St. Bartholomew, Apostle – August 24, 2025

Praise to you and peace from God, our Father, from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

On this day, August 24th, the Church has remembered St.

Bartholomew for over a thousand years.

This day might be the day that he was martyred, confessing Christ as our one and only Savior.

And Bartholomew, along with the other apostles except John, died a martyr's death.

Revelation 12 describes them in this way, quote, they did not love their lives

even in the face of death.

In other words, they did not cling to the things of this world,

but they remained faithful unto death.

They gave their lives in martyrdom rather than to retract the testimony of Christ's resurrection.

We do not glorify Bartholomew today, but we give God thanks that God kept him

faithful in his office as an apostle.

We also thank God for giving him strength and perseverance in the midst of hostility of life and death.

And we pray that God will help us to imitate his faith and holy living according to our calling in life.

And that God keep us faithful unto death.

Who was Bartholomew? Well, he was one of the 12 disciples.

Matthew, Mark, and Luke all give the list of their names.

Matthew chapter 10, for example, gives us their names.

Matthew 10 · chapter mention

Peter, Andrew, James, the son of Zebedee, John, Philip, Bartholomew,

Thomas, Matthew, and the list goes on.

Now, some of these disciples we know very well because they're mentioned in

the Gospels and also in the book of Acts, like Peter, James,

and John. And there are some other disciples that we don't know very much about, like Bartholomew.

In the list of disciples, it's interesting to note that Philip is number five,

and Bartholomew is number six.

In other words, Philip and Bartholomew are always together in Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

However, in the Gospel of John, nowhere is the name Bartholomew mentioned.

But the name Nathanael is mentioned. Philip and Nathanael are always together

in the list in the Gospel of John.

And so according to scholars, Nathanael is Bartholomew's kind of first name.

And Bartholomew tells us where he was born or who he is born from.

Barah means son. So most likely he is the son of Tholomeu.

At the time of our gospel for today, Jesus already called Andrew,

Peter, and Philip as disciples.

Philip then told Nathanael, who is Bartholomew, that the Messiah,

the promised Savior, is here. He is among us.

Philip goes on to say that he is from Nazareth.

Now, Nathaniel, who is, by calling you, was a little skeptical because he knows

that the Savior is supposed to be born in Bethlehem and not in Nazareth.

Philip said to Nathaniel, come and see.

Come with me. See and hear Jesus.

Hear what he has to say.

And so Nathaniel approached Jesus, and Jesus right away identified Nathanael as a true Israelite.

In other words, an Israelite who has faith in the promised Messiah,

faith in the coming Savior.

He also identifies Nathanael as without deceit or some translations as without guile.

Not that he's sinless. No, but what that means is that his sins are forgiven

through faith in the Messiah. the promised Savior.

Nathanael was amazed that Jesus knew him. And furthermore, Jesus even knew that

Nathanael was under the fig tree, most likely studying the scriptures.

How did Jesus know about him? How did Jesus know about Nathanael?

Well, Jesus is God in the flesh. He knows all things.

And Nathanael then was impressed by this. And he believed. He believed that

Jesus is the Messiah, the promised Savior.

And Nathanael then gives two beautiful confessions of faith.

He first of all identifies Jesus as the Son of God.

And secondly, he identifies Jesus as the King of Israel.

Who fulfilled the prophecy of Zechariah.

So both of these confessions are correct, and they are beautiful.

Jesus then said that Nathaniel, who was Bartholomew, will see greater things,

that he will see heaven open and angels descending on the Son of Man.

Bartholomew was with Jesus along with the other disciples for three years.

Bartholomew heard Jesus teach and preach He saw Jesus perform miracles He saw

Jesus be nailed to the cross And three days later he saw the resurrected Christ

Can any good come out of Jesus being crucified?

Yes Sins are paid for by the blood of Christ And Jesus has appeased the wrath

of God Can anything come good out of Easter?

Yes Jesus rose from the dead and he lives forevermore.

Heaven is now open and the angels ascend and descend on the Son of Man.

In other words, Jesus is our bridge or our ladder to heaven.

He is the way, the truth, and the life.

No one comes to the Father except through faith in Christ.

On the evening of Easter, the disciples were found behind locked doors in a

certain room for fear of the Jews, and the resurrected Christ appeared among them.

He said, Peace be with you. But he also said, As a father has sent me, I send you.

And Jesus ordained them as apostles.

Forty days later, Bartholomew and the other disciples witnessed the ascension of our Lord.

And ten days after that, they were in Jerusalem for the coming of the Holy Spirit.

After Pentecost, the apostles traveled the four corners of the earth, spreading the gospel.

Some went to Europe, others went to Asia, some went to Africa.

And they testified to the forgiveness of sins because of the resurrection of our Lord.

They baptized and taught the word of God. They absolved sin.

They preached the repentance and the forgiveness of sins. They served the Lord's Supper.

They comforted the sick and the dying and they took care of those who were entrusted to them.

According to tradition in the church, which Bartholomew first carried the gospel

to India, and he gave them a copy of the gospel of Matthew, and then he also traveled to Armenia.

And there, the gospel was successful, and there Bartholomew,

through the word of God, converted the king.

But the king's brother was so angered at this that he had Bartholomew beheaded,

and Bartholomew died a martyr's death.

What lessons do we learn? First, we learn about evangelism and mission.

Just as Philip said to Nathaniel, come and see and talk with him about Jesus.

So also, we have the opportunity to talk with our unchurched family or friends

or neighbors or fellow students about Jesus and who he is and what he has done for us.

Better yet, we have an opportunity to invite them to worship.

Come, come with me to worship and see and hear with your own ears the precious gospel.

And just as the apostles had this missionary zeal to bring the gospel to all

nations, we too have a passion for seeking the lost in our own neighborhood,

in our own family, or around us.

But also in the Kansas district or throughout the world.

Support evangelism or mission endeavors with your gifts and your prayers.

Regarding worship, can any good come out of simple water and word put on someone's head? Yes.

There in baptism, God saves the sinner. Can any good come out of a preacher

preaching from the pulpit?

Yes, sins are forgiven and removed. Faith is strengthened, and we also learn

how to love what God commands and how to care for others.

Can anything good come out of bread and wine? Yes, the body and blood of Christ

is given for the forgiveness of all our sins.

Where is Jesus? He is here.

With his life-giving word and his precious gospel, put all doubt and skepticism aside.

Good does come to you today And for you And for your salvation.

Second, because of the death and resurrection of Christ, heaven is open.

Jesus is the bridge or the ladder between earth and heaven. He is our only way to heaven.

His words are our source of truth, and he is our only source of eternal life.

And so no one comes to the Father except through faith in Christ.

Heaven is open, and through faith in Christ, we will eventually be there with

Bartholomew and others.

Third, Jesus wants his gospel and word and sacrament to go out to all nations,

and so he has ordained the disciples to be apostles, and men today are ordained

into the office of the holy ministry.

The pastoral office is not an option. God

wants a church to have a pastor And God

wants qualified and trained men To baptize and

to teach To absolve sin To preach repentance and

the forgiveness of sins To administer the Lord's Supper

To comfort the sick and the dying And

to take care of those who are entrusted to them The pastoral office is a necessary

It's a gift from God For your sake and for your salvation Pray for your pastor

that he may remain faithful,

a faithful servant of Christ.

If you know of a young man who would be a faithful pastor, please encourage

him to consider going to the seminary and pursuing the office of the holy ministry.

All of us can contribute to the gospel, say in this place.

We all share in the advance of the gospel among us by serving on the altar guild

or a greeter or by serving in various positions in leadership,

by our tithe or our offerings, or just by praying for the church.

Fourth, just as Bartholomew was faithful to our Lord, so also may we be faithful to God and his word.

May God bless us in our various vocations.

Spouse, a parent, a student, a son or daughter.

May he bless us that we may love and serve our family and our friends and others.

Faithfulness also means avoid false doctrine and remain faithful to God in his word.

May we be lights in the dark world, proclaiming Christ as our one and only Savior.

When you were confirmed or joined the church, the question was asked,

Do you intend to continue steadfast in this confession in church and to suffer

all, even death, rather than fall away from it?

And you answered, I do, by the grace of God.

Just as Bartholomew persevered in the midst of hostility,

so also may God give us the ability to persevere in a world that is hostile to the gospel.

The gospel does face opposition, and the message of the cross is offensive to some.

And if we are made fun of because we believe in Christ, count it all joy.

Press on toward the goal of heaven. Don't throw in the towel.

Don't compromise with the devil and go the way of unbelief. Don't give in to

the immorality of our culture.

Love your enemies and pray for them so that someday they may hear the gospel,

be converted, and have faith in Christ.

May God help us to speak the truth in love so that others may hear and believe.

We are not ashamed of the gospel. It brings us comfort and peace and joy.

We want others to know about Jesus as well. We are in the world,

but we are not of the world. We are of Christ.

Finally, Bartholomew died a martyr's death.

He is now with our Lord in heaven, awaiting the resurrection of the body.

Most likely, we will not die a martyr's death, but when our last day will come,

then we will walk to the valley of the shadow of death.

We will then, through faith in Christ, well in the house of our Lord forever.

But while we remain here on this earth, may God keep us in the faith,

and may he help us to love and serve one another, reflecting the light of Christ.

To God be all the glory. Amen.