Friday, May 25, 2012

Mark 3:16-19 commentary: the 12 Apostles

16 And Simon he surnamed Peter; 17 And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder: 18 And Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Canaanite, 19 And Judas Iscariot, which also betrayed him: and they went into an house.

Some of these disciples have more than one name just as many people in the Bible and all of us. Thaddeus is called Judas, is also known as Jude, and writes a book, has three names as most of us do. He’s also called Lebbaeus in Matthew 10:3.

Matthew 10:3 Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus;

Luke 6:16 And Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor.

Acts 1:13 And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James.

Jude 1:1 Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called:

Notice that this isn’t the brother of the James who was the Lord’s brother in Galatians 1:19

Galatians 1:19 But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord’s brother.

The Apostle James, John’s brother, gets executed. Acts 12:2 And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.

Who wrote the Book of James, the Lord’s half-brother or the apostle James, brother of John, before he was executed, or was it Jude (Judas) Lebbaeus Thaddaeus’ brother? Whatever you think, whatever conclusion you come to, just remember that tradition is very unreliable and most certainly can only be a supplement to the internal authority of the Bible.

Notice that Judas Iscariot (man of Kerioth, which is in Moab) has these signs and powers referenced earlier to do wonders, as well.

1. Simon, who Christ gave the surname or last name to of Peter. His nickname was Cephas, which is Aramaic for “a stone.” Peter is the Greek version of Cephas.

John 1:42 And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.

[Note that in the Bible ‘interpretation’ means what we could call translation such as ‘interpreter’ in the U.N. translates one language into another (2 Peter 1:20) and it can also mean the interpretation of a dream or a vision as in Joseph’s or Daniel’s case while ‘translation’ is reserved for the “Rapture” of the church in Colossians 1:13 and Hebrews 11:5 as Christ, who spoke the universe into existence is going to translate us from the earthly language into the heavenly.]

Simon Peter had a wife and a mother-in-law.

Matthew 8:14 And when Jesus was come into Peter’s house, he saw his wife’s mother laid, and sick of a fever.

His wife accompanied him in his evangelistic endeavors like the other Apostles and Jesus’ brothers did.

1Corinthians 9:5 Have we not power to lead about a sister, a wife, as well as other apostles, and as the brethren of the Lord, and Cephas?

He worked as a commercial fisherman.

Matthew 4:18 And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.

He was from Bethsaida.

John 1:44 Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.

2. James, the son of Zebedee, was John the beloved’s brother. He and his brother also worked as commercial fisherman with their father. Remember, he is executed.

Matthew 4:21 And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them.

James saw the Lord transfigured.

Matthew 17:1 And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart,

3. John is the gospel writer who is also the author of three letters and the Book of the Revelation. He was especially close to Jesus and was probably a very young person, perhaps a teenager. In any event, it was him that Christ directed to care for Mary.

John 19:25 Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! 27 Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.

4. Andrew is Simon Peter’s brother.

5. Philip was also from Simon Peter’s hometown. He led the Ethiopian eunuch to the Lord in Acts 8.

6. Bartholomew is mentioned by name in three gospels and in Acts.

7. Matthew is the tax collector who wrote the first gospel. He is also known as Levi.

Mark 2:14 And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the receipt of custom, and said unto him, Follow me. And he arose and followed him.

Matthew 9:9 And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him.

Matthew 10:3 Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus;

Since he is also called the “son of Alphaeus” you might suppose that he is also the brother of James, or his father could also just be named Alphaeus as he and that James are not said to be brothers.

8. Thomas is also commonly known as “Doubting Thomas” for his doubts about Christ’s resurrection.

John 20:25 The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.

He is nicknamed or surnamed Didymus.

John 11:16 Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellowdisciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him.

9. James, the son of Alphaeus, may or may not be the writer of the Epistle that bears his name. By the way, an epistle is a letter, as the Bible defines it.

2Corinthians 3:1 Do we begin again to commend ourselves? or need we, as some others, epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you?

10. Thaddaeus, I spoke about in the beginning.

11. Simon the Canaanite? I suppose if God is going to include a whoremonger, a harlot, a Moabite, and a woman of questionable moral integrity into His lineage when He comes to earth why not include a another descendant of people who were supposed to have been wiped out by Israel. Isn’t it amazing how God did not choose to come as the offspring of a Gentile emperor or from a line of perfectly, morally pure Jews? Simon is also surnamed Zelotes, a word meaning a zealot.

Acts 1:13 And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James.

12. We have already mentioned Judas Iscariot, who is well known to history.

Since, except for the last one, those of you who are Christians will meet all of these men one day I thought I would try to point them out more clearly than most of the commentaries I’ve read.

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