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Continuing with our series on the apostles, we are going to chat about three persons tonight.
This group don’t seem like they are too close, less close than the other eight.
There is virtually nothing in the Gospel narratives, they were anointed apostles.
The three that we are looking at tonight is James, Simon - the Zealot and Judas the Apostle with three names.
The other apostle left we will leave til another date that would be Judas the traitor.
The apostles were men who gave up everything to follow Christ.
Peter spoke for them all when he said:
They left houses, lands, family, and friends to follow Jesus.
Their sacrifice was heroic, with the exception of Judas Iscariot.
The apostles are real people, ordinary men and when they come to the foreground it is to manifest doubt, disbelief, or confusion.
Their shortcomings and weaknesses show up more often than their strengths.
These men are not portrayed as heros in the Gospel records, their heroism played out after Jesus went back to heaven, sent the Holy Spirit, and empowered them.
Suddenly they act differently: strong and courageous.
They perform great miracles.
They preach with newfound boldness.
So tonight we are going to examine the last group of apostles and they have their own distinctions.
James, Son of Alphaeus
The only thing in scripture tells about this man is his name.
If he ever wrote anything it is lost to history.
If he asked any questions or did anything to stand out from the group it was not recorded in scripture.
He never attained a degree of fame, he was utterly obscure, and even had a common name.
There are several men with the name James in the New Testament.
There was James son of Zebdee whom we already met a number of weeks ago.
There was another James who was the son of Mary and Joseph and therefore a half brother of Christ.
James Jesus’s half brother became a leader in the Jerusalem church and wrote the epistle of James.
All we know about this James in question is that he was the son of Alpheus and that his mother was Mary.
Also his brother is Joses.
Joses must have been well-known as a follower of the Lord (though not an apostle), because his name is mentioned repeatedly.
Their mom Mary was a devoted follower of Christ as well.
She was the eyewitness to the crucifixion and was one of the women who came to prepare Jesus’ body for burial.
Other than the minimal details that we have about his family, this James is utterly obscure.
His lack of prominence is even reflected in his nickname - “James the Less”.
The Greek word for Less is mikros which literally means little, or small in stature.
This could have been referring to his physical features.
Perhaps he was a small-framed man.
Or it could have been the fact that he was young in age.
He may have been younger than James son of Zebedee.
But most likely the nickname was due to his influence.
James the son of Zebedee was a man of prominence.
His family was known to the high priest and part of the Lord’s most intimate circle.
He was the better known of the two James.
James son of Alpheus was known as the little James or James the Less.
James was most likely a small, young, quiet person who stayed mostly in the background.
The thing that makes him most interesting is his obsecurity.
He sought no recognition, displayed no great leadership, asked no critical questions.
He demonstrated no unusual insight.
Only his name remains, his life and labors are immersed in obscurity.
He was one of the twelve.
The Lord selected him for a reason, trained and empowered him like the others and sent him out as a witness.
Don’t you think he reminds us of those unnamed persons mentioned in
Why are we looking at James the less?
I believe that we need to see the testimonies of people like him those whom his world barely remembers and knows little to nothing about.
Early church history is also mostly silent about this man.
Some legends confuse him with James the Lord’s brother.
There is some evidence that James the less spoke in Syria and Persia.
Accounts of how he died differ, some say he was stoned some say he was beaten and others say he was crucifued like his Lord.
We do know that he was a powrful preacher like the others.
His name will be inscribed on one of the gates of the heavenly city.
The disciples’ importance did not stem from their pedigree.
If that was important scripture would have recorded that.
What made these men important was the Lord whom they served and the message they proclaimed.
Lacking details about the men themselves is ok, Heaven will reveal the full truth of whom they wre and what they were like.
They were chosen by the Lord, empowered by the Holy Spirit and used by God to carry the gospel to the world of their day.
What we need to keep in mind James was called to follow Christ and he was obedient.
But one huge reason was to be empowered by the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and to preach the word.
Scripture doesn’t give a full biography because it always keeps the focus on the power of the cross and the power of the word and not the mere men who were instruments of that power.
The vessel is not the issue, the Master is!
No one shows that truth better than James the less, son of Alpheus.
He may have been able to claim that he was Matthew’s brother or Jesus’ cousin but he went quietly unnotied through the enture gospel.
The world remembers nothing about him but in eternity he will receive a full reward.
Simon the Zealot
He was called Zealot or Cananite which is not a reference to the land of Canaan or the village of Cana.
Cananite comes from the Hebrew root qanna which means to be zealous.
Simon was a one time member of the political party the Zealots.
The fact that he bore the title of all his life may also suggest that he had a fiery, zealous temperament.
The Zealots were widely feared and well-known outlaw sect.
The Zealots were extremist in every sense.
Like the Pharisees they interpreted the law literally.
The Zealots were militant, violent outlaws, they believed only God Himself had the right to rule over the Jews.
They believed they were doing God’s work by assassinating the Roman soldiers, political leaders and anyone else who opposed them.
This group was hoping the Messiah that would lead them in overthrowing the Romans and restore the kingdom to Israel.
They wre red hot patriots ready to die in an instant for what they believed in.
The Zealots blind hatred of Rome and everything Roman provoked the destruction of their own city.
The spirit of the movement was insane and ultimately self-destructive.
Simon was one of them.
When Matthew and Mark listed the Twelve they listed Simon just before Judas Iscariot.
When Jesus sent the disciples out two by two in Mark 6:7, it is likely that Simon and Judas Iscariot were a team.
They probably both originally followed Christ for similar political reasons.
But somewhere along the line Simon became a genuine believer and was transformed.
Judas Iscariot never really believed.
When Jesus did not overthrow Rome, but instead talked of dying, some might have expected Simon to be the betrayer - a man of such deep passion, zeal, and political conviction that he would align himself on the wrong side.
But that was before he met Jesus.
What a difference Jesus makes to our lives!
Here we see a life that could have been destroyed but an encounter with Jesus set him on the right path.
It is amazing that Jesus would select a man like Simon to be an apostle.
But he was a man of fierce loyalties, amazing passion, courage and zeal.
Simon had believed the truth and embraced Christ as his Lord.
The fiery enthusiasm he once had for Israel was now expressed in his devotion to Christ.
Simon took the gospel north and preached in the Bristish Isles.
There is no record of what happened to him but all accounts say he was killed for preaching the gospel.
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