James, the son of Alphaeus, is also identified as being James the
less in Mark.
Mark 15:40 There were also
women looking on afar off: among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother
of James the less and of Joses, and Salome;
He is also identified by some as being an actual sibling of Jesus
as per this verse keeping him separate from James, the brother of John.
Galatians 1:19 But other of
the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord’s brother.
It is likely that this half-brother of Jesus wrote the letter of
James sometime after Jesus revealed Himself to him post-resurrection.
1Corinthians 15:6 After
that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater
part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. 7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all
the apostles.
Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus, is
according to Gill named after the town of Lebba, on the sea coast of Galilee. The
surname Thaddeus is derived from the root of Jude or Judah according to
Gill and some say he is Jude who writes the letter. I’m not going to go into
all of the possibilities and opinions.
He is a patron saint, along with Bartholomew, of the Armenian
church and there is a Saint Thaddeus Monastery in Northern Iran and a Saint
Thaddeus Church in Armenia.
Simon the Canaanite is mentioned in another verse;
Mark 3:18 And Andrew, and
Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of
Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Canaanite,
…but also as Simon the Zealot.
Luke 6:15 Matthew and
Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called Zelotes,
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.
So, with the name of Zelotes this indicates he may have been one
of that party of Zealots who were basically terrorists in First Century Judea. Some
say, though, that this only refers to his zeal for Christ.
Traditions on his demise vary with him being sawn in half in
Persia or crucified in Roman Britain. We won’t know until we reach Heaven what
really happened to him.
Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Christ, has a name that
means ‘man of Kerioth’. Kerioth is a town in the territory of Moab.
Jeremiah 48:24 And upon
Kerioth, and upon Bozrah, and upon all the cities of the land of Moab, far or
near.
He is referred to as the son of perdition.
John 17:12 While I was with
them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have
kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture
might be fulfilled.
And so is the Antichrist at the end of history.
2Thessalonians 2:3 Let no
man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a
falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
Does this mean, as one commentator said, that the Antichrist will
be from the area of ancient Moab and be a Jew?
Matthew Henry’s comments on Judas are quite interesting and I want
to quote them here from his readily available commentary online;
Judas Iscariot is always
named last, and with that black brand upon his name, who also betrayed
him; which intimates that from the first, Christ knew what a wretch he
was, that he had a devil, and would prove a traitor; yet Christ took him among
the apostles, that it might not be a surprise and discouragement to his church,
if, at any time, the vilest scandals should break out in the best societies.
Such spots there have been in our feasts of charity; tares among the wheat,
wolves among the sheep; but there is a day of discovery and separation coming,
where hypocrites shall be unmasked and discarded. Neither the apostleship, nor
the rest of the apostles, were ever the worse for Judas's being one of the
twelve, while his wickedness was concealed and did not break out.[1]
[1] Matthew Henry, Matthew
Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible, Matthew 10:4, https://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/matthew-henry-complete/matthew/10.html. (accessed
12.27.22).
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