Bartholomew, the Disciple We’d Like to Imitate

Note: This day (Monday, August 24, 2026) marks the minor festival of the church year for Saint Bartholomew, Apostle. The following is a devotion from Richard E. Lauersdorf’s With Our Eyes on Jesus. Bartholomew is also named Nathanael in the gospel of John.

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Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

“Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked.

“Come and see,” said Philip.

When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false.”

“How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”

Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.”

Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You shall see greater things than that.” He then added, “I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” (John 1:45-51)

Modeling is the way to go. If you want people to learn, don’t just tell them; show them. Or as a wise man once said, “What you do speaks so loudly I can’t hear what you say.” It’s the same with discipleship. Looking at Bartholomew, also known as Nathanael, we have an example we surely would like to imitate.

Searching the Scriptures

Nathanael searched the Scriptures. He knew what they had to say. When his friend Philip came all excited that day to tell him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph,” Nathanael wasn’t so sure. He knew the Old Testament and how it pointed not to Nazareth, but to Bethlehem. So he had to ask, “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Note also where Philip found him, under the wide-spreading branches of the fig tree, a secluded, shaded spot where he could well have been searching the Scriptures.

We need more fig trees!

In our hurry, scurry world, where we are so geared to going that we don’t even stop to ask where, we need to slow down and make time to search the Scriptures. They speak to us of Christ, the only way to heaven, a way we need to know as fully as possible. They speak to us about God’s will and ways, something we surely want to know and follow. Such knowledge doesn’t miraculously drop down from heaven or filter into our minds as we sleep. It comes from searching the Scriptures.

Showing nothing false

Philip didn’t waste time arguing, but simply answered, “Come and see.” And see Nathanael did. As he drew near, he heard Jesus say, “Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false.” How did Jesus know him? The two of them had never met. Even more so, how did the master know that Nathanael was a sincere and honest Israelite who was no phony, but one eagerly waiting for the Savior to come? Jesus had the answer, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.” There could be only one conclusion. With guileless faith, given him by the Spirit, Nathanael answered, “You are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.”

Every pastor worth his salt prays for many things for his members.

Chief among them is the prayer, “Lord, give us more Nathanaels.” Members who not only sing but show that Jesus is their “Beautiful Savior.” Who not only sing but show by their use “How precious is the Book divine.” Who not only sing, “Take my life and let it be, consecrated, Lord, to thee,” but show they mean it. Who not only sing, “Here am I, send me, send me,” but then go where he sends them. Needed are more Nathanaels, in whom there is nothing false.

Seeing greater things

“You shall see greater things,” Jesus promised Nathanael. “You shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

Did Nathanael later think of this promise when he saw the master healing the sick and raising the dead? when he heard Jesus speak of the rooms in the Father’s house and of the one way there? when he saw the empty tomb and the risen Lord? What greater things could he ever see than this? Sin was paid for, death conquered, heaven opened. Jesus was the ladder linking earth and heaven, the one way for a sinner to climb to the Father’s house above. And who could even faintly guess at the greater things awaiting the believer at the end of that ladder in heaven?

Do you see why we label Bartholomew as the disciple we’d like to imitate?

He reminds us vividly that the greatest thing you and I can see in life is the Savior. There’s nothing more important for us to know than the One who loves us and gave himself for us. Such knowledge at once handles life’s greatest problem, our sins. There’s nothing more important for us either than to know that Jesus goes with us always, even to the ends of the earth. Such knowledge at once handles the bumps and bruises, even the collisions and near-fatal mishaps in life. And surely there’s nothing more important for us than, when our final moment comes, to know he will say, “Today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). Such knowledge takes the sting out of death’s certainty and the unknown out of its finality.

With Nathanael we can see no greater thing than Jesus, our Savior and King, the Lord of our life and our death.

Call him Nathanael or call him Bartholomew, it doesn’t matter. What does matter is that our gracious Lord will help us imitate him.

Prayer:

Lord, give us such a faith as this,
And then, whatever may come,
We’ll taste even now the hallowed bliss
Of an eternal home. Amen. (Christian Worship: A Lutheran Hymnal 405:6)

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