12 Disciples – Thomas, Matthew and James
Monday 6th November 06
From the circumstance that in the lists of the apostles he is always mentioned along with Matthew, who was the son of Alphaeus (Mark 2:14), and that these two are always followed by James, who was also the son of Alphaeus, it has been supposed that these three, Matthew, Thomas, and James, were brothers.
Thomas is the 7th disciple mentioned in Matthew 10:3
John 11:16
‘Thomas’ (Heb) was also known as Didymus (Gr), both names mean “double” or “twin.” He has famously become known as “Doubting Thomas” because of his unbelief after the resurrection.
1. Occupation
Thomas was also a Fisherman – John 21:2
2. Thomas – Not afraid to die, but misses the point (John 11:8/16)
After receiving the news that Lazarus was dying, the Lord stays an extra two days at Bethabara (which was about twenty miles from Bethany)
This situation would be used to show Christ’s power and also to illustrate His own resurrection. He tells the disciples that they are leaving for Bethany, which was quite close to Jerusalem. John 11:8-16
Thomas was willing to follow Christ even to death (v16) but he was not listening to what Christ had said. He was not going there to die but to perform a miracle that would glorify the Son of God.
Many times we fail to hear what God is saying to us and we rush off and do our own thing, then we question why God is not blessing us!!!!
3. Important Question (John 14:1-6)
Thomas wanted to follow the Lord and be with Him, but again he had missed the point. Jesus WAS the way.
4. I Believe (John 20)
Why was Thomas not with the other disciples when they met on the evening of Resurrection Day? Was he so disappointed that he did not want to be with his friends? But when we are discouraged and defeated, we need our friends all the more! Lonliness only feeds discouragement and helps it grow into self-pity, which is even worse.
Was he afraid? John 11:16 seems to indicate that he was basically a courageous man, willing to go to Judea and die with the Lord! John 14:5 reveals that Thomas was a spiritually minded man who wanted to know the truth and was not ashamed to ask questions. There seems to have been a “pessimistic” outlook in Thomas. We call him “Doubting Thomas,” but Jesus did not rebuke him for his doubts. He rebuked him for unbelief: “Be not faithless, but believing.” Doubt is often an intellectual problem: we want to believe, but the faith is overwhelmed by problems and questions. Unbelief is a moral problem; we simply will not believe.
What was it that Thomas would not believe? The reports of the other Christians that Jesus Christ was alive. The verb said in John 20:25 means that the disciples “kept saying to him” that they had seen the Lord Jesus Christ alive.
Thomas is a good warning to all of us not to miss meeting with God’s people on the Lord’s Day (Heb. 10:25Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is). Because Thomas was not there, he missed seeing Jesus Christ, hearing His words of peace, and receiving His commission and gift of spiritual life. He had to endure a week of fear and unbelief when he could have been experiencing joy and peace! Remember Thomas when you are tempted to stay home from church. You never know what special blessing you might miss!
But let’s give him credit for showing up the next week. The other ten men had told Thomas that they had seen the Lord’s hands and side (John 20:20), so Thomas made that the test. Thomas had been there when Jesus raised Lazarus, so why should he question our Lord’s own resurrection? But, he still wanted proof; “seeing is believing.”
Thomas’ words help us to understand the difference between doubt and unbelief. Doubt says, “I cannot believe! There are too many problems!” Unbelief says, “I will not believe unless you give me the evidence I ask for!”
Jesus had heard Thomas’ words; nobody had to report them to Him. So, the next Lord’s Day, the Lord appeared in the room (again, the doors were locked) and dealt personally with Thomas and his unbelief. He still greeted them with “Shalom—peace!” Even Thomas’ unbelief could not rob the other disciples of their peace and joy in the Lord.
How gracious our Lord is to stoop to our level of experience in order to lift us where we ought to be. There is no record that Thomas ever accepted the Lord’s invitation. When the time came to prove his faith, Thomas needed no more proof!
John 20:29 indicates that Thomas’ testimony did not come from his touching Jesus, but from his seeing Jesus. “My Lord and my God!”
Thomas reminds us that unbelief robs us of blessings and opportunities. It may sound sophisticated and intellectual to question what Jesus did, but such questions are usually evidence of hard hearts, not of searching minds.
We need to remind ourselves that everybody lives by faith. The difference is in the object of that faith. Christians put their faith in God and His Word, while unsaved people put their faith in themselves.
5. Matthew (Matthew 9:9)
Matthew’s own experience with the Lord is recorded in Matthew 9:9-17; and it is a beautiful example of the grace of God. His old name was Levi, the son of Alphaeus (Mark 2:14). “Matthew” means “the gift of God.” Apparently, the name was given to commemorate his conversion and his call to be a disciple.
Remember that tax collectors were among the most hated people in Jewish society. To begin with, they were traitors to their own nation because they “sold themselves” to the Romans to work for the government. Each tax collector purchased from Rome the right to gather taxes; and the more he gathered, the more he could keep. They were considered thieves as well as traitors; and their constant contacts with Gentiles made them religiously suspect, if not unclean. Jesus reflected the popular view of the publicans when He classified them with harlots and other sinners (Matt. 5:46-47; 18:17); but it was obvious that He was the “friend of publicans and sinners” (Matt. 11:19; 21:31-32).
Matthew opened his heart to Jesus Christ and became a new person. This was not an easy decision for him to make. He was a native of Capernaum, and Capernaum had rejected the Lord (Matt. 11:23). Matthew was a well-known businessman in the city, and his old friends probably persecuted him. Certainly Matthew lost a good deal of income when he left all to follow Christ.
According to tradition, Matthew ministered in Palestine for several years after the Lord’s return to heaven, and then made missionary journeys to the Jews who were dispersed among the Gentiles. His work is associated with Persia, Ethiopia, and Syria, and some traditions associate him with Greece. The New Testament is silent on his life, but this we do know: Wherever the Scriptures travel in this world, the Gospel written by Matthew continues to minister to hearts.
6. Tell everyone (Luke 5:27 - 29)
Matthew not only opened his heart, but he also opened his home. He knew that most, if not all, of his old friends would drop him when he began to follow Jesus Christ; so Matthew took advantage of the situation and invited them to meet Jesus. He gave a great feast and invited all the other tax collectors (some of whom could have been Gentiles), and the Jewish people who were not keeping the Law (“sinners”).
Of course, the Pharisees criticized Jesus for daring to eat with such a defiled group of people. The Lord explained why He was fellowshipping with “publicans and sinners”: They were spiritually sick and needed a physician. He had not come to call the righteous because there were no righteous people. He came to call sinners, and that included the Pharisees. Of course, His critics did not consider themselves “spiritually sick,” but they were just the same.
Matthew not only opened his heart and home, but he also opened his hands and worked for Christ. Alexander Whyte of Edinburgh once said that, when Matthew left his job to follow Christ, he brought his pen with him! Little did this ex-publican realize that the Holy Spirit would one day use him to write the first of the four Gospels in the New Testament.
7. James the Less (Matthew 10:3)
Mat 10:3, Mar3:18, Luk 6:15, Acts 1:13. (Mark 15:4 & Mat 27:56)
8. Martyred
Not much is known about the later life of Thomas. Some say that he laboured for Christ in Parthia, Persia and India. One tradition says that he suffered death as a martyr with the use of a lance or spear. Thomas was loyal and faithful to his Master until the very end (compare John 11:16).
It is said that Matthew preached in Parthia and then Ethiopia, where he suffered martyrdom, being slain with a halberd in the city of Nadabah, A.D. 60.
Spiritual Lessons from Thomas, Matthew and James.
Faith more important than seeing
Christ can change (save) the vilest of sinners
Even if we are unknown to the world around us, we can still be used by the Lord.
