James, Simon, Judas, & Judas

The final group of four apostles is the least known to us except for Judas Iscariot. This group seems to have been less intimate with Christ than the others because the gospel is virtually silent about them. What the gospel does say was “that they were appointed to be apostles”.

Apostles we know are men who gave up everything to follow Jesus. Peter spoke for them all when he said "See, we have left ALL to follow you" (Luke 18:28). Paul tells us they left houses, jobs, lands, family, and friends.

The Gospels note the apostle’s weaknesses and strengths.

·       We’re told about their doubt, disbelief, and confusion.

·       We’re told they thought more highly of themselves than they ought to have.

·       We’re told when they spoke up when they should've kept their mouths shut.

·       Were told when they exhibit more confidence in their own ability and their own strength and they should.

So in all honesty were told a lot more about their shortcomings and their weaknesses than their strengths.

The gospel does not portray them as heroes. However they become heroes in the pages of Acts after Jesus returned to Heaven and sent his Holy Spirit to empower them.

The one thing that sets these men apart from the others who called themselves disciples is their durability of faith. You remember when we looked at Johns 6 following the feeding of the 5000; Jesus gave them a hard message.

·       He told them that he was God,

·       Then he told them that they would have to eat his flash and drink his blood to have eternal life.

Scripture tells us that many left him that day. His sayings were too hard for them and this demand was too incomprehensible.

But the 12 remained. When Jesus asked them if they wanted to leave also, Peter spoke up and said, “Where will we go?” These 12 were going to stay with him no matter what.

James the son of Alphaeus

The ninth name in Luke's list of the apostles is James the son of Alphaeus. The only thing Scripture tells us about this man is his name.

Now there were several men with the name James in the New Testament.

·       James the son of Zebedee,

·       James the son of Mary and Joseph, which would make him Jesus' half-brother. He eventually became the leader of the church in Jerusalem. And he is the same James who wrote the New Testament epistle of James.

·       But James the gospel writer is not the same man is James the apostle.

In Mark 15:40 we learn that James the son of Alphaeus had a mother named Mary, who was a devout follower of Jesus as well. She was an eyewitness to the crucifixion, and one of the women who came to prepare Jesus' body for burial on Easter morning.

Aside from those details, the only other thing we know about James is that he is nicknamed "James the less". Now the Greek word for less is mikros. This literally means "little".

·       This can be small in stature, as in a small framed or short man,

·       Or it could speak of someone who is younger in age. James the son of Alphaeus may have been younger than James the son of Zebedee.

·       More likely “little” might refer to his sphere of influence.

We know that James the son of Zebedee was an important man, he was known to the high priest, he was in Jesus inner circle. Therefore he was better known of the two Jameses. So possibly, to tell the difference between the two,

There would be James the son of Zebedee and little James the son of Alphaeus.

We do that today, when fathers & sons have the same name.

Interestingly enough early church history doesn't say much about this man. Legends often confuse him with James the brother of Jesus. There is some evidence that suggests James the less took the gospel to Syria and Persia.

Even accounts of his death vary. Some say he was stoned; the others say he was beaten to death; and others say he was crucified.

But I’m not through yet, there is some speculation about his parentage. You'll remember that when we looked at Matthew, Matthew was also called “Levi the son of Alphaeus”. That would mean that there's a distinct possibility that Matthew and James were brothers. You will remember that there were 2 other sets of brothers among the 12.

Or another interesting possibility comes in the lineage of James’ mother.  I’ve already mentioned that his mother was among the women at the cross.  According to John, the three women present and were Mary the mother of Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the wife of Clopas. This woman is said by John (19:25) to be the sister of Mary the mother of Jesus.  If that is the case, James less would be Jesus’ first cousin. 

There is no record of how James the less died. Tradition tells us that all the apostles except John died as martyrs. 

Simon the Zealot

Simon the Zealot is also called Simon the Canaanite.  This is not a reference to his hometown or the village of Cana.  It comes from a Hebrew word quanna which means “to be zealous”.

Simon was at one time a member of this political party.  His name also suggests that he had a fiery, zealous temperament.  However, in Jesus day this title signified a widely feared, outlaw, political sect. 

Rabbit trail: there were 4 basic political parties among the Jews at the time Jesus walked the earth. 

1.      Pharisees were fastidious about the law.  They were religious fundamentalists. 

2.      Sadducees were religious liberals.  They denied the supernatural/resurrection. They were also rich, were aristocratic, and powerful.  They ruled the temple. 

3.      Essenes are not mentioned at all in scripture but church historians describe them as ascetics and celibates who lived in the desert and devoted to their lives to the study of the law.  We get the Dead Sea Scrolls from the Essenes.

4.      zealots

a.   Hated the Romans.

b.   Their goal was to overthrow the Roman occupation.

c.    They advance their agenda primarily through terrorism and asked of violence.

d.   Extremists in every sense.

e.   Like the Pharisees they interpreted the law literally.

f.     They believed only god himself had the right to rule over the Jews. And therefore believed that they were doing God's work by assassinating Roman soldiers, political leaders, and anyone else who oppose them.

Sounds a little like what's going on in Iraq today. The zealots would have been waging a holy war for Judaism.

g.   The Zealots were hoping for a messiah who would  

lead them into overthrowing the Romans and   

restoring the kingdom of Israel to the glory it had  

in Solomon’s day.

h.   They were red hot Patriots willing to die, in an

instant for what they believed in.

i.      Zealots were convinced that paying tribute to a

pagan king was an act of treason against God.

Now it's not surprising that this view found widespread acceptance among the people who were being overtaxed by the Romans.

By the time Jesus ministry was in full swing the zealots party had gone from being overt to become an underground secret society of assassins called sicarii or “dagger men” because of the curved daggers that they carried in the folds of their robes. It was their habit to sneak up behind Roman soldiers and politicians and stabbed them in the back.

They also set fires to Roman targets in Judea and then retreated to the remote areas of Galilee to hide.

Simon the Zealot was one of them. When Matthew and Mark list the 12, Simon comes just before Judas Iscariot. So, when Jesus sent the disciples out 2 by 2 buy (Mark 6:7)

It is likely that Simon and Judas Iscariot were a team. This could have been a disaster since both of them originally followed Jesus for political reasons. But somewhere along the line, Simon became a genuine believer and put aside his political agenda.

Another potential firestorm could have occurred because, as one of the 12, Simon would also have had to associate with Matthew, as a tax collector for the Roman government he would have been at the opposite end of the political spectrum. At one point in his life Simon would probably have gladly killed Matthew. And here we find them working side-by-side.

It makes you wonder why Jesus would select a man like Simon to be an apostle. So let’s look at it from Jesus’ viewpoint.

·       Simon fiercely loyal,

·       He had amazing passion and courage. His sect had gone underground, and her he was walking around out in the open with Jesus, the center of so much attention.

Simon's enthusiasm and zeal had been transformed from loyalty to Israel to loyalty to Jesus.

Several sources say that after Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 A.D., Simon took the gospel north to the British Isles.

There's no reliable record of his death but by all accounts we can assume that he was killed preaching gospel.

The Judas the son of James

The name Judas in and of itself is a fine name. It means “Jehovah leads”. But because of the treachery of Judas Iscariot, the name Judas will always bear in negative connotation.

·       When the gospel writers name him they call him “Judas, not Iscariot".

·       In Matthew he is called "Lebbeaus, whose surname was Thaddeus." These are essentially nicknames.

o      Thaddeus means "breast child" this gives us the image of a nursing baby. Actually it's more derisive, it's like calling him "mama's boy". Perhaps he was the youngest in his family.

o      Lebbeaus comes from Hebrew word referring to the heart, literally, "heart child".

Both names suggest that he had a tender, childlike heart.

Zealots make great preachers. But so do tender hearted compassionate, gentle, sweet-spirited souls like Judas Lebbeaus Thaddeus.

The New Testament records one incident involving Judas Lebbeaus Thaddeus. In John 14:21 Jesus says,

21 Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.”

22 Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?”

His question is full of gentleness and meekness and avoided any sort of pride. He couldn't believe the Jesus would manifest himself to this group of 11 and not to the whole world.

Don’t you feel that way sometimes? Have you ever questioned why God loves you so much?

Judas Lebbeaus Thaddeus loved the Lord and felt the power of salvation in his own life. He was full of hope for the world, and in his own tender hearted, childlike way he wanted everyone to know. Why wasn't Jesus going to make himself known to everyone?

23 Jesus replied, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.

Notice that Jesus didn’t rebuke him. Instead he explained that following Jesus and having fellowship with him was a heart issue. Jesus would build his kingdom one heart at a time.

A few years after Pentecost Judas Lebbeaus Thaddeus took the gospel North to Edessa a city and Mesopotamia which is part of Turkey today. There are numerous ancient accounts which detail that he healed the king of Edessa.

Tradition says that he was club to death for his faith. 

Judas Iscariot

The most notorious all the disciples is Judas Iscariot, the betrayer. His name appears last on every biblical list of apostle's except the one in acts. Because?

Every time Judas is mentioned in Scripture we also find a note about his being a traitor. Judas stands as a warning to us about the evil potential of spiritual carelessness, squandered opportunities, and hardness of heart.

Judas was intimately familiar with everything Jesus taught, yet he remained in unbelief. He began exactly like the others apostles had begun. But he never laid hold of the truth by faith.

The life of Judas reminds us that it is possible to be near Christ, to identify yourself with him, to say you love him and still become hardened by sin. Judas also reminds us that no matter how sinful person may be, no matter what treachery he might plot against God, the purposes of God cannot be thwarted. God works all things out to achieve his purpose.

I said earlier that Judas means "Jehovah leads". His parents must have had great hope for him to be led by God.

Iscariot, signifies the region he came from. Iscariot is derived from Hebrew word combining two terms

·       “ish” meaning man

·       Kerioth the name of the town. This is a humble town in the South of Judea.

Judas is the only apostle who did not come from Galilee.

We know the others were brothers, friends, and working companions, some even before meeting Christ. But Judas was a solitary figure. Although there's no evidence that might suggest he was excluded or look down upon by the rest of them, he may have thought of himself as an outsider, which would help him justify his own treachery.

Judas' father was named Simon. You remember of course that Simon was a common name. Beyond that we know nothing of his family. The others knew little about his background, or his life before he became a disciple. Therefore it was easy for him to play the role of the hypocrite. He could work his way into a place of trust, which he ultimately did, becoming  the group's treasurer and use that position to steal funds (John 12:6).

Scripture likewise does not record his call. Like the others, he left his job and began to follow Jesus full time. Judas was probably a young, zealous patriotic who did not want the Roman rule and hoped that Jesus would overthrow the government and restore the kingdom of Israel. -- That sounds very much like Judas Lebbeaus Thaddeus. But unlike his fellow apostle, Judas Iscariot followed Jesus out of a desire for selfish gain, worldly ambition, and greed. He sensed Jesus had power and wanted that power for himself.

Now we must remember that he chose to follow Jesus, and that he continued to follow Jesus even when the other disciples left. He was a skillful actor.

We also must remember that Jesus chose him. Scripture tells us that his role as a betrayer was ordained before the foundation of the world. Prophecy of his treachery appears in Psalms and Zachariah. When Jesus chose Judas he knew that he would be the one who would betray him.

Now our human minds have trouble with this. We might feel sorry for Judas, because he was predestined to do this. Some might even say he was forced to betray Christ. But that couldn't be further from the truth. Just like us, Judas was responsible for his own actions.

Jesus said he would bear the guilt of that deed throughout eternity. Judas did what he did because his heart was evil. God knew this and used this to unfold his plan of redemption for mankind.

Judas carried out his evil deeds by his own choice. Judas had the same potential as the rest of the apostles. But, his secret plot of hypocrisy made it impossible to embraced Jesus teachings by faith.

He also had every opportunity to turn from his sin. He heard numerous appeals from Jesus urging him not to do the deed he was planning to do. He had been there and heard every single lesson that Jesus taught during his ministry.

Many of those even applied to him directly:

·       parable of the unjust steward

·       Jesus’ preaching against the love of money and greed and pride.

·       Jesus even told the 12 one of you is a devil (John 6:70)

·       He cautioned them about the woes that would come to the person who betrayed him.

Judas listened to all of that and yet remained unmoved.

The rest of the apostles began to realize that some point that Jesus was not the type of messiah they were expecting.  Their love for Christ overcame their worldly ambitions. 

Judas, on the other hand became disillusioned.  He hid his disappointment under a blanket of hypocrisy. In all probability, he was trying to figure way to get some money back for all the years he had invested in Jesus.

Jesus knew that Judas was becoming disgruntled. He was growing more and more hard-hearted all the time. By the time Jesus and the other apostles went to Jerusalem for the final Passover, Judas' spiritual abandonment was complete. At some point his disillusionment had turned to hatred.

Hatred mixed with greed and finally turned into treachery. Judas probably convinced himself the Jesus had stolen his life -- robbed him of two years of money making potential.

Shortly after the raising of Lazarus and before Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Jesus and the disciples returned to Bethany. Jesus had been invited to a meal at the home of Simon the Leper. His friend Lazarus was present with Mary and Martha helping with the meal.

Turn to John 12

3 Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

This act was shocking in its extravagance. Not only was this an overt form of worship but it also had the appearance of wastefulness. Perfume is designed to be used in small amounts. Once it's poured out I cannot be retrieved. To pour out a pint of expensive oil and use to anoint someone's feet gave the appearance of gross excess.

Let's take a look at what Judas said

4 But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, 5 “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.

Judas's response was clever he pretended to be concerned for the poor. Apparently this was reasonable because Matthew records that's the other apostles to echoed Judas's protests (26:8).

Remember that a denarii is about one day’s wages. So 300 denarii is about a full year’s wages (if you take out Sabbaths and holidays.) Now I like perfume as much as anyone else but I think my husband would take away the credit card forever if I spent a year's worth of his salary on one dose of perfume.

6 He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.

It's interesting to note here that this is the first-time Judas actually spoke up. Scripture does not record him speaking anywhere other than here. Up into that point here just blended into the background and looks like one of them

7 “Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. ”It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. 8 You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”

Given the circumstances and since Jesus knew perfectly well what was in Judas's heart, this seems like a mild rebuke.

He could've blasted Judas with a fierce condemnation and exposed his real motives but he didn't do that.

Nevertheless this gentle reprimand seemed to it make Judas resent Jesus even more. This one incident seems to be the turning point in Judas's thinking. 300 denarii would have added a lot to the treasury. This would have given Judas a prime opportunity to skim some money into his own pocket.

But because Jesus was so willing to receive such lavish worship, Judas missed a golden opportunity to embezzle some funds. This appears to be the last straw as far as Judas was concerned.

Matthew records, immediately after this (26:14-15) Judas crept away, left Bethany, walked about a mile and 1/2 to Jerusalem, met with the chief priest, and sold Jesus to his enemies for a pocketful of coins. Thirty pieces of silver was all he could get -- The price of a slave.

Having already taken the money to betray Jesus, Judas came back and blended into the group and pretended nothing unusual had happened.

At that point Jesus washed the disciple’s feet. He even watched Judas's feet. Judas just sat there. We know that Peter argued with Jesus about washing his feet. Let’s pick up the story in John 13:9

9 “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”

10 Jesus answered, “A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” 11 For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.

Now that’s shocking. There were only 12 of them in the room and Jesus was saying someone in their group was not clean.

Jumped down to versus 18

18 “I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfill the scripture: ‘He who shares my bread has lifted up his heel against me.’

Jesus is saying that Judas's act as the fulfillment of scripture (Psalms 41:9). Apparently the apostles didn't get it because Jesus had to go on and be more specific.

21 After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, “I tell you the truth, one of you is going to betray me.”

All of them were deeply troubled by this, except Judas of course was pretending to be troubled. When Judas asked, "rabbi, is it I?” He only asked because he was afraid he might be exposed to the others.

26 Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.” Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, son of Simon. 27 As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him.

“What you are about to do, do quickly,” Jesus told him,

At that point salvation was no longer an option for Judas. He had rejected mercy and put himself in line for judgment. It’s interesting to note that at this point even though Jesus gave Judas the bread and identified him as the traitor, the other apostles did not get it. That tells us, he was so good at his deception, and that the others didn't believe that he could be a traitor.

After Judas leaves Jesus institutes the ordinance of the Lord ’s Supper. It is important for us to note that Jesus didn't do this until after the one filled with hypocrisy had left the room. This is our reminder to come to the communion table with pure hearts.

Judas apparently went straight from the upper room to the Sanhedrin. He tells them were they could find Jesus under the cover of darkness. We must emphasize here that this was a deliberate and premeditated act. Judas had already taken the money; he was just waiting for an opportune moment. When Jesus identified him at the Passover meal Judas had almost become unmasked in front of the others. His time was running out. He had to act fast.

Luke tells us that he had been looking for an opportune moment when Jesus would be away from the crowd to betrayed him. Judas was a coward, concerned with what other people would think about him, so the fewer who were present to see him do this the better.

He knew that Jesus went to Gethsemane to pray with his apostles. He knew the exact place, because he often met Jesus there. It wasn’t difficult to tell the authorities exactly where to go.

We've looked at the betrayal before when the study Peter we know that Judas came with a detachment soldiers numbering about 600 men.

John 18:4

4 Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you want?”

         5 “Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied.

“I am he,” Jesus said.

Jesus did not want to Judas to single him out. He did not try to hide. He went forward and presented himself to them.

Now we know that there was a prearranged signal. Judas was to kiss him to identify him. Jesus had just stepped forward and identified himself. But Judas kissed him anyway. Kissing was a mark of love, affection tenderness, respect and intimacy. Judas continued to play his game by pretending to have feelings for Jesus. It was deliberate hypocrisy.

As soon as the deal was complete, Judas's conscience began to bother him. He realized what he had done. The money which should been so important for him before didn't matter now. We need to jump over to Matthew 27:3-4

3 When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and the elders. 4 “I have sinned,” he said, “for I have betrayed innocent blood.”

“What is that to us?” they replied. “That’s your responsibility.”

5 So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.

Remorse is not the same as repentance. He was sorry, but not because he had sinned against Jesus but because his deceit did not satisfy him the way he had hoped. The chief priests weren’t sympathetic. After all they had what they wanted. Judas could do what he wanted with the money, nothing could undo his treachery now.

Judas was not repentant, he just didn't like how he felt. He could've cried out to God. He could've asked for mercy. He could've asked God to deliver him from Satan's hold. Instead he tried to shut up his conscience by killing himself. His grief had driven him mad. And he had lost control.

In Acts 1:18-19 there is a note about Judas purchasing the fields with the wages of his iniquity and falling headlong into it. Then his belly burst open and entrails gushed forth. Now if he hung himself, he couldn’t have done this himself. Scripture tells us that the chief priest use the money to buy the field in his name. If Judas had any heirs they would have inherited it.

There is a place in Jerusalem today where tradition says Judas hanged himself. It is believed that either the rope or the tree branch broke and Judas fell onto the rocks below. Although it's a gross description it's sort of poetic justice that he could even kill himself the way he wanted to.

So what do we learn from Judas ?

1.  Judas is an example of lost opportunity.

·       He lived with Jesus day in and day out for two years.

·       He got to ask Jesus any question he wanted to.

·       He could have asked for and received anything that he needed.

·       Jesus gave him ample opportunity to receive salvation.

·       He just refused to hear.

2.  Judas is an example of wasted privilege.

·       He was given the highest place among all Lord's followers as an apostle.

·       He cashed at all in for a fistful coins

·       And then decided he didn't want that after all.

3.  Judas is an example of how the love of money is the root

     of all evil.

4.  Judas is an example of the ugliness and the danger of

     spiritual betrayal.

·       There are Judas’ in every age - people who seem to be true disciples or close followers of Jesus and then turn against him for selfish reasons.

·       Judas’ life is a reminder to each of us about our need for self-examination.

5.  Judas is proof of God’s forbearance, goodness and the loving kindness of Christ. Despite Jesus knowing what Judas would do, he loved him and ministered to him even to the point of betrayal.

6.  Judas demonstrates how God’s sovereignty cannot be shaded by any means. His betrayal of Christ seemed at first glance like Satan's greatest triumph. But in reality it signified defeat for the devil in all his works.

7.  Judas is a demonstration of the deceitfulness and fruitfulness of hypocrisy. He's an example of the true vine. If a branch bears no fruit, it is cut off and thrown into the fire to be destroyed.

Judas was such an expert of hypocrisy that none of the other 11 ever suspected him. But he couldn't fool Jesus nor can any other hypocrite.

Matthias

After the resurrection, Judas's office was filled by Mathias. (Acts 1:16-26). Matthias was selected because he'd been with Jesus in the other apostles from the baptism of John to the day when he was taken up from them.

Nothing else is known about Mathias other than his name.

It appears only twice and scriptures: both times in the account of how he was chosen.

In the end, another perfectly ordinary man was chosen to fill the place of an extraordinary villain. Along with the other 11, Mathias became a powerful witness for Jesus resurrection.