Skin in the Game: Bartholomew and the Resurrection of the Body
Church tradition teaches that every apostle died a martyr. Some were crucified, some beheaded, and some stoned. But according to an ancient Armenian text, Bartholomew has the dubious distinction of what may be the most gruesome death of them all: being skinned alive.
Christian artists have made much of this story, especially Michelangelo, whose Last Judgment in the Sistine Chapel includes Bartholomew holding his own skin.
Sponsored
Why was Bartholomew so willing to suffer, to put his own skin in the game? As an eyewitness to Jesus’s death and resurrection, he saw Jesus’s skin in the game and believed in the resurrection of the body. Bartholomew could accept bodily suffering because he had bodily hope.
The Skin of Bartholomew
As a Biblical figure, we know Bartholomew primarily through the Gospel of John, which calls him Nathanael. In the synoptic gospels, Bartholomew appears only in the list of the twelve disciples, each time alongside Philip (see Matthew 10:3, Mark 3:18, Luke 6:14). But in John, Philip introduces Nathanael (Bartholomew) to Jesus. The resulting conversation convicts Bartholomew, who makes a powerful confession of faith.
Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” (John 1:48)
We don’t know the specific meaning of the fig tree for Philip, but this was clearly a deeply personal and convicting reference, for Nathanael (Bartholomew) immediately answers:
“Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel.” (John 1:49)
What we do know is that the fig tree represents the place of nakedness, shame, and sin in the biblical context, for it was to the fig tree that Adam and Eve went after they disobeyed and sinned against God.
“Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.” (Genesis 3:7)
In light of this story, there is a certain appropriateness in the mode of Bartholomew’s martyrdom, in the voluntary sacrifice of his skin. I don’t mean at all to make light of the horrible suffering Bartholomew must have endured. Instead, I observe with wonder that he, whose first encounter with Jesus pointed to his own shame and nakedness, in the end, gave his skin for Jesus, the Son of God.
The Skin of Michelangelo
Bartholomew appears prominently in Michaelangelo’s Last Judgment, a monumental fresco above the altar in the Sistine Chapel.
The central figure in the image is Christ, who presides over the resurrection of the dead and their disposition to heaven or hell. As we follow Christ’s gaze down and to the right, we see Bartholomew, prominent at the right point of the central triangle, holding a knife in his right hand. And then, in Bartholomew’s left hand, we see him holding his skin!
Even wilder, Bartholomew’s skin contains a face that turns out to be a self-portrait of Michelangelo! First identified in 1925 by Francesco la Cava, the meaning of this self-portrait has been variously interpreted, from representing Michaelangelo’s frustration in making the painting to representing his own doubt about his salvation.
The Dignity of Skin
I’d propose another theory: the strategic use of the artist’s face identifies Michaelangelo’s deep commitment to the dignity of skin, the redemption of bodily suffering, and hope for the human body. This would also shed light on the most controversial aspect of the Last Judgment, which is the remarkable prominence of human flesh in the depiction of so many unclothed bodies. This feature was even more prominent in Michaelangelo’s original when the painting did not include loincloths.
To be clear, I’m not seeking here to take a side in the long-running debate about nudity in Christian art. I can understand both perspectives. One aims to elevate the human body in its created innocence and redeemed righteousness. The other acknowledges that we are now fallen and cannot engage nudity with indifference.
However, I suggest that the prominence of skin in the Last Judgment reflects Michaelangelo’s deep and profound Christian confidence in the resurrection of the body.
Just as Bartholomew had skin in the game, so did Michelangelo. Whether Michaelangelo’s Last Judgment is an artistic success has been variously evaluated. However, we cannot doubt Michaelangelo’s commitment to the work and willingness to take artistic risks. Working for seven years in the twilight of his career, he was all in and put everything on the line. He had skin in the game.
The Skin of Jesus
In recent years, author Nassim Nicholas Taleb has made prominent use of the phrase “skin in the game,” authoring a book of the same name. In the book, Taleb explains that the phrase relates to “symmetry” in input and outcome. The person with skin in the game both receives a “share of the benefits” in the event of success and also a “share of the harm if something goes wrong” (Skin in the Game, 4).
Taleb applies this concept to many aspects of politics, economics, society, and everyday life, and he also ventures applications to religion, including Christ, who:
“Had to be both man and god…to have skin in the game; he did actually suffer on the cross, sacrifice himself, and experience death.”
Skin in the Game, 120
In other words, Jesus didn’t depart from the apostles when their movement came under threat. He didn’t transfer the downside to others; to the contrary, Jesus took their downside on himself. Rather, Bartholomew and the other apostles fled from harm and showed they did not have skin in the game. As Taleb states:
How much you truly ‘believe’ in something can be manifested only through what you are willing to risk for it.
Skin in the Game, 219
At the crucifixion of Jesus, the belief of the apostles was tried, and they failed. But the apostles saw that Jesus believed. They saw that Jesus had skin in the game, even to his own death.
And then Jesus returned.
The Resurrection of the Body
After he rose from the grave, Jesus appeared to the apostles. At first, this group, which included Bartholomew, thought they saw a ghost. But Jesus ate fish and honey to show them he had a body (Luke 24:36-43). Moreover, Jesus forgave the apostles for their betrayal and abandonment, restoring and commissioning them again. The Gospel of John names Nathaniel (Bartholomew) as one of the apostles who met the resurrected Jesus at the sea of Galilee (John 21:2).
Thus, Bartholomew had a double motivation to put his skin in the game. Not only had he seen Jesus suffer and die, but now he became a witness to the hope of bodily resurrection.
The resurrection of the body is one of the most strange doctrines of the Christian faith. Because religious people are attuned to spiritual reality, religious hope usually relates to the human spirit. Even today, it is common for Christians to think our hope is a heaven of disembodied souls.
But in those days after the resurrection, Bartholomew realized that the gospel applies to the body. Our hope is in “a new heavens and a new earth,” which we will enjoy in our resurrected flesh (2 Peter 3:13).
Bartholomew learned a great Christian paradox: because our hope for the body is so immense, we can risk its harm.
Putting Our Skin In The Game
If you’ve been in churches that recite the Nicene Creed, you might notice that many congregants make the sign of the cross alongside its final phrase:
We believe in the resurrection of the body, and the hope of the world to come.
I don’t know the history of this practice or its original intention. But to me, it expresses this remarkable paradox: because we believe in the bodily resurrection, we can mark our bodies with the cross.
Like Bartholomew, with our eyes firmly fixed on the death and resurrection of Christ, we can put our skin in the game.
Image: detail of The Last Judgement by Michelangelo, Sistine Chapel, Vatican City. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. Digital editing by Jacob Davis.
The Liturgical Home: The Feast of St. Bartholomew
On August 24th, the Church celebrates St. Bartholomew, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke each mention Bartholomew by name (Matt. 10:13, Mark 3:18, Luke 6:14). In the Gospel of John, he is called Nathanael (John 1:43-44) and initially asks “Can anything good…
Why Resurrection?
Why is it so important to Christians that we profess faith in the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ? There are many aspects of that reality that could be discussed, because the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is right there at the very heart of our Faith. But there is an aspect that most speaks…
