Book: Mark

Jesus’ resurrection which we celebrate at Easter is the single most important event in all of history. The very definition of what it means to be a Christian is our belief in His resurrection. But just as importantly, Christians must understand that the reason Jesus was born into human flesh in the first place was to die on the cross in our place to take upon Himself God’s righteous judgment of death for our sins. Jesus’ resurrection demonstrates His power and victory over death and His invitation for us to join Him in resurrection out of death into eternal life together with Him through faith in His Gospel. Furthermore, Christians believe with eager anticipation Jesus’ promise to return one day to rule and reign eternally over all creation.

Wrapping up our study of the twelve men whom Jesus named “apostles” we look at three about whom we have little Biblical information apart from their being listed among the twelve. Even this information can be a little confusing because their names are the same as some of the others apostles. James the son of Alphaeus should not be confused with James the son of Zebedee and brother of John. Likewise, Simon the zealot might be confused with Simon Peter. Finally, Thaddaeus is also known as Judas son of James, and could therefore be confused with Judas Iscariot – so much so that John is careful to explicitly point out in John 14:22 that he was not writing about Judas Iscariot.

Apart from these few brief references, we know little from scripture about the lives and ministries of these final three apostles. Various extra-biblical ancient texts and church traditions frequently conflict with each other about these men – particularly about the manner of their martyrdom. So what lessons can we glean about them? First, we know that Jesus Himself specifically named them as apostles, sending them out along with the others to preach the Gospel, cast out demons, and heal the sick empowered of His Spirit. Thus we can infer that Jesus found in them characteristics which would make them usable in the growing of His Kingdom. We can also take the very fact that we know so little about their lives as an encouragement that no ministry in the Name of Jesus is insignificant. Jesus can use anyone devoted to His Lordship to do mighty things in furtherance of His Gospel regardless of whether our ministries are deemed noteworthy by others.

The story of Jesus’ so-called “Triumphal Entry” into Jerusalem at the beginning of the final week of His earthly ministry, is a familiar one. We are well aware that many of those who celebrated His coming on this day were the same ones who would cry “Crucify Him” a few days later. Why? It was clear to almost everyone in Jerusalem on this day that Jesus is the Messiah who had been promised for whom they had waited anxiously all their lives. Yet Jesus – the humble King – was not the Messiah they had expected – a warrior King who would free them from the oppression of their Roman occupiers.

Jesus’ chose to enter Jerusalem riding on a young donkey rather than on a powerful war horse not only to symbolize His own humility, but to show that He was the fulfillment of the prophecies of Isaiah and Zechariah concerning the Messiah.

The Bible gives us more information about Judas than any of the other eleven of Jesus’ named apostles. Most of us are well familiar with these scriptures, particularly that Judas Iscariot led the temple guard to the Garden of Gethsemane and pointed Jesus out to them by the prearranged signal that he would greet Jesus with a kiss. Jesus Himself knew all about the betrayal beforehand, saying to the twelve, “one of you is a devil.” Afterward in hindsight, the remaining eleven knew that Jesus was speaking of Judas Iscariot, but at the time Jesus made this declaration, none of them particularly suspected Judas and some even wondered whether they themselves might be the devil Jesus spoke of.

Yet, much as we know from scripture about Judas Iscariot, his motives in betraying Jesus remain mysterious. Clearly Jesus’ betrayal into the hands of those who crucified Him was necessary for His Gospel mission to take God’s rightful punishment for the sins of all mankind upon Himself. In the end, Judas Iscariot was the tool whom God used to accomplish this foreordained purpose. Clearly satan was also working in Judas’ heart to accomplish his own purpose which he mistakenly believed would thwart God’s plan of salvation. In all these things, Judas is a cautionary tale for all believers. After all, Jesus sent Judas out as one of the twelve He called apostles under the power of His Holy Spirit to preach the Gospel, cast out demons, and heal the sick. Yet at some point Judas decided to betray his calling and take matters into his own hands by his own motivations. Clearly if satan could tempt Judas in this way, he can certainly tempt us into betraying the Gospel, so we must be continually on our guard.

Jesus frequently taught that whoever would be greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven must be the servant of all in our lives. Jesus Himself modeled this life of service for us, perfectly fulfilling the prophecy we find in Isaiah 53 of God’s servant who takes upon Himself God’s rightful punishment (death) for the sins of all mankind. Jesus Himself said that He offered Himself as a ransom for many. So, since we have this perfect model of servitude shown to us by our LORD, we must also humble ourselves and become servants of all.

specifically and directly. No doubt Jesus’ choice didn’t sit very well with the other eleven, since Matthew was by profession a collaborator with the hated Roman occupiers, and tax collectors in general were seen as extortioners and oppressors.

Jesus chose Matthew in part due to his skills as a scribe. Just as importantly, Matthew immediately and completely obeyed Jesus’ command to follow Him just as the four fishermen Simon Peter, his brother Andrew, and the James and John the sons of Zebedee had. Matthew’s gospel is focused on a Jewish audience with the intent of convincing both the rank and file Israelites of his day and their leaders that Jesus is the perfect fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies concerning their Messiah, and we who read Matthew’s gospel nearly two thousand years later are also the undoubted beneficiaries of Jesus’ choice.

Jesus taught frequently about exalting the humble and humbling the proud. Indeed in Mark 10:45, Jesus proclaimed this about Himself – “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Jesus set the example for His disciples in the way He lived His earthly ministry, and ultimately in offering His own life in our place – taking the rightful judgment for our sins upon Himself in the ultimate act of humility.

God’s people Israel certainly didn’t expect their long-awaited Messiah to come as such a humble “Servant King,” but Mark’s gospel makes clear that Jesus perfectly fulfills Isaiah’s prophecy about God’s Suffering Servant (Isaiah 53), while John the Baptizer served as the messenger sent by God to prepare the way before Him as foretold by Malachi 3:1.

On the evening He was betrayed, Jesus gave a new commandment to His disciples – that we are to love one another, saying that all people will know that we disciples of Jesus by the love we show toward one another. Later in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed for all of those who would come to believe in His Gospel through the words of His disciples. We who are followers of Jesus have a sacred calling from our LORD to go forth and share the Good News of salvation in Him with the lost and dying world all around us who desperately need to hear. Therefore, Pastor Brian asks simple yet critical question. In response to our call from Jesus, Will you go?

Our information from scripture about Philip is limited, so we need to infer what we can about Philip from these few mentions of him taking care not to read anything into the scripture. We see that Philip was called directly and individually by Jesus to be one of His apostles…. read more