Today we will be covering three disciples who are not as well-known as the others. This is not because they are not inferior, it’s just that the Bible doesn’t say much about them, but they were with Jesus. They did what Jesus commanded, they were great preachers and followed Christ faithfully to the end. While the Bible is tight-lipped on Judas (also known as Thaddeus), Simon the Zealot and James the Less, based on their names and hints of other information, we can learn who they are and they are a powerhouse. Through Judas we learn salvation is priceless, through Simon we see the power of Christian passion, and in James the Less we see God working through the small and unknown.
Salvation is priceless. Salvation is not cheap but priceless. You can’t buy salvation with money. Even the richest man in the world cannot buy salvation. While your worldly possessions will fade, your salvation remains with you forever and not everyone will be saved, as demonstrated by Judas’ question.
Judas was also named Thaddeus or Levius. His name means ‘nursing child’ which was a child who was still drinking their mother’s milk. It shows that Thaddeus was tender, soft and maybe even naive. In John 14:22-23 Judas, not Iscariot, asks a question, “Why do you only show who You are to us and not to the world?” In John 7:3-4, other people asked a similar question to go to Judea, because if Jesus did, he would gain fame and popularity and political power through His miracles. While those people may have had selfish motives, Thaddeus was sincerely curious because he knew Jesus was the Son of God and the miracles proved it, yet why was Jesus only revealing himself to them? At that time there were over 600,000 people in Jerusalem. Thaddeus was confused as to why Jesus was limiting himself to the few disciples, the few chosen.
In John 14:22 and John 7:3-4, people kept asking Jesus to show himself to the world. Those people only sought to gain fame and popularity and power by his miracles. Thaddeus, on the other hand, was sincerely curious because he knew who Jesus was and what He was doing, yet why was Jesus only revealing himself to them? At the time there were 600,000 people in Jerusalem but they only had a few true followers. Thaddeus, knowing how amazing Jesus was, he was confused as to why Jesus was limiting himself to a few chosen. In essence, this question shows that salvation is for the chosen. Salvation is narrow. This doesn’t mean that God is limiting the potential of His salvation. The Bible is clear that God tells all sinners to repent and be saved (Eph 2:8-9, John 3:16, Romans 10:13, 1 Timothy 2:4, Ezekiel 33:11). The reality is, even though God opens the way of salvation, people take their own way (Luke 13:24).
Jesus responds to Judas, “If anyone loves me”. Do you desire the privilege of salvation? If you love Jesus, that privilege is yours. Loving Jesus is believing Jesus as Lord and Savior. Those who love Jesus are a part of his family (John 1:12, Matthew 4:17). To receive the privilege of salvation, to believe and love Jesus, you must repent (Romans 10:9). The reason many sinners reject salvation is not because of a lack of evidence but because they refuse to surrender to Jesus as Lord. They hate Jesus telling them what to do. People do not believe because they reject the Lordship of Jesus Christ, even though they have no answers themselves.
Those who have Jesus as Lord, love Jesus and treasure Jesus above anything else (Luke 16:13). Obedience is the fruit of such treasuring (John 14:23). Obedience is loving Christ and enjoying the privileges of salvation. Jesus continues in His response, “and my Father will love him”. What a statement! Whatever happens, God loves. We sin, we struggle, we go through good and bad times, yet God loves him. His love is infinite and never changing. We might not realize or feel God’s love because of our sin, but God loves at all times to the utmost (Romans 8:32). His love is not based on our merit or anything of us, but because of Jesus.
Another privilege of salvation is that God comes to us. We live in the presence of God and experience Him! Like the faithful men who turned to God in their time of trouble, wherever we go, God comes to us. Also God says we “make Our abode with him”. God is within you, staying with you, walking with you (2 Corinthians 6:16 ). Consider who you would want with you, any person in the world or the Almighty God? Christians enjoy this amazing privilege everyday. Jesus is saying to Judas (Thaddeus), this is your privilege and not the world’s. Salvation is truly a priceless gift from God.
The importance of Christian passion. The next disciple, Simon the Zealot shows what Christian passion looks like. Passion is so important, like a car without fuel, so is faith without passion. Simon was called the zealot. Zealot means passion or fiery. He was also Simon the Canaanite. Canaanite doesn’t mean he was born in Canaan but that he was zealous. Simon was probably part of a political group that was active in that area. They would steal or murder to try to bring independence from the Roman empire. Essentially Simon belonged to an extremist terrorist group. They were known for carrying daggers with them at all times in case they ever needed to assassinate anyone. The zealots resisted the Romans until 70AD and did a three year stand in the mountains until they eventually killed themselves rather than surrendering. They were a rough group with extreme passion.
Christians, too, must be zealous. To be zealous is to be concerned with only one thing, to please God. A Christian’s zeal comes from Jesus. He risked his life to cleanse the temple. When Jesus saw what the people had done to His Father’s temple he was so upset. He gave His life to redeem the sinner and fulfill God’s saving work. As Jesus is zealous, so are we. You can see Simon’s zeal for Jesus above all else is evident because of Levi’s presence among the disciples. In the view of the zealot political party, the tax collector Matthew was enemy number one, a traitor and slave of the Romans. Yet Simon did not hate Matthew but loved Matthew because Simon loved Christ. Like Apostle Paul, his pharisaic zeal turned into a Godly zeal (Acts 9:1-3, 2 Corinthians 11:27-28).
A strong Christian zeal is important because it measures your spiritual health. Remember the lukewarm church of Laodicea in Christ’s letter to the churches (Rev 3:16). Jesus despises those who are lukewarm, without passion, and he spits them out which ultimately means you are not a believer. Those who are without passion are Christian pretenders, their faith is only on the outside and not within. Passion doesn’t depend on personality but a supernatural internal desire which comes from Christ (Revelation 3:18). Jesus says those who come to him are changed and made passionate (Rev 3:18). Like Isaiah we cry out, “Here I am, send me!” because our sin is gone (Isaiah 6: 7-9).
How to be faithful. The last of the powerhouse is James the son of Alpheus. His nickname is James the Younger or James the Less. Nothing else is known about James besides his name. We only know him because he is in the list of the twelve apostles. He is someone who doesn’t stand out and was never famous. His name was literally defined relative to the other James. Do you think God only uses the famous or powerful? Do all Christians go to a mega church? No, God uses the small local churches to reach every neighborhood in all parts of the world. Zaccheus was a small man, yet Jesus called out to him. No one knows who Obed-edom was, yet God chose His house as the dwelling place of the Ark of Covenant after King David tried to move it improperly (2 Samuel 6:11). Jesus remembers you and blesses you no matter how small you are.
And on James’ side, even though he was called James the Less, he was still faithful. Why is it important to be faithful? Because God will judge you, and to those who are faithful, God will give a crown of righteousness. To be faithful, always clarify your conscience. Secondly, always have more intimate communion with God through word and prayer. Thirdly, be a man of conviction, if you believe then you must act. This is how Joshua and Caleb lived (Numbers 14:24) and were faithful for many years until they received their promise from God. Being faithful means disregarding the ways of the world but seeking the will of God. Like Daniel’s three friends, they knew and trusted God and were faithful even in the fiery furnace. No matter if you are great or small, you are to be faithful.
These three apostles encourage a small church like ours. Through them we see our privilege, the passion we need, and how to be faithful.
BIBLE COMMUNITY CHURCH 
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