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Acts of the Apostles 12 the Third Circle: James the Less, Judas, Simon the Zealot

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Acts of the Apostles 12 the Third Circle: James the Less, Judas, Simon the Zealot Acts of the Apostles 12 The Third Circle: James the Less, Judas, Simon the Zealot Once we come to the third circle of the Apostles, we have almost no information outside of their names. That is, with the exception of the infamous, Judas Iscariot (not the Judas in this study). James the Less, Judas and Simon the Zealot: In Scripture Matthew 10:2-4; Mark 3:16-19; Luke 6:13-16, Acts 1:13 James the Less, Judas (also called Thaddaeus or Labbaeus), and Simon the Zealot appear in all the lists of the Apostles. James the Less John 19:25, Mark 15:40 — A bit more on James Scripture doesn’t tell us a thing about James the Less except his name and that he was the son of Alphaeus and Mary. If we check Matthew 27:56 and Mark 15:47, another son of Mary is mentioned, Joses. This Joses must have been fairly well known in the early church because his name pops up from time to time. Also Mary was fairly famous. She was one of the women who came to prepare Jesus body for burial. (Mark 16:1) Beyond this, we know nothing from Scripture about James. James the Less gets his nickname from Scripture. (Mark 15:40) Why? Some think it is because he was a small man. Others suggest it is because he is less famous than the other James, an apostle in the inner circle. We just don’t know. This James was probably not the author of the New Testament book by that name. Most feel that James, the brother of the Lord, authored that book by inspiration. Matthew 10:3, Luke 6:16, Acts 1:13— A bit more on Judas Judas (Thaddaeus) The Bible writers make it quite clear that this Judas is a different one from the traitor. But beyond that, what do we know about this man? Almost nothing. The name Judas means “The Lord leads.” His other names, Thaddaeus and Lebbaeus both mean something like “dear heart.” John 14:22— Judas in the Upper Room. Judas (Thaddaeus) does step into the spotlight of Scripture on one occasion. It is in the setting of the Upper Room. How do you understand Judas’ question and the response of our Lord? How has the Lord Jesus made and kept the same promise to all of us? Some have wondered whether this Judas was also the author of the New Testament book by that name. However, most feel that little book was penned by Jude, the brother of the Lord. Simon the Zealot Matthew 10:2-4; Mark 3:16-19; Luke 6:13-16, Acts 1:13 Simon the Zealot is only mentioned in the listings of the Apostles. In two of these listings (Matthew 10:4 and Mark 3:18), this Simon has a slightly different nickname. He is called “Simon the Cananite.” However, that word has its roots in the Hebrew word for “to be zealous.” Thus the NIV keeps the translation “zealot” in all four places. STUDENT GUIDE Acts of the Apostles, Lesson 12 Page 1 Why was Simon called “the Zealot”? This no doubt means that Simon was a member of an extremist political group which had been founded about 20 years before Jesus came on the scene. The Zealots believed that only God had the right to rule over the Promised Land. Thus they were willing to go to any lengths (terrorism, assasination, etc.) to drive the Romans from the land. The Zealots were looking for Messiah, but they waited for an earthly ruler who would drive the Romans from their land and restore Israel to its place as ruler of the world! Because of their political/religious views, the Zealots were an “undergound” organization. When we think about Simon, and how the Lord called him, we must marvel at the patience and love of our Savior! Jesus took a man who probably was a hot-head, an insurrectionist, perhaps even a murderer. And by his grace, through the power of His word, Jesus molded this man into his child, into an apostle! Beyond his name, Scripture tells us nothing about Simon the Zealot. James the Less, Judas (Thaddaeus), Simon the Zealot: In Tradition Even tradition holds little by way of information on James the Less. Some report that he went to Spain to preach the Gospel to Jews there. There are varied reports as to the manner of James the Less’s death. Some say he was sawed in half and that his head was then cut from his body. Other reports indicate he was killed by a pole being thrust through him. This explains why the shield of James is usually a saw or sometimes a saw with a pole. This may strike us as grizzly until we remember that this really is a badge of honor for the Apostle. These servants were not above their master. He suffered. They suffered. Judas (Thaddaeus) has one specific tradition (legend) attached to his name. The Christian Church in Armenia (Orthodox) holds that Judas and Nathanael brought the gospel to their country, and that they were both martyred for doing so. It may be interesting to note that Armenia lays claim to being the first nation to adopt Christianity as its national religion. (301 AD) There is an apocryphal book, Acts of Thaddaeus, which details the travels of Judas to the city of Edessa. According to the traditions of this book, Judas witnessed to King Thoughts to Ponder: Abgarus, and the two built a church and a Christian community in that town. The symbol for Judas is a ship, symbolic of all his missionary travels as an apostle. We know little or nothing You may also see a club used as a symbol for Judas. Supposedly, he was clubbed to death about the disciples in the for the faith. “third circle.” Why do you think that is? What about Simon the Zealot? Eusebius (the Church historian) claims that Simon was one of the missionaries who took the Gospel all the way north to the British isles! He made this trip after earlier missionary trips to Egypt and Africa. Tradition reports that Simon was martyred in Persia, where he was sawn in two. Because of this, Simon sometimes get the saw as his shield, too. Most of the time, however, he is represented by the fish on a book. As a fisher of men, Simon used the only bait we have to this very day: the Gospel message of our Savior Jesus Christ as contained in the word of God. STUDENT GUIDE Acts of the Apostles, Lesson 12 Page 2 .
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