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That Other Guy Named “Jacob” (Part 1)

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Welcome back to our twice-weekly  installment of our still-in-progress book on the apostles.  Starting today, we look at James, the Son of Alphaeus.

Our information regarding this James (whose name, in Greek and Hebrew, is actually “Jacob”) is very scant indeed.  Most of what we know for certain comes from general statements about the apostles in the gospels and Acts.  There is little more than this.

James, the Brother of a Tax Collector

As seen in the last chapter, Matthew (Levi) was also called “the son of Alphaeus.”  Mark is the only one who mentions this fact, and within one chapter, mentions someone else who is “the son of Alphaeus.”1  There is no reason at all to mention Matthew’s father if it wasn’t the same Alphaeus.2  It is possible that James, too, worked with his brother and that they were both tax collectors.  If this is the case, then James may have become a disciple of Jesus the same day.3

Regardless of his occupation, James, like his brother Matthew, was a man from Galilee, like the rest of the apostles4 (except, perhaps, for Judas Iscariot).5

James, the Wee Little Man?

Most writers identify James, the son of Alphaeus, with a man known as “James the less” in Mark 15:40.  The word translated “less” is the Greek word mikro (where we get “micro”).  It’s the same word that was used to describe Zacchaeus, the “wee little man” who was “short of stature.”6  This word can also mean younger, as in the younger brother.  The main reasons given for connecting these two are:

  1. There are three men named “James” who Mark mentions prior to this point, and it would make very little sense to mention—near the end of the gospel—someone being related to a “James” who has nothing to do with the story, and who hasn’t been mention at all. Thus, it must be one of the three men mentioned previously in the book.
  2. James, the son of Zebedee, is always described as such, and is almost always connected with John. Since neither John nor Zebedee are mentioned in Mark 15:40, it cannot be that James.7
  3. James, the brother of the Lord is mentioned only in passing by Mark, so (it is claimed) it cannot be him.8
  4. Therefore (the conclusion goes), it must be James, the son of Alphaeus.9

This sounds good on the surface, but it is based on guesswork.  The evidence is actually more in favor of “James the less” being the brother of Jesus instead of one of the apostles.10

James, the son of Alphaeus

The man known as Alphaeus is said by many to be the same man as Cleophas,11 Cleopas,12 or Clopas,13 due to a similarity in the pronunciation in Hebrew,14 though this is a matter of speculation.15  If indeed Alphaeus is to be identified with one of these men (or both, if Cleophas and Cleopas are the same man), then that would make for quite an impressive family: two apostles, whose parents were both disciples of Jesus—the mother being at the cross, and the father meeting with Jesus on the road to Emmaus.

-Bradley S. Cobb

1 Compare Mark 2:14 with 3:18.

2 Most Bible dictionaries seem to ignore this common sense explanation and say that there were two different men named “Alphaeus.”  The question then arises: If this is the case, why did Mark mention Matthew’s father at all?  Certainly the Roman readers would have had no idea who this Alphaeus was, so it wasn’t as though Mark was appealing to their existing knowledge.  Alphaeus doesn’t appear in the gospel narratives at all, so it wasn’t because Mark was introducing a new character that would appear later.  The only reasonable conclusion is that Matthew (the son of Alphaeus) is the brother of James (the son of Alphaeus).

3 This possibility is mentioned by David Smith in James’ Hastings Dictionary of the Bible, “James, the son of Alphaeus.”

4 Acts 1:11, 2:7.

5 Judas was probably from a small town in Judah.  See the chapter on Judas for more details.

6 Luke 19:2-3.  The phrase “wee little man” is not in the text, but is found in a children’s song about Zacchaeus the tax collector.

7 Matthew 27:56 also confirms this, by identifying the mother of Zebedee’s children as a different woman from “Mary, the mother of James and Joses.”

8 The same thing can be said about James, the son of Alphaeus, as well.  Both he and the brother of the Lord are mentioned just once in Mark’s gospel account.

9 This is compelling to an extent, but it must be pointed out that Mark mentions that the “Mary” who was the mother of “James the less” is also the mother of “Joses.”  The only “Joses” mentioned in Mark is the brother of Jesus (and the brother of James), whose mother is named “Mary” (see Mark 6:3).  So, if we accept this argument, then instead of proving this to be James, the son of Alphaeus, the evidence would actually prove it to be James, the brother of the Lord.

10 See the previous footnote, as well as the section “James the Less” in the chapter on James, the Brother of Jesus.

11 John 19:25

12 Luke 24:18

13 John 19:25, ASV

14 The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (“Clopas; Cleophas”) says “Upon the philological ground of a variety in pronunciation of the Hebrew root, [Clopas is] sometimes identified with Alpheus, the father of James the Less.”

15 James Hastings’, Dictionary of the Bible (“Cleopas”) says it is “a matter of dispute.”  Hastings’ Dictionary of Christ in the Gospels (“Clopas,” “Cleophas,” and “Cleopas”) shows that there’s not even agreement on whether Cleophas and Cleopas are the same individual, let alone that Alphaeus is another name for one or both of them.  Smith’s Bible Dictionary (“Cleopas”) says “Some think that this [Cleopas] is the same Cleophas as in John 19:25. But, they are probably two different persons. Cleopas is a Greek name, contracted from Cleopater, while Cleophas, or Clopas as in the Revised Version, is an Aramaic name.”

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What Happened to the IRS Agent?

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Matthew, According to Tradition

With Matthew, perhaps more than any of the other apostles, there is confusion about some of the traditions surrounding him.  This is due, for the most part, to confusion among some ancient writers between him and Matthias (whose name is almost identical in Greek).  So there is uncertainty as to which of the two apostles is spoken of.

It is said by Clement of Alexandria (AD 153-217) that “the apostle Matthew partook of seeds and nuts [hard-shelled fruits], and vegetables, without flesh [meat].”1  The same author asserts that Matthew was one of the apostles who did not die a martyr’s death.2

The Gnostics had a tradition that, “Matthew the apostle constantly said, that ‘if the neighbor of an elect man sins, the elect man [also] has sinned.  For had he conducted himself as the Word prescribes, his neighbor also would have been filled with such reverence for the life he led as not to sin.’”3

A man claiming to be Clement of Rome (who lived in the first century)4 recorded that Matthew engaged the high priest at the temple in Jerusalem in a public debate.  The priest began:


exalting with many praises the rite or sacrifice which had been bestowed by God upon the human race for the remission of sins, he found fault with the baptism of our Jesus, as having been recently brought in in opposition to the sacrifices.  But Matthew, meeting his propositions, showed clearly, that whoever will not obtain the baptism of Jesus shall not only be deprived of the kingdom of heaven, but shall not be without peril at the resurrection of the dead, even though he be for-titled by the prerogative of a good life and an upright disposition.  Having made these and such statements, Matthew stopped.5

The Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew

This writing, whose date is unknown, was written to try to advance the importance of Mary.  It details the miraculous birth of Mary to Anna (probably meant to be the same one who prophesied in Luke 1), and how Joseph got her as a wife.  It is a Catholic Church production through and through, which claims to have been written in Hebrew and translated into Latin by Jerome, though most scholars doubt both parts of that claim.6

The Acts of Andrew and Matthew

There are discrepancies in the Greek manuscripts of this apocryphal work.  Most have “Matthew,” though one manuscript reads “Matthias.”7  Most of the Latin writers who referenced this work believed it was talking about Matthew.  In the story, the apostles got together to decide who was going to which place to preach the gospel.  Matthew’s lot was to go to the country of cannibals.  Instead of eating meat and drinking wine, they ate human flesh and drank blood.  Matthew, upon arriving, was captured and his eyes were thrust out, and he was given a drug to make him deranged, but it didn’t affect him.  Instead, he kept praying, and then a light shone around him and he heard a voice say “receive your sight,” and Matthew could see again.  He was instructed, then, to stay in that city and preach for 27 days.  At the end of 27 days, the Lord sent Andrew to go rescue him.

After Andrew was captured as well, they both prayed and began to heal the blind men in the prison whose eyes had also been thrust out.  They then freed the prisoners and sent them out to safety, and Andrew “commanded a cloud, and the cloud took up Matthew and the disciples of Andrew; and the cloud set them down on the mountain where Peter was teaching.”

The sequel to this story, The Acts of Peter and Andrew, finds Matthew on the mountain with Peter, but doesn’t give any other details about him.8

The Acts and Martyrdom of Matthew

In this tale, Jesus sends Matthew back to deal with more cannibals.  He casts out a demon named Asmodaeus from the king’s wife, son, and daughter-in-law, and for a time the king was happy until they started following Matthew.  He sent soldiers to capture the apostle, but Jesus appeared in the form of a little boy with a torch, and burned out the eyes of the men.  The king pretended repentance, using it as a ruse to capture him.  Matthew, rebuking the king, was afterwards sentenced to a painful death.

[Telling the soldiers], “Having laid him, therefore, on the ground on his back, and stretched him out, pierce his hands and feet with iron nails, and cover him over with paper, having smeared it with dolphins’ oil, and cover him up with brimstone and asphalt and pitch, and put 
 brushwood above. Thus apply the fire to him; and if any of the same tribe with him rise up against you, he shall get the same punishment.”

But when the fire was lit, it simply turned to dew.

Then he ordered a multitude to carry coals of fire from the furnace of the bath in the palace, and the twelve gods of gold and silver; and “place them,” says he, “in a circle round the sorcerer, lest he may even somehow bewitch the fire from the furnace of the palace.” And there being many executioners and soldiers, some carried the coals; and others, bearing the gods, brought them. And the king accompanied them, watching lest any of the Christians should steal one of his gods, or bewitch the fire. And when they came near the place where the apostle was nailed down, his face was looking towards heaven, and all his body was covered over with the paper, and much brushwood over his body to the height of ten cubits. And [the king] ordered the soldiers to set the gods in a circle round Matthew, five cubits off, securely fastened that they might not fall, again he ordered the coal to be thrown on, and to kindle the fire at all points.

Matthew prayed, and the fire did not consume him, but instead burned up the idols and chased the king as a dragon, destroying everything in its path until the king in fear truly repented.  It was soon thereafter that Matthew gave up the ghost.  But he appeared in a vision that Jesus gave the king, and when the king awoke, he came to the elders of the church and begged for baptism, and changed his name to King Matthew, and changed his son’s name to Matthew as well.9

Other Traditions

[Another] tradition states that he preached for 15 years in Palestine and that after this he went to foreign nations, the Ethiopians, Macedonians, Syrians, Persians, Parthians and Medea being mentioned. He is said to have died a natural death either in Ethiopia or in Macedonia.10

-Bradley S. Cobb

1 Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor, Book 2, chapter 1.  Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 2, page 241.

2 However, Clement gives “Matthew” and “Levi” as different men in the list.  The Stromata, or Miscellanies, Book 4, chapter 9.  The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 2, page 422.

3 Clement of Alexandria, The Stromata, or Miscellanies, Book 7, chapter 13.  The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 2, page 547.

4 There is debate as to whether this is truly written by Clement, one of his hearers, or someone over 200 years later.  See The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 8, pages 73-74 for more details.

5 “Pseudo-Clement,” Recognitions, Book 1, chapter 55.  The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 8, page 92.

6 See The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 8, pages 351-352, 368 for more details.

7 The editors of the Ante-Nicene Fathers, following Tischendorf, chose to go with “Matthias,” though all the Latin writers use “Matthew.” (See the introduction to the apocryphal Gospels and Acts in volume 8 of the Ante-Nicene Fathers.  The spelling in the original is very similar: Matthaios or Mattheias

8 This work only exists in fragment form, there being no known complete manuscript.  The name “Matthias” shows up halfway into the extant portion, and it may be that it should read “Matthew” as well, but there aren’t multiple manuscripts to compare.  What there is of this story appears in the Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 8.

9 See The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 8.

10 International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, “Matthew.”

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The IRS Agent in Jesus’ Company (Part 2)

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Matthew, Whose Name was also Levi

Mark and Luke both record the call of Matthew, but they don’t call him “Matthew” in that account.  Instead, they call him “Levi.”  Some have surmised that they did this so as to not embarrass him;1 but that argument seems weak, since Matthew’s gospel was written and distributed before either of the others began theirs.2  Others have suggested that “Levi” was his Hebrew name, and that “Matthew” was the name he used as a tax collector,3 though Matthew is a Hebrew name as well.  The suggestion that seems most likely is that upon being called to follow Jesus, he changed his name (or perhaps Jesus did, as He did with Simon Peter) to reflect his new life.4  From the time he was selected by Jesus to be an apostle, he was called “Matthew,”5 which is another version of the name “Matthias.”

Given that his original name was “Levi,” it seems safe to conclude that he was most likely from the tribe of Levi.  If this assumption is correct, then it also gives us some knowledge of one of the other apostles, James the son of Alphaeus.6

Matthew, the Son of Alphaeus

Mark is the only writer who informs us that Matthew’s father was named “Alphaeus,” but that presents us with another piece of the apostolic puzzle; because there is another apostle who is also known as “son of Alphaeus,” James.  Thus, contrary to the opinion of several learned writers, Matthew and James were brothers.7

“Alphaeus” is a Greek name which means “Chief.”8  Many writers identify him as Cleopas.9  Other writers, specifically among the Catholics and Anglicans, try to make him the brother-in-law of Jesus’ mother, Mary, which is absurd.10 If indeed Alphaeus and Cleopas are the same person, then Matthew’s father was also a disciple, one of the two on the road to Emmaus in Luke 24.  It would also mean that Matthew’s mother was a disciple, one of the women who were at the cross,11 as well as one of the women who were in the upper room prior to Pentecost.12

Matthew the Author

The Gospel which bears the name Matthew was written early.13  Though some have attempted to dispute the authorship, there exists no copy of the first gospel which has any other name attached to it as author.  The early church writers quoted from it as authoritative, and identified the tax collector as the one who wrote it.

Papias says “Matthew put together the oracles [of the Lord] in the Hebrew language.”14  To this, Irenaues (AD 120-202) agrees, saying that “Matthew issued a written Gospel among the Hebrews in their own dialect.”15  Tradition is pretty consistent in saying that Bartholomew took with him a copy of it in Hebrew when he went on his missionary journeys.  And the Acts of Barnabas repeatedly related the tradition that Matthew gave Barnabas a copy of his gospel in order to help him teach the Jews.16

-Bradley S. Cobb

1 Bridgeway Bible Dictionary, “Matthew.”

2 I realize there is debate among some liberal scholars about the “Primacy of Mark,” but it was the universal belief of the ancient writers that Matthew wrote his gospel first.  Additionally, though space forbids a more detailed explanation, Matthew’s gospel was clearly written to the Jews, the ones to whom the gospel was first taken.  There are some traditions that place the death of Bartholomew in AD 44, and those same traditions also say that he took a copy of Matthew’s gospel account with him as he preached.  Mark was a man whose influence was almost non-existent until the late 50s/early 60s; and Luke’s gospel was written around AD 60 as well.  See H. Leo Boles Commentary on Matthew, pages x-xi (introduction), as well as J.W. McGarvey’s Commentary on Matthew and Mark, pages 9-10.  “Some of the ancients give the eighth year after the ascension as the date, others the fifteenth” (Edwin W. Rice, People’s Dictionary of the Bible, “Matthew”).

3 American Tract Society Bible Dictionary, “Matthew.”

4 James Hastings, Dictionary of the Bible, “Matthew.”  See also Easton’s Bible Dictionary, “Matthew.”

5 Lest anyone decide to argue that Matthew the tax collector is different from Matthew the apostle, the man himself makes it clear: the apostle was “Matthew, the tax collector” (Matthew 10:3).

6 For more on this apostle, see the next chapter.

7 Mark calls both men “son of Alphaeus,” and there is no reason for doing so if there was no connection. Fausset, James Hastings, and the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia disagree, but the only argument they give is that Matthew and James aren’t together in the lists of the apostles.  Apparently when Matthew himself lists James right after himself, that doesn’t count (Matthew 10:3).

8 Hitchcock’s Bible Names, though Thayer gives the meaning as “changing.”

9 It is said that the Greek name Alphaeus is the same as the Aramaic name Cleopas.  The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (see article “Alphaeus”) gives the arguments for this identification, but concludes that each of the points are nothing more than suppositions which cannot be proven.

10 The reasoning behind this will be detailed in the next chapter, and will be proven false.

11 John 19:25

12 Acts 1:13-14.

13 As mentioned in a previous footnote, the ancients universally agreed that Matthew was the first gospel written.  Some of them even said it was written within eight years of the ascension, AD 38.

14 Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 1, page 155.

15 Irenaeus, Against Heresies, Book 3, chapter 1.  Ante Nicene-Fathers, Vol. 1, page 414.  The same author (Against Heresies, Book 1, ch. 26, par. 2) said that the Ebionites (A group of militant Christian Jews who rejected Paul’s writings and the possibility of Gentile salvation) only used Matthew’s gospel.  This points to its continued existence in Hebrew form.

16 The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 8, pages 494-495

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The IRS Agent in Jesus’ Company (Part 1)

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Welcome to yet another installment of our upcoming book on the apostles.  We hope you’re enjoying it!

Scripturally speaking, there are not a lot of things that we know about Matthew, but the few things we do know are interesting for certain.

Matthew the Tax Collector

The name “Matthew,” which means “Gift of God,” appears five times in Scripture—all but one of those is the listing of the names of the apostles.1  If not for Matthew himself writing his gospel account, we would not know anything about him except for the fact that he was one of the apostles.2  Matthew 9:9 is the key to everything else we know about this disciple of Jesus Christ:

As Jesus passed forth from there [the house], he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office: and He says to him, “Follow me.”  And he arose and followed Him.

This tax office, or tax booth3 was located on the outskirts of Capernaum,4 next to the Sea of Galilee in order to charge taxes on the merchandise that came into Galilee from the ships on the sea, as well as the merchants who came from the north.  This port was quite busy, necessitating the employment of several “publicans” or “tax collectors” for the job.  Matthew was one of these men.

Apparently, Matthew did quite well as a tax collector, for he had a “great feast in his own house” immediately after being called by Jesus, and there “was a great company of tax collectors and of others that sat down with them.”5  Jesus’ disciples6 were also present, along with some of the Pharisees and disciples of John.7  This shows that Matthew didn’t live in a small house.

This feast, according to several commentators, was a farewell feast to his friends and family. 8   It may indicate that Matthew sold his ancestral property, or turned it over to the nearest male relative. However, it may have also simply been a great feat in honor of Jesus, the miracle-working Man of God who had been teaching in that area for some time.

The tax collectors were hated by the Jews at large, but especially by the Pharisees and Zealots, because ultimately they were collecting taxes for the Roman government—the government that was ruling over the Jews (plus, no one really like the IRS today, either).  Being a tax collector was, to the Pharisees, the same as renouncing Judaism and removing yourself from the family of God.  It is because of how the Pharisees treated the tax collectors that Jesus gave the parable of the Lost Son (usually called “the Prodigal Son”), showing that the tax collectors were still God’s children, and still loved by Him.9

The zealots were revolutionaries who would even stoop to assassinating government officials (like tax collectors) in their quest to overthrow Roman rule.  One of the other apostles, Simon the Canaanite, was a Zealot.10  But in Christ, these two political enemies were united in love, peace, and mission for their Master.

-Bradley S. Cobb

1 Matthew 10:1-3; Mark 3:14-19; Luke 6:13-16; and Acts 1:13.

2 Of course, the fact that he was one of the apostles tells us that he was also (1) a Jew, (2) a Galilean, (3) religiously-minded, (4) one who forsook Jesus, (5) one who preached on Pentecost, and (6) all the other things that involved all of the apostles.  But as far as any personal information about him, we have only what we know because of Matthew’s own writing.

3 This was not a walled building, but more of an open stand where all incoming and outgoing merchandise was taxed by Herod.

4 Compare Mark 2:1, 13-14.

5 Luke 5:27-29.  Here, Matthew is called “Levi.”  We will see in a later section that they Levi and Matthew are one and the same person.

6 At this point, it certainly included Peter, Andrew, James, John, Philip, and Bartholomew (Nathanael), if not more.

7 These groups both approached Jesus and His disciples at this feast in Mark 2.

8 See Eastman’s Bible Dictionary, “Matthew.”

9 Read Luke 15.

10 See Section on Simon (coming later).  Compare Matthew 10:4 with Luke 6:15.

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So, Whatever Happened to Thomas?

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Traditions about Thomas

Who was Thomas’ Twin?

The name Thomas is the Aramaic word for “twin,” and John informs us that he was “called Didymus,” which also means “twin.”  Thus, this was his nickname as well.  Guy N. Woods says, “It seems most likely that Thomas had a twin brother or sister; how else may his name be accounted for; but, there is no mention of either in the sacred writings.”1  But that hasn’t stopped people from making guesses.

One tradition is that he had a twin sister named Lysia, while another tradition says he was the twin brother of Jesus Himself, and is to be identified as Jude2 (there is a lot of extra-biblical evidence to suggest his name was Judas Thomas). 3 Another tradition is that his twin brother was named Eliezer.4

The “Gospel of Thomas”

There are two different writings with this title.  One of them makes up stories about Jesus as a youth, such as these:

Jesus, when five years old, was playing in the fjord of a mountain stream; and He collected the flowing waters into pools, and made them clear immediately, and by a word alone He made them obey Him.  And having made some soft clay, He fashioned out of it twelve sparrows.  And it was the Sabbath when He did these things.  And there were also many other children playing with Him.  And a certain Jew, seeing what Jesus was doing, playing on the Sabbath, went off immediately, and said to His father Joseph: “Behold, your son is at the stream, and has taken clay, and made of it twelve birds, and has profaned the Sabbath.”  And Joseph, coming to the place and seeing, cried out to Him, saying, “Why are you doing on the Sabbath what it is not lawful to do?”  And Jesus clapped His hands, and cried out to the sparrows, and said to them, “Off you go!”  And the sparrows flew, and went off crying


And the son of Annas the scribe was standing there with Joseph; and he took a willow branch, and let out the water which Jesus had collected.  And Jesus, seeing what was done, was angry, and said to him, “O wicked, impious, and foolish!  What harm did the pools and the waters do to you?  Behold, even now you shall be dried up like a tree, and you will not bring forth either leaves, or root, or fruit.”  And immediately that boy was dried up.  And Jesus departed and went to Joseph’s house.  But the parents of the boy that had been dried up took him up, bewailing his youth, and brought him to Joseph, and reproached him because, they said, “You have such a child doing these things.”

After that, He was again passing through the village; and a boy ran up against Him, and struck His shoulder.  And Jesus was angry, and said to him, “You shall not go back the way you came.”  And immediately he fell down dead. 
 The parents of the dead boy went to Joseph, and blamed him, saying, “Since you have such a child, it is impossible for you to live with us in the village; or else teach Him to bless, and not to curse, for He is killing our children.”5

This work, usually referred to as The Gospel According to Thomas, was a favorite among the Naasseni, a second-century Gnostic sect. 6

Another work, titled The Gospel of Thomas is a collection of 114 sayings attributed to Jesus which was discovered in the Nag Hammadi Library.  About half of the sayings are similar to things found in the true gospel accounts, while the others seem to have a Gnostic origin/slant to them.

“Acts of Thomas”

This work, which some experts date to the first century, was held in high esteem among some of the heretical groups.7  “The main heresy which it contained was that the apostle Thomas baptized, not with water, but with oil only.”8  This work may be the origin of the tradition that Thomas evangelized in India.

The story begins with the apostles gathered together to assign regions of missionary work.  Thomas got stuck with India, and wasn’t happy about it.  He complained, then prayed, saying, “Wherever You wish to send me, send me elsewhere; for I am not going to the Indians.”

So, Jesus appears and finds a traveling Indian merchant who is looking for a carpenter, then tells him, “I have a slave, a carpenter, and I wish to sell him.”  And He points to Thomas at a distance, and then writes out a bill of sale that says, “I, Jesus, the son of Joseph the carpenter, declare that I have sold my slave, Judas by name, to you Abbanes, and merchant of Gundaphoros, the king of the Indians.”  Then Jesus went to Thomas and began walking with him to Abbanes.  The Indian merchant asked Thomas, “Is this your master?”  Thomas said, “Yes.”  The Indian says, “I have bought you from him.”  And Thomas was silent.

They go to a wedding feast in India where Thomas is hit on the head by a wine-pourer for using too much perfume, then Thomas prophesies that the man will be forgiven for this action in the world to come, but on the earth, he was going to be killed.  Thomas then sings a song in Hebrew (so no one there understands), and a lion kills the wine-pourer.

Later, Jesus appears to the groom, who thinks He is Thomas, for they looked identical.9  The wedded couple is converted to the Lord, which greatly upsets the king of India, and he demands Thomas be arrested.  But Thomas had already sailed away to other parts of India.

Some time afterwards, the merchant who had bought Thomas went to see the king because the king wanted a new palace built.  He hired Thomas to build it, and provided him with money to buy materials and to pay the workers.  Several months later, Thomas sends him a message that the temple is done.  So the king comes to the city, and asks where the temple is, and the people told him, “He has neither built a palace nor done anything else of what he promised to do; but he goes around the cities and districts, and if he has anything, he gives all to the poor and teaches that there is one God, and heals the diseased and drives out demons
”  So the king tracks down Thomas and asks him directly, “Have you built me a palace?”  And Thomas replies, “Yes, I built it.”  The King says, “When, then, are we to go and see it?”  Thomas’ reply is, “You can’t see it now; but when you have departed this life, then you will see it.”  So Thomas and the merchant are thrown into jail while the king decides how he wants to kill them.

But, in the night, the king’s brother dies, is taken to heaven, and sees the palace that was built in heaven for his brother, and demands to be taken back to the land of the living so he can buy it from the king.  The king, seeing his brother come back from the dead believes about the heavenly palace, and frees Thomas and follows him.10

Other Traditions about Thomas

A work attributed to Clement of Rome states that Thomas argued before Caiaphas that what Jesus taught was exactly what the Old Testament prophets believed.11  Later, the same writer said that seven years after the Lord’s ascension, Thomas was preaching to the Parthians.12

Clement of Alexandria seems to argue that Thomas did not die a martyr’s death.13  But Hippolytus says:

Thomas preached to the Parthians, Medes, Persians, Hyrcanians, Bactrians, and Margians, and was thrust through in the four members of his body with pine spears at Calamene, the city of India, and was buried there.14

This story about his death is also recorded in Consummation of Thomas the Apostle.15

The Christians of St. Thomas

In India, in the 1500s, Portuguese sailors landed and discovered a group who called themselves “Christians of St. Thomas.”  This group taught the necessity of baptism and the Lord’s Supper, and were governed by elders.  The rejected the authority of the pope, and rejected celibacy for their ministers.  They rejected praying to saints, and rejected images.  As a result, they came under heavy persecution from the Catholics, including torture and death.  Well over half of the Christians of St. Thomas finally accepted Catholicism.16

But their existence does seem to give some validity to the missionary work of Thomas in India.

-Bradley S. Cobb

1 [amazon text=A Commentary on the Gospel According to John&asin=0892252618], page 234.

2 McClintock and Strong’s Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature, Vol. 10, page 367.  Eusebius seems to make this connection as well, though he doesn’t say that this Judas is the brother of Jesus.  [amazon text=Ecclesiastical History&asin=082543307X], Book 1, Chapter 13, paragraph 10.  The east Syrian (Mesopotamian) churches still identify Thomas with Jude, and call him the twin brother of Jesus.

3 In the apocryphal Acts of Thomas, he is called “Judas Thomas,” and the names are used of him interchangeably.  The Old Syriac translation of the New Testament reads “Judas Thomas” instead of “Judas, not Iscariot” in John 14:22.

4 See Homily II, Chapter 1, in the Pseudo-Clementine Literature section of The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 8, page 229.  It is possible that this is a different Thomas, but it is noteworthy that he is a twin and accompanies Peter and Zacchaeus.

5 The Gospel of Thomas, first Greek form, 2-4.  See The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 8, page 395.

6 This quote is given by Hippolytus in The Refutation of All Heresies, Book 5, Chapter 2.  See Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 5, page 50.

7 There is debate among scholars whether this was originally written in Syriac, then translated to Greek, or if it was first in Greek, then in Syriac, and then back into Greek when the original Greek writing was lost.  It is highly doubtful that this book is to be dated any later than the middle second-century.

8 From Professor M.B. Riddle’s “Introductory Notice” to the Apocryphal Acts in The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 8, page 357.

9 If this were true, it would explain why the Jewish leaders needed Judas to identify Jesus.  They wouldn’t want to accidentally grab Thomas instead.

10 The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 8, pages 535-549.

11 Recognitions of Clement, Book 1, Chapter 61.  See The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 8, page 93.

12 Recognitions of Clement, Book 9, Chapter 29.  See The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 8, page 189.  Origen agreed with this assessment, see Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, Book 1, Chapter 13.

13 Clement of Alexandria, Strata, or Miscellanies, 3.4.25.  Found in The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 2. Page 385.

14 Hippolytus on the Twelve Apostles.  Where Each of Them Preacher, and Where He Met His End.  See The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 5, page 255.

15 This work is a sequel of sorts to Acts of Thomas, and many consider it to be part of the same writing.

16 This information comes from McClintock and Strong’s Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature, Vol. 10, page 368.

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The Courageous Man of Doubt (part 2)

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Doubting Thomas

The apostle had, just hours before Jesus’ death, proclaimed his willingness to die for Him before he’d ever deny him.1  But soon afterwards, he forsook Jesus, running away into the night.  The Sunday following, he heard rumors about the empty tomb and the resurrection of Jesus, but he didn’t believe them.  That evening, Thomas was noticeably absent from the gathering of Jesus’ disciples, and missed the appearance of the Lord in their midst.  Why he was absent isn’t given.  It could be something as simple and innocent as sickness, or, given what John records for us, it might be that he was dejected.  Perhaps he wouldn’t gather with them because Jesus is dead; it’s over.2

But soon after that meeting that he didn’t attend, the other apostles tracked him down and began to tell him an amazing story: Jesus is back; He appeared while you were gone!  Thomas wasn’t going to get his hopes up.  Surely he wanted to believe them, but he wasn’t going to believe something like that unless he saw it for himself.3  His answer to the other apostles was a strong one: “No, I will not believe unless I see the print of the nails in His hands, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and might thrust my hand into his ribs.”4

The next Lord’s Day, Thomas gathered together with the rest of the apostles, the doors being shut, when Jesus appeared in the middle of the room.  He approached Thomas and looked at him, and submitted to Thomas’ request for proof.  “Bring your finger here and behold my hands.  And bring your hand here and put it into my ribs, and do not become unbelieving, but believing.”5  Thomas wasn’t chastised verbally; Jesus didn’t ask him, “Why didn’t you believe the others?”  But you can almost guarantee that in the midst of his joy over seeing Jesus alive, he was also disappointed in himself for not believing.  But he didn’t let that keep him from accepting what he saw.6

Thomas went from doubt in the physical resurrection of Jesus to proclaiming Him as both Lord (Master) and God.  Seeing Him raised from the dead confirmed that Jesus indeed was the Christ, and that He also was God.7  This is not, as some wish to argue, Thomas calling Jesus “My Lord,” and then pausing, looking upward to heaven and saying to the Father, “My God.”  There is nothing in the text to justify such a splitting of Thomas’ statement.8

But, after Thomas’ statement, Jesus gives him a gentle reminder about the importance of faith and trust.  “Because you’ve seen me, you have believed; those who have not seen [me] and yet have believed are blessed.”  This is reminiscent of what is said in Mark 16:9-16:

Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons.  And she went and told them that had been with Him, as they mourned and wept.  And they, when they had heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, did not believe.  After that, He appeared in another form to two of them as they walked, and went into the country.  And they went and told it to the rest, but they didn’t believe them either.  Afterwards, He appeared to the eleven as they sat eating, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe them which had seen Him after He was risen.  And He said to them, “You go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.  The one having believed and having been baptized shall be saved, but the one having not believed shall be damned.”

From that point forward, we have absolutely no indication that Thomas ever had doubt regarding Jesus again.

The final mention of Thomas comes in John 21, where the apostle joins with Peter in an unsuccessful evening of fishing, followed by Jesus telling them to fish on the right side of the boat.  The result was that they caught so many fish that they couldn’t lift them all up onto the boat.  Thomas helped row the boat to shore where Jesus Himself was fixing breakfast for them.  He ate the fish and bread, knowing he was eating with the Lord.9

-Bradley S. Cobb

1 Matthew 26:35

2 Barton W. Johnson said, “The failure of Thomas to be present with the other disciples was probably due to his utter despair” (The New Testament Commentary, Vol. III.—John, page 302).  Larry Deason, in his “That You May Have Life
” An In-Depth Study of the Gospel of John (pages 405-406) presents a plausible scenario:

Thomas earlier was so willing to follow Jesus into the dangers of Judea that he led all the rest (see John 11:16), but is now filled with a grief made worse by a sense of guilt; he had not made good his promise to die with Him.  “Why should he be dead and I still alive?” he asks himself.  And then he learns that they have seen Him alive—all but he.  They try to console him, but he cannot share their joy.  Day after day that week, one disciple after another tries to convince Thomas to believe.  “I believed once,” he says.  “I believed that He was the Messiah and would deliver the nation from all its woes.  But look where it got me.  Dashed hope is worse than no hope at all.”

One after another tries to describe for him in detail what he saw when Jesus appeared.  Finally, Thomas has had enough.  To curtail all further attempts to convince him, he shouts out in his frustration, “I will not believe unless I myself see His wounds.  Unless I myself actually feel the nail prints and put my hand into His side.”  The other disciples are shocked into silence, and Thomas is finally left alone to his guilt and grief.

3 Ted Clarke said of Thomas, “He deserves criticism because of this.  None of us today have seen the Lord, but we believe the testimony of the men who did see Him.  Thomas should have believed the combined testimony of the other apostles” (Preaching School Notes, 2008-2010, notes on John 20:24-29; Bradley Cobb, Editor).

4 The Greek of John 20:25 has Thomas using two negatives to express his refusal to believe without visual evidence.  See An Outline Commentary on John by Max Patterson, page 254.

5 John 20:27, Modern Literal Version.

6 It’s worth noting here that Thomas does not appear to have actually touched the nail-prints or thrust his hand into Jesus’ side.  Seeing Him there in front of him was enough to prove that Thomas had been wrong to doubt.

7 There are many Old Testament prophecies which point to the Christ being God, among which are Isaiah 7:14, 9:6-7, Zechariah 12:10, etc.  Thus, Thomas had a much greater insight into the nature of Jesus and the Messiah than some people even today do.

8 There are examples of someone speaking and changing the person to whom he is talking.  Perhaps the most obvious one is Mark 2:8-11.  But in those cases, the change of audience is given to us in the text.  There is no such indication in John 20:28.  Funny enough, there is such a change in verses 26-27, where Jesus speaks to the apostles, then just to Thomas—and again, it is spelled out for us in the text.  Therefore, those who argue that Thomas’ words “My God” were addressed to the Father instead of Jesus have no basis for their argument except for the false doctrine which they are trying to defend, denying the deity of Jesus Christ.

9 John 21:1-14.

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The Courageous Man of Doubt (Part 1)

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Thomas holds the distinction of being the only apostle whose name is usually prefaced with an adjective: Doubting Thomas.  Of course, that phrase doesn’t appear in the Bible, but that’s how he’s frequently referred to in books, sermons, and other writings.

Like Bartholomew (aka Nathanael), the only details we know about Thomas, other than that he was an apostle, are found in John’s gospel account.

Courageous Thomas

The first mention of Thomas (whose name literally means “twin”)1 in John’s gospel account comes in chapter eleven.  Lazarus has just died, and Jesus tells His disciples (including Thomas), “Let’s return to Judea.”  The disciples were not thrilled with this idea at all, since the Jews had tried to kill Him the last time they were there.  But Jesus said, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; I’m going to go wake him up.”  That definitely confused the apostles, and so Jesus told them, “Lazarus is dead.”

It’s after this statement of Jesus that the apostles know Jesus is going back to Judea, and Thomas tells his fellow-disciples, “Let’s go so we might die with Him.”  Though this expresses courage, extreme loyalty, and love for Jesus, it also shows a lack of understanding—some might even call it an expression of doubt.  He was saying, “Let’s go with Him, ready to die with Him if need be.”2  But Thomas didn’t understand that Jesus had something more planned for Him and the other apostles.  Thomas didn’t see the big picture that included Jesus arising from the grave (more on that later).  He saw this return to Judea, it seems, as the final stand in the life of a great Rabbi who was being rejected by the Jewish people.  But Thomas went with Him anyway.3

After arriving in Judea with Jesus, Thomas would have heard the mournful cries of Mary and Martha who each told Jesus, “If you would have been here, our brother wouldn’t have died!”  With the idea of death and dying on his mind, Thomas might have felt sadness and been resigned to his own (so he thought) impending death.  Certainly, he would have been curious when Jesus replied with the words, “I am the resurrection and the life.  The one believing in me, though he were dead, yet he shall live.  And the one living and believing in me shall never die.  Do you believe this?”4  Thomas might have been thinking, I’m alive, and I believe in Jesus
maybe I won’t die after all.

Then, Thomas was present when Jesus prayed to the Father, saying that His prayer was so that the people might believe.  Thomas then heard Jesus utter the words, “Lazarus, come forth!” and he watched as Lazarus came out, alive.  He witnessed the power of Jesus to raise the dead after four days.5  It should have served as proof that Jesus could rise from the dead after just three days, yet Thomas doubted.

Confused Thomas

After the Lord’s Supper was instituted, and Judas left to betray Jesus, the Lord began to tell the apostles that His time was almost up.6  He told them that He was going to go, and that they would not be able to follow Him right then.  Peter expressed confusion, saying, “Where are you going?”  After Jesus said He was going to prepare a place for His followers, and that they knew the way, Thomas expressed confusion as well.  “Lord, we don’t know where you are going; how can we know the way?”7

From this, we get an insight into Thomas’ character.  Just like Peter, he had a difficult time grasping the concept that Jesus would be raised from the dead after his death.  He was fiercely loyal to Jesus, ready to die with him, but he was stuck on thinking in mortal terms.

Jesus replied, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no one comes to the Father except through me.”  Whether Thomas understood what Jesus meant at this point isn’t stated by John.  But lest anyone wants to bad-mouth Thomas for his lack of understanding, take special note that Thomas was just one of three apostles who expressed their confusion in this instance (Philip being the third).8

-Bradley S. Cobb

1 John says he is called “Didymus,” which is the Greek word for “twin.”  Several theories exist as to the importance of this name.  Some assume it means he is a twin brother of one of the apostles, others that he is the twin brother of Jesus, others that he had a twin sister, and so on and so forth.  More will be said on this matter in the “traditions” section of this chapter.

2 Thomas speaks in the subjunctive mood when he says this, showing a possibility.  Thus, we might die with Him.

3 The text of John 11:16 could also be read as though Thomas is speaking about Lazarus: Let’s go so we might die with Lazarus.  While grammatically this makes sense, it doesn’t make any logical sense.  Can you truly picture Thomas telling the other apostles, “Let’s go to Judea so we can die with Lazarus”?  See E.W. Hengstenberg’s discussion on this passage for a fuller discussion on who Thomas was willing to die with.

4 John 11:25-26.

5 John 11:41-45.

6 See John 13:26-33, especially note verse 33 and the phrase “yet a little while I am with you.”

7 John 14:1-5, especially verse 5.

8 See John 14:7-12.

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Further Adventures of the Guile-less Apostle with Two Names

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Bartholomew, According to Tradition

With some of the apostles, tradition is generally in agreement.  With Bartholomew, the traditions are all over the place.  He is said by some “ancient authorities” to have been a nobleman in Galilee prior to becoming a disciple of Jesus.1  He is said to have worked in India, Phrygia, and Armenia.2  Others place him side-by-side with Peter, Andrew, and Matthew around the Black Sea.3  Traditionally, it is believed that Bartholomew took the gospel also to Arabia.4  There is a work entitled “The Acts of Andrew and Bartholomew” placing the two working among the Parthians, and includes Jesus telling Bartholomew “Rise up, O good Bartholomew, and go to the countries of the Greeks
”5

One of the many stories surrounding Bartholomew actually records a demon describing his appearance:

He has black hair, a shaggy head, a fair skin, large eyes, beautiful nostrils, his ears hidden by the hair of his head, with a yellow beard, a few grey hairs, of middling height (neither tall nor stunted, but middling), clothed with a white under-cloak bordered with purple, and on his shoulders a very white cloak; and his clothes have been worn twenty-six years, but neither are they dirty, nor have they waxed old.  Seven times a day he bends the knee to the Lord, and seven times a night does he pray to God.  His voice is like the sound of a strong trumpet
his face, and his soul, and his heart are always glad and rejoicing.6

According to The Martyrdom of Saint Bartholomew in Naidas, the apostle angered a king by converting his wife to Christ, resulting in his death:

It came to pass that when Akrepos heard these words from him, he was angry with a great anger, for he had kept in his mind how his wife had separated herself from him.  Then he commanded the officers of his guards to fill a sack with sand, and to put Saint Bartholomew therein and to cast him into the sea; and they did as the king commanded them.  Now he died on the first day of the month Maskarram, and afterwards the waves of the sea cast him up, and on the day following, certain believing men, who had confessed the faith God through him, swathed him in swathings and laid him in a fair place.7

But, according to another work with a similar title, a king in India was upset because his idols had been broken:

The king
ordered the holy apostle Bartholomew to be beaten with rods; and after having been thus scourged, to be beheaded.

And innumerable multitudes came from all the cities, 12,000 in number, and they took up the remains of the apostle with singing of praise and with all glory, and they laid them in the royal tomb, and glorified God.  And the king Astreges, having heard of this, ordered him to be thrown into the sea; and his remains were carried into the island of Liparis.8

Herbert Lockyer gives some other traditions, including that Bartholomew was murdered in Armenia in AD 44,9 and that he was either “crucified with his head downwards, of flayed to death at Albanopolis or Urbanapolis in Armenia at the command of King Astyages after the conversion of King Polymios.”10  Coxe says that “the general tradition is that he was flayed alive, and then crucified.”11

Perhaps the most interesting of the stories surrounding Bartholomew is that he went into India with a Hebrew copy of the gospel of Matthew,12 which was found around AD 170 by Pantnus, who was sent to India as a missionary.13

One ancient writing called the “Gospel of Bartholomew” is no longer in existence, but it was labeled as heretical by the Catholic Church.14

-Bradley S. Cobb

1 Whyte, Alexander, Bible Characters, chapter 22.

2 See Zondervan’s Bible Encyclopedia, entry “Bartholomew.”

3 See The Post-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 1, Ecclesiastical History (Eusebius), Book 3, part 1, footnotes 1.

4 International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, “Arabia.”

5 See Budge, Contendings of the Apostles, Vol. 2, Pages 183-184.

6 Martyrdom of the Holy and Glorious Apostle Bartholomew, The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 8, page 553.

7 Budge, Contendings of the Apostles, Vol. 2, pages 109-110.

8 Martyrdom of the Holy and Glorious Apostle Bartholomew, The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 8, page 557.

9 Lockyer, Herbert, All the Apostles of the Bible, page 58.  Unfortunately, Lockyer did not state where this date or the traditions originated, leaving us to wonder if this is one of his many “embellishments” from this book.

10 Lockyer, Herbert, All the Apostles of the Bible, page 250.

11 The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Book 5, page 255, footnote 2.

12 Hippolytus, Hippolytus on the Twelve Apostles.  See The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 5, page 255.

13 Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, Book 5, chapter 10; see also International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, “Matthew, The Gospel of.”

14] International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, “Apocryphal Gospels.”

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Theories About The Guile-less Apostle with Two Names

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Theories About Nathanael

As we stated earlier in this chapter, while most Bible scholars agree than Nathanael and Bartholomew are the same person, others disagree.

The Armenian and Syriac translations of Eusebius’ Ecclesiastical History use the name “Tolmai” or “Bartholomew” (“Son of Tolmai”) every place where the Greek uses the name “Matthias.”  This has led to some people holding the position that Bartholomew is another name for Matthias.  Of course, that causes its own confusions, since Bartholomew was already one of the apostles when Matthias was chosen to replace Judas.1

Some have suggested that Nathanael (which means “gift of God”) and Matthew (which means “gift of God”) are two names for the same person.  However, as Barclay points out, those men in the Bible who were known by multiple names generally had a Jewish name and a Greek name (or a first name and a surname).  Nathanael and Matthew are both Jewish names, which, while not impossible, goes against the general rule regarding names.2

It’s been said that Nathanael wasn’t a real person at all, but that he was an ideal representation of the true Israelite who would accept the gospel (some have said it specifically pictures Saul of Tarsus).  In other words, Andrew, Peter, and Philip were all real people, but Nathanael was figurative, representing those who the apostles would call.  There is nothing at all in the text, nor common sense, to suggest that Nathanael wasn’t a real individual who was really searched for by Philip, and who really came to Jesus, and who really went fishing with the disciples after the resurrection.3

Various interpreters, with differing levels of evidence, have tried to identify Nathanael as John, the son of Zebedee (though that makes John 21:2 ridiculous), as Stephen, as Paul, as Matthew, as Matthias,4 and as Simon the Zealot.5

Each of these theories presents difficulties, while the identification of Nathanael as Bartholomew presents none.

-Bradley S. Cobb

1 See Dr. E. Nestle’s “Matthias=Bartholomew” in Expository Times, Vol. 9 (1898), pages 566-567.

2 See William Barclay’s Daily Study Bible notes on John 1:45.

3 Again, see Barclay’s notes on this passage.  He does not accept this interpretation, but does present it as what others have said.

4 See the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia entry on “Nathanael.”

5 See the “Genealogies of the Twelve Apostles” in E.A. Wallace Budge’s The Contendings of the Apostles, Vol. 2, page 50.  Here, Nathanael is said to be the same as Simon (the son of Cleopas), one of the twelve.

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The Guile-less Apostle with Two Names (Part 3)

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Bartholomew the Disciple and Apostle

Bartholomew most certainly accompanied Jesus to the wedding feast in Cana—some even believe that he was the groom!1  He accompanied Jesus into Jerusalem, heard Him teach in the temple, and baptized many people in Judea before returning to Galilee.2  Throughout the 3 Âœ years that Bartholomew followed Jesus, he heard much teaching and saw many miracles that confirmed for him that his initial confession about Jesus was correct.  However, like the other men who were chosen to be Jesus’ closest associates, he abandoned the Lord and fled for his life.3

The Sunday after the resurrection, Bartholomew gathered with the rest of the apostles (except for Thomas, who was absent) in a room with the doors shut, fearful that the Jews would come after them. He had been told by Mary Magdelene that Jesus had risen from the grave, but he didn’t believe her.4  But now, gathered with nine other apostles, Bartholomew saw Jesus appear in their midst; he saw the wounds in His hands and side, and he believed.5

After that event, Bartholomew was one of the men who told Thomas about the encounter, trying to convince the doubting disciple that Jesus truly had risen from the grave.  The next Lord’s Day (though it was not yet given that designation), Jesus appeared to the eleven apostles once again, and Bartholomew must have been overjoyed to hear Thomas make the same basic declaration that he himself had made years earlier: “My Lord and my God!”6

Bartholomew, a matter of days later, decided to join Peter after hearing him say, “I’m going fishing.”  Along with Thomas, James, John, and two of the other disciples, they spent all night fishing, but caught nothing.  The next morning, they heard a man cry out to them, “Do you have any meat?”  They had to, frustratingly, admit that they had caught nothing, and then they heard the man say “Cast your net on the right side of the ship, and you shall find [fish].”  Bartholomew and the other disciples did as the man said, and caught so many fish that they weren’t able to bring up the net.

John realized it was Jesus, and told Peter, who dove in the sea and swam to shore, leaving Bartholomew and the other disciples to drag the net of fishes to shore.  When they made it to the shore, they saw Jesus had already started a fire, had fish cooking, and had bread ready for them.7

That is the last time the name Nathanael appears in the Scripture.  But less than a month later, he was standing with the other apostles, listening to Jesus speak, and watched as He ascended into heaven and was received by a cloud.  He was present when Peter stood up and explained from prophecy that Judas must be replaced.  He was in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came upon them all and they began to speak the wonderful words of God in foreign languages.  He spent a good portion of that day teaching and baptizing people.

Other than being arrested and beaten for preaching the word,8 being with the apostles during Saul’s persecution,9 and gathering in Jerusalem to discuss the circumcision controversy,10 we are not told anything else about Bartholomew.  But we do know that he died in faith, for his name is inscribed on the foundation of the Holy City, New Jerusalem.11

-Bradley S. Cobb

1 See McClintock and Strong’s Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature, Vol. 1, page 675.  The reason for this belief, apparently, is that John makes a special point to mention at the end of his gospel account that Nathanael (Bartholomew) was from Cana of Galilee (John 21:2).

2 These events are recorded in John 2-4.

3 Matthew 26:56.

4 Mark 16:9-11.  There are those who wish to discredit Mark 16:9-20, but the overwhelming weight of evidence proves its inspiration.  See The Last Twelve Verses of Mark by John W. Burgon for a full treatment of this topic.

5 John 20:19-20.

6 John 20:26-28.

7 John 21:1-14.

8 Acts 4.

9 Acts 8:1-4.

10 Acts 15

11 Revelation 21:14.