“THE QUIET DISCIPLES: JAMES, SON OF ALPHAEUS;
SIMON THE ZEALOT; AND JUDAS, SON OF JAMES”
TEXT: LUKE 6:12-16; JOHN 14:22-23
Sunday, February 1, 2004
If you will turn to Matthew 10:1-4 and have your finger in John 14, we are going to take a look at those two texts. If you are visiting with us, we started a series on the 12 disciples; last week we talked about Judas. We’re doing this in order to get a sense for who these people are who followed Jesus, how Jesus affected their lives, and what message does that have for our lives. Why did Jesus choose these 12 individuals and what does that say to us about what God desires to do in our lives? What lessons can be drawn from life as the lessons they drew from the life of Jesus? What lessons does that bring to us? What lessons to life does God have for us as well? There are a lot of other questions we will answer along the way but those are some of the main ones.
Again, last week we talked about Judas Iscariot. One of the lessons from his life that we learned was the danger of coasting spiritually. We learned that the power of money can draw us away from God, and that it can have the power to even cause us to fall from grace, as it did in his life. We talked about the meaning of what a disciple was. A disciple was one who had given his or her life to Christ, and not simply invited Christ to his or her life, and there is a difference between giving your life to Christ and inviting Christ to your life. This week I decided to take all three disciples, disciples number 9, 10 and 11, which are James, the son of Alphaeus; Judas, son of James (they are not related - Judas is not the son of James, the son of Alphaeus); and Simon the Zealot. There is not really a lot that we know about them other than their being listed, and there is one verse that deals with Judas, the son of James, which is in the John text we are going to look at, but beyond that we don’t know anything else about them. What do I say about them? Can I put a sermon together on these quiet guys of the apostolic band?
Well, I started to shove them all together and now I am sorry I did, because there is a lot more than meets the eye. There are a lot of lessons to learn from these relatively obscure disciples. So let me start by reading how they are described, because there are lessons in simply how they are designated in the Scripture, and then look at John 14.
“He called his 12 disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out demons and to heal every disease and sickness. These are the names of the 12 apostles. First Simon, who is called Peter; his brother, Andrew; James, the son of Zebedee; his brother, John; Philip; Bartholomew; Thomas; and Matthew, the tax collector; James, the son of Alphaeus; and Thaddaeus, [Thaddeus is also referred to as Judas, son of James, and is also called Lebbaeus in another place, so he is a man of three names]; Simon the Zealot; and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. These are the 12 Jesus sent out with him.”
Then we go to John 14 where Judas, son of James, asked a simple question, Jesus has just talked to them about leaving, but he is not going to leave them without a counselor, and he is not going to abandon them. He is coming back to them, but not to the world, and Judas is questioning this.
“Then Judas, not Judas Iscariot, [he wants to be clear about who he is talking about], said, “But Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world? Jesus replied, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching, my father would love him and we will come to him and make our home with him.”
[Let’s pray.]
We are going to take them again in reverse order. Simon the Zealot – there is a lesson simply in how Simon is described in scripture. The word Zealot is in Matthew and Mark in the Hebrew form, Canaanean or Cana, in Luke and Acts they use the Greek word Zelotes, both the Hebrew word and the Greek word simply mean someone who is zealous. Well, the question is what’s he zealous for? Some thought he was called the Zealot because he was zealous for God and the law, or that it was the basic nature of his personality. He was a kind of fired-up go-getter type of guy. But I question that because if he is that fired-up of a guy, you would expect him to be more like Peter, and you’d expect to hear a little bit more from him, but you don’t. You don’t know anything about this guy’s life.
So another possibility is that (and it was a technical term then) of a philosophical and political movement called the Zealots. Who were these guys? They were very religious. People who interpreted the Bible very literally and they really felt that any pagan influence, any foreigners in the land brought their pagan influences, and it was an affront to God. Any influence outside the Jewish faith was really an affront to God. They didn’t believe in paying tribute to Rome because it was a pagan state, and if you paid tribute, it was treason and apostasy before God. The way to clear the way then for God to bless Israel and for the Messiah to come is to toss these people out. If it meant by violent means, then it was meant by violent means. They could be described today as terrorists. They thought of themselves as freedom fighters; simply zealous for the state of Israel, wanting God’s blessing upon them, and not wanting any kind of outside influence, so they resorted to guerilla warfare tactics and they struck soft targets and targets that opened themselves up. The Romans called them “sacarii” which means “daggermen”, which is what they used. They simply looked for an opportune time when someone was unprotected or unprepared or not looking, and they simply would stab them in the back and leave them to die.
It’s really very parallel to what you see in the world today with the Muslim fundamentalist movement. They see things the same way the Zealots did. They feel that simply the western presence in Saudi Arabia is an affront to Allah and it is unthinkable, so they are attempting to throw us out. That is really the heart and sole of what the Zealots believed. The movement started in 194 through 169 B.C. by a man named Maccabeas, who used military might to throw off the searing oppression over Israel. It was continued by a man named Judas of Galilee, who in 6 A.D. rebelled against the Roman census tax. You remember 6 A.D. Roman census tax; that is the same tax that began with the birth of Jesus early on. It is the same tax they are referring to. The Christmas story tax is the same tax he rebelled against and this event is actually recorded in Acts 5:37. It was put down by the Romans. He and his son were crucified on crosses, and then the movement went underground for a long time.
It was this group, it says, that Simon belonged to. Simon, a disciple of Jesus, at one time belonged to this political party who really believed the answer to life’s problems, their problem, was through violent acts, military action, and political action. What I find amazing though is as you look into his life, Simon changes. Now, if there is any disciple who had a reason to betray Jesus, if there is any disciple who would have been set up to be disillusioned with Jesus, it is this man, because he believed that the answers to life came through political and military action. He really expected Jesus to set up a political and military state, but he didn’t. What is surprising is that he remains faithful to Jesus. How? Because at some point in his life, as he listened to Jesus and his teachings, he began to realize that all his human means, all his faith in politics and military might to solve the human problem, was wrong. That politics and power doesn’t solve the human problem, the human condition that we experience, and what the root problem of all social evil is, is spiritual. To get at it, if you are going to really solve people’s problems and society’s problems, it involves a change of heart, so he exchanged his political views for Jesus’ spiritual mission in his life. He accepted what Jesus had to say, his wisdom in how to change people’s lives, and if there is a lesson for us, that’s it.
As Christians, we have to realize that politics has a limited power, and there is something more important than politics in achieving our desire ends, and that is the spiritual, in that you can legislate law against racism and hate and poverty all you want but, if from the heart a person hates people simply because of their color, simply because of their economic status, you can legislate all the laws you want but you won’t change their action, behavior or their attitude. For instance, you can legislate all the laws on compassion but, if a person doesn’t have a love for people, there is no way of making them reach out to the least of these our brethren. Again, that is an important lesson for us, and it is not that politics is unimportant, it has a place, and as a church, there has been a struggle with politics, and how involved we should be. On one side, there was a sense at one time where the church just kind of said it is dirty, it is corrupt, and we want nothing to do with it. Then there is another side where the church became very involved in politics and through movements like the moral majority, tried to legislate an agenda in affecting our culture. That is not wrong because in our culture we have the ability as Christians to affect our political system, but it is important for us to realize that that’s not the most important thing in life.
This was hard for me to learn early on as a Christian. I took my politics seriously. I am a political junkie. I still am. I had a problem. When I read the Bible and God’s views on social issues and I looked at the political landscape and said, what party would fit what I think is God’s agenda, I concluded it was a conservative Republican, a conservative Reagan Republican. I had a problem with people that I discovered- Christian people- who were a liberal democrat or independent. It blew my mind that such a thing existed. Well, what was my problem? My problem was I was putting too much importance in politics and not enough importance in my identity in Christ, and that is an important lesson we all have to learn. It is a lesson that John Adams and the original framers of the constitution realized, that politics is very limited. What is more potent in society is spiritual awakening and a person’s heart getting right with God. In fact, that is not something I say, that is something that a Yale law professor, Steven Carter, has said in a book, Culture of Disbelief, that more potent in society than politics or warfare is spiritual awakening - a person getting their heart right with God. Someone has said that there have been 35 million laws legislated trying to get people to obey the Ten Commandments. What would happen if, from the heart, people trusted God and desired to live those commandments? You wouldn’t need laws if a person’s heart and life was right with God and they wanted to obey him and they wanted to live out his Word and his commandments. John Adams said the very same thing. He said this, “The constitution is but a shell that presupposes an existing worldview. No government is capable of contending in human passion unbridled by morality and religion. The constitution is only useful for a moral and religious people.” So that is an important lesson for us to learn. Not that politics is unimportant- it is a tool, but what is far more important is for us to focus on the spiritual, as a people and as a church, and realize that if we are going to solve problems in our world, that we have to get people’s hearts right with him and our hearts need to be right with him as well.
I guess the second lesson in Simon’s life is the contrast of who else is in this group. Who else is in the group that you know of who would have been a splinter in his mind, a thorn in his flesh? Matthew, Matthew whose political views are the exact opposite of Simon’s. Simon is an anti-Rome, anti-government, anti-tax type of guy. Matthew is a pro-Rome, pro-tax, pro big government type of guy, and they coexist in this group of disciples. Now I would like to hear what the conversation was like over those camp fires. What is surprising is they held each other as brothers in Christ, and the disciples’ group didn’t explode apart. Why? Because again they realized that politics is not nearly as important as their faith in Christ. There are some things more important than their personal views and they realized that. As a church, we need to realize that as well. We need to be more tolerant of people who have different political views, and that ultimately it is not important. It is not important. What is important is our identity and commonality in Christ. That should be the glue that holds us together most, more than anything else. The disciples realized that; they had a sense of humility.
The second lesson we learn comes from Judas, the son of James. Again, he has three names. There is Thaddeus, there is Lebbaeus and all the words for his name refer to the big-hearted. It is a picture of a big guy with a gentle spirit, a person who wears his emotions on his sleeves, kind of like I do sometimes. You get the same picture when you look at John 14:22-23. Now the context again is Jesus is leaving, but he is saying you know I am not leaving you, I will come back again. You will see me again but the world is not going to see me, and Judas is surprised by this. He really expected Jesus to come back again and establish his kingdom, and in Acts you see that very question. And what Jesus says is this, and if I had to paraphrase it, he was simply saying to Judas in response, “Judas, I know you have a passion for me. I know you believe that everyone needs me, and it concerns you that I am not going to establish my kingdom here and now so that it becomes very obvious, but I want you to know that there is a greater wisdom you do not understand right now, and that greater wisdom is if I were to establish my kingdom now after I go to the cross, that it would mean the time would end, that the world would come to end, and there are probably a billion people out in the world right now who have yet to hear me who would be lost and I am not willing to accept that. So I have a different idea, a different mission. I am only one person and I can’t reach the world by myself, but I think if I go away and I come back in a spiritual form where I can work on everyone’s hearts and minds simultaneously, and if I empower you who then multiply in one generation, there could be about a million of you going out into the world sharing this gospel, and I think together we can save the world; in fact, that is my mission. You want me to be revealed to the world, I desire the same thing. In fact, anyone who loves me and who obeys me, the Father will love them and we will come to them and be in them. That is my mission. That is what I want you to understand Judas.”
Judas kind of got the message and accepted what Jesus had to say, then he went out and, in one generation’s time, Judas preached and the church expanded as far as Britain, India, North Africa and in Spain, all because the disciples were motivated; one, by the fact that they saw or were eye witnesses of who Jesus was and what Jesus did, and they understood the mission of the church and the business of the church was proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ which when activated by the Holy Spirit in people’s lives, would save them. The disciples understood, and Judas understood, that the fundamental role of the church was a spiritual mission, and they had the sense to such a degree that in Acts 6 you hear that the disciples, these apostles, encountered a practical problem - the care of the elderly, elderly women in particular - but they understood Jesus’ mission with such a focus that they said you know what, we can’t be bothered. It sounds harsh; we can’t be bothered with these women. What we are going to do is we are going to create a board of deacons and they are going to care for them, because Jesus is very clear, our mission is a spiritual mission to reach people with the good news of Jesus Christ which will transform their lives and transform their souls.
I have to admit that I am more like Judas on this issue. I wish Jesus made it more obvious to people who he was. You know quite frankly I wish he would just put a huge poster sky length, I mean horizon to horizon, “Jesus, the Son of God, I am He,” and make it really easy for us. Wouldn’t that be easy? Wouldn’t that be obvious? But for some reason, God doesn’t. He doesn’t really believe that that is the right approach to take. Because in so doing, I think, in the wisdom of God, he realizes that that really would violate people’s free will and God is not willing to do that; he is a gentlemen. In fact, if you want salvation, he is not going to force himself upon you. You have to ask him to come in.
There is a painting by Warner Salmon, you know the painting, Jesus is standing at the door; it is a reflection of Revelations 3:19-20, Jesus stands at the door and he knocks. In the painting there is no handle on the outside of the door, the handle is on the inside of the door. Why? Because it is portraying the fact that God is a gentleman. He doesn’t push the door open, he doesn’t force it open to us, he offers himself and then he asks us to open it. We have to open the door. And that is true for everyone. God is a gentleman. Now Jesus says my kingdom is like leavening, if you put the yeast in there, if you proclaim the message, like yeast, it will penetrate the dough and spread until it is completely influenced. The same thing will happen in the world. If you just go out and fulfill my spiritual mission in the world and tell people about me, that will be enough. I will begin to work into people’s hearts and minds and I will bring them to salvation. Isn’t that true? Look at the history of the church. It started with a bank of 12 and in the year 2000 it is an international mission with a couple of billion followers. It is exactly how Jesus said, if you just proclaim the message, if you understand your core business as a church and people, I will do the work and it will begin to penetrate and influence and change people’s hearts and lives. The message for us is really to realize what the business of the church is and make that our primary business, and that is to help people make a vital connection with Jesus Christ and we do that in word and deed, but realizing that that is our mission, to help people make a connection to Jesus Christ.
There is a story of a person who gave last rights. A man is struck by a bus on a busy street; he is lying near death on the sidewalk as a crowd gathers. Get me a preacher the man gasps. Minutes drag on and no one steps out of the crowd. A policeman checks the crowd and finally yells, a preacher please, isn’t there a preacher in this crowd to give this man his last rights? Finally, out of the crowd steps a little, old Jewish man of at least 85 years of age. Officer, says the man, I am not a preacher, I am not even a Christian, but for 50 years now I have lived behind – I hope this is not offensive – I have lived behind a Catholic church on 1st Avenue and every night I am overhearing their services. I can recall a lot of it and maybe I can be of some comfort to this poor man. The policeman agrees and clears the crowd so the man can get through to where the injured man lay. The old Jewish man kneels down, leans over to the injured man and says in a solemn voice, B-4, I-19, N-38, G-54. Now it is meant to be a funny story, but you know, I wonder what the world really thinks about what our mission really is sometimes as a church. I mean maybe they make the mistake and they look at us and the only thing they hear is bingo in some of our churches, or, that we have a great pancake supper.
I was at a church, it was in a small community, where they offered a fantastic pancake supper and they put posters and flyers and advertisements in the newspaper. They would put banners all across the town in the storefront windows, and thousands of people in this small community came out to this pancake supper. What they did was use the sanctuary as the overflow and they filled the sanctuary four or five times that night, over and over again, bringing people to their pancake supper. Now, at the same time, if you look at their budget and you look at their program the rest of the year, at no other time in the entire year did they ever make such an effort to invite their community in to worship God. They didn’t advertise, they didn’t put up posters, they didn’t have ads in the bulletin or in the newspaper. What was the message that church was saying? They were really saying to the community, you know what, we don’t have much of a church, we don’t have much of a service, we don’t have much of a Savior either, but we have a whopper of a breakfast, won’t you come. And I wonder if we don’t say that as a church. Sometimes we put all our efforts in the things that are not really our business, and the message to the community is that we don’t have much of a Savior, but man we have a whopper of a breakfast. It really should be the other way around. We can’t serve much of a breakfast, but we have a whopper of a Savior that we want to invite you to and we have a whopper of a service and you can come and worship and honor him. I think that is the lesson from Judas’ life.
The last one is the lesson from James, the son of Alphaeus. It comes in the mere fact that we don’t know much about him. In fact, we don’t know anything, even his designation is obscure. We know his mother is Mary, who witnessed the crucifixion of Jesus and his resurrection, and she was one of the ones who brought spices. We know he is the son of Alphaeus, and we know that Matthew in Matthew 2:14 notes that Matthew is the son of Alphaeus as well. But they are not brothers, they do not share the same father. He has a common name. There are many James’ in the Scriptures -- there is James, the son of Zebedee, and James, the brother of Jesus -- so it is a common name. I mean it’s a very common name. He is referred to as “the less.” Some people say that means he is the younger, or he is the less important but I don’t think it means less important because Jesus was clear that no one is less important. In fact, the least important is the most important. Some say it is because he was short, Zacchaeus was short, and maybe that’s why.
I think it is just because of all the disciples, we know the least about him. He was just a quiet, humble guy who did his work. He did nothing to distinguish himself from any of the other disciples. He didn’t ask any thought-provoking questions. He simply listened and learned and observed Jesus quietly, contemplated what he said and what he did and he incorporated those lessons in this life. He has no unusual insights, he made no bold actions or proclamations, and he provided no great leadership. He is part of the names listed in Hebrews 11 where it said his unnamed disciples conquered kingdoms and administrated justice, whose weakness was found in strength, who prayed and mothers received back their children. They were tortured and refused to be released. They faced prison, they faced persecution, they attain to a better kingdom and after the resurrection of Jesus, you find that James just kind of quietly disappears into the woodwork really living out what Jesus said- the least of these disciples are the ones who serve and he quietly goes off and serves.
I think that is an important lesson in that God’s calling upon us all to do simple acts of selfless service in his name quietly. Who does God call? I think that is another lesson. Does God only call the extrovert, the flamboyant, the charismatic, the Peter’s and the Paul’s? Does God only call the uniquely gifted and the specially talented? What about the introverts? What about quiet people, whose ‘quiet’ is part of their personality? What about people who don’t feel like leaders but they are great followers? How about people who aren’t good at giving directions but can follow them, and who learn by observing quietly, who prefer to stay out of the limelight? Does God call these people? Well, the lesson in James’ life is yes. God can also use these people. God can also use you. Think about the church, where would we be without people who shoveled the sidewalks? Where would we be without people who hosted the chili cook-off or ran the soundboard or worked on FMT and kept the building operational? Where would we be without people who did the collection counting, who do the financial work, who put together the newsletter, who fix the computers, who clean up the sanctuary and set up communion? Where would we be without ushers and greeters? Where would we be without the friendly people? You know what draws most people to White Clay -- just friendly people. Where would we be without friendly people -- people who just greet and welcome you to church and do their part. Where would we be without people who worked on committees and did the research so elders could make informed decisions? Where would we be without people who lead the youth or who give and pay the bills for the church? Where would we be? Where would we be without those who do the work of the Presbytery -- all that stupid paperwork, or who sing in the choir? I could go on and on and on. Where would we be without these people? All of us. And that is the reason I put 1 Corinthians 12 in the call to worship -- the message of James’ life is that all of us are important. No matter who we are, even the quiet, the unassuming, people who like to serve behind the scenes, all of us are important. All of us have a place in the church. God honors you and appreciates you. In fact, I Timothy 2:1-3, and I will close with this, says this:
I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone -- for kings and all those in authority,
Now get this:
that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.
[Let’s pray.]
