Disciples Part 2: John, James, Bartholomew/Nathanael

Jesus chose 12 men to be his first disciples. They were normal people, with normal jobs, but God had a special plan for them. Jesus taught the disciples many things while on Earth. Last week we studied Andrew, James and John. Click HERE to read about these three disciples. Today, let’s look into John, James, and Bartholomew.

The Call: Matthew 10:2-4- 2 These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

John:

John was another fisherman like Andrew and Peter. When John heard of Jesus, he decided to leave his father Zebedee and his job fishing to follow Jesus full-time. John along with Peter and his brother James was in Jesus’s inner circle. John witnessed many miracles and healing from Jesus as a part of being in this circle. John had a special relationship with Jesus. The Bible refers to John as “the disciple whom Jesus loved”. This is not to say that Jesus did not love the other disciples, but he was extra close to John.

After Jesus ascended to heaven, he put the responsibility of ministry in his disciples’s hands. John himself had many disciples and led many people to Jesus. The fruits of his ministry have lasted long after his death because much of what he wrote is in the Bible. John wrote the gospel of John, the letters 1, 2, 3 John, and the book of Revelation.

An interesting fact about John is that he is thought to be the only disciple to die a natural death. The rest of the disciples were killed because of their faith in Jesus. John did suffer persecution though. People tried to kill him by dropping him in a pot of boiling oil but he was unharmed. He was eventually exiled to the island of Patmos where he grew old.

James:

James was the third and final person that belonged to Jesus’s inner circle. He and his brother John were nicknamed “the sons of thunder” for their zealous attitudes. This name is believed to come specifically from an event recorded in Luke 9:52-56 where James and John ask Jesus if they want them to call fire down from heaven. The brothers also asked Jesus if they could sit at his right and left hand in the kingdom of heaven, but Jesus only promised them that they would share in his suffering.

Even though James was in Jesus’s inner circle, his faith remained fairly weak until after the resurrection. Once James saw the resurrected Jesus, he fully believed that he was the son of God and this is evident by the way he spent the rest of his life. However, his faith in Jesus led to him being killed by King Herod (he was one of the first disciples to be martyred). We learn that following Jesus can be hard and we may suffer persecution but there are eternal rewards for his followers in heaven.

Bartholomew/Nathanael:

The synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) call him Bartholomew, the gospel of John calls him Nathanael, but they are more than likely referring to the same person. It was normal in biblical times for people to go by more than one name.

Another disciple (Philip), told Bartholomew about Jesus. At first, Bartholomew was skeptical about Jesus being the Messiah but very soon he declared that Jesus was the son of God. This is recorded in John 1:45-49.

Besides this early account, we do not know much about Bartholomew. After Jesus’s resurrection, it is thought that he helped spread the gospel and eventually die a martyr’s death.

Key Takeaways:

• We are called to be disciples of Jesus

• Have Big Faith

• Jesus is the son of God

• Everyone Needs Jesus

Parents, 3treesKIDS will also be learning about John, James, and Bartholomew/ Nathanael this Sunday, both in-person and online. Be sure to check out their lesson at www.3trees.com/kids.

To find service times and locations, visit https://www.3trees.com/planyourvisit.

People of the Bible: The Disciples Part 1: Andrew, Peter, and Thomas

Jesus chose 12 men to be his first disciples. They were normal people, with normal jobs, but God had a special plan for them. Jesus taught the disciples many things while on Earth. Over the next four weeks, we will be taking a deeper look into each of the 12 disciples. Today, we will begin with three: Andrew, Peter, and Thomas.

The Call: Matthew 10:2-4- 2 These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Andrew:

Andrew was one of the first people who followed Jesus. He was originally a disciple of John the Baptist and when he heard him preach about Jesus as the Messiah he started following Jesus. The Bible also tells us that he went to get his brother Peter to tell him about Jesus. Before they were called, he and his brother Peter were fishermen. Jesus called them both by telling them that he would make them fishers of men, and that’s exactly what he did.

Besides his early following of Jesus, we do not know much about Andrew. But it is clear that he played a significant role in getting his brother Peter to follow Jesus as well. Historically, it is believed that after Jesus ascended to heaven Andrew became a missionary and spread the gospel.

Peter:

Unlike his brother Andrew, we know quite a bit about Peter. Peter witnessed and was involved in many of the miracles of Jesus. Most notably, Peter walked on water with Jesus (Matthew 14:22-33). He was also one of Jesus’s 3 closest disciples (John and James will be talked about next week). As a part of this Jesus told him that he would be the “rock” that he would build the church on (Matthew 16:18). At Pentecost, this prophecy started its fulfillment when Peter preached to a crowd of people and 3,000 people were saved. Peter is also credited with writing the New Testament books 1 and 2 Peter.

Peter did some incredible things with Jesus, but not everything was pretty. Peter is also known for denying Jesus 3 times the night before he was crucified. Jesus told him it would happen and Peter said it couldn’t be true, but when people began to ask him if he knew Jesus he lied and said he didn’t.

Peter had his ups and downs, but his life teaches us that even though we may deny him sometimes, Jesus still loves us. Jesus is faithful to us even when we are not faithful to him. We all sin, but like Peter, Jesus wants us to build his church until he returns for us.

Thomas:

Thomas is a disciple that we know a moderate amount about. He has been nicknamed “Doubting Thomas'' because he refused to believe the other disciples when they tried to explain that Jesus had been resurrected. He said that he would not believe until he could put his hand in his wounds (John 20:25). Eventually Jesus appears and he allows Thomas to examine his wounds. After this, Thomas believed and was in amazement.

Jesus told Thomas that he believed because he saw. But that there would be many who could not see and would still believe, and these people would be blessed. Today we fall in the unseen category. None of us can touch Jesus like Thomas could, but if we believe the accounts in the Bible then Jesus says we will be blessed.

Key Takeaways:

• Follow Jesus

• Jesus calls us to be a disciple and build the Church as well

• Have Big Faith

Parents, 3treesKIDS will also be learning about Andrew, Peter, and Thomas this Sunday, both in-person and online.

Be sure to check out their lesson at www.3trees.com/kids.

To find service times and locations, visit https://www.3trees.com/planyourvisit.

People of the Bible: Jesus

Jesus is the most important and most unique person to have ever lived. The Bible says that Jesus was God, but he was also man. How can this be? Well Jesus, who is God, decided to subject himself into humanity to help us see God. He became a person like us to point us towards eternal life. Without being God, Jesus would not have been able to do this. But without becoming human, Jesus would not be able to relate to the people he came to save.

It is a complicated thought, one that we cannot quite wrap our minds around. However, the Bible makes it clear that Jesus was fully God and fully Man. He came as God in human form to relate to us and show us the way to the Father.

Although Jesus only lived into his mid-30’s, he lived a full life. The Bible mostly focuses on the last 3 years of his life. During this time Jesus was preaching and teaching the Word of God to his followers. He performed many miracles through his vast power. He walked on water, he healed people, he even raised people back from the dead. He had all the power of God because he was God. The people around Jesus were often astonished at the things he was able to do.

The biggest flex of his strength and power actually came through something most people would see as weak. Jesus decided to give himself up for us. He died on a cross for all of humanity’s sins. The Bible tells us that at any time Jesus could have called upon ten thousand angels to save him from the cross, but he knew we needed saving. After his death, Jesus was laid in a tomb, but 3 days later he was raised from the dead and eventually ascended back into his heavenly home.

Many people know these stories about Jesus because this is what the Bible focuses on. The authors of the gospels wanted people to know that Jesus was the Messiah so they pointed to his power as evidence. But Jesus was also a person just like we are. The Bible tells us that Jesus ate, slept, and enjoyed hanging out with his friends.

The Bible does not tell us specifically, but it is also safe to say that Jesus would have had a fairly normal childhood. He would have helped his parents around the house. He would have played with other children his age. He experienced life just like we do. That means he experienced all the bad things as well. He knew what it was like to be sad, to be hurt, to be lonely. He was tempted just like we are. We can look to Jesus to see how we should live our life because he went through everything we go through. Jesus left his perfect home and entered into this broken world so he could relate to us and help us live for God.

Key Takeaways:

• Jesus was fully God and fully man

• He is powerful

• He is like us

• Everyone needs Jesus!

Parents, 3treesKIDS will also be learning about Jesus this Sunday, both in-person and online.

Be sure to check out their lesson at www.3trees.com/kids.

To find service times and locations, visit https://www.3trees.com/planyourvisit.