The Final Four

Matthew 10:3-4. “. . .James the son of Alpheus, and Lebbeus, whose surname was Thaddeus; Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.”

The James in this verse is the son of Alphaeus, a cousin of Jesus and brother to Judas (not Iscariot), Matthew, and Simon Zelotes. He is not the James in Matt. 13:55 and Mark 6:3, who was the brother of Jesus. There is some uncertainty about his death, although it seems clear he was martyred.

Thaddeus  was also called Jude, not to be confused with Judas Iscariot.  The multiple names of many of these men comes from the differences in language used by the various writers of the gospels.  They are not contradictions. You can follow all of them through the gospels quite easily by using the notes in your own Bibles.  Tradition holds that  Jude preached the gospel in Judea, Samaria, Idumea, Syria, Mesopotamia, and Libya. He was beheaded, as far as we know.

Simon the  Canaanite is also called Zelotes (a fanatic, a member of a Jewish party that rebelled against the Romans). Tradition says that he was crucified in Syria.  He is supposed to have been a brother to James, Matthew, and Judas.

Judas Iscariot, of course, is best-known for his betrayal of Jesus. At first, he was just as all the other disciples, empowered and chosen. He was the treasurer of the group, and a successful preacher and healer (Mark 6:7-13; Luke 9:10). At what point he began to doubt, deny or become greedy, we do not know.  Be assured, however, that the seeds of sin were dropped carefully into his mind and heart until he was willing to sell Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. His end, of course, is well-known. He is probably the most famous suicide of all time.

So there you have it; a group of ordinary men who left everything to follow Jesus throughout His earthly ministry and beyond, most of them to suffer martyrdom after spending their lives preaching and teaching the gospel of Christ.  Tomorrow, we’ll begin to see more of the work they did at Jesus’ bidding.

Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, and Matthew

Matt. 10:3. “Phillip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican. . . ”

Phillip brought his brother, Nathaneal, to Jesus in John 1:45-50. He is known to have assisted in caring for the multitudes in John 6:4-7, and for bringing Greeks to Jesus in John 12:20-22.  You can go here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_the_Apostle to read more about him, always remembering that it is often difficult to separate fact from legend and tradition.

Bartholomew, also known as Nathaniel, was Phillip’s brother. He is thought to have preached in Syria, Phrygia, and India, and was martyred with his brother, being tied head down to a cross, beaten to death, and beheaded.

We remember Thomas best for his doubting the other disciples who said they had seen Jesus after He rose from the grave.  I think we’re way too hard on Thomas.  He hadn’t been with the others when they met Jesus; I don’t think any of us would haveresponded much differently than he did. The legen is that he preached in India, gaining mnay converts.  He is said to have been tortured, cast into an oven, and pierced with spears.

Seems to me that those who killed these Apostles wanted to be very sure they were dead!

We’ve already discussed Matthew at some length (see post on Matthew 9:9) so I’ll just mention here that he was the brother of James, is said to have preached in Judea for 15 years and then traveled to Ethiopia.  As far as we know, he was not martyred.

Goodbyes are Not Always Good

We’re saying goodbye to friends of 40 years this week.  They’re moving far enough away that we may not see them again in this life.  It’s hard.  They’re leaving a circle of friends who have known each other since we were all having babies–a whole lifetime, in a sense. Those babies have all grown up now and have children of their own.

It’s very hard not to ask the age-old question, “WHY?”  We all know why, and it’s not a “why” we’re happy about.  However, it is what it is, and there’s nothing to be done to change anything.  They’ll be living very close to one of their sons, and will love being closer to those grandchildren.

There was a farewell for them yesterday.  Lots of people whose lives they have touched were there to hug them and wish them well.  I did a lot of people-watching, and a couple of things impressed me.

First, everyone there were friends of longstanding.  These were people who have rejoiced with each other, grieved with each other, shared vacations together, shared ministry together in the church we all attended at some point over the last 40 years.  There are ties that will never be broken, even if we don’t all meet again until we’re in heaven.

Second, the sorrow of the farewell was completely overbalanced by the laughter and the memories that were floating around that house as we talked, ate, visited, and enjoyed each other.  There was a lot of love there yesterday.

I hope they find a lot of love in their new place.  We who are staying behind will miss them terribly, but we, too, will go on to form new friendships that will take us through to our final days here, and then what a reunion there will be!

Andrew, James, and John

Matthew 10:2. “. . . . . Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother.”

Andrew was Peter’s brother. Tradition tells us that he was of the tribe of Reuben, that he evangelized Scythia, becoming Russia’s patron saint, and that he was stoned and crucified in Greece or Scythia. He is mentioned in Mark 3:18, Luke 6:14, and Acts 1:13, as well as several other scriptures.

James and John were the sons of Zebedee, referred to by Jesus as “Sons of Thunder” in Mark 3:17.  If you’re interested, you can read about one opinion of what that may have meant here:  http://www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Boanerges.html#.UhFvrdLVCSo

What we know about these men is that in Matthew 4:20 Jesus called to them to follow Him, and become fishers of men; they left the boat and their father with no hesitation and followed Jesus; they were among the closest of His disciples during His earthly ministry.

The name James is the English form of Jacob,  a name revered throughout the history of Israel. Tradition says that James and John were of the tribe of Levi through his father, and of Judah through his mother; therefore, they came from both the priestly line and the royal house. It is thought that James preached in India with Peter,  and later in Spain. He may have  been the first of the apostles to be martyred.

We think of John, James’ younger brother, as the Beloved Disciple.  He is the author the the Gospel of John, three epistles of John, and the Book of Revelation.  He deserves a study of his own, but I’m running out of time and energy.  If you’d like to read more about him, here is a good place to start: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_the_Apostle

Keep in mind that being on the internet does not equate with being true.  Read with wisdom and discretion, and always check the scriptures.   That being said, there is a large body of tradition that has changed very little over the years in regard to these twelve men.

Domestic Violence: Physical Abuse

The following italicized material is taken directly from the website http://divorcesupport.about.com/od/abusiverelationships/a/physicalabusestatistics.htm:

• Between 600,000 and 6 million women are victims of domestic violence each year, andbetween 100,000 and 6 million men, depending on the type of survey used to obtain the data.
• Women ages 20-24 are at the greatest risk of nonfatal intimate partner violence.
• Between 1993 and 2004, intimate partner violence on average made up 22% of nonfatal intimate partner victimizations against women. The same year, intimate partners committed 3% of all violent crime against men.
• Separated and divorced males and females are at a greater risk of nonfatal intimate partner violence.
• Women and men of all races are about equally vulnerable to violence by an intimate partner.
• Intimate partner violence affects people regardless of income. However, people with lower annual income (below $25K) are at a 3-times higher risk of intimate partner violence than people with higher annual income.
• Studies show that access to shelter services leads to a 60-70% reduction in incidence and severity of re-assault during the 3-12 months’ follow up period compared to women who did not access shelter. Shelter services led to greater reduction in severe re-assault than did seeking court or law enforcement protection, or moving to a new location.
• Nearly three out of four (74%) of Americans personally know someone who is or has been a victim of domestic violence. 30% of Americans say they know a woman who has been physically abused by her husband or boyfriend in the past year.

Physical Abuse Homicides:

• On average, more than three women and one man are murdered by their intimate partners in this country every day. In 2000, 1,247 women were killed by an intimate partner. The same year, 440 men were killed by an intimate partner. Intimate partner homicides accounted for 30% of the murders of women and 5% percent of the murders of men.
• Most intimate partner homicides occur between spouses, though boyfriends/girlfriends have committed about the same number of homicides in recent years.

Physical abuse is one of the most egregious dirty little secrets that most Christians don’t want to talk about.  It ranks right up there with childhood sexual abuse and other sexual abuses against, mostly, women.  To men who have been victimized, I want you to know I am just as outraged by your pain as I am by that of women who are victims.  I use the pronouns he, his, him primarily because it simplifies the writing and because the overwhelming numbers of victims are female.  Please understand that I am not ignoring the fact that men are also victimized.

Let me assure you that physical violence exists even in the church; in fact, some churches go so far as to condone what they like to call “domestic discipline” or some other euphemism that really means he hits; she gets hit. I’m reading a most informative book on this subject:  A Cry for Justice by Jeff Crippen and Anna Wood. Mr. Crippen is a pastor who served as a police officer for 12 years before entering training for the ministry. Anna Wood is an abuse survivor who maintains several blogs, one dealing specifically with physical abuse in marriage.  You can find their book easily online.

If your spouse has ever threatened you with physical violence if you don’t give him his way, you are in danger.  If he has ever pushed you or blocked your escape with his body, you are in danger. If he has ever slapped you for “being disrespectful” or for “disobedience,” you are in danger.  If he has ever used his fists on you, he will do it again.  You are in danger.  If he has kicked you, you are in danger.  If he has choked you or dragged you by your hair, you are in terrible danger. It doesn’t matter what excuse he gives, how much scripture he quotes to you, or how often he cries and says he is sorry and it will never happen again–he will do it again!

Is this really how you want your daughter to think she has to live?  Is it really how you want your son to treat the woman he says he loves?

Sometimes physical violence starts without it being directly on you.  Sometimes he slams doors, punches walls, breaks things, throws things at you and so on. But eventually, he will start hitting you.  If you accept it, you are teaching him how to treat you.  It won’t take long for him to learn his lesson very well.

One of the most frustrating things I have found, working as a Christian counselor, is the number of women who have been persuaded that it’s their fault.  It isn’t.  Not ever. The only way you could be blamed, I suppose, is if you continue to accept it.

When I ask an abused woman, “Why do you stay?” she invariably says, “Because I love him. When he’s not angry, things are really good.  I just keep hoping that if I can please him more he’ll quit hitting me.”  Often, these things are said through puffy, split lips as tears leak from bruised and swollen eyes.

Women, you need to understand that you are not responsible for his behavior; nor can you change him!  You neither caused his behavior, nor do you deserve to be beaten. In fact, my experience with abused women is usually that they are desperate to please, and can never quite manage it.

If you will read I Corinthians 13, you will find these characteristics of love:

It is patient; it is kind; it does not envy; it is not conceited and self-centered; love does not behave inappropriately; it looks after the needs of others more than of self; it is not easily angered; it doesn’t think ill of others; it rejoices in truth, not in sin; it bears what it must, believes truth, hopes in God, endures what it must. It never fails or runs dry.

I want to add here that love is not changed or altered by the behavior of others.  Someone who says he loves you, then turns around and knocks your teeth out, is lying.

Next week, we’ll talk about what you MUST do; what you CAN do; how to protect your kids; and at some point I want to talk about why the church often protects the abuser and tells the abused she just has to bear it.  Maybe that will be a lot more than just one or two more posts.

Roll Call

Matthew 10:2-4. “Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Phillip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.”

These twelve, who followed Jesus for three years, hold a special place in the history of Israel. Later, in Mathew 19:28, Jesus will tell them that in the Kingdom, they would sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. In the new Jerusalem, there would be twelve gates in the city wall, and twleve angels would sit at the gates, and the names of the twelve tribes of Israel would be engraved on the gates.  The wall of the city would have twelve foundations, with the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb (Rev. 21:12-14).  Judas Iscariot would be replaced by a man named Matthias. The Apostle Paul is not named in the twelve because his mission was totally different; he was the apostle to the Gentiles.  He did not walk with Jesus during His earthly ministry, but he certainly met with God on the Damascus Road, thereby earning his right to apostleship.

All that is so interesting, but right now I want to spend some time learning as much as we can about the twelve who were His disciples for His three years of ministry on earth.

Peter (from petrus, meaing stone) is mentioned first in this list in every gospel. He was also known as Simon(he has heard), and Cephas (stone, or rock). He was a native fisherman from Bethsaida; he was married (remember that Jesus  healed Peter’s mother-in-law of a fever); he had no earthly headship over the church.  His ministry was almost totally to the Jews, where he was just one elder among many others. His death is foreshadowed in John 21:18-19, which tradition tells us was to be crucified upside down at his own request, feeling that he did not merit dying as Jeus had died.

There is much more about Peter as we travel through the gospels and the book of Acts.  He wrote two books himself, I and 2 Peter, probably from Babylon.  He is one of the more well-known of the disciples, having had a hearty, impulsive, noisy nature that often put him front and center.

I wish I had known him.  I think he must have been quite a man, rising from being just a humble fisherman to being used of God to author two epistles in the New Testament.

I’ll meet him in heaven.

I don’t know what he looked like, of course, but I like this artist’s conception:

He Gave them Power

Matthew 10:1. “And when He had called unto Him His twelve disciples, He gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.”

Can you imagine what this particular commissioning service must have been like?   Did the disciples have any clue what they were being sent out to do?  Or what they would experience?  Did they understand that Jesus was enduing them with the power of the Holy Spirit to do miracles?  Were they excited?  Terrified?

As far as we know, these twelve who followed Him had worked pretty much as a group up to this point.  They had the comfort of fellow-workers, and they walked closely with Jesus. Now, they were being told to go out and do as Jesus had done.

Personally?  I think they were terrified!

They were not being sent out to start Sunday schools and Vacation Bible School programs.  They were being sent to preach the message of Christ:  The Kingdom of the heavens has drawn nigh! This sending forth was completely in connection with the Kingdom; it was, therefore, only temporary.  It ended in the complete rejection of the Kingdom by Israel.

We must remember that this gospel is written to present Jesus as Messiah, and it was written to the Jews.  The disciples were not sent out, at this time, to preach the gospel of salvation, grace and mercy.  Christ had not yet become the supreme sacrifice for sin.  This was not the start of the Church, or of missions to a world of unbelievers.  It was one more attempt to present Jesus to the Jews as their Messiah, their King.

Next time, we’ll take a more specific look at who these men were.

Beauty is Relative

So, I’m doing my aqua therapy the other day, standing shoulder-deep on the shallow side of the pool, which is heated to a delightful 94 degrees.  Doing leg circles and other exercises, I was listening to a conversation between two other women, both of whom seemed to me to be maybe 10 years older than I am.  I’m 66, so we’re not talking spring chickens here.

These women were reminiscing about their lives, marriages, children, and great-grandchildren.  They are at the downhill end of their lives, in some people’s thinking, and maybe even have “outlived their usefulness.”  What a horrible way to think about those who have gone before us, helped build this nation to what it used to be, and lived their lives within the law, both civil and biblical in most cases.

The two women finished within seconds of each other, and proceeded to climb the ladder to exit the pool.  I watched their veiny, gnarled hands as they grasped the sides of the ladder; I watched as their legs became visible when they reached the top and turned around to go down the other side.  I saw the vericosities, the  cellulite, and the discolorations that had slowly taken the place of smooth, unmarred flesh and skin over the years of childbearing, housework, jobs outside the home, to say nothing of surgeries to replace useless knees or hips.

Those hands had nurtured, soothed, cleaned, cooked, mended, typed, filed, played an instrument, crafted beautiful needlework, petted the family dog, disciplined unruly children, and held the hands of others who were sick and even dying.

Those feet and legs got that way through many, many years of work and living. I used to make a joke about my own veins, calling them roadmaps on my legs.  I’m actually kind of proud of them now.

You know what I’ve decided?  I’m no longer going to be uneasy about being old, about sagging skin and age spots on my hands.  I’m not going to be apologetic about my grey hair or my turkey wattles.  I’m not going to think about those stupid advertisements that try to convince us that life isn’t worth living unless you are smooth, flawless, not an ounce of fat on you.  Ridiculous.

Anyone who has ever loved a grandmother knows how beautiful she was.  We need to quit being so superficial and see the marks of age as marks of true beauty.  They need to be seen as the trophies won by women who have lived their lives in the service of others.

Great is their reward.

Lord of the Harvest

Matthew 9:37-38. Then saith He unto His disciples, “The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few: Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He will send forth labourers into His harvest.”

This passage has become a widely-used and beloved call to missions.  Songs have been written using words from these verses.  Poems have been penned, and hearts have been touched by the passionate preaching of this call for laborers to go  into the harvest.

The work of preaching Christ is compared here to the work of harvesting wheat.  I grew up In Minnesota farm country.  I am very familiar with the look of a field that is ready to harvest.  It’s a beautiful sight, really, no matter what the crop; corn, beans,alfalfa, peas for silage, and sorghum all have a lushness about them at harvest time.  But a field of wheat is a beautiful golden stretch, waving full heads in the breeze, and giving the sun back its golden beams.

In Jesus’ day, the wheat was harvested by hand.  Gleaners would pick up the leftovers, much as in the time of Ruth and Boaz. Laborers would be hired just for the harvest season, and it was a time of fellowship, joy, and relief that the rains had held off long enough to get the crop under cover.

Make no mistake; it was hard work.  Hot, sweaty, monotonous work was a necessity if the crop was to be harvested, cleaned, and set under cover for the winter months.  No one promised it would be easy.

The work of harvesting souls isn’t easy, either.   Sometimes, a soul will practically fall into your hands; at other times, it takes months and even years of consistent prayer and pleading with the Holy Spirit to soften the heart of the lost one.

There are not enough workers.  There are not enough who stay until the work is done.  There are not enough who realize that Jesus will not return until all the world has heard the gospel (Matthew 24:14).

Pray that the Lord will send YOU into the harvest; then go and see if you can become a laborer in the field.  There is no greater joy than to be instrumental in leading a lost soul to Jesus.

He was Moved with Compassion

Matthew 9:36. “But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.”

This verse gives us a glimpse into the heart of Jesus.

Have you ever been “moved with compassion”?  I had to look up the word, because I think it’s important.  The Greek word is a doozy:  splagchnizomai.  It’s at moments like these that I’m glad I’m writing and not speaking.  I wouldn’t want to have to pronounce that!  What it means is to have the bowels yearn, to feel sympathy or pity.

This kind of deep compassion actually stirs a visceral reaction in the one who feels it.  The emotion is physical, causing a feeling of distress in the gut.  You can’t fake that.  You either feel it or you don’t.

 Jesus did.  He looked on His people, Israel, as sheep with no shepherd, scattered, hungry, fainting, worn out, and cast away. Sheep need a shepherd.  Without one, they tend to  disperse and go their own way, becoming lost, tangling with brush or predators, going hungry because they’ve strayed from the good pasture into one that is rocky and bare.

Jesus was the Shepherd.  How it must have pained Him to be right there for His sheep, and yet to go unrecognized as the Shepherd.  How deep do you think that rejection went into His heart?  How sad do you think He was, knowing what His sheep would endure for generations before the fullness of time would come and Israel would be restored?

Ezekiel 34: 1-  2. “And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God unto the shepherds: Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks?”

Such a clear condemnation of selfish, lazy shepherds, who have little concern for the flock.  There is nothing more sad, in our own day, than to see a flock scatter to the winds for lack of a shepherd.