The Urantia Book
PAPER 139
THE TWELVE APOSTLES
139:0.1 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.
139:0.2 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.
139:0.3 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.
139:0.4 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
139:1.1 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.
139:1.2 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 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.
139:1.3 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.
139:1.4 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.
139:1.5 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.
139:1.6 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.
139:1.7 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."
139:1.8 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.
139:1.9 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 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.
139:1.10 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.
139:1.11 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.
139:1.12 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
139:2.1 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.
139:2.2 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.
139:2.3 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.
139:2.4 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
astonishment at seeing Jesus on the beach, Peter jumped in and
swam ashore to meet the Master.
139:2.5 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.
139:2.6 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.
139:2.7 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.
139:2.8 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.
139:2.9 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.
139:2.10 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.
139:2.11 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.
139:2.12 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.
139:2.13 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.
139:2.14 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.
139:2.15 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
139:3.1 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.
139:3.2 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.
139:3.3 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.
139:3.4 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 of human nature; he got
along well with the versatile Andrew, the impetuous Peter, and his
self-contained brother John.
139:3.5 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.
139:3.6 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.
139:3.7 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.
139:3.8 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.
139:3.9 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
139:4.1 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.
139:4.2 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 truthfully 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.
139:4.3 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.
139:4.4 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.
139:4.5 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.
139:4.6 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."
139:4.7 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.
139:4.8 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.
139:4.9 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.
139:4.10 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.
139:4.11 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.
139:4.12 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.
139:4.13 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.
139:4.14 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.
139:4.15 John traveled much, labored
incessantly, and after becoming bishop of the Asia churches,
settled down at Ephesus. He directed his associate, Nathan, in 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
139:5.1 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.
139:5.2 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.
139:5.3 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.
139:5.4 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.
139:5.5 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."
139:5.6 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.
139:5.7 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.
139:5.8 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."
139:5.9 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.
139:5.10 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.
139:5.11 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 salvation 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.
139:5.12 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
139:6.1 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.
139:6.2 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.
139:6.3 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.
139:6.4 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.
139:6.5 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.
139:6.6 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.
139:6.7 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.
139:6.8 Nathaniel most revered Jesus for his
tolerance. He never grew weary of contemplating the
broadmindedness and generous sympathy of the Son of Man.
139:6.9 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
139:7.1 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.
139:7.2 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."
139:7.3 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.
139:7.4 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."
139:7.5 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.
139:7.6 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.
139:7.7 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.
139:7.8 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.
139:7.9 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.
139:7.10 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.
8. THOMAS DIDYMUS
139:8.1 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.
139:8.2 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.
139:8.3 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.
139:8.4 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.
139:8.5 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.
139:8.6 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.
139:8.7 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.
139:8.8 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."
139:8.9 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.
139:8.10 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.
139:8.11 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!"
139:8.12 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 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.
139:8.13 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
139:9.1 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.
139:9.2 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.
139:9.3 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.
139:9.4 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.
139:9.5 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.
139:9.6 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.
139:9.7 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.
139:9.8 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.
139:9.9 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!
139:9.10 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?"
139:9.11 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
139:11.1 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.
139:11.2 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.
139:11.3 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 remove all indecision, to see a new soul born into
the "liberty of faith and the joy of salvation."
139:11.4 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.
139:11.5 The one thing about Jesus which Simon
so much admired was the Master's calmness, his assurance, poise,
and inexplicable composure.
139:11.6 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.
139:11.7 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.
139:11.8 Jesus was not afraid to identify
himself with business men, laboring men, optimists, pessimists,
philosophers, skeptics, publicans, politicians, and patriots.
139:11.9 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.
139:11.10 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.
139:11.11 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
139:12.1 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 John the Baptist. Judas' parents were Sadducees, and
when their son joined John's disciples, they disowned him.
139:12.2 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.
139:12.3 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.
139:12.4 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.
139:12.5 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.
139:12.6 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.
139:12.7 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 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.
139:12.8 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.
139:12.9 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.
139:12.10 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.
139:12.11 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.
139:12.12 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
faint-heartedly conceived, as a defense in his own mind, the idea
that Jesus might possibly exert his power and deliver himself at
the last moment.
139:12.13 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.
139:12.14 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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