Urantia Book Paper 139 The Twelve Apostles
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Subjects Archive The Urantia Book Urantia Book PART IV: The Life and Teachings
of Jesus : The Bestowal Of Michael On Urantia The Times Of Michael's Bestowal
Birth And Infancy Of Jesus The Early Childhood Of Jesus The Later Childhood Of
Jesus Jesus At Jerusalem The Two Crucial Years The Adolescent Years Jesus'
Early Manhood The Later Adult Life Of Jesus On The Way To Rome The World's
Religions The Sojourn At Rome The Return From Rome The Transition Years John
The Baptist Baptism And The Forty Days Tarrying Time In Galilee Training The
Kingdom's Messengers The Twelve Apostles The Ordination Of The Twelve Beginning
The Public Work The Passover At Jerusalem Going Through Samaria At Gilboa And
In The Decapolis Four Eventful Days At Capernaum First Preaching Tour Of
Galilee The Interlude Visit To Jerusalem Training Evangelists At Bethsaida The
Second Preaching Tour The Third Preaching Tour Tarrying And Teaching By The
Seaside Events Leading Up To The Capernaum Crisis The Crisis At Capernaum Last
Days At Capernaum Fleeing Through Northern Galilee The Sojourn At Tyre And
Sidon At Caesarea-philippi The Mount Of Transfiguration The Decapolis Tour
Rodan Of Alexandria Further Discussions With Rodan At The Feast Of Tabernacles
Ordination Of The Seventy At Magadan At The Feast Of Dedication The Perean
Mission Begins Last Visit To Northern Perea The Visit To Philadelphia The
Resurrection Of Lazarus Last Teaching At Pella The Kingdom Of Heaven On The Way
To Jerusalem Going Into Jerusalem Monday In Jerusalem ...
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Paper 139 The Twelve Apostles
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Introduction
IT IS an eloquent testimony to the charm and righteousness of Jesus' earth life
that, although he repeatedly dashed to pieces the hopes of his apostles and
tore to shreds their every ambition for personal exaltation, only one deserted
him.
The apostles learned from Jesus about the kingdom of heaven, and Jesus learned
much from them about the kingdom of men, human nature as it lives on Urantia
and on the other evolutionary worlds of time and space. These twelve men
represented many different types of human temperament, and they had not been
made alike by schooling. Many of these Galilean fishermen carried heavy strains
of gentile blood as a result of the forcible conversion of the gentile
population of Galilee one hundred years previously.
Do not make the mistake of regarding the apostles as being altogether ignorant
and unlearned. All of them, except the Alpheus twins, were graduates of the
synagogue schools, having been thoroughly trained in the Hebrew scriptures and
in much of the current knowledge of that day. Seven were graduates of the
Capernaum synagogue schools, and there were no better Jewish schools in all
Galilee.
When your records refer to these messengers of the kingdom as being "ignorant
and unlearned," it was intended to convey the idea that they were laymen,
unlearned in the lore of the rabbis and untrained in the methods of rabbinical
interpretation of the Scriptures. They were lacking in so-called higher
education. In modern times they would certainly be considered uneducated, and
in some circles of society even uncultured. One thing is certain: They had not
all been put through the same rigid and stereotyped educational curriculum.
From adolescence on they had enjoyed separate experiences of learning how to
live.
1. ANDREW, THE FIRST CHOSEN
Andrew, chairman of the apostolic corps of the kingdom, was born in Capernaum.
He was the oldest child in a family of five--himself, his brother Simon, and
three sisters. His father, now dead, had been a partner of Zebedee in the
fish-drying business at Bethsaida, the fishing harbor of Capernaum. When he
became an apostle, Andrew was unmarried but made his home with his married
brother, Simon Peter. Both were fishermen and partners of James and John the
sons of Zebedee.
In A.D. 26, the year he was chosen as an apostle, Andrew was 33, a full year
older than Jesus and the oldest of the apostles. He sprang from an excellent
line
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of ancestors and was the ablest man of the twelve. Excepting oratory, he was
the peer of his associates in almost every imaginable ability. Jesus never gave
Andrew a nickname, a fraternal designation. But even as the apostles soon began
to call Jesus Master, so they also designated Andrew by a term the equivalent
of Chief.
Andrew was a good organizer but a better administrator. He was one of the inner
circle of four apostles, but his appointment by Jesus as the head of the
apostolic group made it necessary for him to remain on duty with his brethren
while the other three enjoyed very close communion with the Master. To the very
end Andrew remained dean of the apostolic corps.
Although Andrew was never an effective preacher, he was an efficient personal
worker, being the pioneer missionary of the kingdom in that, as the first
chosen apostle, he immediately brought to Jesus his brother, Simon, who
subsequently became one of the greatest preachers of the kingdom. Andrew was
the chief supporter of Jesus' policy of utilizing the program of personal work
as a means of training the twelve as messengers of the kingdom.
Whether Jesus privately taught the apostles or preached to the multitude,
Andrew was usually conversant with what was going on; he was an understanding
executive and an efficient administrator. He rendered a prompt decision on
every matter brought to his notice unless he deemed the problem one beyond the
domain of his authority, in which event he would take it straight to Jesus.
Andrew and Peter were very unlike in character and temperament, but it must be
recorded everlastingly to their credit that they got along together splendidly.
Andrew was never jealous of Peter's oratorical ability. Not often will an older
man of Andrew's type be observed exerting such a profound influence over a
younger and talented brother. Andrew and Peter never seemed to be in the least
jealous of each other's abilities or achievements. Late on the evening of the
day of Pentecost, when, largely through the energetic and inspiring preaching
of Peter, two thousand souls were added to the kingdom, Andrew said to his
brother: "I could not do that, but I am glad I have a brother who could." To
which Peter replied: "And but for your bringing me to the Master and by your
steadfastness keeping me with him, I should not have been here to do this."
Andrew and Peter were the exceptions to the rule, proving that even brothers
can live together peaceably and work together effectively.
After Pentecost Peter was famous, but it never irritated the older Andrew to
spend the rest of his life being introduced as "Simon Peter's brother."
Of all the apostles, Andrew was the best judge of men. He knew that trouble was
brewing in the heart of Judas Iscariot even when none of the others suspected
that anything was wrong with their treasurer; but he told none of them his
fears. Andrew's great service to the kingdom was in advising Peter, James, and
John concerning the choice of the first missionaries who were sent out to
proclaim the gospel, and also in counseling these early leaders about the
organization of the administrative affairs of the kingdom. Andrew had a great
gift for discovering the hidden resources and latent talents of young people.
Very soon after Jesus' ascension on high, Andrew began the writing of a
personal record of many of the sayings and doings of his departed Master. After
Andrew's death other copies of this private record were made and circulated
freely among the early teachers of the Christian church. These informal notes
of Andrew's were subsequently edited, amended, altered, and added to until they
made up a fairly consecutive narrative of the Master's life on earth. The last
of
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these few altered and amended copies was destroyed by fire at Alexandria about
one hundred years after the original was written by the first chosen of the
twelve apostles.
Andrew was a man of clear insight, logical thought, and firm decision, whose
great strength of character consisted in his superb stability. His
temperamental handicap was his lack of enthusiasm; he many times failed to
encourage his associates by judicious commendation. And this reticence to
praise the worthy accomplishments of his friends grew out of his abhorrence of
flattery and insincerity. Andrew was one of those all-round, even-tempered,
self-made, and successful men of modest affairs.
Every one of the apostles loved Jesus, but it remains true that each of the
twelve was drawn toward him because of some certain trait of personality which
made a special appeal to the individual apostle. Andrew admired Jesus because
of his consistent sincerity, his unaffected dignity. When men once knew Jesus,
they were possessed with the urge to share him with their friends; they really
wanted all the world to know him.
When the later persecutions finally scattered the apostles from Jerusalem,
Andrew journeyed through Armenia, Asia Minor, and Macedonia and, after bringing
many thousands into the kingdom, was finally apprehended and crucified in
Patrae in Achaia. It was two full days before this robust man expired on the
cross, and throughout these tragic hours he continued effectively to proclaim
the glad tidings of the salvation of the kingdom of heaven.
2. SIMON PETER
When Simon joined the apostles, he was thirty years of age. He was married, had
three children, and lived at Bethsaida, near Capernaum. His brother, Andrew,
and his wife's mother lived with him. Both Peter and Andrew were fisher
partners of the sons of Zebedee.
The Master had known Simon for some time before Andrew presented him as the
second of the apostles. When Jesus gave Simon the name Peter, he did it with a
smile; it was to be a sort of nickname. Simon was well known to all his friends
as an erratic and impulsive fellow. True, later on, Jesus did attach a new and
significant import to this lightly bestowed nickname.
Simon Peter was a man of impulse, an optimist. He had grown up permitting
himself freely to indulge strong feelings; he was constantly getting into
difficulties because he persisted in speaking without thinking. This sort of
thoughtlessness also made incessant trouble for all of his friends and
associates and was the cause of his receiving many mild rebukes from his
Master. The only reason Peter did not get into more trouble because of his
thoughtless speaking was that he very early learned to talk over many of his
plans and schemes with his brother, Andrew, before he ventured to make public
proposals.
Peter was a fluent speaker, eloquent and dramatic. He was also a natural and
inspirational leader of men, a quick thinker but not a deep reasoner. He asked
many questions, more than all the apostles put together, and while the majority
of these questions were good and relevant, many of them were thoughtless and
foolish. Peter did not have a deep mind, but he knew his mind fairly well. He
was therefore a man of quick decision and sudden action. While others talked in
their
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astonishment at seeing Jesus on the beach, Peter jumped in and swam ashore to
meet the Master.
The one trait which Peter most admired in Jesus was his supernal tenderness.
Peter never grew weary of contemplating Jesus' forbearance. He never forgot the
lesson about forgiving the wrongdoer, not only seven times but seventy times
and seven. He thought much about these impressions of the Master's forgiving
character during those dark and dismal days immediately following his
thoughtless and unintended denial of Jesus in the high priest's courtyard.
Simon Peter was distressingly vacillating; he would suddenly swing from one
extreme to the other. First he refused to let Jesus wash his feet and then, on
hearing the Master's reply, begged to be washed all over. But, after all, Jesus
knew that Peter's faults were of the head and not of the heart. He was one of
the most inexplicable combinations of courage and cowardice that ever lived on
earth. His great strength of character was loyalty, friendship. Peter really
and truly loved Jesus. And yet despite this towering strength of devotion he
was so unstable and inconstant that he permitted a servant girl to tease him
into denying his Lord and Master. Peter could withstand persecution and any
other form of direct assault, but he withered and shrank before ridicule. He
was a brave soldier when facing a frontal attack, but he was a fear-cringing
coward when surprised with an assault from the rear.
Peter was the first of Jesus' apostles to come forward to defend the work of
Philip among the Samaritans and Paul among the gentiles; yet later on at
Antioch he reversed himself when confronted by ridiculing Judaizers,
temporarily withdrawing from the gentiles only to bring down upon his head the
fearless denunciation of Paul.
He was the first one of the apostles to make wholehearted confession of Jesus'
combined humanity and divinity and the first--save Judas--to deny him. Peter
was not so much of a dreamer, but he disliked to descend from the clouds of
ecstasy and the enthusiasm of dramatic indulgence to the plain and
matter-of-fact world of reality.
In following Jesus, literally and figuratively, he was either leading the
procession or else trailing behind--"following afar off." But he was the
outstanding preacher of the twelve; he did more than any other one man, aside
from Paul, to establish the kingdom and send its messengers to the four corners
of the earth in one generation.
After his rash denials of the Master he found himself, and with Andrew's
sympathetic and understanding guidance he again led the way back to the fish
nets while the apostles tarried to find out what was to happen after the
crucifixion. When he was fully assured that Jesus had forgiven him and knew he
had been received back into the Master's fold, the fires of the kingdom burned
so brightly within his soul that he became a great and saving light to
thousands who sat in darkness.
After leaving Jerusalem and before Paul became the leading spirit among the
gentile Christian churches, Peter traveled extensively, visiting all the
churches from Babylon to Corinth. He even visited and ministered to many of the
churches which had been raised up by Paul. Although Peter and Paul differed
much in temperament and education, even in theology, they worked together
harmoniously for the upbuilding of the churches during their later years.
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Something of Peter's style and teaching is shown in the sermons partially
recorded by Luke and in the Gospel of Mark. His vigorous style was better shown
in his letter known as the First Epistle of Peter; at least this was true
before it was subsequently altered by a disciple of Paul.
But Peter persisted in making the mistake of trying to convince the Jews that
Jesus was, after all, really and truly the Jewish Messiah. Right up to the day
of his death, Simon Peter continued to suffer confusion in his mind between the
concepts of Jesus as the Jewish Messiah, Christ as the world's redeemer, and
the Son of Man as the revelation of God, the loving Father of all mankind.
Peter's wife was a very able woman. For years she labored acceptably as a
member of the women's corps, and when Peter was driven out of Jerusalem, she
accompanied him upon all his journeys to the churches as well as on all his
missionary excursions. And the day her illustrious husband yielded up his life,
she was thrown to the wild beasts in the arena at Rome.
And so this man Peter, an intimate of Jesus, one of the inner circle, went
forth from Jerusalem proclaiming the glad tidings of the kingdom with power and
glory until the fullness of his ministry had been accomplished; and he regarded
himself as the recipient of high honors when his captors informed him that he
must die as his Master had died--on the cross. And thus was Simon Peter
crucified in Rome.
3. JAMES ZEBEDEE
James, the older of the two apostle sons of Zebedee, whom Jesus nicknamed "sons
of thunder," was thirty years old when he became an apostle. He was married,
had four children, and lived near his parents in the outskirts of Capernaum,
Bethsaida. He was a fisherman, plying his calling in company with his younger
brother John and in association with Andrew and Simon. James and his brother
John enjoyed the advantage of having known Jesus longer than any of the other
apostles.
This able apostle was a temperamental contradiction; he seemed really to
possess two natures, both of which were actuated by strong feelings. He was
particularly vehement when his indignation was once fully aroused. He had a
fiery temper when once it was adequately provoked, and when the storm was over,
he was always wont to justify and excuse his anger under the pretense that it
was wholly a manifestation of righteous indignation. Except for these periodic
upheavals of wrath, James's personality was much like that of Andrew. He did
not have Andrew's discretion or insight into human nature, but he was a much
better public speaker. Next to Peter, unless it was Matthew, James was the best
public orator among the twelve.
Though James was in no sense moody, he could be quiet and taciturn one day and
a very good talker and storyteller the next. He usually talked freely with
Jesus, but among the twelve, for days at a time he was the silent man. His one
great weakness was these spells of unaccountable silence.
The outstanding feature of James's personality was his ability to see all sides
of a proposition. Of all the twelve, he came the nearest to grasping the real
import and significance of Jesus' teaching. He, too, was slow at first to
comprehend the Master's meaning, but ere they had finished their training, he
had acquired a superior concept of Jesus' message. James was able to understand
a wide range
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of human nature; he got along well with the versatile Andrew, the impetuous
Peter, and his self-contained brother John.
Though James and John had their troubles trying to work together, it was
inspiring to observe how well they got along. They did not succeed quite so
well as Andrew and Peter, but they did much better than would ordinarily be
expected of two brothers, especially such headstrong and determined brothers.
But, strange as it may seem, these two sons of Zebedee were much more tolerant
of each other than they were of strangers. They had great affection for one
another; they had always been happy playmates. It was these "sons of thunder"
who wanted to call fire down from heaven to destroy the Samaritans who presumed
to show disrespect for their Master. But the untimely death of James greatly
modified the vehement temperament of his younger brother John.
That characteristic of Jesus which James most admired was the Master's
sympathetic affection. Jesus' understanding interest in the small and the
great, the rich and the poor, made a great appeal to him.
James Zebedee was a well-balanced thinker and planner. Along with Andrew, he
was one of the more level-headed of the apostolic group. He was a vigorous
individual but was never in a hurry. He was an excellent balance wheel for
Peter.
He was modest and undramatic, a daily server, an unpretentious worker, seeking
no special reward when he once grasped something of the real meaning of the
kingdom. And even in the story about the mother of James and John, who asked
that her sons be granted places on the right hand and the left hand of Jesus,
it should be remembered that it was the mother who made this request. And when
they signified that they were ready to assume such responsibilities, it should
be recognized that they were cognizant of the dangers accompanying the Master's
supposed revolt against the Roman power, and that they were also willing to pay
the price. When Jesus asked if they were ready to drink the cup, they replied
that they were. And as concerns James, it was literally true--he did drink the
cup with the Master, seeing that he was the first of the apostles to experience
martyrdom, being early put to death with the sword by Herod Agrippa. James was
thus the first of the twelve to sacrifice his life upon the new battle line of
the kingdom. Herod Agrippa feared James above all the other apostles. He was
indeed often quiet and silent, but he was brave and determined when his
convictions were aroused and challenged.
James lived his life to the full, and when the end came, he bore himself with
such grace and fortitude that even his accuser and informer, who attended his
trial and execution, was so touched that he rushed away from the scene of
James's death to join himself to the disciples of Jesus.
4. JOHN ZEBEDEE
When he became an apostle, John was twenty-four years old and was the youngest
of the twelve. He was unmarried and lived with his parents at Bethsaida; he was
a fisherman and worked with his brother James in partnership with Andrew and
Peter. Both before and after becoming an apostle, John functioned as the
personal agent of Jesus in dealing with the Master's family, and he continued
to bear this responsibility as long as Mary the mother of Jesus lived.
Since John was the youngest of the twelve and so closely associated with Jesus
in his family affairs, he was very dear to the Master, but it cannot be truth-
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fully said that he was "the disciple whom Jesus loved." You would hardly
suspect such a magnanimous personality as Jesus to be guilty of showing
favoritism, of loving one of his apostles more than the others. The fact that
John was one of the three personal aides of Jesus lent further color to this
mistaken idea, not to mention that John, along with his brother James, had
known Jesus longer than the others.
Peter, James, and John were assigned as personal aides to Jesus soon after they
became apostles. Shortly after the selection of the twelve and at the time
Jesus appointed Andrew to act as director of the group, he said to him: "And
now I desire that you assign two or three of your associates to be with me and
to remain by my side, to comfort me and to minister to my daily needs." And
Andrew thought best to select for this special duty the next three first-chosen
apostles. He would have liked to volunteer for such a blessed service himself,
but the Master had already given him his commission; so he immediately directed
that Peter, James, and John attach themselves to Jesus.
John Zebedee had many lovely traits of character, but one which was not so
lovely was his inordinate but usually well-concealed conceit. His long
association with Jesus made many and great changes in his character. This
conceit was greatly lessened, but after growing old and becoming more or less
childish, this self-esteem reappeared to a certain extent, so that, when
engaged in directing Nathan in the writing of the Gospel which now bears his
name, the aged apostle did not hesitate repeatedly to refer to himself as the
"disciple whom Jesus loved." In view of the fact that John came nearer to being
the chum of Jesus than any other earth mortal, that he was his chosen personal
representative in so many matters, it is not strange that he should have come
to regard himself as the "disciple whom Jesus loved" since he most certainly
knew he was the disciple whom Jesus so frequently trusted.
The strongest trait in John's character was his dependability; he was prompt
and courageous, faithful and devoted. His greatest weakness was this
characteristic conceit. He was the youngest member of his father's family and
the youngest of the apostolic group. Perhaps he was just a bit spoiled; maybe
he had been humored slightly too much. But the John of after years was a very
different type of person than the self-admiring and arbitrary young man who
joined the ranks of Jesus' apostles when he was twenty-four.
Those characteristics of Jesus which John most appreciated were the Master's
love and unselfishness; these traits made such an impression on him that his
whole subsequent life became dominated by the sentiment of love and brotherly
devotion. He talked about love and wrote about love. This "son of thunder"
became the "apostle of love"; and at Ephesus, when the aged bishop was no
longer able to stand in the pulpit and preach but had to be carried to church
in a chair, and when at the close of the service he was asked to say a few
words to the believers, for years his only utterance was, "My little children,
love one another."
John was a man of few words except when his temper was aroused. He thought much
but said little. As he grew older, his temper became more subdued, better
controlled, but he never overcame his disinclination to talk; he never fully
mastered this reticence. But he was gifted with a remarkable and creative
imagination.
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There was another side to John that one would not expect to find in this quiet
and introspective type. He was somewhat bigoted and inordinately intolerant. In
this respect he and James were much alike--they both wanted to call down fire
from heaven on the heads of the disrespectful Samaritans. When John encountered
some strangers teaching in Jesus' name, he promptly forbade them. But he was
not the only one of the twelve who was tainted with this kind of self-esteem
and superiority consciousness.
John's life was tremendously influenced by the sight of Jesus' going about
without a home as he knew how faithfully he had made provision for the care of
his mother and family. John also deeply sympathized with Jesus because of his
family's failure to understand him, being aware that they were gradually
withdrawing from him. This entire situation, together with Jesus' ever
deferring his slightest wish to the will of the Father in heaven and his daily
life of implicit trust, made such a profound impression on John that it
produced marked and permanent changes in his character, changes which
manifested themselves throughout his entire subsequent life.
John had a cool and daring courage which few of the other apostles possessed.
He was the one apostle who followed right along with Jesus the night of his
arrest and dared to accompany his Master into the very jaws of death. He was
present and near at hand right up to the last earthly hour and was found
faithfully carrying out his trust with regard to Jesus' mother and ready to
receive such additional instructions as might be given during the last moments
of the Master's mortal existence. One thing is certain, John was thoroughly
dependable. John usually sat on Jesus' right hand when the twelve were at meat.
He was the first of the twelve really and fully to believe in the resurrection,
and he was the first to recognize the Master when he came to them on the
seashore after his resurrection.
This son of Zebedee was very closely associated with Peter in the early
activities of the Christian movement, becoming one of the chief supporters of
the Jerusalem church. He was the right-hand support of Peter on the day of
Pentecost.
Several years after the martyrdom of James, John married his brother's widow.
The last twenty years of his life he was cared for by a loving granddaughter.
John was in prison several times and was banished to the Isle of Patmos for a
period of four years until another emperor came to power in Rome. Had not John
been tactful and sagacious, he would undoubtedly have been killed as was his
more outspoken brother James. As the years passed, John, together with James
the Lord's brother, learned to practice wise conciliation when they appeared
before the civil magistrates. They found that a "soft answer turns away wrath."
They also learned to represent the church as a "spiritual brotherhood devoted
to the social service of mankind" rather than as "the kingdom of heaven." They
taught loving service rather than ruling power--kingdom and king.
When in temporary exile on Patmos, John wrote the Book of Revelation, which you
now have in greatly abridged and distorted form. This Book of Revelation
contains the surviving fragments of a great revelation, large portions of which
were lost, other portions of which were removed, subsequent to John's writing.
It is preserved in only fragmentary and adulterated form.
John traveled much, labored incessantly, and after becoming bishop of the Asia
churches, settled down at Ephesus. He directed his associate, Nathan, in
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the writing of the so-called "Gospel according to John," at Ephesus, when he
was ninety-nine years old. Of all the twelve apostles, John Zebedee eventually
became the outstanding theologian. He died a natural death at Ephesus in A.D.
103 when he was one hundred and one years of age.
5. PHILIP THE CURIOUS
Philip was the fifth apostle to be chosen, being called when Jesus and his
first four apostles were on their way from John's rendezvous on the Jordan to
Cana of Galilee. Since he lived at Bethsaida, Philip had for some time known of
Jesus, but it had not occurred to him that Jesus was a really great man until
that day in the Jordan valley when he said, "Follow me." Philip was also
somewhat influenced by the fact that Andrew, Peter, James, and John had
accepted Jesus as the Deliverer.
Philip was twenty-seven years of age when he joined the apostles; he had
recently been married, but he had no children at this time. The nickname which
the apostles gave him signified "curiosity." Philip was always wanting to be
shown. He never seemed to see very far into any proposition. He was not
necessarily dull, but he lacked imagination. This lack of imagination was the
great weakness of his character. He was a commonplace and matter-of-fact
individual.
When the apostles were organized for service, Philip was made steward; it was
his duty to see that they were at all times supplied with provisions. And he
was a good steward. His strongest characteristic was his methodical
thoroughness; he was both mathematical and systematic.
Philip came from a family of seven, three boys and four girls. He was next to
the oldest, and after the resurrection he baptized his entire family into the
kingdom. Philip's people were fisherfolk. His father was a very able man, a
deep thinker, but his mother was of a very mediocre family. Philip was not a
man who could be expected to do big things, but he was a man who could do
little things in a big way, do them well and acceptably. Only a few times in
four years did he fail to have food on hand to satisfy the needs of all. Even
the many emergency demands attendant upon the life they lived seldom found him
unprepared. The commissary department of the apostolic family was intelligently
and efficiently managed.
The strong point about Philip was his methodical reliability; the weak point in
his make-up was his utter lack of imagination, the absence of the ability to
put two and two together to obtain four. He was mathematical in the abstract
but not constructive in his imagination. He was almost entirely lacking in
certain types of imagination. He was the typical everyday and commonplace
average man. There were a great many such men and women among the multitudes
who came to hear Jesus teach and preach, and they derived great comfort from
observing one like themselves elevated to an honored position in the councils
of the Master; they derived courage from the fact that one like themselves had
already found a high place in the affairs of the kingdom. And Jesus learned
much about the way some human minds function as he so patiently listened to
Philip's foolish questions and so many times complied with his steward's
request to "be shown."
The one quality about Jesus which Philip so continuously admired was the
Master's unfailing generosity. Never could Philip find anything in Jesus which
was small, niggardly, or stingy, and he worshiped this ever-present and
unfailing liberality.
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There was little about Philip's personality that was impressive. He was often
spoken of as "Philip of Bethsaida, the town where Andrew and Peter live." He
was almost without discerning vision; he was unable to grasp the dramatic
possibilities of a given situation. He was not pessimistic; he was simply
prosaic. He was also greatly lacking in spiritual insight. He would not
hesitate to interrupt Jesus in the midst of one of the Master's most profound
discourses to ask an apparently foolish question. But Jesus never reprimanded
him for such thoughtlessness; he was patient with him and considerate of his
inability to grasp the deeper meanings of the teaching. Jesus well knew that,
if he once rebuked Philip for asking these annoying questions, he would not
only wound this honest soul, but such a reprimand would so hurt Philip that he
would never again feel free to ask questions. Jesus knew that on his worlds of
space there were untold billions of similar slow-thinking mortals, and he
wanted to encourage them all to look to him and always to feel free to come to
him with their questions and problems. After all, Jesus was really more
interested in Philip's foolish questions than in the sermon he might be
preaching. Jesus was supremely interested in men, all kinds of men.
The apostolic steward was not a good public speaker, but he was a very
persuasive and successful personal worker. He was not easily discouraged; he
was a plodder and very tenacious in anything he undertook. He had that great
and rare gift of saying, "Come." When his first convert, Nathaniel, wanted to
argue about the merits and demerits of Jesus and Nazareth, Philip's effective
reply was, "Come and see." He was not a dogmatic preacher who exhorted his
hearers to "Go"--do this and do that. He met all situations as they arose in
his work with "Come"--"come with me; I will show you the way." And that is
always the effective technique in all forms and phases of teaching. Even
parents may learn from Philip the better way of saying to their children not
"Go do this and go do that," but rather, "Come with us while we show and share
with you the better way."
The inability of Philip to adapt himself to a new situation was well shown when
the Greeks came to him at Jerusalem, saying: "Sir, we desire to see Jesus." Now
Philip would have said to any Jew asking such a question, "Come." But these men
were foreigners, and Philip could remember no instructions from his superiors
regarding such matters; so the only thing he could think to do was to consult
the chief, Andrew, and then they both escorted the inquiring Greeks to Jesus.
Likewise, when he went into Samaria preaching and baptizing believers, as he
had been instructed by his Master, he refrained from laying hands on his
converts in token of their having received the Spirit of Truth. This was done
by Peter and John, who presently came down from Jerusalem to observe his work
in behalf of the mother church.
Philip went on through the trying times of the Master's death, participated in
the reorganization of the twelve, and was the first to go forth to win souls
for the kingdom outside of the immediate Jewish ranks, being most successful in
his work for the Samaritans and in all his subsequent labors in behalf of the
gospel.
Philip's wife, who was an efficient member of the women's corps, became
actively associated with her husband in his evangelistic work after their
flight from the Jerusalem persecutions. His wife was a fearless woman. She
stood at the foot of Philip's cross encouraging him to proclaim the glad
tidings even to his murderers, and when his strength failed, she began the
recital of the story of sal-
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vation by faith in Jesus and was silenced only when the irate Jews rushed upon
her and stoned her to death. Their eldest daughter, Leah, continued their work,
later on becoming the renowned prophetess of Hierapolis.
Philip, the onetime steward of the twelve, was a mighty man in the kingdom,
winning souls wherever he went; and he was finally crucified for his faith and
buried at Hierapolis.
6. HONEST NATHANIEL
Nathaniel, the sixth and last of the apostles to be chosen by the Master
himself, was brought to Jesus by his friend Philip. He had been associated in
several business enterprises with Philip and, with him, was on the way down to
see John the Baptist when they encountered Jesus.
When Nathaniel joined the apostles, he was twenty-five years old and was the
next to the youngest of the group. He was the youngest of a family of seven,
was unmarried, and the only support of aged and infirm parents, with whom he
lived at Cana; his brothers and sister were either married or deceased, and
none lived there. Nathaniel and Judas Iscariot were the two best educated men
among the twelve. Nathaniel had thought to become a merchant.
Jesus did not himself give Nathaniel a nickname, but the twelve soon began to
speak of him in terms that signified honesty, sincerity. He was "without
guile." And this was his great virtue; he was both honest and sincere. The
weakness of his character was his pride; he was very proud of his family, his
city, his reputation, and his nation, all of which is commendable if it is not
carried too far. But Nathaniel was inclined to go to extremes with his personal
prejudices. He was disposed to prejudge individuals in accordance with his
personal opinions. He was not slow to ask the question, even before he had met
Jesus, "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" But Nathaniel was not
obstinate, even if he was proud. He was quick to reverse himself when he once
looked into Jesus' face.
In many respects Nathaniel was the odd genius of the twelve. He was the
apostolic philosopher and dreamer, but he was a very practical sort of dreamer.
He alternated between seasons of profound philosophy and periods of rare and
droll humor; when in the proper mood, he was probably the best storyteller
among the twelve. Jesus greatly enjoyed hearing Nathaniel discourse on things
both serious and frivolous. Nathaniel progressively took Jesus and the kingdom
more seriously, but never did he take himself seriously.
The apostles all loved and respected Nathaniel, and he got along with them
splendidly, excepting Judas Iscariot. Judas did not think Nathaniel took his
apostleship sufficiently seriously and once had the temerity to go secretly to
Jesus and lodge complaint against him. Said Jesus: "Judas, watch carefully your
steps; do not overmagnify your office. Who of us is competent to judge his
brother? It is not the Father's will that his children should partake only of
the serious things of life. Let me repeat: I have come that my brethren in the
flesh may have joy, gladness, and life more abundantly. Go then, Judas, and do
well that which has been intrusted to you but leave Nathaniel, your brother, to
give account of himself to God." And the memory of this, with that of many
similar experiences, long lived in the self-deceiving heart of Judas Iscariot.
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Many times, when Jesus was away on the mountain with Peter, James, and John,
and things were becoming tense and tangled among the apostles, when even Andrew
was in doubt about what to say to his disconsolate brethren, Nathaniel would
relieve the tension by a bit of philosophy or a flash of humor; good humor,
too.
Nathaniel's duty was to look after the families of the twelve. He was often
absent from the apostolic councils, for when he heard that sickness or anything
out of the ordinary had happened to one of his charges, he lost no time in
getting to that home. The twelve rested securely in the knowledge that their
families' welfare was safe in the hands of Nathaniel.
Nathaniel most revered Jesus for his tolerance. He never grew weary of
contemplating the broadmindedness and generous sympathy of the Son of Man.
Nathaniel's father (Bartholomew) died shortly after Pentecost, after which this
apostle went into Mesopotamia and India proclaiming the glad tidings of the
kingdom and baptizing believers. His brethren never knew what became of their
onetime philosopher, poet, and humorist. But he also was a great man in the
kingdom and did much to spread his Master's teachings, even though he did not
participate in the organization of the subsequent Christian church. Nathaniel
died in India.
7. MATTHEW LEVI
Matthew, the seventh apostle, was chosen by Andrew. Matthew belonged to a
family of tax gatherers, or publicans, but was himself a customs collector in
Capernaum, where he lived. He was thirty-one years old and married and had four
children. He was a man of moderate wealth, the only one of any means belonging
to the apostolic corps. He was a good business man, a good social mixer, and
was gifted with the ability to make friends and to get along smoothly with a
great variety of people.
Andrew appointed Matthew the financial representative of the apostles. In a way
he was the fiscal agent and publicity spokesman for the apostolic organization.
He was a keen judge of human nature and a very efficient propagandist. His is a
personality difficult to visualize, but he was a very earnest disciple and an
increasing believer in the mission of Jesus and in the certainty of the
kingdom. Jesus never gave Levi a nickname, but his fellow apostles commonly
referred to him as the "money-getter."
Levi's strong point was his wholehearted devotion to the cause. That he, a
publican, had been taken in by Jesus and his apostles was the cause for
overwhelming gratitude on the part of the former revenue collector. However, it
required some little time for the rest of the apostles, especially Simon
Zelotes and Judas Iscariot, to become reconciled to the publican's presence in
their midst. Matthew's weakness was his shortsighted and materialistic
viewpoint of life. But in all these matters he made great progress as the
months went by. He, of course, had to be absent from many of the most precious
seasons of instruction as it was his duty to keep the treasury replenished.
It was the Master's forgiving disposition which Matthew most appreciated. He
would never cease to recount that faith only was necessary in the business of
finding God. He always liked to speak of the kingdom as "this business of
finding God."
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Though Matthew was a man with a past, he gave an excellent account of himself,
and as time went on, his associates became proud of the publican's
performances. He was one of the apostles who made extensive notes on the
sayings of Jesus, and these notes were used as the basis of Isador's subsequent
narrative of the sayings and doings of Jesus, which has become known as the
Gospel according to Matthew.
The great and useful life of Matthew, the business man and customs collector of
Capernaum, has been the means of leading thousands upon thousands of other
business men, public officials, and politicians, down through the subsequent
ages, also to hear that engaging voice of the Master saying, "Follow me."
Matthew really was a shrewd politician, but he was intensely loyal to Jesus and
supremely devoted to the task of seeing that the messengers of the coming
kingdom were adequately financed.
The presence of Matthew among the twelve was the means of keeping the doors of
the kingdom wide open to hosts of downhearted and outcast souls who had
regarded themselves as long since without the bounds of religious consolation.
Outcast and despairing men and women flocked to hear Jesus, and he never turned
one away.
Matthew received freely tendered offerings from believing disciples and the
immediate auditors of the Master's teachings, but he never openly solicited
funds from the multitudes. He did all his financial work in a quiet and
personal way and raised most of the money among the more substantial class of
interested believers. He gave practically the whole of his modest fortune to
the work of the Master and his apostles, but they never knew of this
generosity, save Jesus, who knew all about it. Matthew hesitated openly to
contribute to the apostolic funds for fear that Jesus and his associates might
regard his money as being tainted; so he gave much in the names of other
believers. During the earlier months, when Matthew knew his presence among them
was more or less of a trial, he was strongly tempted to let them know that his
funds often supplied them with their daily bread, but he did not yield. When
evidence of the disdain of the publican would become manifest, Levi would burn
to reveal to them his generosity, but always he managed to keep still.
When the funds for the week were short of the estimated requirements, Levi
would often draw heavily upon his own personal resources. Also, sometimes when
he became greatly interested in Jesus' teaching, he preferred to remain and
hear the instruction, even though he knew he must personally make up for his
failure to solicit the necessary funds. But Levi did so wish that Jesus might
know that much of the money came from his pocket! He little realized that the
Master knew all about it. The apostles all died without knowing that Matthew
was their benefactor to such an extent that, when he went forth to proclaim the
gospel of the kingdom after the beginning of the persecutions, he was
practically penniless.
When these persecutions caused the believers to forsake Jerusalem, Matthew
journeyed north, preaching the gospel of the kingdom and baptizing believers.
He was lost to the knowledge of his former apostolic associates, but on he
went, preaching and baptizing, through Syria, Cappadocia, Galatia, Bithynia,
and Thrace. And it was in Thrace, at Lysimachia, that certain unbelieving Jews
conspired with the Roman soldiers to encompass his death. And this regenerated
publican died triumphant in the faith of a salvation he had so surely learned
from the teachings of the Master during his recent sojourn on earth.
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8. THOMAS DIDYMUS
Thomas was the eighth apostle, and he was chosen by Philip. In later times he
has become known as "doubting Thomas," but his fellow apostles hardly looked
upon him as a chronic doubter. True, his was a logical, skeptical type of mind,
but he had a form of courageous loyalty which forbade those who knew him
intimately to regard him as a trifling skeptic.
When Thomas joined the apostles, he was twenty-nine years old, was married, and
had four children. Formerly he had been a carpenter and stone mason, but
latterly he had become a fisherman and resided at Tarichea, situated on the
west bank of the Jordan where it flows out of the Sea of Galilee, and he was
regarded as the leading citizen of this little village. He had little
education, but he possessed a keen, reasoning mind and was the son of excellent
parents, who lived at Tiberias. Thomas had the one truly analytical mind of the
twelve; he was the real scientist of the apostolic group.
The early home life of Thomas had been unfortunate; his parents were not
altogether happy in their married life, and this was reflected in Thomas's
adult experience. He grew up having a very disagreeable and quarrelsome
disposition. Even his wife was glad to see him join the apostles; she was
relieved by the thought that her pessimistic husband would be away from home
most of the time. Thomas also had a streak of suspicion which made it very
difficult to get along peaceably with him. Peter was very much upset by Thomas
at first, complaining to his brother, Andrew, that Thomas was "mean, ugly, and
always suspicious." But the better his associates knew Thomas, the more they
liked him. They found he was superbly honest and unflinchingly loyal. He was
perfectly sincere and unquestionably truthful, but he was a natural-born
faultfinder and had grown up to become a real pessimist. His analytical mind
had become cursed with suspicion. He was rapidly losing faith in his fellow men
when he became associated with the twelve and thus came in contact with the
noble character of Jesus. This association with the Master began at once to
transform Thomas's whole disposition and to effect great changes in his mental
reactions to his fellow men.
Thomas's great strength was his superb analytical mind coupled with his
unflinching courage--when he had once made up his mind. His great weakness was
his suspicious doubting, which he never fully overcame throughout his whole
lifetime in the flesh.
In the organization of the twelve Thomas was assigned to arrange and manage the
itinerary, and he was an able director of the work and movements of the
apostolic corps. He was a good executive, an excellent businessman, but he was
handicapped by his many moods; he was one man one day and another man the next.
He was inclined toward melancholic brooding when he joined the apostles, but
contact with Jesus and the apostles largely cured him of this morbid
introspection.
Jesus enjoyed Thomas very much and had many long, personal talks with him. His
presence among the apostles was a great comfort to all honest doubters and
encouraged many troubled minds to come into the kingdom, even if they could not
wholly understand everything about the spiritual and philosophic phases of the
teachings of Jesus. Thomas's membership in the twelve was a standing
declaration that Jesus loved even honest doubters.
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The other apostles held Jesus in reverence because of some special and
outstanding trait of his replete personality, but Thomas revered his Master
because of his superbly balanced character. Increasingly Thomas admired and
honored one who was so lovingly merciful yet so inflexibly just and fair; so
firm but never obstinate; so calm but never indifferent; so helpful and so
sympathetic but never meddlesome or dictatorial; so strong but at the same time
so gentle; so positive but never rough or rude; so tender but never
vacillating; so pure and innocent but at the same time so virile, aggressive,
and forceful; so truly courageous but never rash or foolhardy; such a lover of
nature but so free from all tendency to revere nature; so humorous and so
playful, but so free from levity and frivolity. It was this matchless symmetry
of personality that so charmed Thomas. He probably enjoyed the highest
intellectual understanding and personality appreciation of Jesus of any of the
twelve.
In the councils of the twelve Thomas was always cautious, advocating a policy
of safety first, but if his conservatism was voted down or overruled, he was
always the first fearlessly to move out in execution of the program decided
upon. Again and again would he stand out against some project as being
foolhardy and presumptuous; he would debate to the bitter end, but when Andrew
would put the proposition to a vote, and after the twelve would elect to do
that which he had so strenuously opposed, Thomas was the first to say, "Let's
go!" He was a good loser. He did not hold grudges nor nurse wounded feelings.
Time and again did he oppose letting Jesus expose himself to danger, but when
the Master would decide to take such risks, always was it Thomas who rallied
the apostles with his courageous words, "Come on, comrades, let's go and die
with him."
Thomas was in some respects like Philip; he also wanted "to be shown," but his
outward expressions of doubt were based on entirely different intellectual
operations. Thomas was analytical, not merely skeptical. As far as personal
physical courage was concerned, he was one of the bravest among the twelve.
Thomas had some very bad days; he was blue and downcast at times. The loss of
his twin sister when he was nine years old had occasioned him much youthful
sorrow and had added to his temperamental problems of later life. When Thomas
would become despondent, sometimes it was Nathaniel who helped him to recover,
sometimes Peter, and not infrequently one of the Alpheus twins. When he was
most depressed, unfortunately he always tried to avoid coming in direct contact
with Jesus. But the Master knew all about this and had an understanding
sympathy for his apostle when he was thus afflicted with depression and
harassed by doubts.
Sometimes Thomas would get permission from Andrew to go off by himself for a
day or two. But he soon learned that such a course was not wise; he early found
that it was best, when he was downhearted, to stick close to his work and to
remain near his associates. But no matter what happened in his emotional life,
he kept right on being an apostle. When the time actually came to move forward,
it was always Thomas who said, "Let's go!"
Thomas is the great example of a human being who has doubts, faces them, and
wins. He had a great mind; he was no carping critic. He was a logical thinker;
he was the acid test of Jesus and his fellow apostles. If Jesus and his work
had not been genuine, it could not have held a man like Thomas from the start
to the finish. He had a keen and sure sense of fact. At the first appearance of
fraud or deception Thomas would have forsaken them all. Scientists may not
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fully understand all about Jesus and his work on earth, but there lived and
worked with the Master and his human associates a man whose mind was that of a
true scientist--Thomas Didymus--and he believed in Jesus of Nazareth.
Thomas had a trying time during the days of the trial and crucifixion. He was
for a season in the depths of despair, but he rallied his courage, stuck to the
apostles, and was present with them to welcome Jesus on the Sea of Galilee. For
a while he succumbed to his doubting depression but eventually rallied his
faith and courage. He gave wise counsel to the apostles after Pentecost and,
when persecution scattered the believers, went to Cyprus, Crete, the North
African coast, and Sicily, preaching the glad tidings of the kingdom and
baptizing believers. And Thomas continued preaching and baptizing until he was
apprehended by the agents of the Roman government and was put to death in
Malta. Just a few weeks before his death he had begun the writing of the life
and teachings of Jesus.
9 and 10. JAMES AND JUDAS ALPHEUS
James and Judas the sons of Alpheus, the twin fishermen living near Kheresa,
were the ninth and tenth apostles and were chosen by James and John Zebedee.
They were twenty-six years old and married, James having three children, Judas
two.
There is not much to be said about these two commonplace fisherfolk. They loved
their Master and Jesus loved them, but they never interrupted his discourses
with questions. They understood very little about the philosophical discussions
or the theological debates of their fellow apostles, but they rejoiced to find
themselves numbered among such a group of mighty men. These two men were almost
identical in personal appearance, mental characteristics, and extent of
spiritual perception. What may be said of one should be recorded of the other.
Andrew assigned them to the work of policing the multitudes. They were the
chief ushers of the preaching hours and, in fact, the general servants and
errand boys of the twelve. They helped Philip with the supplies, they carried
money to the families for Nathaniel, and always were they ready to lend a
helping hand to any one of the apostles.
The multitudes of the common people were greatly encouraged to find two like
themselves honored with places among the apostles. By their very acceptance as
apostles these mediocre twins were the means of bringing a host of fainthearted
believers into the kingdom. And, too, the common people took more kindly to the
idea of being directed and managed by official ushers who were very much like
themselves.
James and Judas, who were also called Thaddeus and Lebbeus, had neither strong
points nor weak points. The nicknames given them by the disciples were
good-natured designations of mediocrity. They were "the least of all the
apostles"; they knew it and felt cheerful about it.
James Alpheus especially loved Jesus because of the Master's simplicity. These
twins could not comprehend the mind of Jesus, but they did grasp the
sympathetic bond between themselves and the heart of their Master. Their minds
were not of a high order; they might even reverently be called stupid, but they
had a real experience in their spiritual natures. They believed in Jesus; they
were sons of God and fellows of the kingdom.
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Judas Alpheus was drawn toward Jesus because of the Master's unostentatious
humility. Such humility linked with such personal dignity made a great appeal
to Judas. The fact that Jesus would always enjoin silence regarding his unusual
acts made a great impression on this simple child of nature.
The twins were good-natured, simple-minded helpers, and everybody loved them.
Jesus welcomed these young men of one talent to positions of honor on his
personal staff in the kingdom because there are untold millions of other such
simple and fear-ridden souls on the worlds of space whom he likewise wishes to
welcome into active and believing fellowship with himself and his outpoured
Spirit of Truth. Jesus does not look down upon littleness, only upon evil and
sin. James and Judas were little, but they were also faithful. They were simple
and ignorant, but they were also big-hearted, kind, and generous.
And how gratefully proud were these humble men on that day when the Master
refused to accept a certain rich man as an evangelist unless he would sell his
goods and help the poor. When the people heard this and beheld the twins among
his counselors, they knew of a certainty that Jesus was no respecter of
persons. But only a divine institution--the kingdom of heaven--could ever have
been built upon such a mediocre human foundation!
Only once or twice in all their association with Jesus did the twins venture to
ask questions in public. Judas was once intrigued into asking Jesus a question
when the Master had talked about revealing himself openly to the world. He felt
a little disappointed that there were to be no more secrets among the twelve,
and he made bold to ask: "But, Master, when you do thus declare yourself to the
world, how will you favor us with special manifestations of your goodness?"
The twins served faithfully until the end, until the dark days of trial,
crucifixion, and despair. They never lost their heart faith in Jesus, and (save
John) they were the first to believe in his resurrection. But they could not
comprehend the establishment of the kingdom. Soon after their Master was
crucified, they returned to their families and nets; their work was done. They
had not the ability to go on in the more complex battles of the kingdom. But
they lived and died conscious of having been honored and blessed with four
years of close and personal association with a Son of God, the sovereign maker
of a universe.
11. SIMON THE ZEALOT
Simon Zelotes, the eleventh apostle, was chosen by Simon Peter. He was an able
man of good ancestry and lived with his family at Capernaum. He was
twenty-eight years old when he became attached to the apostles. He was a fiery
agitator and was also a man who spoke much without thinking. He had been a
merchant in Capernaum before he turned his entire attention to the patriotic
organization of the Zealots.
Simon Zelotes was given charge of the diversions and relaxation of the
apostolic group, and he was a very efficient organizer of the play life and
recreational activities of the twelve.
Simon's strength was his inspirational loyalty. When the apostles found a man
or woman who floundered in indecision about entering the kingdom, they would
send for Simon. It usually required only about fifteen minutes for this
enthusiastic advocate of salvation through faith in God to settle all doubts
and
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remove all indecision, to see a new soul born into the "liberty of faith and
the joy of salvation."
Simon's great weakness was his material-mindedness. He could not quickly change
himself from a Jewish nationalist to a spiritually minded internationalist.
Four years was too short a time in which to make such an intellectual and
emotional transformation, but Jesus was always patient with him.
The one thing about Jesus which Simon so much admired was the Master's
calmness, his assurance, poise, and inexplicable composure.
Although Simon was a rabid revolutionist, a fearless firebrand of agitation, he
gradually subdued his fiery nature until he became a powerful and effective
preacher of "Peace on earth and good will among men." Simon was a great
debater; he did like to argue. And when it came to dealing with the legalistic
minds of the educated Jews or the intellectual quibblings of the Greeks, the
task was always assigned to Simon.
He was a rebel by nature and an iconoclast by training, but Jesus won him for
the higher concepts of the kingdom of heaven. He had always identified himself
with the party of protest, but he now joined the party of progress, unlimited
and eternal progression of spirit and truth. Simon was a man of intense
loyalties and warm personal devotions, and he did profoundly love Jesus.
Jesus was not afraid to identify himself with business men, laboring men,
optimists, pessimists, philosophers, skeptics, publicans, politicians, and
patriots.
The Master had many talks with Simon, but he never fully succeeded in making an
internationalist out of this ardent Jewish nationalist. Jesus often told Simon
that it was proper to want to see the social, economic, and political orders
improved, but he would always add: "That is not the business of the kingdom of
heaven. We must be dedicated to the doing of the Father's will. Our business is
to be ambassadors of a spiritual government on high, and we must not
immediately concern ourselves with aught but the representation of the will and
character of the divine Father who stands at the head of the government whose
credentials we bear." It was all difficult for Simon to comprehend, but
gradually he began to grasp something of the meaning of the Master's teaching.
After the dispersion because of the Jerusalem persecutions, Simon went into
temporary retirement. He was literally crushed. As a nationalist patriot he had
surrendered in deference to Jesus' teachings; now all was lost. He was in
despair, but in a few years he rallied his hopes and went forth to proclaim the
gospel of the kingdom.
He went to Alexandria and, after working up the Nile, penetrated into the heart
of Africa, everywhere preaching the gospel of Jesus and baptizing believers.
Thus he labored until he was an old man and feeble. And he died and was buried
in the heart of Africa.
12. JUDAS ISCARIOT
Judas Iscariot, the twelfth apostle, was chosen by Nathaniel. He was born in
Kerioth, a small town in southern Judea. When he was a lad, his parents moved
to Jericho, where he lived and had been employed in his father's various
business enterprises until he became interested in the preaching and work of
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John the Baptist. Judas's parents were Sadducees, and when their son joined
John's disciples, they disowned him.
When Nathaniel met Judas at Tarichea, he was seeking employment with a
fish-drying enterprise at the lower end of the Sea of Galilee. He was thirty
years of age and unmarried when he joined the apostles. He was probably the
best-educated man among the twelve and the only Judean in the Master's
apostolic family. Judas had no outstanding trait of personal strength, though
he had many outwardly appearing traits of culture and habits of training. He
was a good thinker but not always a truly honest thinker. Judas did not really
understand himself; he was not really sincere in dealing with himself.
Andrew appointed Judas treasurer of the twelve, a position which he was
eminently fitted to hold, and up to the time of the betrayal of his Master he
discharged the responsibilities of his office honestly, faithfully, and most
efficiently.
There was no special trait about Jesus which Judas admired above the generally
attractive and exquisitely charming personality of the Master. Judas was never
able to rise above his Judean prejudices against his Galilean associates; he
would even criticize in his mind many things about Jesus. Him whom eleven of
the apostles looked upon as the perfect man, as the "one altogether lovely and
the chiefest among ten thousand," this self-satisfied Judean often dared to
criticize in his own heart. He really entertained the notion that Jesus was
timid and somewhat afraid to assert his own power and authority.
Judas was a good business man. It required tact, ability, and patience, as well
as painstaking devotion, to manage the financial affairs of such an idealist as
Jesus, to say nothing of wrestling with the helter-skelter business methods of
some of his apostles. Judas really was a great executive, a farseeing and able
financier. And he was a stickler for organization. None of the twelve ever
criticized Judas. As far as they could see, Judas Iscariot was a matchless
treasurer, a learned man, a loyal (though sometimes critical) apostle, and in
every sense of the word a great success. The apostles loved Judas; he was
really one of them. He must have believed in Jesus, but we doubt whether he
really loved the Master with a whole heart. The case of Judas illustrates the
truthfulness of that saying: "There is a way that seems right to a man, but the
end thereof is death." It is altogether possible to fall victim to the peaceful
deception of pleasant adjustment to the paths of sin and death. Be assured that
Judas was always financially loyal to his Master and his fellow apostles. Money
could never have been the motive for his betrayal of the Master.
Judas was an only son of unwise parents. When very young, he was pampered and
petted; he was a spoiled child. As he grew up, he had exaggerated ideas about
his self-importance. He was a poor loser. He had loose and distorted ideas
about fairness; he was given to the indulgence of hate and suspicion. He was an
expert at misinterpretation of the words and acts of his friends. All through
his life Judas had cultivated the habit of getting even with those whom he
fancied had mistreated him. His sense of values and loyalties was defective.
To Jesus, Judas was a faith adventure. From the beginning the Master fully
understood the weakness of this apostle and well knew the dangers of admitting
him to fellowship. But it is the nature of the Sons of God to give every
created being a full and equal chance for salvation and survival. Jesus wanted
not only the mortals of this world but the onlookers of innumerable other
worlds to know
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that, when doubts exist as to the sincerity and wholeheartedness of a
creature's devotion to the kingdom, it is the invariable practice of the Judges
of men fully to receive the doubtful candidate. The door of eternal life is
wide open to all; "whosoever will may come"; there are no restrictions or
qualifications save the faith of the one who comes.
This is just the reason why Jesus permitted Judas to go on to the very end,
always doing everything possible to transform and save this weak and confused
apostle. But when light is not honestly received and lived up to, it tends to
become darkness within the soul. Judas grew intellectually regarding Jesus'
teachings about the kingdom, but he did not make progress in the acquirement of
spiritual character as did the other apostles. He failed to make satisfactory
personal progress in spiritual experience.
Judas became increasingly a brooder over personal disappointment, and finally
he became a victim of resentment. His feelings had been many times hurt, and he
grew abnormally suspicious of his best friends, even of the Master. Presently
he became obsessed with the idea of getting even, anything to avenge himself,
yes, even betrayal of his associates and his Master.
But these wicked and dangerous ideas did not take definite shape until the day
when a grateful woman broke an expensive box of incense at Jesus' feet. This
seemed wasteful to Judas, and when his public protest was so sweepingly
disallowed by Jesus right there in the hearing of all, it was too much. That
event determined the mobilization of all the accumulated hate, hurt, malice,
prejudice, jealousy, and revenge of a lifetime, and he made up his mind to get
even with he knew not whom; but he crystallized all the evil of his nature upon
the one innocent person in all the sordid drama of his unfortunate life just
because Jesus happened to be the chief actor in the episode which marked his
passing from the progressive kingdom of light into that self-chosen domain of
darkness.
The Master many times, both privately and publicly, had warned Judas that he
was slipping, but divine warnings are usually useless in dealing with
embittered human nature. Jesus did everything possible, consistent with man's
moral freedom, to prevent Judas's choosing to go the wrong way. The great test
finally came. The son of resentment failed; he yielded to the sour and sordid
dictates of a proud and vengeful mind of exaggerated self-importance and
swiftly plunged on down into confusion, despair, and depravity.
Judas then entered into the base and shameful intrigue to betray his Lord and
Master and quickly carried the nefarious scheme into effect. During the
outworking of his anger-conceived plans of traitorous betrayal, he experienced
moments of regret and shame, and in these lucid intervals he faintheartedly
conceived, as a defense in his own mind, the idea that Jesus might possibly
exert his power and deliver himself at the last moment.
When the sordid and sinful business was all over, this renegade mortal, who
thought lightly of selling his friend for thirty pieces of silver to satisfy
his long-nursed craving for revenge, rushed out and committed the final act in
the drama of fleeing from the realities of mortal existence--suicide.
The eleven apostles were horrified, stunned. Jesus regarded the betrayer only
with pity. The worlds have found it difficult to forgive Judas, and his name
has become eschewed throughout a far-flung universe.
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Subjects Archive The Urantia Book Urantia Book PART IV: The Life and Teachings
of Jesus : The Bestowal Of Michael On Urantia The Times Of Michael's Bestowal
Birth And Infancy Of Jesus The Early Childhood Of Jesus The Later Childhood Of
Jesus Jesus At Jerusalem The Two Crucial Years The Adolescent Years Jesus'
Early Manhood The Later Adult Life Of Jesus On The Way To Rome The World's
Religions The Sojourn At Rome The Return From Rome The Transition Years John
The Baptist Baptism And The Forty Days Tarrying Time In Galilee Training The
Kingdom's Messengers The Twelve Apostles The Ordination Of The Twelve Beginning
The Public Work The Passover At Jerusalem Going Through Samaria At Gilboa And
In The Decapolis Four Eventful Days At Capernaum First Preaching Tour Of
Galilee The Interlude Visit To Jerusalem Training Evangelists At Bethsaida The
Second Preaching Tour The Third Preaching Tour Tarrying And Teaching By The
Seaside Events Leading Up To The Capernaum Crisis The Crisis At Capernaum Last
Days At Capernaum Fleeing Through Northern Galilee The Sojourn At Tyre And
Sidon At Caesarea-philippi The Mount Of Transfiguration The Decapolis Tour
Rodan Of Alexandria Further Discussions With Rodan At The Feast Of Tabernacles
Ordination Of The Seventy At Magadan At The Feast Of Dedication The Perean
Mission Begins Last Visit To Northern Perea The Visit To Philadelphia The
Resurrection Of Lazarus Last Teaching At Pella The Kingdom Of Heaven On The Way
To Jerusalem Going Into Jerusalem Monday In Jerusalem Tuesday Morning In The
Temple The Last Temple Discourse Tuesday Evening On Mount Olivet Wednesday, The
Rest Day Last Day At The Camp The Last Supper The Farewell Discourse Final
Admonitions And Warnings In Gethsemane The Betrayal And Arrest Of Jesus Before
The Sanhedrin Court The Trial Before Pilate Just Before The Crucifixion The
Crucifixion The Time Of The Tomb The Resurrection Morontia Appearances Of Jesus
Appearances To The Apostles And Other Leaders Appearances In Galilee Final
Appearances And Ascension Bestowal Of The Spirit Of Truth After Pentecost The
Faith Of Jesus
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