No Trash, Just Truth! - Proverbs 9:10 Ministries

Episode 115 - A Thrill of Hope, the Weary World Rejoices - Make Way for the King Part 3

November 29, 2021
No Trash, Just Truth! - Proverbs 9:10 Ministries
Episode 115 - A Thrill of Hope, the Weary World Rejoices - Make Way for the King Part 3
Show Notes Transcript

Moving on in the earthly life of Jesus, in this episode, we delve into the crowd Jesus hung with - His Apostles. You can tell a lot about a person by the company they keep. What do these guys that Jesus hand-picked say about Jesus. Why chose who He did? What happened to all of them?  Are Apostles disciples? Are disciples Apostles? Are there any Apostles today? For the answers to these questions and so much more, tune in!

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Episode 115 – A Thrill of Hope, the Weary Soul Rejoices

          Welcome Back! Chris, I am loving this series, Make Way for the King. I love being in Gospels and New Testament, and delving into the Person of Jesus, especially at this time of year. It just puts everything into its proper place. It makes me want to celebrate Christmas even more than usual! So, take that politicians and cancel culture!

          I agree. This week, we are going to look at Jesus from the perspective of the company He kept – that is His closest friends, His Apostles. But before we jump in, let’s put a little work in defining what constitutes an Apostle, and the difference between an Apostle and Disciple, because sometimes people don’t understand that they are different, and it’s a crucial distinction. Not understanding the difference has been the basis of a lot of false teaching throughout history and even today. Maybe some of the confusion is because The Bible does call the Apostles disciples in some parts of Scripture

And the reason the Bible calls them both is because every Apostle was a disciple, so that title for them in appropriate. However, not every disciple is an apostle, and that’s where the problem begins. The word “disciple” according to the Miriam Webster dictionary is defined as “A follower; an adherent to the doctrines of another.” Everyone who surrender their lives to Christ and follows His commands and teachings are disciples. The original Greek word used for Disciple is matheteuo” and it simply means “student.” Jesus gives His Apostles instructions to recruit disciples for the Kingdom of God. In Matthew 28:19 – 20, He says, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”

          So, as students and followers of the doctrines and teachings of Christ, the Apostles definitely fit into the category of disciples. But, and this is a big but, they were followers at a level that was exclusive to just them. The term, “Apostle” according to the Merriam Webster Dictionary means, “one sent on a mission: such asone of an authoritative New Testament group sent out to preach the gospel and made up especially of Christ's 12 original disciples and Paul.” The Greek word used for Apostle, Apostolos, means “one who is sent off.” But more than just the definition, in the Bible, Apostle is not a merely the title of someone sent, its an office. An Office that Jesus chose who would fill it.

          We see this in Matthew 10. Matthew 10:1-3 says, “And he (Jesus) called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction. The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Zealot,[b] and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.” Then Jesus gives these Apostles that He just named, specific instructions meant for them only. The heading of the passage in these next verses, Matthew 10:5 - 15 are even titled, “Jesus sends out the Twelve Apostles.” Here’s what those verses say, “These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, 6 but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay. 9 Acquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts, 10 no bag for your journey, or two tunics or sandals or a staff, for the laborer deserves his food. 11 And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart. 12 As you enter the house, greet it. 13 And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. 14 And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. 15 Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.”

          So, the title of the passage and Jesus’ words themselves, shows that these instructions are just for Jesus’ chosen Apostles. Only the Apostles were sent out by Jesus and given authority to show signs and wonders. Paul confirmed this truth in       

In 1 Corinthians 12:12 when he said, “I persevered in demonstrating among you the marks of a true apostle, including signs, wonders and miracles”  Here’s a quote from Alpine Bible Church on the office of a true apostle. “The office of a true apostle was confirmed with signs, wonders and miracles conducted in places where there were not any Christians. If Apostles exist, we need to send them to Africa to cure Ebola and establish churches. During the Apostle Paul’s life, Hospitals did not exist. In fact, it was the Christian church that originally started hospitals. The reason they did not exist was because the culture believed if someone were sick they were cursed by a god. Therefore sick people were often thrown into the streets until they healed. Some however never healed. The culture believed that once a person recovered the gods were no longer angry but if you helped them during their sickness you too could be cursed. Therefore sick people would often hang outside of temples to their gods in hopes of paying penance for their wrongdoing. This in fact became a typical location where you would often see the disciples healing…(Outside of the Jewish Temple like we see in Acts 3:1-6). If one were a true apostle today, holding the office of an Apostle, you would expect them to walk into hospitals and heal people. Like Peter, even their shadows would heal people as we see in Acts 5:15.”

          And since we are talking about Jesus’ earthly ministry, we should note in case some are wondering why in the Matthew 10 passage we just read, Jesus tells the Apostles to only go to the lost sheep of Israel, and not to the Samaritans or the Gentiles. While Jesus walked the earth, His ministry was towards the lost sheep of Israel. Now, He certainly interacted with, healed, and saved Samaritans and Gentiles. But the initial mission was first to the Jews. He even says this in Matthew 15:24 when He says, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

          But later, at His ascension, Jesus calls for the Apostles to expand the circle of who they preach the Gospel to and include in the church. In Acts 1:8, just as He is getting ready to ascend to heaven, Jesus says, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” And this is the pattern that the Apostles follow – we see it especially in Paul’s travels. First, they go and teach into the synagogues (Jerusalem), then to other Jews (Judea), then they expand out to the half Jews / outcasts of Judaism (Samaria), and then to the Gentiles (to the ends of the earth). And that opened the door for all of Jesus’ disciples (all of His followers) to preach the Gospel to everyone.

          Again, the office of Apostle was for one chosen by Jesus, and it was an office only meant for the 1st century to help the initial spread of the Gospel and to help start the church. And, one point I want to make, Chris, is going back to that quote you read from The Alpine Church, there are those who claim to be apostles today, but they look a lot different than the real apostles in Scripture. The real apostles lived in places where there were few Christians because they were the ones “Sent out” to establish new churches. The biblical apostles were abused, beaten, imprisoned, mocked, and killed. They lived in poverty and often went hungry. Paul even says in 1 Cor. 4:9 – 13, “For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men. 10 We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute. 11 To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless, 12 and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; 13 when slandered, we entreat. We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things.”

Today, however, those who claim to be apostles are often living in highly populated areas where they can have the biggest followings, they get lots of money from those followers, and they live in luxury. Some even have their own jets! And, to be fair, not all of those who call themselves Apostles today are swindlers. But even if they aren’t swindlers, they have some seriously wrong theology. Their belief that they are an Apostle is based on them thinking they are “messengers” of God. But every follower of Jesus is called to be a messenger of the Gospel. That does not make any of us Apostles. And to align yourself with the Real Apostles of the Bible, claiming to be one of them and have the same authority and gifts that they did, is not only wrong, it has some very dangerous connotations. 

          The real Apostles were given the authority of the One who sent them - Jesus. The qualifications for being an apostle, besides being sent by Jesus, included having been with Christ during His ministry, having personally witnessed Jesus after His resurrection, and having been empowered by the Holy Spirit to perform miracles or signs. We see this in Acts 1, Acts 10, and 2 Cor 12. Now, Paul was an exception to part of these qualifications. He didn’t accompany Jesus during His earthly ministry, obviously, but Jesus made a special appearance to him on the road to Damascus and set him apart as an apostle to the Gentiles as we see in Acts 26:14 – 18.  This is why Paul says that although he is an Apostle, he is “one born at the wrong time,” according to 1 Cor. 15:8. 

So, just to tie this up in a bow, since we are in the Christmas season – all the Apostles were disciples, but not all disciples are Apostles. The Apostles were the original 12, Matthias, whom the Apostles chose to replace Judas Iscariot, and Paul. Paul tells us outright that he is the last apostle in 1 Cor. 15:7. He says, “Then he (Jesus) appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.” Paul makes the distinction that Jesus appeared to James (Jesus’ brother who was not an apostle), the Apostles, and lastly to him. Paul is the end of the apostles. And as an interesting note, some may not realize this, but even Jesus Himself is called an “apostle” in Hebrews 3:1, where it says, “Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, 2 who was faithful to him who appointed him.” This indicates that Jesus was sent by and had the authority of His Father. 

And we will throw one more thing in the Apostle mix. There are many who think men like Barnabas, Timothy, Titus, Apollos, and a few others are also Apostles. They base their argument on the fact that these guys are called “messengers” in various places in Scripture (the Greek definition of Apostle) Also, that they were sent out by the original Apostles to preach the Gospel, and they were instrumental in starting the early church. It’s a great thought to ponder and dig into. And we did! And the conclusion we have reached (along with many others) is that while they were important disciples in the 1st century, they were not apostles. They do not meet the criteria for an Apostle. They were not hand-picked by Jesus (they were chosen by the Apostles), they were not given power by the Holy Spirit to perform signs and wonders, and we aren’t told that they had an interaction with Jesus either while He walked the earth or after His resurrection. Sometimes people will cite that Paul and Barnabas performed a miraculous healing at Lystra when they healed a man whose feet were crippled. But when you read the passage, while the people of Lystra proclaimed both Paul and Barnabas to be gods because of the healing, it was Paul who did the healing, not Barnabas. 

Okay, so let’s start looking at those Jesus hand picked to surround Himself with and give special authority to. They are a varied, colorful lot and Jesus choosing them tells us a lot about Jesus. Let’s start with Matthew 4:18 – 22. “While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he (Jesus) saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21 And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.” Okay, so here we see Jesus calling 2 sets of brothers as the first Apostles – Andrew and Peter and James and John. Let’s start with Andrew. As the text said, Andrew was Peter’s brother. They were fishermen from Bethsaida on the coast of Galilee. But this encounter with Jesus is not their first. Andrew was originally a disciple of John the Baptist. 

John 1:35 – 40 tells the story, “ The next day again John ( meaning John the Baptist) was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38 Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” 39 He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour] 40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 41 He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). 42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter).” So Andrew is immediately convinced Jesus is the Messiah. He becomes one of the first 2 Apostles Jesus calls (along with Peter). And although Jesus is certainly sovereign over those He chose, from an earthly perspective, Andrew is the one responsible for bringing Peter to Jesus. You could say Andrew was the first evangelist!

After the John 1 passage that you read, Andrew didn’t stay with Jesus. It was sometime later – and we don’t know how much later – that the Matthew 4 passage happens when Peter and Andrew are fishing and Jesus calls them to follow Him. At this point, Peter and Andrew knew who Jesus was. And when you know that, it makes the full story of their calling make more sense. And Luke gives the full story, a very familiar story, of the calling of Andrew and Peter. It’s found in Luke 5:1 – 11. It’s worth reading all the verses. “On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, 2 and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon's, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. 4 And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” 6 And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. 7 They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. 8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” 9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, 10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” 11 And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.

It took incredible faith to walk away from their lives to follow Jesus, there’s no doubt about that. But don’t miss that Jesus gives them this miraculous, ridiculously large catch of fish. So big, the nets were breaking. This gives us a huge glimpse into what following Jesus looks like. It will require sacrifice. May even require you giving up a job or lifestyle, forsaking material wealth, or even being rejected by family, friends, and society. But the rewards will be unlike anything you can imagine! And on a practical level, Jesus has just given them this humungous catch that will enable them to leave their families with some financial support. Again, showing us Jesus’ character. As we will see as we move on in this study, Jesus didn’t just take care of people’s spiritual need – although that was their biggest need – He also took care of their practical needs. That’s because He knows what we need both because He’s God, and because Jesus was made like us in every way! (except for the sin nature of course)

There’s not a lot in Scripture about Andrew. There’s an incident in John 12 where some Greeks approach Philip looking for Jesus. Philip (who has a connection with Andrew as we will see shortly) tells Andrew. They both go to Jesus to let Him know. Now this might not seem like a big deal, but remember, nothing in the Bible is there by accident. The fact that these men were Greek means they were Gentiles. Which is probably what put off Phillip a bit and why he conferred with Andrew. But Andrew, again being the evangelist, doesn’t tell them that Jesus’ current mission is only to the Jews. He brings the matter to Jesus. This shows Andrew had a heart for people – all people, not just the Jews. Jesus answers them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified,” in John 12:23. Jesus is referencing His crucifixion and resurrection here and the fact that soon salvation will be open to those from every nation and peoples  – including these Greeks. Considering the small glimpse we get into Andrew, that he has a heart for evangelism, we can imagine he was thrilled by this prospect.

According to Fox’s Book of Martyrs, Andrew was the 6th of the Apostles to be killed for his faith. Andrew preached the Gospel to many nations in Asia. However, when he arrived at Edessa, which is located in present day Turkey, he was arrested and crucified. Something unusual about Andrew’s crucifixion though is that the 2 ends of the cross were transversely in the ground. That’s where the “St. Andrew’s Cross” came from. If you’ve never seen the St. Andrew’s cross, look it up, you will see what we mean – It looks like the letter “X.” Okay, onto to Andrew’s brother, Simon Peter, who unlike Andrew, has lots of Scripture on. We already saw how he was called, but there’s so much more! Let’s start with a misconception about Peter. The Roman Catholic Church believes Peter to be the first Pope, and they believe that Jesus ordained it. Their error comes from Matthew 16:18, which says, “And I say also to you, that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”  

When this verse is put into context with the surrounding verses and with other Scripture, the “rock” Jesus is speaking about is Himself. Although the Greek for Peter is “Petros”, similar to the word “petra” which means rock, throughout Scripture, it is Jesus who is referred to as the rock. In Psalm 118:22, the writer is prophesying about the coming Messiah, and says, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.”  The Psalm writer is saying that although the Messiah will be rejected by the builders (a foreshadowing of Jesus’ rejection by many of the Jewish people), God’s Kingdom and His people (the church) would be built upon Him.  Jesus is telling Peter go start the church which will be built uponJ Jesus!  In the first century, the Catholic Church interpreted this verse to mean that Peter was the rock the church would be built on and because of that was given the supreme authority of the Church. Thus, this is the start of the Papal Dynasty; the church tradition that the pope is the ultimate authority on God, even over Scripture.  

And another thing about Peter that may or may not be true. It’s often thought that Peter was the only married Apostle, and that may be, but we aren’t completely sure of that. The Bible doesn’t really give us any information on this except where Paul makes a statement in 1 Cor. 9:5, Do we not have the right to take along a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas?” Paul may be giving a clue that one or more of the other Apostles were married – but we just aren’t sure. Christian theologian, Clement of Alexandria, who was alive from 150 AD – 215AD records that both Peter and Phillip were married in his writings. But we just don’t know for sure. Okay, a quick character study of Peter – he was impulsive, outspoken, and one of the most passionate of all the Apostles. And while all the Apostles were close to Jesus, Jesus did have an inner circle of really close friends which included Peter, James, and John. We saw that in the last episode when He took them up on the mountain for the transfiguration. Even Paul acknowledges that these 3 were the designated leaders in Gal. 2:9 when he says, “and when James and Cephas and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me.”

I can relate to Peter. He is strong-willed, not always tactful with his words, and like you said, he was passionate about Jesus which sometimes caused problems for him. Jesus never tries to change Peter. Instead, He grows him. Now, no doubt, all the Apostles had faults and short comings – just like every other human – but Peter is the example that God gives us a detailed insight into. Peter is the object lesson for us that God takes us where we are, but then sanctifies us by the power of the Holy Spirit, so that we can serve God mightily. We are still us, just now cooperating with the Holy Spirit and growing in our faith and maturing in our Christian walk. Peter is the beautiful example of this. We could do a whole episode on him, but we don’t have the time, so let’s look at where he was at the beginning of Jesus calling Him and where he was at the end of his life.

We don’t have a lot of time to delve in deeply, but Peter is too much of an enigma not to spend some time on. Peter is one who is so nervous at the transfiguration, he just needs to “do” something like building shelters for Jesus, Elijah and Moses. He is the first one to jump out of the boat to walk to Jesus over water, but then gets distracted, takes his eyes off of Jesus and almost drowns. He rebukes Jesus for talking about the death He must suffer, then tries to save Jesus from that death by cutting the ear off of a Roman soldier who came to arrest Jesus, but then shortly after denies Jesus 3 times to keep himself from getting arrested. He weeps bitterly for his failure to stand by Jesus, he hid in fear after His death, and he was the first to run to the tomb when told Jesus had resurrected. Peter goes from the impetuous, incorrigible Apostle to the leader and spokesman for the group. Once the Holy Spirit was given to Peter, God took all those qualities of Peter’s and refined them and used to make him one of the greatest of all the apostles. 

Peter, who had denied Jesus and hid in fear after Jesus’ crucifixion, began boldly proclaiming Christ at Pentecost and never stopped despite beatings, imprisonments, and ultimately death. He only has 2 small books in the Bible, 1 & 2 Peter, but it was his eyewitness that was the basis of the Gospel of Mark. And those 2 small books are nothing to pass over. They are jam-packed with theology and doctrine crucial to our faith. We see in his writings the lessons Peter learned and the growth he experienced. A great example is 1Peter 1:14 – 19, “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” 17 And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, 18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.

And sadly, that’s where we need to end on Peter or we will never get through the others! James, one of the first 4 to be called, and the older brother of John is next on the list. He is referred to as James the greater because there is another Apostle named James who is called James the lesser. This is not an indication of their status with Jesus. It is actually referring to either their age or their physical stature. The James, James the Greater, was either older or bigger than the other James, James the lesser. Like Peter, James was in Jesus’ inner circle. James, along with Peter, Andrew and John were the ones who asked Jesus privately for clarity when Jesus said in Mark 13 that the Temple would be destroyed. Jesus rewarded their inquiry by giving them prophecy with dual fulfillment The prophecy was both about the destruction of the Jewish Temple which would occur in 70 A.D. as well as Jesus’ Second Coming.

James and his brother John were nicknamed by Jesus as Boanerges,” which means “sons of thunder.” We can speculate, that like Peter, James and John were passionate and sometimes brash. James, along with John, is also the one who asked to be seated on either side of Him at the coming of Jesus’ kingdom. The story is found in Mark 10. Jesus first asks them if they are able to drink from the same cup Jesus drinks from – in other words, are they willing to suffer for the Kingdom of God as Jesus is about to. After they say they are, Jesus tells them, that to give them that position is not for Him to grant. It is for the one it is already prepared for. The other Apostles find out about their request and it causes problems within the group. Jesus puts an end to the problem by putting them all in their place in 

A further example of James being a “son of thunder” occurs in Luke 9:51 – 56, “When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. 52 And he sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make preparations for him. 53 But the people did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. 54 And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” 55 But he turned and rebuked them. 56 And they went on to another village.”

It is ironic, although I’m sure not from God’s perspective, that Jesus picks the biggest personalities – the biggest problems, really – to be His inner circle. But again, Jesus turns the passion, impulsivity, and brashness into loyal, courageous, and unapologetic service to God, the spread of the Gospel and the start of the church. After Jesus’ ascension, there is not a lot about James recorded in Scripture. History, though, tells us that He did drink from the same cup as Jesus. He was the first Apostle killed. Approximately 10 years after Stephen was killed by stoning, Herod Agrippa was appointed as the governor of Judea. Trying to ingratiate himself with the people, he began persecuting Christians, starting with James. Herod had James beheaded. But according to Clement of Alexandria, the man who had accused James to Herod was brought to repentance by James’ extraordinary courage. He begged James’ pardon and insisted on being beheaded with him.

That brings us to John. We’ve said quite a bit about John already, but some things to add – passionate, perhaps even a touch arrogant, John authored 5 books of the Bible – the gospel of John, 1, 2, and 3 John, and Revelation. We see remnants of when John asked to sit next to Jesus in heaven by how he refers to himself often in his gospel as “the one Jesus loved,” or “the beloved one.” And, like we said, it may seem a little arrogant. Or maybe it’s the opposite. Maybe John understood not only what Jesus did for him by dying on the cross, but maybe he understood how far Jesus had brought him. Maybe, probably like most of us, he wondered why Jesus had bothered with him. Maybe he was so conscious of the love it took for Jesus to put up with him and sanctify him, that he couldn’t help but proclaim it – often! And John paid this love forward, often. He is sometimes referred to as the Apostle of Love because of his love and care for people. After Jesus’ ascension, John ministered with Peter and is called a pillar in the church in Jerusalem by Paul in Gal. 2:9. 

John may have been the youngest of the Apostles. He lives the longest, that we know. He is the only Apostle not to be martyred. But not for lack of trying! The theologian Tertullian wrote that the Roman emperor, Domitian, ordered John to be plunged into boiling oil but miraculously escaped unscathed. Unable to kill him, Domitian had him exiled to the island of Patmos where he was subject to slave labor. It was here that he received the vision of the book of Revelation. No one in Scripture, except Jesus, talks about the concept of “Truth” more. The theme of his gospel is to show Jesus is God in the flesh. He is the one who quotes Jesus’ famous line in John 8:31 – 32, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” His 3 letters commend people to walk in the truth and condemn false teachers and antichrists (those directly opposed to God). His strongest words are for those who claim to be believers but aren’t. The “wolves in sheep’s clothing” who even then were infiltrating the church. And the entire book of Revelation is about separating truth from lies, separating the people of God from the wicked, and separating eternal life in heaven and eternal life in hell.

John died peacefully on the island of Patmos sometimes after 98AD. His grave is in Ephesus, in modern day Turkey. Next up is Philip. Philip, like Andrew (remember we said they had a connection) was also a disciple of John the Baptist when Jesus called him to follow him. John records it in John 1:43, “The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.”Philip was from Bethsaida – the same town Peter and Andrew were from. The first act recorded about Philip is his going to his friend, Nathaniel, also called Bartholomew, and telling him about Jesus (more on that in a moment). Philip must have been extremely intelligent. We don’t know what he did prior to following first John the Baptist then Jesus, but it is Philip who calculate the amount of money the disciples would need to feed the 5,000 people. 

It was also Philip who requested that Jesus show them the Father in John 14:8. Which led to another famous quote by Jesus, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” The last time the Bible mentions the Apostle Philip is when they were gathered in Jerusalem to pray after Jesus’ ascension. According to Fox’s Book of Martyrs, Philip was killed at Heliopolis in Phrygia – located in modern day Turkey. In 54 A.D., he was scourged and thrown into prison, and later crucified. Now you may be thinking what about Philip’s interaction with the Ethiopian or Philip in Samaria proclaiming Jesus as unclean spirits came out of some of the people listening. This was actually a different Philip. This Philip is known as Philip the evangelist. He was chosen as one of the 7 deacons in Acts 6. The same time Stephen was chosen as a deacon. 

That brings us to Nathaniel, who we said, Philip found and brought to Jesus. John 1:45 – 51 tells the story, “Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46 Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” 48 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.” 49 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 50 Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

Nathaniel was from Cana. Something interesting is that only John calls him Nathaniel. The other 3 gospels list his name as Bartholomew. Bartholomew means “son of Ptolemy.” You may remember that name as one of the nations causing problems for the Israelites. Nathaniel means, “God has given.” It is possible that Nathaniel either changed his name, Jesus changed his name, or John changed his name. It’s also possible that “Bartholomew” is a family name and “Nathaniel” is his given name. Scripture doesn’t give us any indication why the 2 names, so anything we say is pure speculation.

When Philip goes to Nathaniel, he is skeptical that anything good can come from Nazareth, let alone the Promised Messiah. This was understandable, because at that time Nazareth was an obscure little hill town, remote and of no consequence. It was not sophisticated or glamorous, quite the opposite—it was not a place that anyone expected the Messiah to come from. Nathaniel goes anyway and becomes one of the first to express belief in Jesus Christ as the Son of God as we just saw in the passage that you read. This shows us Nathaniel is not afraid to speak his mind – for good or bad. As Jesus says, “there is no deceit in him.” Nathaniel preached in several countries. He even translated the Gospel of Matthew into the language of India. For his efforts, he was beaten and then crucified by pagans.

Next up is Thomas. Thomas was also called Didymus, which is just the Greek equivalent to Thomas. Matthew, Mark, and Luke only mention Thomas when listing the Apostles. It is John that gives us some insight into the person of Thomas. We see him in John 11 when Jesus makes the decision to go to Bethany to raise Lazarus from the dead. The Apostles knew there were people in Jerusalem (which was near Bethany) plotting to kill Jesus and they try and talk him out of going. It is Thomas who says in John 11:16, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” Now his words sound pessimistic, and they may be, but Thomas is willing to stay loyal and follow Jesus even into death.

 Despite his loyalty, Thomas struggled with doubt – hence why he earned the nickname, doubting Thomas. When the other Apostles tell Thomas they have seen the resurrected Jesus, he says in John 20:25, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” Jesus leaves him with his doubt for a while, but 8 days later, He appears to Thomas to show him that He has indeed resurrected. Thomas believes, but receives a very gentle rebuke from Jesus. Thomas’ doubt was not the doubt of an unbeliever. It was the doubt of a believer who is struggling and desperately wants to see the Truth. That’s an important distinction to make.

And that’s exactly why Jesus was gentle with him and guided him back to the Truth and to Himself. Thomas doesn’t really deserve the nickname that has stuck with him. We have all been in desperate or hard situations where our faith waivers. Thomas shows us that Jesus doesn’t leave us there forever – He may for a time, but it won’t be forever. If we are His, He will gently show us the Truth we need to see and bring us back to Him. Thomas preached the gospel in Parthia (modern day Iran) and India. He enraged the pagan priests with his teachings, and they ran him through with a spear. Alright, let’s move onto Matthew. Most of us probably know that Matthew was called Levi and was a tax collector. Scripture doesn’t tell us why the name change. Matthew means “Gift of God,” so it is possible, like with Nathaniel, that either he changed his name, or Jesus changed his name.

And like you said, he was a tax collector. This mean he was a Jew taking advantage and exploiting his own people, not only for the Roman Empire, but for his own wealth. He would have been hated – even by the other Apostles. So you can imagine they were probably surprised when Jesus walking past Matthew’s tax collection booth, told him to come and follow. Luke records Matthew’s response in Luke 5:28, “And leaving everything, he rose and followed him.” In fact, Luke says the very first thing Matthew did was host a grand banquet for Jesus where he invited a bunch of the other tax collectors. 

This shows us a few things about Matthew. The fact that he was able to host a grand banquet tells us he was very well off. Tax collection had been good to him. But just like that, he walked away from it all to follow Jesus. Matthew not only recognized himself a sinner who needed Jesus, but he invites his fellow tax collectors to come meet Jesus. This infuriates the Pharisees who question Jesus daring to dine with sinners like tax collectors. Jesus answers with another of His famous quotes in Matthew 9:11 – 13, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

In a lot of ways, Matthew mirrors Paul. He had a lucrative, comfortable life style. But after an encounter with Jesus, he walked away from it all and walked into persecution, abuse, imprisonment, and ultimately death by being slain with a halberd, which is an axe-like weapon on a long pole with a blade on one side. But before he was killed, he wrote his gospel – the longest of the 4. Remember we said that Matthew was writing to the Jews. He originally wrote his gospel in Hebrew. However, soon after, James the lesser translated it into Greek. Like Paul, Matthew shows us that Jesus will use whom He will use. No one is beyond redemption and no one is beyond being called into the service of God. And that should be a huge encouragement for all of us!

One more note about Matthew. He’s an example of how far God can bring someone. Matthew went from basically stealing from his own people, the Jews, to writing his Gospel specifically for them to introduce them to Jesus. Just one of the those really cool facts we see in Scripture. Okay, since we mentioned James the Lesser, let’s look at him next. There is not much on this Apostle. He was the son of Alphaeus. In fact, he’s often called James, son of Alphaeus, to distinguish him from the other James’ in the New Testament. Other than his listing in the Apostles, there is no information on James the lesser. History says James the lesser took the Gospel to Persia where he was martyred. The lack of information on James the lesser can be an encouragement to us. Jesus wasn’t just looking for big personalities like Peter, John, and James the greater. He was also looking for those who would quietly serve and persevere through whatever was thrown their way. For those of us who don’t want to be in the spotlight, don’t want to be preaching and teaching in front of people, but love the Lord and just want to serve loyally and quietly, James the Lesser shows us Jesus has a place for us. But just don’t mistake that quietness and willingness to be in the background as permission to not stand up for Truth. James was martyred which tells us he was preaching the gospel despite the face of opposition.

I know we are running long, but we still have a few Apostles to get through. Next up is Thaddeus. Like James the Lesser, there is not much on Thaddeus. John refers to Thaddeus as Judas (not Iscariot). Judas was a popular name in the first century. It is very possible Thaddeus’ birth name was Judas, but after what Judas Iscariot did, to avoid the possibility of being confused with him, Matthew and Luke used his nickname of Thaddeus instead. Thaddeus was most likely a nickname meaning “breast child” and not a given name. John MacArthur suggests that Thaddeus was an endearment used by his family and it suggests that he was a gentle soul with a child-like heart.

The only recorded words of Thaddeus are found in John 14 when they are at the last supper. John 14:22 – 24 says, “Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?” 23 Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24 Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father's who sent me.” History says that Thaddeus took the Gospel to Edessa (modern day Turkey) and was martyred by either being clubbed or axed to death, or that he was crucified.

Simon the Zealot is next up. A zealot is someone who is over the top for a cause – think PETA. In Jesus’ time, the zealots were a group who were looking to militarily overthrow the Roman Empire. They were looking for a rebellion and a revolution from the Jewish people. In fact, they were known to target even their own people if they thought they were sympathetic to Rome. That would have put Simon and Matthew in direct opposition with each other. You can imagine that made things interesting in the camp of the Apostles! It would seem very unlikely that someone like Simon would have any interest in following Jesus, given Jesus’ teachings and His mission. But at Jesus’ call, follow Him, he does. Simon shows us again that Jesus uses anyone who He wishes. Perhaps Jesus redirected Simon’s zealousness from rebellion to preaching the gospel and furthering God’s kingdom. Simon was martyred in Persia when he refused to bow to their sun god.

That brings us to Judas Iscariot. We don’t have a lot of time, so quickly, Jesus knew exactly what he was doing when He chose Judas. Nothing Judas did came as a surprise to Him. He even says in John 6:70, “Did I not choose you, the twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.” 71 He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray him.” There is no information in the Bible recounting Jesus’ calling of Judas, so we don’t know how it occurred. What we do know is that money was important to Judas, so following Jesus caused problems for him from the beginning. Jesus and the Apostles lived on practically nothing. And even though Jesus could have put a feast before them every night, they were often hungry. They walked miles and miles a day, set up a camp of tents, only to sometimes have to dismantle it the next day and travel on. One thing is certain, you did not follow Jesus for the money!

But Judas did make some money off of following Jesus. It’s ironic, although intentional, that Jesus has him in charge of the money knowing he would help himself to it. And John tells us he did help himself to it. As different as the Apostles were, Judas was the only one whose heart was never in Jesus’ ministry. We don’t know why he agreed to follow Jesus, but he was never actually one of the Apostles and he was not saved. Jesus said that Judas was not “clean,” meaning he was not saved in John 13:10–11. In fact, Judas was empowered to do what he did by the devil himself according to John 13:27, “As soon as Judas took the bread (that Jesus had given him), Satan entered into him.” (John 13:27), this clearly shows that Jesus was not His Lord, but Satan was.

 We don’t have time to go into all the complexities of Judas Iscariot. But we will say that while Satan pushed Judas to sin against Jesus, Judas was completely responsible for his sin. When he hangs himself later, it was not out of repentance, but regret for what he did. He committed the same sin Peter did – he denied Jesus was God, but Peter returned to Jesus in repentance. Judas never did. He saw no way out other than to kill himself. Judas shows us the distinction between those who belong to Jesus and those who don’t. He also shows us that not all who profess to follow Jesus are truly following Him – the wolf in sheep’s clothing Jesus, John, and so many others warn us about.

So after Jesus’ ascension, the Apostles met to choose a replacement for Judas Iscariot. They narrowed it down to 2 men, and then Acts 1:24 – 26 tells us, “they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen 25 to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” 26 And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.” There’s a lot of debate about whether Matthias was meant to be the 12th Apostle or of Paul was meant to be. We don’t have time to recount it all, but suffice it to say that God is sovereign over everything, the Apostles did ask Jesus to choose, and nowhere in Scripture is the choice of Matthias condemned – however, to be fair, nowhere is it commended, either. Bottom line, the apostles choose Matthias to replace Judas. And although Matthias is not mentioned again in the New Testament, history shows us that Matthias was martyred for preaching about Jesus by stoning and beheading.

And that brings us to the last Apostle, Paul. We’ve already said a few things about Paul – he was the last apostle and his calling like Matthew shows that Jesus chose those who by worldly standards would have never been chosen. But while there are similarities between Matthew and Paul, in another way they are opposite. The calling of Matthew shows that Jesus called someone who was considered the ultimate sinner by the Jews. Paul, on the other hand, was considered the ultimate in righteousness to the Jews. He was a well-educated, well-respected, well-connected, and well-off Pharisee. He made it his mission to defend the Law by stopping the followers of Jesus who he thought were perverting the Word of God, even to the point of killing them.

But like Matthew, Paul walked away from it all the instant Jesus called him. And perhaps more than any of the other Apostles, Paul’s life was marked by imprisonments, beatings, mocking, poverty, hunger, persecution, and finally, death by beheading. He was only spared a more horrific death because he was a Roman citizen and it was illegal to crucify Roman citizens. And its not surprising that Paul suffered more than any other Apostle. After blinding him on the road to Damascus, Jesus appears to Ananias and tells him to go see Paul. After Ananias indicates that he's afraid of Paul, Jesus says to him in Acts 9:15 – 16,“Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. 16 For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”

Paul serves as more than an example of God being able to redeem and use even those we would consider unredeemable. Like we said, he lost more than any of the other Apostles when he followed Jesus, and he suffered more than any of the others for that following. 

But while Paul recognized that it was part of the Apostles mission to suffer for Jesus, He considered it an incredible blessing to do so. He says in Phil. 3:8 -10, “For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.” Paul went on to author 13 (possibly 14) books in the New Testament. Paul, like so many others throughout history, shows us that sometimes those who suffer the most for Christ, give us the most brilliant insight into Him!

That’s right. It is in our trials and suffering that we often draw closest to Jesus and are the most intimate with Him. Chris, let’s end with a quote from the series, The Chosen, that was the catalyst for titling this episode, “A Thrill of Hope, the Weary World Rejoices.” In The Chosen, Philip is speaking with another Apostle and he tells him it’s like the entire world is asleep and Jesus chose to wake them up. This exemplifies what Jesus did for His Apostles and does for all of His people. It is a picture of regeneration! The world around us is made up of dead people who have no idea that they are dead. But Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, regenerates the hearts of those God the Father chose, He wakes us up. We are woken up to our sin and our need for a Savior. We are woken up to the Truth in Scripture, and we are woken up to a desire to want to serve and obey God. And most incredible of all, we are woken up to understanding we are able to have a real relationship with God, now and for all eternity!

And that should be the reason Christmas is a glorious celebration regardless of what is going on in our life or in the world around us. No matter how lavish a Christmas celebration is – no matter how many lights, decorations, cookies, presents, music, fellowship, or fun there is, if Jesus Christ is not at the center of it all, it is just a dead, empty pagan ritual.

That’s a good place to end today. Have a blessed day everyone!