“Lord,” Thomas said, “Lord,” said Philip, Judas (not Iscariot), said to him, “Lord…” John 14: 5,8,22
Indeed, the Word is “living, active and sharper than a
two-edged sword” Hebrews 4:12
I have read John 14 many times but today for the first time I
noted that three different disciples asked questions of Jesus in this chapter. Furthermore,
they aren’t Peter, James, or John – the disciples who are in his inner, inner
circle. What is the significance of that? I couldn’t tell you but it seems to
me that each one felt comfortable enough to question the Lord. Who were these
men?
Thomas
When Jesus decides to return to Judea when it was dangerous, Thomas was the disciple who said in John 11:16, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” But he is most famously known as “doubting Thomas” for his refusal to believe Jesus had arisen when he wasn’t with the remaining 10 disciples when Jesus appeared to them. In John 20:24-28 He went fishing with six of the other disciples in John 21. He in the upper room in Jerusalem after the Resurrection, as were Philip and Judas, son of James. They were waiting for the promised Holy Spirit. He is listed with the other 11 disciples that Jesus chose
Philip
In John 1:43-46 we see when Jesus called Philip to follow and Philip’s invitation to Nathanael to do the same. When Nathanael doubted that anything good could come out of Nazareth, Philip encouraged him to “Come and See.” It was one of the seven “men of good reputation” chosen to oversee the daily distribution of food to the widows in Acts6:1-6. In Acts 8:26-40 we read of how an angel of the Lord and the Spirit directed Philip to evangelize an Ethiopian man and how the Spirit of the Lord carried him away after he baptized that man. He went to a city in Samaria and preached the Messiah to them and he performed signs. Acts 8: 5-13 Apparently Paul visited him in Acts 21:8-9 and it is mentioned that he had four virgin daughters who prophesied.
Judas (Thaddeus or Labbaeus)
This is all I could fine in Scripture. He was also known as
the son of James (Luke 6:16 and Acts 1:13). Called Thaddaeus in Matthew 10:3 with
a footnote that says “other manuscripts read ‘and Lebbaeus whose surname was
Thaddaeus’” and also called Thaddeus in Mark 3:18. I imagine he would have
preferred that name after Judas Iscariot’s betrayal!
According to Google (Therefore not Biblical but possibly true) “Following Pentecost, early church tradition indicates Thaddeus was an active missionary. He is believed to have preached the Gospel in Mesopotamia, Libya, Syria and Persia. He is highly revered in the Armenian Apostolic Church alongside St. Bartholomew, as tradition holds they both evangelized Armenia. Extrabiblical records suggest he was martyred around 65AD in Beirut or Persia, reportedly beaten with a club or ax.”
As I’ve studied these three men and the text today These are my
thoughts:
As a disciple of Jesus each one of us who knows the Master
is free to ask Him for clarification of things we don’t understand but our
finite minds might still not grasp what we’re told
The concept of Jesus and the Father being one is
difficult to understand but I’ll still believe it because He said it – and He
should know!!!!
Being obscure in Scripture (or Christian circles) doesn't mean we're not known by the God who really sees and cares about our questions.
