Disciples Nathanael Bartholomew, Judas and Thomas

The next three disciples show that the conventional interpretation of who they are is actually the opposite of what they really stand for in our developing consciousness. This is often the way when we investigate under the surface to discover spiritual meanings.

Nathanael Bartholomew: Nathanael means gift of God. He is known by his family name, Bartholomew, in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. St. John calls him Nathanael. In my series on the disciples I show how Nathanael is the faculty of imagination within us. Not imagination that is really fantasy but a spiritual faculty of imagination that can see concepts as living images. By creating moving pictures in our mind when we try to understand a concept it can come alive for us. Also, they will also be much easier to remember. This means that we ‘see’ things differently. Here is an excerpt from my reflections about Nathanael seeing, “Jesus points out to Nathanael that this is only the beginning: “You shall see greater things than these”. This must always be our expectation, to see greater things. We should always strive to have first hand experiences, by hearing Philip within us saying, “Come and see.”

Judas: Judas is said to be the Greek version of the Hebrew Judah which means praise Jehovah. When his mother Leah gave birth to him she praised Jehovah for his birth, hence the name Judah or Yehudah Gen 29:35. This is how Judas comes to represent the generative energy within us.  The reproductive force within us is motivated by conservation; survival of the species. Judas is also associated with betrayal, however, the word ‘betray’ also means to ‘reveal’. Judas gives us the opportunity to act in a higher way. “There are two sides to the Judas energy within us. He can assist us or assail us. Mostly he works within us without our knowing. It is up to us to become conscious of what he is doing. Jesus was.”  Living Disciples by Kristina Kaine

Thomas: Thomas stands for reasoning, understanding. The purpose of Thomas’s central role in some of the bible stories is to alert us to the pivotal place of reasoning. He doesn’t take things at face value, he wants to understand and experience things fully. His questioning is described as a lack of faith or disbelief however blind faith is like a blind person crossing a busy road alone. The Thomas in us keeps testing the facts from every side to come to a full understanding. Generally people do not do this, the first understanding they meet satisfies them and that is usually only a fraction of the truth. This happens because we like to take the easy way out, to have instant answers so that we don’t have to put in much effort. The thing is, it is the effort that we put in that awakens our consciousness. We don’t need to find the ultimate truth, or have it given to us by others, what we need to do is to strive.