartholomew is a hero of the faith, but that by the strength and the grace of God given to him in Christ Jesus.
Before we move specifically to the Gospel reading from today, I’d ask you to consider the witness of all the martyrs of the Christian faith, as it relates to the message they proclaimed and believed so steadfastly. Frankly, to believe in something in life is quite common. However, to believe in something and to hold to what you believe in the face of death, is another thing altogether. All of Jesus’ disciples, with the exception John, who was exiled to the Island of Patmos, believed what they proclaimed even though it cost them their lives and, not just their lives, but death by hideous and often unimaginable means. That said, the martyrs continue to bear witness to the truth of God’s word and to what Christians of the early Church believed regarding Jesus. “He is the Son of God. The King of Israel!”
Again, Jesus called Philip to follow Him. As was the way with the first apostles, Philip then went and found his friend, Nathaniel. He said, “Nathaniel, we have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” It is unfortunate that we aren’t able to translate any sort of excited inflection into the written word. If we did, I suspect we would hear the excitement in Philip’s voice when he told Nathaniel about Jesus. We have “found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote!” Philip would have hardly been able to contain himself when he made that announcement. After all, he was announcing the fulfillment of over 2,000 years of prophecy. Nathaniel! You have to see! We found Him!
No doubt, Nathaniel would have heard the excitement in Philip’s voice. Come on, Nathaniel, this so great. He is “Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of Joseph.” Yeah, said Nathaniel, but “can anything good come from Nazareth?” Talk about killing the moment!
So, what was up with Nathaniel? And why do we commemorate such a naysayer? Was he that jaded to religious prophecy that he no longer cared about it? Or, was he just that down on Nazareth? When I used to fish with my Dad down at Falcon Lake on the Rio Grande, right before I’d get the camp I’d drive through a little town called Chihuahua. Chihuahua, Texas. Is anyone familiar Chihuahua, Texas? I didn’t really expect that you would be. I mean, it’s really just a sign on the side of the road and bunch of cactus and brush for as far as the eye can see. Anyway, the sign on the side of the road made me think of Nazareth. Was Nathaniel equating Nazareth with a place like Chihuahua, Texas? “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”
Well, it doesn’t actually appear that Nathanael was trying to put Nazareth down. In fact, when he asked his question about Nazareth, Jesus commended him as “an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.” In other words, Jesus praised Nathaniel as a truth teller. It wasn’t, of course, because Jesus didn’t like Nazareth either. Rather, it was because there was no Old Testament prophecy indicating that the Messiah would come from Nazareth. Instead, the Messiah would come from Bethlehem. Indeed, “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.” Nathaniel was skeptical about Nazareth, but it wasn’t because he thought so little of the town where Jesus was raised. Rather, it was because he was faithful to God’s word.
The message is always the same, and yet, it’s always welcome and fresh and new every time it’s proclaimed. In Jesus, sin and death have been swallowed up in victory. In Christ, our meager lives are given purpose and meaning. Like Bartholomew, you have been put here for a reason and that reason is always sanctified, it’s always made holy in Jesus Christ. Through the voice of the apostles, you have been left with the assurance that you needn’t wonder what God thinks of you. Indeed, through Holy Baptism, you are His beloved child in whom He is well pleased. You needn’t wonder what God thinks of you. Nor do you need to wonder if your thoughts about God, those thoughts whose foundation is the Divine Word, are true and right.
I hope you’ve noticed that Bartholomew’s confession of the faith was the same as Simon Peter’s. Any confession of the Christian faith ultimately comes down to the person of Jesus. Who do you say Jesus is? Over time, people have offered many different answers to that question. But there is only one answer that has stood the test of time, one answer upon which the Christian faith is built. Jesus is “the Son of God.”
“God has spoken by His prophets,
Spoken His unchanging Word,
Each from age to age proclaiming God,
The one, the righteous Lord.
In the world’s despair and turmoil,
One firm anchor holds us fast;
God is king, His throne eternal;
God the first, and God the last.”
When we commend an apostle during the Church year, we do so because they believed God’s word and because they were faithful in proclaiming it in the place where God planted them. Their lives ultimately bearing witness to the power of God’s word to work in the hearts of people to bring them from the deadness of unbelief, to the life of faith in Christ Jesus.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ unto life everlasting. Amen.
+ Soli Deo Gloria +