Those Other Apostles
By: Dave McKay
Ask yourself as a Christian, who, in all history, would you
most envy? Would it be one of the heroes of the Old
Testament? Would it be a famous saint in the history of the
church? Or would it be one of the people in the New
Testament who was healed, or in some other way, touched
by Christ himself?
Surely, the Twelve Apostles - those who lived and worked
with Jesus on a daily basis for three whole years - must
have been the most privileged people in all history, and the
ones we would most like to have been.
Like the small handful of people who have walked on the
moon, they alone would have had intimate knowledge of
something that the rest of the human race could only dream
of. There were multitudes of people who caught a glimpse
of Jesus, who witnessed one or more of his miracles, who
heard him preach on at least one occasion. Christians living
today could certainly envy any one of them. But there are only
twelve who were there with him through it all.
Twelve men were hand selected by Jesus Christ himself,
the Son of God, the Creator of the Universe. They were
picked from thousands who came to hear what Jesus was
saying, at a time in history which he described as a
spiritually “green tree”.
These men were the “creme de la creme”, the best of the
best.
Amongst them were Simon Peter (”The Rock”), and several
pairs of famous brothers. There were James and John, the
sons of Zebedee, Andrew and Phillip the fishermen, and
Matthew the tax collector and his brother… the other James.
“The other James?” you might ask. It’s true that, apart from
being included in the lists of the Twelve Apostles, this other
son of Alphaeus is never mentioned anywhere else in the
Bible. And the same can be said for the other Simon (the
Canaanite) and the other Judas… although some people
think he may have been the Jude who wrote a one-page
letter right near the end of the New Testament.
Nothing more is known of Bartholomew either. And men like
Thomas, Phillip, and Matthew are only mentioned briefly in a
couple of other places.
In Thomas’ case, he is primarily remembered today as
“doubting Thomas” because of his skepticism about the
resurrection.
And yet Christ himself selected these men to sit as judges
over the twelve tribes of Israel. He placed them above Noah,
Moses, King David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Elijah. Imagine
that! Bartholomew, someone we know almost nothing
about, lecturing Elijah on how to be spiritual! But that’s how
it is.
The eleventh chapter of Hebrews lists many of the heroes of
faith in the Bible, but then concludes with a reference to
others, “of whom the world is not worthy”, who died without
receiving deliverance, and without being recognised by the
world in general for their faith and courage. These people,
too, were considered greater in God’s eyes than the big
name heroes of the Old Testament.
Even now, few Christians realise, for example, that
“Doubting Thomas” journeyed all the way to India, where he
started a branch of Christianity that continues to this day. He
died a martyr’s death in a cave that he had been hiding in
because of the persecution that his message had inspired
amongst the local population.
Maybe you feel at times like Peter, James, and John are
such superstars that they are out of your league. But don’t
forget that the Son of God had room in his tiny circle of
favourite friends for some nondescripts like yourself as well.
And the list is not finished yet. The book that GOD is writing
is still being written. And there’s still room to have your
name included amongst spiritual giants like Bartholomew
and Simon the Canaanite, and James the Son of Alphaeus,
and that other Judas… you know, the one no one
remembers, because he did not betray Jesus!
Dave McKay is co-founder of a Christian intentional
community. Website: jesuschristians.com