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This Is A Study Of The Twelve Apostles Whom Jesus Chose To Carry His Gospel To The World. A Study Of Their Character And The Message They Proclaimed. Mark 3:14. And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach,
This Web Page Has 4 Different Sections, With Links To Each Section.
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. A. STUDY # 1. . We Will Cover The Following Subjects In This Study #1. Click On The Links To Each. .
1. INTRODUCTION. The Twelve Were Hand Picked By Jesus. They Were The Missionaries Of A Message That Changed The World.
We Want To Know These Men Jesus Chose, In Whose Honor Cathedrals Have Been Built, And Whose Names Have Been Used In Naming Multitudes. The Miracle Was That Principally Through Their Efforts, Within Three And One-Half Centuries, Proud Imperial Rome Yielded And Bowed To The Glad Tidings Of The Redeemer From Galilee. A Fact We Cannot Deny Is That No Body Of Men, Large Or Small, No Parliament That Ever Sit, No Kingdom Which Ever Reigned, No Army That Ever Marched, Has Ever Exercised So Vast An Influence On The World As That Small Circle Of Ordinary Men Whom Jesus Called, Trained, Commissioned, And Empowered, To Take His Gospel To The World Beyond. To Look At It From The Human Standpoint It Seemed Hopeless. The Twelve Had Such Small Means For The Great Tasks Before Them. They Were Referred To As Being, "Unlearned And Ignorant Men" (Acts 4:13). To All Appearances No Mission Seemed More Hopeless Than Theirs. They Had No Social Status, No Organization Behind Them, No Wealth Of Their Own, Nor Any Wealthy Backers, So How Could They Expect Success In The World Wide Champaign Ahead Of Them? They Became Followers Of A Man Born In Poverty, Spent Most Of His Years In Obscurity, Never Had Any Position In Life, Never Wrote A Book, And Was Crucified As A Blasphemer Between Two Thieves At The Age Of Thirty Three. Yet His Disciples Went Forth To Summon The World To His Feet-- And The World Came--And Is Still Coming, For In Spite Of The Ungodliness Of Our Age--There Are Millions Today Who Love This Man Of Galilee. We Hope You Enjoy This Study We Have Undertaken, And Hope You Will Develop A Greater Love And Admiration For These Men Whom Jesus Called To Be With Him. We Want To Walk With These Men As They Follow Jesus. We Want To Listen To Some Of Their Comments. We Want To See With Their Eyes, Think With Their Minds, And Above All Burn With Their Passion For The Master. This Above All We Hope To Accomplish In This Study. Thomas Carlyle,
When We Company With The Apostles We Company, And Are In Fellowship, With Some Of The Worlds Greatest Men." Dr. J. D. Jones,
The Master SculptorSometime During The Fourteenth Century A Sculptor Purchased And Transported To His Shop A Huge Block Of Marble. The Sculptor Set To Work With His Hammer And Chisels. But One Day As He Was Working On It, A Hidden Flaw, Or Defect, In The Block Of Marble Caused A Large Portion Of The Center To Fall Away. His Work Ruined, The Sculptor Abandoned The Block Of Marble. For Almost A Century It Lay Among A Pile Of Rocks Which Had Been Chipped From Other Stones. One Day Another Sculptor Walked Among The Abandoned Stones--A Master Sculptor--The Worlds Greatest Sculptor--Michelangelo. He Purchased The Block Which Had Been Ruined And Discarded, And Had It Brought To His Shop. One Day He Had It Stood On The End And Picked Up His Hammer And Chisel And Began To Chip Away The Unwanted Stone. Days Went By And The Master Sculptor Began To Smile As One Of His Greatest Works Emerged From The Discarded And Flawed Block Of Marble--David And His Sling. Using The Portion Which Had Fallen Away To Get The Curve In The Body Of David. Like Michelangelo, Jesus Saw The Angel In The Rough, Uncut Marble. John 1:42b.... And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone. (KJV) When We Look At These Men, Whom Jesus Chose, It Seems As If The Divine Potter Had Chosen Very Common Clay Out Of Which To Fashion His Witnesses And Workmen. If There Was Anything Extra-Ordinary About Them--Only He Could See It. John 2:24. But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men,
While Most Of Them Earned Their Living By Ordinary Occupations, And Were For The Most Part Respectable Men With Good Morals, Yet There Was Not The Slightest Hint Of The Qualities Of Fitness For The Great Service They Were To Fulfill. They Became Twelve Of The Strongest, Most Noble, And Serviceable Men (Except For Judas Iscariot) Who Have Appeared In Human History. They Were To Certify The Facts Of Their Lord’s Life, Death, And Resurrection. Acts 5:30. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree.
The Transformation Of The Twelve Was Probably Jesus’ Greatest Miracle. So It Is Not What We Are When We Respond To His Call, But What, By His Grace And Power, He Can Make Of Us As We Follow Him. It Was Necessary To Have Eye-Witnesses Whose Testimony Would Be Convincing. To Them Our Lord Showed Many Infallible Proofs Of His Resurrection. (Acts 1:3) . . 2. JESUS CHOSE TWELVE. The Choice Of Each, Of The Twelve, Was Of His Own Sovereign Will And Plan. Mark 3:13. And he goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom he would: and they came unto him. (KJV) Those Called Were Not Consulted Beforehand, Nor Did He Seek Anyone’s Advice On The Qualifications Of Those He Called. Their Appointment Was Carefully Fore Ordained, Deliberate, Momentous, And With Far Reaching Results. In Connection With Our Lords Appointment Of Judas Iscariot, And His Foreknowledge Of Men, We Will Deal With That Fully.
Luke 6:12. And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into
a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.
All Night Long He Called The Names Of The Ones Who Had Followed Him For The First Twelve To Eighteen Months Of His Ministry. He Had Watched Them, And Few Prayers Had Left His Lips Without Concern For The Ultimate Choice Of The Laborers To Help Him To Gather In The Harvest. He Wanted Heaven’s Guidance In Making The Choice. In John 17:6 He Refers To Them As Being Given To Him By His Father. So, The Twelve Were God Called, God Chosen, And God Given. Thereafter, His Intercession Was For The Twelve Whom He Chose, "That They Might Be Separated From The World, And Unto Him, And Bring Forth Fruit." (John 15:16-19) So We Can But Wonder Because That Night On The Mountain, Spent With God, Was Of Such Monumental Importance As Jesus Sought Guidance. Can We Say That All Our Decisions In Life Are Preceded By Intense, And Prolonged, Prayer For Guidance?
Thousands Had Followed Him, Some From Great Distances, And At Great Sacrifice. Day After Day They Followed, But Many Were Beginning To Go Back To Their Homes And Occupations. (John 6:66) Our Lords Ministry Was Almost Half Over And The Mantle Would Fall On Someone To Carry On His Earthly Ministry. Remember For Moses It Fell On Joshua Who Had Been On The Mountain With Him When God Had Given The Ten Commandments. Joshua Was One Of The Twelve Spies Sent To Spy Out The Land Of Canaan. So The Choice Was Not Made Until Joshua Had Shown Himself Faithful With Many Years Of Service. Deuteronomy 34:9. And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands upon him: ... (KJV) The Mantle Of Elijah Fell Upon Elisha, Who Seven Years Before Had Broken Up His Plow, And Followed Elijah To Become A Common Servant. 2 Kings 2:13. He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, .. 2 Kings 3:11. .., Here is Elisha the son of Shaphat, which poured water on the hands of Elijah. (KJV) We Have The Calling And The Commissioning. The Commissioning Comes After One Is Faithful To Their Calling. What A Pity That Some, Who Would Have Inherited The Blessing, Did Not Receive It Because They Failed Between Their Calling And Commissioning. Esau Bowed At the Altar Of Fleshly Appetite.
Judas Iscariot Was Not There When Jesus Gave The Great Commission In Matthew 28:19, And Luke 24:47. But The Work Of God Is Not Dependent Upon Any One Individual, One Family, One Church, One Nation, Or One Generation. A Jacob, For An Esau, A David, For A Saul, A Samuel, For An Eli, A Matthias, For A Judas Iscariot. When His Chosen Bride, The Jewish Nation, Failed Him, He Chose One From "Every Nation, And Kindred, And Tongue, And People." (Revelations 5:9) With His Days On Earth Limited--He Chose Twelve Men To Carry On His Work--To Establish A Church--To Preach The Gospel To Every Nation. Twelve Men--This Was A Considerable Retinue For A Teacher. Three Would Have Been A Respectable Following. Six Would Attract Attention. Twelve Men Was Considered Remarkable. Every Village Must Have Turned Out To See What It Meant To Band Twelve Men Of Character Under One Leader. For A Time There Seemed To Be Nothing For Them To Do. Now They Had No Occupation, For They Had Given Up Their Fishing, Tax-Gathering, Their Agriculture, And They Carry On No Business. They Simply Walk On Around And Behind Their Leader--Talking To Each Other, Or To Him. When Jesus Speaks To The People Who Gather--They Listen Just Like The Rest. Outside His Work Of Redemption, Jesus Did His Greatest Work As Teacher. Without His Teaching, Training, Leading Men To A Better Life, No Doubt He Would Have Been Forgotten Long Ago. For A Time The Twelve Were Disciples, Or Followers, Or Learners--They Had To Learn Before They Could Teach--So They Followed And Watched And Listened To Jesus Day By Day. Matthew 11:29. .., and learn of me; ... (KJV) In Answer To Peter When He Asked As To Their Rewards Of Following HimMatthew 19:28. And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
. . 3. THE LISTS OF THEIR NAMES. There Are Four Records Given In The New Testament Of The Names Of The Twelve. Three Are Found In The Gospels, One In The Book Of Acts. Each List Varies A Little From The Other. Matthew 10:2-4 ............... Mark 3:16-19
Luke 6:14-16 ............. Acts 1: 13-16
Peter, Which Seems To Be The Most Prominent Character, Heads Every List Of The Twelve. The Apostle Paul Left It On Record,
The List Of The Twelve Does Not Contain The Name Of A Nobleman, Or A Rabbi, Or A Man Of Great Wealth. If The Rich Young Ruler Had Been Willing To Follow Jesus, He Might Have Become An Apostle. But It Was Lowly Men, Humble Men, Chosen, Maybe Because They Were The Best That Could Be Had. He Chose Those Who Were Teachable--Who Could Be Molded As The Clay In The Potter’s Hand. Some Of The Greatest Spiritual Giants Had No Formal Training.
At Least Five, And Possibly More, Of The Apostles Were Close Kin To Jesus. It Is Believed That The Apostles Were Near The Same Age As Our Lord With The Exception Of Peter And Matthew Who Were Possibly A Little Older, And John A Little Younger. The Call To The Task Of An Apostle Came In A Variety Of Ways. At The Beginning Of His Ministry Jesus Found His Prospective Disciples Where They Were Laboring For Their Daily Bread, And Called Them To Follow Him. . 4. STEPS TO APOSTOPESHIP. 1.The First Stage Of Apostleship Is Discipleship.First There Is The Master’s Invitation-- "Follow me." Then There Is The Crisis Of A Personal Decision, A Definite Personal Commitment To Jesus Christ. Without This Commitment, Our Walk Is Unsteady--We Are Unsure If This Is Really What We Want To Do .Jesus Asked Them To Leave Home, Father, Mother, Business And--"Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." (Matt. 4:19) Unless We Are Truly Forgiven We Cannot Follow. 2 Timothy 1:9a. Who hath saved us , and called us with an holy calling, .., (KJV) Conversion Precedes The Call To His Work. Service Is Not Acceptable To God Unless There Is First Of All Salvation. Many Are Active In Religious Work Who Seek To Serve In Order To Be Saved. That’s Like Putting The Cart Before The Horse. We Serve Because We Have Been Saved.
To The Eleven Faithful, Committed Disciples Jesus Says,Luke 24:49b. ..: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high. (KJV) As Jesus Went About The Countryside And Through The Many Cities And Villages On His Preaching, Teaching, Tours During Which He Performed Many Miracles, Literally Hundreds Responded To His Call To Follow Him. Although We Have The Record Of The Actual Calling Of Only A Few, We Do Know That The Call Went Out Everywhere He Visited And Many Responded To The Invitation. Responding To The Master’s Initial Invitation To Follow, The Twelve Embarked Upon Their Discipleship And Entered What Might Be Called The Receptive Stage. They Saw His Mighty Works, They Listened To His Marvelous Words, And Felt The Touch Of His Holy, Dedicated Life Upon Their Own. Here Is How One Of Them Described The Experience Years Later.1 John 1:1. That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;
They Were To Learn Of Christ, Before Teaching Others About Him. “Disciple” Means, "A Learner," And The First Disciples Were As Pupils In The Primary Department. Thus, Their First Contact With Jesus Was As Their "Teacher-Master.” So We See That The First Year Was Spent In Listening And Learning.
After Their First Year Of Instruction And Learning The Disciples Entered Upon A Course Of Practical Training For Apostleship, And Became Ambassadors Or Messengers Of Christ. His Command To Them Was, "Go, Preach, Saying, The Kingdom Of Heaven Is At Hand." (Matthew 10:7) Their Mission Was Limited To The Lost Sheep Of The House Of Israel. (Matthew 10:6) In His Name, They Were To Heal The Sick, Cleanse The Lepers, Raise The Dead, Cast Out Devils. (Matthew 10:8) These Missions Were Part Of Their Training As Jesus Sent Them Forth To Impart To Others The Things They Had Learned From Him.
When Jesus Saved Us It Was Not That We Might Spend All Our Time In Fellowship With Him, Although Such Fellowship Is Of Prime Necessity. Sad To Say But Some Rejoice In The Call Then Fold Their Arms And Forget About The Sending, But The End Of His Call, The Reason He Calls, Is That He Might Send Us To Do His Work. He Sends Us, To Proclaim His Name, To Run His Errands, To Further His Cause, To Visit The Sick, To See To The Need Of The Hungry, To Set The Captive Free. There Is So Much Misery In The World--Jesus Spent His Short Life-Time Helping Others--He Left The Church To Carry On His Work. 3. The Third Stage Of Apostleship Was Confirmation By Our Lord.After About Three Years Of Following Our Lord, Listening To His Teaching, Observing Him In All Kinds And Types Of Situations, "Learning Of Him," Learning About Him, Learning From Him, Our Lord Felt That The Men He Had Chosen Were Ready For The Most Gigantic Task Ever Given To Men, That Of Evangelizing The World. Mark 16:15. And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. (KJV) This Commission Was Given To Them Just Before His Ascension, And Knowing That They Would Not Have His Bodily Presence With Them, He Gave Them The Promise Of The Holy Ghost As An Abiding Source Of Wisdom, Comfort, And Power. What A Mighty Change Pentecost Wrought In The Lives Of These Men. Acts 4:31. And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness. After The Experience At Pentecost The Men Jesus Chose Became The Heralds Of The Message Of Jesus Christ, Later Called The Gospel Of Jesus Christ. This Message Had, And Is Still Having, The Greatest Impact On Mankind Of Anything In The History Of The World. .
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Here Are Some Interesting Facts The Bible Tells Us About The Twelve.
Many Of The Apostles Were Related To Each Other And Also Related To Jesus Himself.
Simon Peter And Andrew Were Brothers And Sons Of Jonas, Or John. (John 1:42; 21:15, R.V.)
James And John Were Brothers, And Sons Of Zebedee And Salome. (Matt. 20:20; 27:56; Mark15:40; 16:1)
It Is Believed That Salome Was the Sister of Mary The Mother Of Our Lord So That Would Make James And John Cousins Of Our Lord. (Matt. 27:56; Mark 15:40)
Matthew, Or Levi, Was The Son Of Alphaeus (Mark 2:14).
James The Less Was Also The Son Of Alphaeus (Matt. 10:3), So He And Matthew Were Probably Brothers.
From John 19:25. We Can Assume That Their Mother Was The Sister Of Mary The Mother Of Our Lord, So That Would Make Them Jesus’ Cousins. This Would Also Make Them Cousins Of James And John.
Peter, Andrew, James, John, Philip, And Bartholomew Lived At Bethsaida. (Mark 1:16-24; John 1:44; 12:21)
Peter, Andrew, James And John Later Lived At Capernaum. (Mark 1:21, 29).
Philip And Bartholomew Were Probably Brothers. As Andrew Led His Brother To Jesus It Is Likely That Philip Also Led His Brother To Him (John 1:40-45).
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In The First Chapter Of John We Have The Record Of John The Baptist Introducing Two Of His Own Disciples, Andrew And John, To Jesus, Who Immediately Began To Follow Jesus.
John 1:35. Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples;
That Day Was A Turning Point In Their Lives. This Was The Decisive Act That Determined Their Destiny Forever.
They Heard The Message From John The Baptist, "Behold The Lamb Of God!" A Little Seed, But What Mighty Growth. These Two Disciples Were The Beginnings Of The Christian Church, Which Today Fills The Whole Earth.
John 1:40. One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.
By The End Of The Next Day There Were Five Men Following Jesus Who Would Later Become His Apostles. (John 1:43-51)
In This First Group Was Andrew, John, Peter, Philip, And Nathaniel.
Jesus, After His Baptism, Continued Alongside John For A Short While, Preaching The Same Message, Then Went Into Judaea Until The Arrest And Death Of The Baptist, Which Occurred About Six Months Later.
These Five Apparently Followed Jesus For Some Period Of Time As We Find Them With Him At A Wedding In Cana Of Galilee On The Third Day After John Introduced Them. (John 2:1-2)
Then They More Than Likely Accompanied Him To Jerusalem And Back Through Samaria To Galilee. (John 2:13; 4:43)
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The Disciples Returned To Their Homes And Their Occupations For A Period Of Time. They Went Through A Period Of Soul-Searching, Of Meditation, Before Their Calling By Jesus To Their Life’s Work.
From Time To Time They Would Join The Thousands Who Flocked To Hear Jesus, Especially If He Was In A Neighboring Village.
During This Period Of Time, Probably Several Months, Jesus Went On A Preaching Tour All Around The Cities Of Galilee. (Luke 4:14-15)
There Is No Doubt That Most Of The Twelve Were In Attendance When Jesus Gave The Discourse Which We Call The Sermon On The Mount.
Then One Day In The Early Spring, Jesus Came Back To Capernaum And, Evidently, Lived With Someone For A Space Of Time, As His Own Words Tells Us He did Not Own A Dwelling Place. (Matthew 4:13 & 8:24)
On The Sabbath Day He Went Into The Synagogue And Taught The People, And They Were Astonished At His Doctrine. (Luke 4:32)
This Was To Be Quite A Day In The City Of Capernaum As Things Were To Happen Which Would Help To Shape The Lives Of At Least Five Of It’s Citizens For All Eternity.
Peter, Andrew, James, John, And Matthew, All Lived, And Worked, Here In The City Of Capernaum, And All Except Matthew Were Probably In The Synagogue That Day.
Luke 4:33. And in the synagogue there was a man, which had a spirit of an unclean devil, and cried out with a loud voice,
After The Synagogue Service Was Over And The Man Had Been Healed, Jesus Went Home With Simon Peter.
Luke 4:38. And he arose out of the synagogue, and entered into Simon's house. And Simon's wife's mother was taken with a great fever; and they besought him for her.
The Day Ended On A Still Greater Note. I Think Mark Tells It Best.
Mark 1:32. And at even, when the sun did set, they brought unto him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils.
When The Sun Set That Day The Sabbath Was Over And The People Could Have Returned To Open Their Shops, Their Fishing Business, But Instead They Gathered Their Sick And Brought Them To Jesus.
No Doubt After The Day Was Over, And Night Fell, And Each Returned To Their Homes, There Was Much Wondering In The Minds Of Andrew, And Peter, And James, And John, And Matthew, Who We Will Introduce Later.
Zebedee, The Father Of James And John, Was Most Likely A Wealthy , Influential, Man Who Lived In Jerusalem, And He And His Family Were Well Known By The High Priest.(John 18:15-16)
He Also Owned A Fishing Business In Capernaum In Which Peter And Andrew Were Also Partners. (Luke 5:7&10, Mark 1:19-20)
A Few Days After That Day In Capernaum Jesus Again Appeared Near By And Walked By Where They Were Each Working. This Scene Is Described In Detail In Matthew 4:18-22, Mark 1:16-20, And Luke 5:1-11.
Mark 1:16. Now as he walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.
The Preaching Of The Gospel Is Compared To Casting A Net Into The Sea. It Is Plain That In the Pursuit Of His Calling, The Fisherman Has No Power To Make Any Separation Between The Good Fish And The Worthless Which Are Caught. (Matthew 13:47-48)
The Fisherman Has Little Insight Into What Is Going On Beneath The Surface Of The Water, So With The Fisher Of Men. He Deals With The Spiritual And Invisible; How Can He Be Fully Conscious Of The Results Of His Work?
God’s Ministers Must Take Lessons From The Fishermen Of The Sea Of Galilee. They Must Try To Know Thoroughly The Portion Of The Work Assigned To Them, As The Fishers Knew Every Corner Of The Lake.
They Must Study the Art Of Winning Souls, As The Fishers Studied How Best To Allure the Fish Into Their Nets. They Must Be Willing To Work Hard, To Toil All Night Long. They Must Work On Patiently Even When They Seem To Be Taking Nothing.
They Must Have Confidence In The Lord’s Promise, And Expect By His Grace, And, In His Own Good Time, To "Enclose A Great Multitude Of Fishes," To Draw Many Souls To Christ.
Remember We Mentioned A Time For Thought? God Does Not Want Us To Rush Into Something Without Our Minds Being Involved In It. Remember He Sent Some Home To Count The Cost? (Luke 14:25-33)
Between The First Meeting In John Chapter One And This Meeting By The Lake Was A Time For Thought. In The Mind Of Peter, And Andrew, And James, And John, Many Troubling Thoughts Arose.
1. Is This Really The Messiah?
According To The Details Which Luke 5:1-11 Gives Us, Jesus Must Have Answered All Of The Questions That Was In Their Mind.
I Feel That The More We Know About These Men Whom Jesus Chose The Better We Can Understand Them.
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From Rough Outspoken Fishermen, Renegade Tax-Collectors, Zealots, Backward And Unbelieving Men, Jesus Would Fashion The Greatest Group Of Religious Leaders The World Would Ever See.
From Fisherman To Apostle, From Tax-Gatherer To Apostolic Writer, From Sons Of Thunder To An Apostle Of Love--Seemingly Impossible.
That Is Until We Realize The One Thing That Is Most Influential In The Change Which Took Place In Their Lives; We Will Simply Identify That One Thing As "The Call Of God."
We Say That Helpful Men Must Be Looked Up--Put Out A Search For Men To Meet Certain Of Our Qualifications.
The Scriptural Expression Is "Raised Up."
Judges 3:9. And when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer to the children of Israel, who delivered them, even Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother.
The Lord "Raised Up" Moses,
The Lord Needed A King To Replace Saul--Did He Send To The Schools Of Knowledge And Wisdom? Did He Call One Of The Son’s Of The Prophets? Did He Consider One Of The Captains? A Mighty Man Of Valor?
Psalm 78:70. He chose David also his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds:
There Is No Denying That It Is The Settled Principal In Divine Government. God Will Leave Nothing To Accident. Never, In Any Age, Has He Waited For The Coming Man To Arrive. When The Lord Is Ready For His Presence, He Will Summon Him To Lead.
So Far In The Records Of The Human Race--In Every Great Emergency--The Coming Man Was Already On Hand--Only Nobody Knew It.
The Call Of God Is Sufficient.
The Call Of God Is All That Is Needed To Render The Most Unlikely Individual Instantly Notable.
Twelve Men Selected From Among Hundreds To Be Witness Of The Mission Of Jesus Christ. Called Out In Their Mature Middle Life, Hurried Into Public Notice. They Were Actually, "Raised Up."
Jesus Set About To Reproduce Himself In Their Minds And Lives, And To Take Charge Of Their Unfitness, And Triumph Over All Their Shortcomings.
Later Men Were To Take Note Of Them And Remark That, "They Had Been With Jesus." (Acts 4:13)
What A Mighty Change Was Wrought At Pentecost!
The Power The Apostles Received Was Not ‘Something’, But ‘Someone’. "I will come to you." (John 14:18)
The Story In The Book Of Acts Can Be Told In Three Related Lines.
Acts 4:33. And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.
The Spirit’s Power Is Never Manifested Unless The Word He Inspired Is Preached. Preachers Who Doubt Their Beliefs, And Believe Their Doubts, Never Turn The World Upside Down.
Hundreds Of Present Day Preachers Never Click Simply Because Their Message Is Not The Blood-Red Message Of The Early Church.
1 Corinthians 15:3. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
We Hope You Enjoyed This Portion Of The Study Of The Men That Jesus Chose.
We Will Continue The Study Of These Men, And Their Training By Jesus For The Task He Had In Mind For Them, In Study #2.
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In This Study #2 In The Training Of The Twelve We Will Cover The Following Areas.
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Matthew 10:2. Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother;....; (KJV)
It Is Fitting That We Should Start With Andrew As We Begin To Look Into The Lives, And Works, Of The Apostles Because He Was The First To Follow The Teacher From Nazareth.
John 1:40. One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.
If There Was No More To Said About Andrew Than What We Have Just Read It Would Be Enough To Fill A Library With Books.
After All Was There A Greater Soul Ever Won To Christ Than Simon Peter? So Right Off We Could Call Andrew The Father Of Personal Evangelism.
How Happy Andrew Must Have Been At Pentecost To Gaze Out Upon A Sea Of Upturned Faces Listening To Peter’s Pentecostal Sermon.
A Sunday School Teacher Named Edward Kimbal Urged A Young Boston Shoe Salesman To Accept Jesus As His Savior. All He Knew Of Him Was That His Name Was Moody.
How Overwhelmed The Teacher Would Have Been If He Had Known That The Boy Was Destined To Become Dwight L. Moody, One Of The Greatest Evangelist Of The Nineteenth Century.
Two Continents Were Rocked Nearer To God By This Great Man. What A Thrill To Lead A Soul To Christ--We Never Know What God Will Do With Them.
Witness For Jesus. Teach A Bible Study. I’m Saved Because Of One.
Andrew, Whose Name Means "Manliness."
Andrew Was A Manly Man, As Were The Rough And Hardy Fishermen Of His Day. He Is Almost Always Referred To In The Scripture As "Andrew, Simon Peter’s Brother."
Although Overshadowed By His Brother, He Is Always Mentioned In The First Four Names In All The Lists Of The Twelve.
Andrew Was A Disciple Of John The Baptist. (John 1:35)
We First Meet Andrew In Bethabara Beyond Jordan Where John The Baptist Was Baptizing, Some Fifty Or Sixty Miles From His Home In Galilee, Bethsaida.
Andrew’s Mind Was Full Of Old Testament Prophecies, And He Was Very Interested When He Heard Of A New Movement Down The Valley Of The Jordan.
Some Others Had Also Made The Journey Down To Hear John Preach. His Brother Simon Peter, Along With John, And Philip, And Nathaniel. They Heard Something That Day That Was Far Different From The Synagogue Ministry Which Was Cold, Formal, And Lifeless.
John Said, "I Baptize With Water,..."
Andrew And His Companions Made Their Way Down Into The Water To Be Baptized.
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John 1:29.The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
The Same Thing Happened The Next Day, And From That Day Forward Andrew Followed Jesus. So Andrew Had The Honor Of Being The First Disciple To Follow Jesus.
Andrew Brought Others To Jesus. First He Findeth His Own Brother Simon And Brought Him To Jesus (John 1:41-42)
One Time They Needed Food To Feed A Multitude Of People And Andrew Found A Boy With A Lunch-Bag And Brought Him To Jesus.
John 6:8. One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, saith
unto him,
Again John Tells The Story Of Some People Who Wanted To See Jesus And Andrew Once Again Brought Them To Jesus.
John 12:20. And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast:
The Last Mention Of Andrew In The New Testament We Find Him In The Upper Room At Pentecost.
Although Andrew Was The First To Follow Jesus It Was To Be That He Was Relegated To A Lesser Role, Or Position, On The Apostolic Honor Roll--The Position Of Honor Went To Peter, James, And John.
There Are Far Too Many Who Will Not Play In The Band Unless They Can Have The Big Drum--Those Who Will Not Work Unless Given A Prominent Position. I Do Not Think That Andrew Ever Envied Peter.
Andrew’s Old Testament Hero Could Have Been Benaiah, One Of David’s Mighty Men.
2 Samuel 23:20. And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man, of Kabzeel, who had done many acts, he slew two lionlike men of Moab: he went down also and slew a lion in the midst of a pit in time of snow:
The Following Is Taken Form Strongs Concordance Of The Bible.
l. A native of Bethsaida in Galilee, brother of Simon Peter, a disciple of John the Baptist, and afterwards an apostle of Christ. He is said to have been crucified at Patrae in Archaia, On A Cross In The Form Of An X.
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John 1:42. And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone. (KJV)
2 Peter 1:1. Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ: (KJV)
There Is About Thirty-Five Years That Have Passed Between The First Scripture We Read And The Last One. Simon Is Now An Old Man Waiting To Fulfill The Prophecy Concerning His Death Told To Him By His Lord In The Book Of John.
John 21:18. Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.
Ancient Tradition Tells Us That Simon Peter Followed His Lord Until, In Like Fashion, On A Cross, He Paid The Supreme Price For His Apostleship.
Thirty-Five Years In The Service Of His Master. How I Wish We Had A Record Of Every Day Of His Life.
The Road From Fisherman On The Sea Of Galilee To Apostolic Writer Was A Long And Difficult One For Simon Peter.
Only The Name Of Our Lord Himself Comes Up More Often, In The New Testament, Than Peter.
Our Lord Speaks More Often To Peter Than To Any Other Of His Disciples, Sometimes In Praise, Sometimes In Blame.
No Disciple Is So Pointedly Reproved By Our Lord As Peter.
Jesus Spoke Words Of Approval And Praise, And Even Blessing, To Peter, The Like Of Which He Never Spoke To Any Other Man.
He Said Harder Things To Peter Than He Ever Said To Any Other Disciple, Unless It Was To Judas.
No Man Ever Had A Greater Consciousness Of His Sins Than Did Simon Peter.
On One Occasion Peter Asks The Lord To "Depart From Me For I Am A Sinful Man, O Lord!" (Luke 5:8) But Jesus Stayed With Him.
On Another Occasion, "He Went Out And Wept Bitterly." (Matthew 26:75)
Another Time, "Now When Simon Peter Heard That It Was The Lord, He Girt His Fisher’s Coat Unto Him, (For He Was Naked) And Did Cast Himself Into The Sea." (John 21:7)
Yet Simon Peter Became The Greatest Soul-Winner In The Early Church.
With So Great A Subject As The Life Of Simon Peter We Must Limit Our Study To Only A Few Incidents.
Simon Peter Was A Fisherman And A Native Of The Small Town Of Bethsaida. (John 1:44)
He Owned His Own Ship (Luke 5:3), And Was A Partner In A Fishing Business With James And John And Their Father Zebedee (Matt. 4:21, (Luke 5:10) On The Sea Of Galilee (Matthew 4:18).
Simon Peter Was Married (I Corinthians 9:5), And His Mother-In-Law Lived With Him And His Family In The City Of Capernaum (Matthew 8:14).
Most Bible Scholars Believe That His Father Was Already Dead.
His Father’s Name Was Jona (John 1:42, Matthew 16:17). (Barjona)
The Name "Simon" Comes To Us From The Period Of The Maccabees. Simon Was An Aramaic Form Of The Name Simeon, Which Was The Name Of One Of The Sons Of Jacob. (Genesis 29:33)
Nine Different Men In The New Testament Bear The Name Simon.
It Is Interesting To Note That James, The Lord’s Brother, Calls Him Simeon (Acts 15:14).
Our Lord Gave Him A New Name The Very First Time He Saw Him, "Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone." (John 1:42)
Isn’t It Strange That Paul Is The Only New Testament Writer Which Recognized Him By This New Name. Five Times Paul Uses This Name.
Maybe It’s Because That During The Story In The Four Gospels He Had Not Quite Become The "Rock" Which Jesus Said He Would Become.
Peter, A Descriptive Greek Name, Meaning "A Rock", Is The Name We Know Him Best By.
We See More Human Nature At Work In Simon Peter Than Any Other Apostle, In Fact Many Times We Can See Ourselves In His Actions.
He Was Hasty In His Remarks, Always Speaking Before He Thought, But Just As Quick To Repent When Rebuked By Our Lord.
Simon Peter Was A Fisherman By Trade, A Man of The Sea, Where Strength, Will, And Self-Assertion Are Most Useful To Put One Ahead.
We Can Imagine His Loud Booming Voice, And Robust Figure, Was Familiar To Almost Everyone Around The Sea Of Gennesaret.
I Would Like To Discuss Five Sea-Episodes In The Call And Training Of Simon Peter.
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This First Episode Takes Place A Few Months After Simon Peter Was Introduced To Our Lord In John 1:42.
Miracles Were A Part Of His Ministry As They Were To Become A Part Of The Life Of The Apostles. In This Episode We See How Our Lord Used Extraordinary Means To Turn Ordinary Men Into Apostles.
The Time Was Now Come When The Lord Deemed It Fitting That He Should Surround Himself With A Company Of Disciples, Or Pupils, Who Should Be Constant Witnesses Of His Works, Hearers Of His Words, And Thus Be Trained Up For The Great Task Of Continuing His Mission When He Should Return To His Home In Heaven.
We Could Call This Incident, ‘A Morning By The Lake With Jesus’. We Have So Few Incidents In His Life That We Cherish Them All.
Luke Alone Gives Us The Details Of This Morning, In The Life Of Jesus, And The Impact It Had On The Life Of Peter.
Luke 5:1. And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret,
His Fame As A Great Teacher Was Evidently Now Firmly Established, And If It Were Known That He Intended Speaking In Public, A Crowd Of Listeners Would Gather Quickly Around Him, Whether In The Synagogue, Or On A Hillside, Or In The Marketplace, Or As In This Case By The Lake Shore.
This Day, As He Taught By The Quite Lake Waters, The Throng Was So Great That He Borrowed The Fishing-Boat Of Simon Peter’s To Sit In And Teach The Multitude.
Luke 5:3. And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship.
When Our Lord Had Finished His Discourse To The People He Turned To Simon Peter And Told Him To Push Out To Deep Water And Let Down Your Nets For Some Fish.
Luke 5:5. And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.
Simon Peter Had Been Fishing All Night Long And Had Caught No Fish But Reluctantly He Agreed To Try, And When He Did There Was A Miraculous Multitude Of Fish Enclosed In The Net.
The Amount Of Fish Was So Great That The Nets Were Breaking And Pulling Apart So Peter Called To James And John, Who Were Near-By, And Beckoned For Them To Come And Help Him.
The Miraculous Draught Of Fish Was So Great That Both Ships Were Filled To Their Capacity.
Now Let Us See The Reaction Of Simon Peter To This Miracle Which Took Place In His Own Life.
Luke 5:8. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.
A Feeling Of Intense Overpowering Awe All Of A Sudden Came On Simon Peter After Listening To The Words And Seeing This Last Act Of Power Which So Closely Affected Him.
The Very Fish Of His Native Lake, Then, Were Subject To This Holy Man.
This Was No Mortal, Thought The Fisherman, And He Fell At The Master’s Feet Proclaiming His Sinfulness, As Isaiah And Daniel Did When Ushered Into God’s Presence. (Isaiah 6:5; Daniel 10:7-8)
Then The Same Words Of Cleansing And Hope Were Spoken To Him As To Isaiah (6:7), And To Daniel (10:12).
Luke 5:10b .., Fear not; ... (KJV)
"Fear Not", Was A Favorite Expression, Having Been Used By God Several Hundred Times In The Bible, And Peter Was To Hear It Many More Times During His Walk With His Master. John Was The Last To Hear It Audibly Many Years Later While On The Isle Of Patmos.
Luke 5:10b. ...; from henceforth thou shalt catch men. (KJV)
The Lord’s Strange Prophetic Words Which Accompanied Their Call To Service, All Would, In After Years, Come Up Before The Disciples.
The Great Fisherman, Christ; His Imitators And Servants, Fishers; The World Of Men Pictured As Fish.
This Became A Favorite Theme Of The Early Church, They Sang About It, Preached About It, Engraved It In Stone, Painted It, And Wrote About It.
This Day, In The Lives Of The Men Jesus Called, Would Come To Them Many Times, Their Failure In Catching Fish, The Master’s Success, The Net Bursting With Fish, Then Their Alternating Failure And Success In The Mighty Task He Had Set Them To Do.
One Of The Earliest Extant Christian Hymns In Existence Is By Clement Of Alexandria, The Words Are Addressed To Christ.
"Fishers Of Men, The Blest,
(Hymn By Clement Of Alexandria A.D. 215)
Mark 4:35. And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side.
Verse Thirty-Five Tells Us That "Even Was Come", Or That Night Was Falling. It Also Tells Us That It Was Jesus’ Suggestion To "pass over unto the other side."
Mark 4:37. And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.
We Could Call Him "The Weary Christ."
That Had Been The Day That He Had Preached All Those Wonderful Parables. All Day Long He Had Preached, The Multitude Pressed Upon Him To Hear The Word, And He Had Not Taken Time Out To Eat.
Preaching In The Hot, Stifling Atmosphere Was Exhausting. With Our Lord Preaching Was No Cheap And Easy Business--And To No Preacher Worthy Of His Calling.
Preachers Are Ambassadors For Christ--Beseeching Men And Women. Preaching Is Serious Business. There Is No Vocation So Burdensome, So Toilsome, So Exacting, So Costly. It Puts A Strain On The Body, The Mind, The Heart, And The Spirit. It Cost Blood, Sweat, Tears, And Agony.
"They Took Him Even As He Was.." (Mark 4:36)
He Fell Asleep On The Hard Boards. A Pillow Of Nets?
Tired, Weary, Utterly Spent, The Seemingly Heedless Christ Slept On. The Disciples Excited, Doing Their Best, In The Storm.
"Carest Thou Not That We Perish?" (Mark 4:38)
Sometimes It Seems That He Sleeps On When We Cry. But He is Not A Heedless Christ. He Hears Our Sighs, He Counts Our Tears, He’s Watching All the Time.
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Mark 4:39. And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
In The Eyes Of Simon Peter He Became The Mighty Christ.
We Will Cover More Of Simon Peter Later In This Study Of THE MEN JESUS CHOSE.
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In This Incident Jesus Is Back In Capernaum.
Luke 5:27. And after these things he went forth, and saw a publican, named Levi, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he said unto him, Follow me.
In This I Study We Want To Think Of The Background Of These Men Whom Jesus Chose.
We Want To Think Of Their Personalities, Attitudes,
Remember We All Bring These With Us As We Come To Christ.
Many Factors And Events Have Played On Our Lives And These All Have Helped To Shape Our Thinking And Condition Of Our Soul When Christ Found Us.
Some People Are "Hardened" By The "Circumstances Which Play Upon Them. Some People Leave Good Christian Homes, With Righteous Up-Bringing, And For Some Unknown Reason Go Into The Depths Of Sin.
But Jesus Said, "I Came Not To Call The Righteous, But Sinners To Repentance."
And That's Why Levi, Or Matthew, Got His Call From Jesus To Follow Him.
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The Name "Levi" Was Given To Him, Most Likely By His Father, A Hebrew Name From The Sons Of Jacob.
The Galilean Name, "Matthew," Was Probably Given To Him By His Mother, It Meant "Gift From God."
Raised By Such Godly Parents Levi, Or Matthew, Learned The 'Holy Scriptures.' This Was Indicated In His Gospel So Many Times When He Used The Phrase, "That The Scriptures Might Be Fulfilled." This Phrase Appears In Page After Page Of His Gospel.
Levi's Godly Parents Must Have Been Heart Broken When He Chose A Profession Of Such Shameful, And Disgraceful Repute, As Orthodox Jews Deemed That Of A Publican, Or A Tax Collector, To Be.
His Very Name, Levi, Related To The Priestly Order, Indicated In His Membership In The Tribe (Levi) Set Apart For The Worship And Service Of God. Numbers 3:6 (John The Baptist Was Also Of The Priestly Order)
His Name 'Levi' Means "Joined," Genesis 29:34
In Numbers 18:1-2, The Tribe Of Levi Was 'Joined' To Aaron For The Priesthood Ministry Forever.
So Matthew Was Born To Serve The Lord.
Alphaeus, His Father, (Mark 2:14) And Mary, His Mother, (Mark 15:40) Took Him To Jerusalem And Presented Him In The Same Temple In Which Jesus Was Presented In At Age Twelve.
How Joyful Was Their Hearts As They Returned To Capernaum After The Sacrifice Was Made That Day.
A Son Named Levi, 'Joined' To The Lord.
Sometime During This Time Period Another Son Was Born Which Would Be Called 'James The Less.'
He Too Would Hear The Same Voice Which Spoke To His Older Brother, "Follow Me," And He To Would Become One Of The Chosen Twelve.
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We Do Not Know All That Happened In Matthew's Heart To Cause Him To Take The Turn In The Road Of His Life Which He Took.
And In The Years That Followed As He Sat At The Receipt Of Custom, Adding Up His Ill Gotten Gains, Levi Must Have Been Haunted By The Vision Of The Haggard Face And Dry Eyed Grief Of His Noble Father, And By The Tense Quivering Features Of His Saintly Mother Over Their Son's Despicable Position.
To Think That Their Son, Of Such Noble Birth, And Who Had Brought Them Such Joy, Had, Because Of His Love For Mammon, Taken The Hire Of The Alien, And Became The Pawn Of The Enemy.
Matthew Found Himself "Joined" By The "Gilded Fetters" Of The Roman State, And Had Forfeited His Golden Opportunity In Life.
It Must Have Been A Heavy Cross For Mary And Alphaeus…
Levi Became,
Jews Looked Upon Publicans As A Social Outcast, A Renegade From National Faith, And A Betrayer Of Their Messianic Hope. An Oppressor.
Their Law Offered Them No Place Of Repentance.
In His Desire To Gain Tainted Money--Think Of What Matthew Lost.
He Sold His Home Circle, And Placed Himself Outside The Fellowship Of His Loved Ones, His Orthodox Jewish Friends, Matthew Became An Outcast.
He Sold His Country And Entered The Service Of The Oppression Of Rome.
He Sank Lower As He Sold His Conscience, Because He Knew This Was A Dishonest Profession, Lust For Money Had Quieted The Inner Voice.
Lower Yet As He Sold His Faith, His Very Name "Levi" Was A Link With A Godly Ancestry. Lowest Of All When He Severed Ties Which "Joined" Him To The Law And Commandments And "Joined" Himself To Paganism.
Yes, Matthew Had Been Dead For A Long While, Because Honor Had Been Sold, And Conscience Was All But Stifled.
Psalm 40:1. I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.
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One Of The Most Interesting Things About The Call Of The Disciples Is That It Came To Them Where They Were.
They Did Not Have To Dress Up And Go To Church To Meet Him, He Came To Them. Matthew Was Sitting At His Table Attending To His Business As A Customs Officer When Jesus Came And Called Him To Follow Him.
At This Seat Matthew Was Well Aware Of All The News In The Area.
A Year Or More Before Jesus Had Come To Capernaum, Matthew 4:13, And As The Weeks And Months Passed More And More News Reached Matthew Concerning Jesus Of Nazareth.
Miracles And Healings,
A Leprous Man Approached Him, "If Thou Wilt Thou Canst Make Me Whole." Matthew 8:2
All These Things Took Place In Capernaum, Matthew's Home Town.
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Matthew Knew That There Was Something Different About This Man, Jesus.
Matthew Was Probably A Listener In The Crowd At The Sermon On The Mount, He Gave Us The Best Account Of It.
Jesus May Have Looked Him In The Eye When He Said, "Ye Cannot Serve God And Mammon," Matthew's Besetting Sin.
So Matthew Sat At The Seat Of Customs And Thought, No One Had Been Turned Away.
Matthew Had, In Heart, Become A Disciple Before That Great Day, But Could He Ever Hope For Personal Recognition?
And Far Less For The Call To Discipleship.
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But That Day Jesus Looked Into His Eyes Once Again And Read The Secret Of His Heart>
He Celebrated, With A Feast, The Hour In Which Jesus Made Him A Sharer In His Work. No Doubt He Rejoiced When Another "Publican" Climbed A Sycamore Tree To See His Redeemer Pass His Way.
Latter In Life, After Years Of Service For His Master, He Would Write The Greatest Story Ever Told.
Hope You Enjoyed This Second Study Of The Men That Jesus Chose, We Will Continue This Study In Part #3 Of This Series.
Check The Other Articles On The Home Page And Also Check Our Other Web Sites.
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By James L. Thornton
This Is Study #3 Of The Twelve Apostles
In This Study #3 We Will Be Looking At The Following Events In The Call Of The Apostles.
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Matthew 10:3. "….., And Matthew the publican, James the son of Alphaeus,…" (This In The Midst Of A List Of The Twelve Apostles)
Mark 15:40. (Standing At The Foot Of The Cross) "…., And Mary the mother of James The Less…."
In The Last Part Of The Previous Study We Wrote About His Most Famous Brother, Matthew.
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We Do Not Know When Or How James The Less Became A Disciple.
Although No Single Incident Is Written Of This Son Of Alphaeus, Nor Any Word That Is Spoken By Him. We Have Only His Name, We Could Call Him The Apostle Of Obscurity.
Though No Word Or Deed Of James The Less Is Recorded, Yet His Name Is Preserved For Us, As One Chosen To Be An Apostle By Our Lord After A Night Of Prayer. There Was Something About James Which Prompted Jesus To Include Him Among The Twelve.
Jesus Had Confidence In Him And Sent Him Forth,
Jesus Knew That James Could Be Relied Upon To Render Faithful, Yet Unsung, Unheralded Service.
No One Left Us The Story Of His Life And Work.
James Lived And Died, And Vanished From The Scene Of Action Past All Tracing, As Far As The Sacred Record Goes.
The Acts Of The Apostles Mentioned The Name Only Once.
I Do Not Feel That He Was Given This Nick-Name Because He Was Lacking In Ability Or Service. He Was Short Of Stature.
We Could Call Him A Background Disciple.
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James The Son Of Alphaeus Represents A Long Line Of Disciples Of Whom No Earthly Record Would Be Kept, Of Whom The World Would Not Be Worthy.
Like Many Whose Names Would Not Be Remembered Beyond Their Quiet, Faithful, Unsung Ministry In The Church.
Jesus In His Insight And With Wisdom And Love Found A Place For This James. We Can Take Courage That He, Who Ordained The Twelve Has A Place For The Vast Majority Of Us Who Have Only One Talent.
Some Of The Greatest Forces In Nature Are Silent And Unseen.
Perhaps The Greatest Virtue Of James The Less Consisted In That He Went,
Unrecorded Are His Labors But They Will Not Go Unrewarded.
We Think Of Missionaries In Lonely Places,
Yet They Do Their Best In His Service, Who Has Called Them To Serve
After All Is Said And Done The Apostles Were Not The Real Workers In The Church, But Christ. Had The Apostles Been All Important, The Holy Spirit Would Have Had Minute And Detailed Accounts Of Their Life And Work.
Very Little Is Said Even Of The Most Outstanding Disciples.
The Reason For This, The Holy Spirit Insisted Upon The Center Of Attention Being On The All Important One, The Lord Jesus Christ.
Not I, But Christ Be Honored, Loved and Exalted.
Glory Excelling Soon, Full Soon I'll See;
James, The Son Of Alphaeus, Found Recompense Of Reward In Service, Though Unknown Service.
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John 1:43. The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow Me.
In Our Study Of The Twelve We Have Returned Time And Again To Some Portion Of John 1:29-51, 23 Verses.
What An Insignificant Event In The History Of The Church, Not To Say Of The World.
It Actually Seems Almost Too Trivial To Find A Place Even In The Gospel Narrative. Accordingly We Find No Mention Made In The First Three Gospels Of The Events Recorded Here, WHY?
We Are Tempted To Wonder Why That, John, After The Lapse Of So Many Years (60 to 65), Thought It Worth While To Relate Incidents So Minute, So Trivial. Especially In Such Close Proximity To The Sublime Sentences With Which His Gospels Begins.
But Facts So Seemingly Insignificant May Be Very Important To The Feelings Of Those Whom They Personally Concern.
I Feel That John Himself Was One Of The Five Who Became Acquainted With Jesus In These Verses. (John 1:29-51) The Unnamed Disciple.
And John To His Latest Hour Remembered, With Emotion, The First Time He Saw The Incarnate Word. John Deemed The Smallest Details Of That Time Exceedingly Precious.
First Meetings Are Sacred, As Well As Last Ones,
All Five Of The Men Named Are Natives Of Galilee.
Two And Possible All Five Were Disciples Of John The Baptist.
This Was A Memorial Day In The Life Of Andrew And John.
John 1:35. "Again The Next Day After John Stood, And Two Of His Disciples;
I Wonder If We Remember The First Time We Were Introduced To Jesus?
John Is Describing The Beginnings of The Church Of Jesus Christ.
From Such Humble Origin The Mighty Empire Of Jesus Christ Has Evolved.
Daniel Saw The Stone Grow Till It Filled The Whole Earth.
John Said It Was, "… A Number Which No Man Could Number, Of All Nations, And Kindreds, And People, And Tongue, ……" Rev. 7:9
Here, In John 1,The Bride Is Introduced To The Bridegroom, And The Marriage Will Come In Due Season. To The Joy Of The Friend Of The Bridegroom. John 3:29.
How Easily, And Without Formality, Does The Mystic Bride, As Disciples, Become Acquainted With Her Heavenly Bridegroom.
There Is No Need Of A Formal Introduction. They All Introduced Each Other, And Simply Followed Their Feelings.
I Want To Act As The Friend Of The Bridegroom.
We Would Like To Study One Of These Men Who Became A Follower Of Jesus That Day, And There By, Part Of The Beginnings Of This Great Fellowship.
But I Want Us To Form Our Own Opinion Of Him From The Information We Have Of Him.
I Want To Prove,
Although Philip Is Mentioned In The Four Complete Lists Of The Apostles,
John Gives Us Enough Information About Philip For Us To Study And Gain Some Knowledge About Him.
He Was A Native Of Bethsaida Of Galilee.
John 1:44. "Now Philip Was Of Bethsaida, The City Of Andrew And Peter."
Although Three, And Possible Six, Of His Apostles Came From Bethsaida, The City As A Whole Rejected The Lord's Ministry.
For The Same Lips Which Had Proclaimed Glad Tidings Then Spoke Terrible Language of Doom.
Matthew 11:21. "Woe Unto Thee Bethsaida! For If The Mighty Works, Which Were Done In You, Had Been Done In Tyre And Sidon, They Would Have Repented Long Ago In Sackcloth And Ashes."
How True It Is That Faithful Witnesses For Christ Sometimes Come From Unlikely Places. Like The Saints In Sardis Who Escaped The Pollution Of The City In Which They Lived.
Rev. 3:4. "Thou Hast A Few Names Even In Sardis Which Have Not Defiled Their Garments And They Shall Walk With Me In White: For They Are Worthy."
This Is More Than A Notice Of Philip's Postal Address.
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So It Tells Us Not Only His Dwelling Place But What Is More, His Friendships. These Two Brothers, Especially Andrew, Helped To Prepared Philip For His Apostolic Calling.
It Was Probably Because Of Peter And Andrew That Philip Came To Where John Baptized.
It Was To Andrew That Philip Came When Difficult Situations Arose, And Andrew Always Took Charge Of The Situation.
John 6:5. When Jesus Then Lifted Up His Eyes, And Saw A Great Company Come Unto Him, He Saith Unto Philip, Whence Shall We Buy Bread, That These May Eat?
Aren't You Glad When A Friend Will Step In When We Don't Have The Answers.
John 12:20. "And There Were Certain Greeks Among Them That Came Up To Worship At The Feast:
Why Did These Greek Proselytes Come To Philip?
Philip Himself Had A Greek Name And Came From A Town With Several Greek Inhabitants, He Was Not A Gentile. So It Would Be Natural To Approach Someone With A Name Kindred To Your Own.
Sir, We Would See Jesus."
No Doubt Philip Remembered When He, Himself, Was A Seeker.
He Was Many Miles From Home Listening To A New Prophet, John The Baptist. He Was There Because Of A Promise Made Many Centuries Before He Was Born.
The Promise Of A Messiah, A Savior.
John 1:43. "The Day Following Jesus Would Go Forth Into Galilee, And Findeth Philip, And Said Unto Him, Follow Me."
He Was The First One Called To Discipleship
Isn't It "Amazing. The First Person Jesus Sought Was Philip, And He Became His Disciple.
Findeth, Implies A Diligent Search, Not By Accident.
"Seek And Ye Shall Find." Matthew 7:7
Jesus Sought And, Found Philip, But It Is Evident That Philip Must Have Sought For Jesus.
He Said To Nathanael, "We Have Found Him……"John 1:45
Oh! The Joy Of Finding.
The Greeks Came To Philip Seeking To See Jesus.
O, How Much Philip Owed To Andrew Who Was A Neighbor And A Friend.
Cannot We Say That Our Lives Have Been Blessed By Those Who Live Under The Same Roof With Us, Or Live On The Same Street, Or In The Same Town As We? We Need Desperately The Help Of One Another.
Some Have Said That Philip Was Slow Witted, Because That After Three And One Half Years Of Training And Teaching Philip Lacked Spiritual Insight.
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They Base Their Conclusion On A Question Philip Asked In John 14:8
John 14:5'Thomas Saith Unto Him, Lord, We Know Not Whither Thou Goest; And How Can We Know The Way?
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John 20:24But Thomas, One Of The Twelve, Called Didymus, Was Not With Them When Jesus Came.
I Want To Be The Last Person To Speak Ill Of, Or To Slander, Any Bible Character, Especially The Heroes Of Faith, Or The Apostolic Order.
The Reason Being That One Day I Expect To Meet Them And I Do Not Want To Owe Them An Apology.
They May Be Listening, Because If I Understand Hebrew 12:1. Correctly We Are Compassed About With A Great Cloud Of Witnesses.
Surely Thomas Commands Our Sympathy Given To Him.
Since That Day A Thousand Preachers Have Jumped On The Same Band Wagon And Beat The Same Old Drum To The Same Tune Of Adverse Criticism.
An Old Proverb Says "Give A Dog An Ill Name And His Work Is Done."
Let's Hear Some Of The Criticism From High Sources Which Does Not Do Him Justice.
1.Thomas Is Very Much To Be Blamed For His Unbelief, In That He Compares Very Unfavorable With The Rest Of The Twelve.
They Portray A Man Of Doubts And Unbelief With A Gloomy,
Today Many Would Be Trying To Cast This Spirit Out Of Him.
I Want To Dissociate Myself From Such An Idea Of The Temperament Of Thomas.
It Is High Time We Study This Man Whom Jesus Chose,
Certainly, I Agree Thomas May Have Had Doubts, So Do The Saintliest Of Men. Who Among Us Has Not?
But I Do Not Believe For One Moment That Thomas Was Among Those Born Sad,
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What's In A Name?
It Was Customary With The Jews When Traveling Or Associating With The Greeks And Romans To Have A Greek Or Latin Name To Use When Dealing With Them.
Saul of Tarsus-----Hebrew.
We Do Not Know Why Thomas Chose The Greek Equivalent Didymus, Unless It Was Because Of Some Business Venture.
We Could Busy Ourselves Trying To Find A Twin For Thomas In The Bible, But Of This It is Silent.
Many Have Suggested That Because His Name Is Paired With Matthew That He Was Thomas's Twin.
Who The Twin Was We Would Like To Know, Whether He Or She Became A Follower Of The Lord.
We Know Nothing About, The Kinsmen Of Thomas,
The First Three Gospels Give Us Nothing But His Name And That Only In Their Listing Of The Apostles.
We Are Again Indebted To John Who, In His Gospel Makes Him Speak For Us. John, In His Gospel, Gives Us Three Sketches Of Thomas The Apostle.
Thomas, Along With Simon The Zealot, And Judas Iscariot, Appear In The Group Of Apostles Without Any Reference To The Circumstances Of Their Call To Follow Jesus.
But I feel That All Of The Apostles Came From The Large Multitude Which Followed Jesus From The Beginning Of His Ministry. (Acts 1:21-22)
And When The Call Came To Thomas To Follow Jesus Something Stirred In His Heart, He Along With The Others Left All And Went After The Lord.
It's Not So Much What Jesus Saw In Him That Day, But What He Would Become.
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Let Us Ask A Question Was It A Coincidence, A Mere Chance That Thomas Is Always Listed With Matthew In The Lists We Have Of The Twelve Apostles?
I Think Not, This Was An Arrangement Of Their Names Inspired By The Holy Ghost To Each Writer .
Each One Writing At Different Times And Different Locations.
I Feel That There Also Matthew And Thomas Will Be Found Side By Side,
The Lord Who Sent Them Forth Saw To It They Were Not Unequally Yoked Together.
Jesus Must Have Seen Something In Thomas Constraining Him To Select Him As An Apostle.
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Three Times He Speaks For Us, All In John's Gospel.
This Takes Place Late In Our Lord's Ministry And Jesus Had Made Many Enemies. (John 11:1-6)
Some Wanted To Take Him By Force And Put Him To Death. (John 10:39-42)
Thomas Did Not Turn Aside When Danger Or Even Death Threatened.
Lazarus Was Dead And Our Lord Resolved To Go To Bethany To Raise His Friend Whom He Loved. But The Rest Of The Apostles Sought To Dissuade Him From Going Into Judea, Because The Religious Leaders There Were Plotting To Slay Him. But Thomas Spoke Up And Implied That They Should Not Hinder Him But Follow Him.
John 11:16 Then Said Thomas, Which Is Called Didymus, Unto His Fellow Disciples, Let Us Also Go That We May Die With Him.
What Thomas Is Saying,
And Unlike Simon Peter Who Boasted, "Lord I Am Ready To Go With Thee To Prison And To Death." (Luke 22:33)
We All Know That Within Hours Peter Denied Him.
His Was A Love That Counted No Sacrifice Too Great.
No Doubt Thousands, Yea, Millions, Have Gained The Courage To Face The Same Trial Inspired By These Words Of Thomas.
”Let Us Also Go, That We May Die With Him.”
The Only Person Who Has The Right To Malign Thomas Is The One Who Has Surpassed Him, Not Only In Word, But In Deed.
Thomas Remains As The Forerunner Of Them All When It Comes To Those
To Be A Christian Is Not For The Faint Of Heart.
David Had Mighty Men, Men Of Courage Who Was Willing To Stand Back To Back With Him In A Barley Field.
Men Who Fought Until Their Hand Clave Unto Their Sword. (2 Samuel 23)
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Thomas Speaks For Us Again In (John 14:5)
Jesus Had Told Them He Was Going Away To Prepare A Place For Them.
"And Whither I Go Ye Know, And The Way Ye Know." (John 14:4)
Then It Was Thomas Who Spoke Up And Said That They Knew Not Whither He Was Going, Much Less The Way. Jesus Was Speaking Cheerfully Of Going Away And Preparing That Place In His Father's House.
But Thomas Spake With A Touch Of Sadness.
This Reveals Him As A Seeker After Fuller Truth.
How We All Need Clarity Of These Important Subjects.
"I Am The Way, The Truth, And The Life: No Man Cometh Unto The Father, But By Me." (John 14:6)
He Is The Sum Total Of All We Need To Know For Time And Eternity.
How Can We Know The Way?
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Finally This Apostle Who Is So Maligned Came To A Fuller Revelation Of Jesus Than Any Man In All The New Testament.
Philip Said "We Have Found Him Of Whom Moses….Did Write (John 1:45).
Nathanael Said, "Rabbi Thou Art The Son Of God: Thou Art The King Of Israel. (John 1:49)
Peter Said, "Thou Art The Christ, The Son Of The Living God."
Thomas Answered And Said Unto Him, "My Lord And My God." (John 20:28)
The Only Person In The New Testament To Call Him God.
Our Lord Had Risen From The Dead And Appeared To The Apostles When Thomas Was Not Present.
They Told Thomas About His Appearance But Thomas Could Not Believe Them.
"Except I Shall See In His Hands The Print Of The Nails, And Thrust My Hand Into His Side, I Will Not Believe. (John 20:25)
All Honest Doubters Will End Where Thomas Did, On Their Knees Before Their Lord In Praise And Adoration.
Doubt May Endure For A Season.
After Eight Days Jesus Came Again And Thomas Was Present.
And Thomas Answered And Said Unto Him, My Lord And My God." (John 20:26-28)
The Marks Of Calvary
"Thou Hast Seen Me, Thou Hast Believed: Blessed Are They That Have Not Seen, And Yet Have Believed." (John 20:29)
Hope You Enjoyed This Study #3 Of The Men Jesus Chose, We Will Continue This In Study #4 On The Following Pages.
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By James L. Thornton
In This Study #4 Of The Men Whom Jesus Chose, We Will Study About Two Brothers Who Were Fishermen, And Among The First To Be Called To Follow Him.
James And John Along With Their Father Owned A Fishing Business On The Sea Of Galilee, And Most Likely Were Of An Upper Middle Class Family.
These Two Were To Become, Along With Peter, Part Of The Inner Circle And Very Close To Jesus.
The Road From Fisherman To Apostolic Writer Was A Long And Difficult One But It Shows That Regardless Of Occupation Or Disposition, Jesus Can Use Us In His Service.
James Would Become The First Martyr Among Them, (Acts 12) And John Would Out-Live All The Rest Of The Apostles, Most Likely The Only One Of The Twelve To Die A Natural Death.
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Mark 1:19. And when he had gone a little further thence, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the ship mending their nets.
Mark 3:17. And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he surnamed them Bo-an-erges, which is, The sons of thunder:
We want to study these two Apostles together, because there are so many similarities in their lives and background.
John was the first of these two brothers to meet the Lord at Bethabara, where John the Baptist was baptizing, along with Andrew and Peter. (John 1:28)
In the weeks and months which followed, their introduction to our Lord, They must have given James a complete story of this Prophet from Nazareth.
I feel James was anxious to meet and hear Jesus for Himself. And when Jesus came by that day in early spring James was ready when the call came to follow Jesus.
There are very few scriptural references to James, so the materials for our study of his character is limited.
I feel what the Bible does say about James will help us to paint a good portrait of the first Apostolic martyr of the Christian Faith.
It is different with James' younger brother, John.
John is revealed to us, not only in the first three Gospels, but his own writings, and by his silence.
With true humility, John seldom alludes to his own existence.
When the Apostle John came to write his Gospel he referred to the forerunner of Jesus without the usual distinct Baptist. The Apostle calls him John as if he were the only John of the Nation, of the Time, and Gospel.
In John's Gospel he alludes to himself as, "The other Disciple," (John 18:16)
John is also referred to as "The Disciple Whom Jesus Loved" (John 21:7)
It is interesting to note that in the Christian World more men and boys bear the name John than any other name.
Followed by the names James, Thomas, Paul, Andrew, Peter, Philip, Stephen, Nathaniel, Matthew and Timothy. That shows the tremendous influence which this band of men still hold upon the world.
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James and John were sons of righteous parents, Zebedee and Salome, who lived in Bethsaida on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. (John 1:44; 12:21)
Their mother's name was Mary, surnamed Salome, who was most likely a sister to Mary the mother of Jesus. Most likely James And John were cousins to Jesus. (John 19:25)
Zebedee was a man of means and influence. He also owned a house in Jerusalem and was known by the High Priest. (John 18:16)
The verse which we read in (Mark 1:20) tells us he owned a fishing business and had hired servants to help in this business.
The glimpse which we have of him mending his nets shows the secret of his success.
The scriptures indicate Jona, the father of Andrew and Peter had some kind of partnership with Zebedee. (Luke 5:7,10)
Probable Because of their Father's profitable business, James and John never knew poverty till they shared it with Jesus.
We can only wonder about Zebedee's reaction to the decision of his two sons to leave the family business and follow Jesus. We are not told whether he was pleased or pained by their surrender of all to follow Jesus. Maybe he did not share their faith .
This one incident is the only time which Zebedee comes before us in scripture.
Salome, their mother, was a disciple of Jesus and one of the first to believe on him. She was very happy that her two sons followed Jesus. As her two sons did, she also gave up all things for Jesus and followed him.
Salome was one of the women who followed him and who ministered unto Jesus of her substance. (Matthew 27:55-56)
She sought the Lord for high positions for her sons.
Matthew 20:20. "Then came to him the mother of Zebedees' children with her sons, worshiping him, and desiring a certain thing of him.
Contrary to some who think this was a selfish request, I feel that in this request it showed she thoroughly believed in his coming Kingship and she wanted her sons to share in it.
What an immense spiritual advantage it is to be children of a Godly Home.
Salome so loved their Master and Lord that she stayed at the cross and helped to carry his body to burial. She also was at the tomb on the morning of the resurrection.
What A Strong Christian Mother James And John Had. I Feel She Was At Pentecost And Received The Holy Ghost Along With Mary, Jesus' Mother.
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A new day dawned in the lives of these two fisher men of Bethsaida that day in early spring when Jesus gave them the invitation to follow him and he would make them fishers of men.
Seventeen years were to pass before the flash of the sword ended the history of the First Apostle who sealed the Gospel in his own blood.
Acts 12:2. "And he killed James the brother of John with the sword."
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John alone occupied the Inner Most Circle. He Cherished the mere thought of it, and used the phrase "The Disciple Whom Jesus Loved." To Describe the Relationship.
John, the youngest among the disciples, was to serve his Lord almost into the next century, (A.D.95)
John was probable the only Apostle to die a natural death, although he went through great persecution. (Acts 5:40 - Revelation 1:9)
Peter, James and John occupied the Inner Circle of the Apostles. They were chosen to accompany our Lord on many occasions while the nine others were left behind.
Luke 8:51.a. "And when he came into the house, he suffered no man to go in, Save Peter, And James And John, …"
Matthew 17:1. And after six days Jesus taketh, Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart. (KJV)
Matthew 16:37. And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy.
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Mark 3:17b. "…. And He surnamed them Bo an er ges: which is the Sons of Thunder."
It seemed as though a fire burned within James and John.
Jesus did not want to extinguish the fire, but to gain control of the energy which it created.
Some men have qualities which causes them to gravitate to the forefront.
I will call this quality Zeal, An all consuming Zeal, A passion for their Master that must have vibrated in their voice.
Luke 9:49. And John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out devils in Thy Name; and we forbad him, because he followeth not with us.
When one city did not welcome Jesus, James and John were outraged.
Luke 9:54. And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?
There is an Old Testament character that reminds me of James and John, his name is Jehu.
2 Kings 10:16. And he (Jehu) said, Come with me, and see my Zeal for the Lord. So they made him ride in his chariot.
2 Kings 9:20b. ……..And the driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi; for he driveth furiously. (toward Jezreel)
Then Jehu uprooted the house of Ahab, and swept the worshipers of Baal from the land.
In like manner James and John may have used their thunderous voices to help reform Israel. Jesus surnamed them Bo an er ges or Sons of Thunder.
As they graduated to Apostleship, Jesus surnamed them Bo an er ges or Sons of Thunder. Scholars seem to differ as to the true meaning of this title.
1. Was such a strange name a record of their past?
2. As fishermen had these brothers, being hot impulsive men, given way to sudden outbursts of passion? Was this just the showing of their emotions?
3. Had they indulged in words that were too strong for their own thoughts or the occasions that had called them forth?
4. Did such a new name, or nickname reveal that they had been men of a fiery, impetuous disposition?
5. Was it not better to flame out in righteous wrath as they did, than witness insult done to their Lord without a quiver or pang?
The King James Version of the New Testament gives us the Syrian meaning of the word Bo-an-er-ges, which is "Sons Of Thunder"
In the English Language the word Tumult means the following.
May God save the church today from Laodicean indifference!
The world needs today "The Voice Of One Crying In The Wilderness"
Where are the Elijah's of today?
This lets us know that James and John had an all consuming Zeal in the way they followed the Lord. I feel that this was a natural trait which they carried over into their walk with the Lord.
They had been in Jerusalem, when Jesus drove the Money Changers and those who sold Oxen and Sheep from the Temple. He overthrew the tables and poured out the money
It was John who left us The Old Testament Scripture concerning Jesus cleansing the Temple.(John 2:13-16)
John 2:17b. ……….The Zeal Of Thine House Hath Eaten Me Up.
Jesus did not want to extinguish the fire which burned within them but he wanted to gain control of the energy which it created. He wanted to make them Proclaimers of Righteousness.
Amos 7:12. Also Amaziah said unto Amos, O thou Seer, go flee thee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there:
John the Baptist Spoke out against evil and said, REPENT.
Jesus himself was intolerant of the activities of those in the Temple.
Bo-an-er-ges, "Sons of Thunder," I do not feel that Jesus gave them this name as a derogatory title. It was not to belittle them. I feel it was intended as a title of honor, although it was never mentioned again.
John, The Apostle Of Love, A title which he so richly deserved. John in his writings lived up to the title which Jesus gave to him.
John was intolerant of those who said they were Christians and walked in Darkness (l John 1:6)
John was intolerant of those who loved the world. (1John 1:15)
John spoke out strongly against Anti-Christ. (1John 1:22)
What's Going to Happen When All The Preachers are Silent?
We constantly hear the thunder roll and the lightening flash in the Book Of Revelations 4:5.
We see the Nations fall and the ungodly are consumed in a lake of fire and brimstone. (Revelations 20)
We are continually made aware of the struggle of good against evil until we see victory in the Battle Of Armageddon. (Revelations 5:16:16)
John tells about the praise of 100,000,000 Angels as they gather around The Throne. (Revelations 5:11)
How about the sounds of the 144,000 as they were inducted into the Hall Of Fame. (Revelations 7:4)
How about the voices of the untold millions who had their |
