THE 12 APOSTLES: THADDAEUS
John 14:22
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR
Memorandum to: Jesus, son of Joseph, Wood crafter Carpenter Shop, Nazareth.
From: Jordan Management Consultants, Jerusalem.
1. Dear Sir: Thank you for submitting the resumes of the 12 men you have picked for management positions in your new organization. All of them have now taken our battery of tests; we have not only run the results through our computer, but also arranged personal interviews for each of them with our psychologist and vocational aptitude consultant.
2. It is the staff opinion that most of your nominees are lacking in background, education, and vocational aptitude for the type of enterprise you are undertaking.
3. They do not have the team concept. We would recommend that you continue searching for persons of experience in managerial ability and proven capacity.
a. Simon Peter is emotionally unstable and given to fits of temper.
b. Andrew has absolutely no leadership qualities.
c. The two brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, place personal interest above company loyalty.
d. Thomas demonstrates a questioning attitude that would tend to undermine morale.
e. We feel it is our duty to tell you that Matthew has been blacklisted by the greater Jerusalem Better Business Bureau.
f. James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus definitely have radical leanings, and both registered a high score on the manic-depressive scale.
4. One of the candidates, however, shows great potential. He is a man of ability and resourcefulness, meets people well, has a keen business mind, and has contacts in high places.
5. We recommend Judas Iscariot as your controller and right-hand man. We wish you every success in your new venture. Sincerely years, Jordan Management Consultants.
B. THESIS
1. Tonight is the 10th part in our series called, “The 12 Apostles of Jesus.” Tonight we’re looking at another of the apostles that are little known; Thaddaeus.
2. We’re going to find this guy has a couple of aliases. There’s only one record of him saying something and there’s nothing in the Bible describing his accomplishments.
3. Yet we’re going to find some interesting stuff! He was one of the 12 men chosen by Jesus to bear witness to His life, death, and resurrection. This Judas was the opposite of another Judas. He became a missionary preacher and died testifying to Jesus’ reality.
4. So let’s open the Bible and embark on the surprising study of the 10th of the 12 Apostles: Thaddaeus.
I. “TRINOMIOUS:” MAN WITH 3 NAMES
A. SCRIPTURAL MENTIONS
1. JUDAS SON OF JAMES, in Luke’s writings.
Acts 1:13, “When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James.” (See Lk. 6:16.)
2. ONLY 2 MENTIONS OF THADDAEUS.
Mt. 10:3 Mk. 3:18 Lk. 6:12-16
10th Thaddaeus Thaddaeus Simon Z
11th Simon Z Simon Z Judas Of James
3. ONLY MENTION OF LEBBEAUS = KJV of Matt. 10:3; “and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus.”
a. The mss which support “Lebbaios” are D, k, mu, and early father, Origen. All other mss support the Thaddaeus reading.
b. Alfred Edersheim in his book, The Life & Times of Jesus the Messiah, says that Matthew called him “Lebbaeus from the Hebrew, lebh, a heart.” Edersheim says that Thaddaeus was derived from “Thodah, from ‘praise.’ In that case both Lebbaeus / Thaddaeus would point to the heartiness and thanksgiving of the apostle, and hence his character” (Vol. 1, p.522).
B. REASON FOR THE NAME SUBSTITUTION
1. There is little doubt that Thaddaeus’ real name is “Judas son of James.” So why the name Thaddaeus? Matthew 10:3, KJV, hints that it was his “surname.” However his father’s name was James.
2. Commentators think it most likely that the reason Matthew and Mark call him Thaddaeus is to distinguish him from Judas Iscariot.
3. The Gospel of John mentions him as "Judas not Iscariot" (John 14:22). How would you like to be called that?
4. Evidently the name "Judas," when referring to the 12, was irreparably tarnished by Judas Iscariot.
5. So St. Jerome called Judas "Trinomious" which means "a man with three names," because he’s called Judas, Thaddaeus, and Lebbaios(Gr.).
II. THADDAEUS AT THE LAST SUPPER
A. TEXT John 14:12-24
12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. 15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.” 22 Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?” 23 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.
B. SUBJECT OF THE DISCUSSION
1. The promise of power to do the works of Christ (v.12) is qualified by obedience to Christ’s commands (v. 15).
2. Having already told them He was going back to the Father, Jesus tells them He will send another “Comforter/ Paraclete” to be with them, “the Spirit of Truth” (v. 17).
3. The disciples would know the reality of His existence by the Holy Spirit within them. He would not leave them as “orphans” (v. 18), “I will come to you,” but “the world won’t see Me” (v. 19).
4. This statement provoked Judas “(not Judas Iscariot) [to say], ‘But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?’”
5. What Jesus had been saying was completely new teaching; the Jews had never heard this concept of the Messiah’s coming.
6. The Jewish idea was that the Messiah would come openly to the world and subdue it, and rule over all the world and right the wrongs done to God’s covenant people, the Jews.
7. That’s why Judas son of James/ Thaddaeus asked how such an arrangement was possible. Jesus went on to explain that the Father and Son would indwell each believer, in the Holy Spirit. This way they could teach each believer how to obey God’s teachings.
8. Jesus of course, didn’t deny that He would later come back in power and rule the world, but it was necessary that He die for us and then give each of us the chance of accepting His kingdom within, before He established His kingdom without.
C. ILLUS: POTATO CHIP CHRISTIANS
1. Potato chips bags these days are about ¼ chips and ¾ air. The Chip companies call it a “bag,” but when you get it, it’s substantially less.
2. We have a lot of Potato Chip Christians today. They’re ½ saved and ½ worldly. When you open them up you find they’re full of a lot of air. [Tony Evans]
3. That’s why Lord Jesus sent the Holy Spirit. He doesn’t want us to be followers filled with the world, but to be indwelt by the Holy Spirit and empowered to do what He did.
III. TRADITION & DEATH
A. TRADITION ON HIS MINISTRY
1. Tradition holds that Saint Jude preached the Gospel in Judea, Samaria, Idumaea, Syria, Mesopotamia and Libya.[ "About Saint Jude, Shrine of St. Jude Thaddeus, San Francisco, Ca"]
2. The Apostles Jude and Bartholomew are traditionally believed to have been the first to bring Christianity to Armenia, and are therefore venerated as the patron saints of the Armenian Apostolic Church.
3. Linked to this tradition is the Saint Thaddeus Monastery (now in northern Iran), which was constructed when that territory was in Armenia during the 7th Century.
B. DEATH & REMAINS
1. According to tradition, Saint Judas/ Thaddaeus suffered martyrdom about 65 AD in Beirut, in the Roman province of Syria, together with the apostle Simon the Zealot, with whom he is usually connected.
2. The axe that he is often shown holding symbolizes the way in which he was killed.
3. Their acts and martyrdom were recorded in a document called “The Acts of Simon and Judas” associated with the legendary Abdias, bishop of Babylon, and said to have been translated into Latin by his disciple Tropaeus Africanus.
4. Sometime after his death, Saint Jude's body was brought from Beirut to Rome and placed in a crypt in St. Peter's Basilica.
5 He is entombed under the main altar of St. Joseph with the remains of the apostle Simon the Zealot.
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION
1. All around us are invisible electronic waves. The air is thick with them. Those waves allow you to speak to someone on your cell phone, to listen to your radio, or to watch your TV.
2. You can’t see these waves; they’re invisible to the naked eye, but your TV gives you a visual representation of the invisible.
3. God is invisible; no one can see Him. But the air is thick with His presence. To tune into Him we must get the right equipment. [Tony Evans]
4. That equipment is the Holy Spirit. He translates the invisible God into something we can perceive.
5. With the Holy Spirit indwelling us, we can carry on a
2-way conversation with God; we can see what He sees, we can feel His feelings and be taught what pleases Him.
6. Once you’ve had a cell phone for a while, you wonder how you ever lived without it. Once you’ve had the Holy Spirit installed in your spirit, and can experience the wonder of walking with God, you wonder how you ever lived without that too.
7. Paul said, “Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” Eph. 5:18-20.
B. THE CALL
1. Thaddaeus was the apostle who asked the specifics about the Holy Spirit at the Last Supper.
2. Acts 1:13 also records Thaddaeus was in the Upper Room on the Day of Pentecost. He followed through on receiving the Comforter, the Holy Spirit. Have you?
3. Prayer for salvation and the infilling of the Holy Spirit.
