Thaddaeus was a man of many identities. In the King James translation of Matthew 10:3 he is called "Lebbeus, whose surname was Thaddeus." He is also called "Judas the son of James" (Luke 6:16; Acts 1:13) and "Judas (not lscariot)" (John 14:22). Judas, which means "Jehovah leads," was probably the name given him at birth, with Thaddaeus and Lebbeus added later as nicknames to reflect his character. Apparently Thaddaeus was the nickname given to him by his family. It comes from a Hebrew root word that refers to the female breast. Basically it means a "breast-child." Perhaps Thaddaeus was the youngest child in the family or was especially dear to his mother. Lebbeus comes from a Hebrew root that means "heart" Literally it means a "heart-child" and speaks of someone who is courageous. That nickname was likely given him by his friends, who saw him as a man of boldness and courage. 

Early church tradition tells us that Thaddaeus was tremendously gifted with the power of God to heal the sick. It is said that a certain Syrian king named Adgar was very ill and sent for Thaddaeus to come and heal him. On his way to the king, Thaddaeus reportedly healed hundreds of people throughout Syria. When he finally reached the king, he healed him and then preached Christ to him. As a result the king became a Christian. The country, however, was thrown into chaos, and a vengeful nephew of the king had Thaddaeus imprisoned, then beaten to death with a club. If that tradition is true, it confirms that Thaddaeus was a man of great courage.

It takes courage to die for Christ but it also takes courage to live for Him. That's why Paul said that God hasn't "given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline" (2 Tim. 1:7). Each day trust in God's promises and rely on His Spirit. That's how you can face each new challenge with courage and confidence.  
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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

Rev. Dr. Brent L Parrish

Like most Christians, James the son of Alphaeus is an unknown and unsung soldier of the cross. His distinguishing characteristic is obscurity. Nothing he did or said is recorded in Scripture—only his name. 

In Mark 15:40 he is called "James the Less," which literally means "Little James." That could refer to his stature (he might have been short), his age (he might have been younger than James the son of Zebedee), or his influence (he might have had relatively little influence among the disciples). 

In Mark 2:14 Matthew (Levi) is called "the son of Alphaeus." Alphaeus was a common name, but it's possible that James and Matthew were brothers, since their fathers had the same first name. Also, James's mother is mentioned in Mark 15:40 as being present at Christ's crucifixion, along with other women. She is referred to as the wife of Clopas in John 19:25. Since Clopas was a form of Alphaeus that further supports the possibility that James and Matthew were related. 

From those references we might conclude that James was a small, young man whose personality was not particularly powerful. If he was Matthew's brother, perhaps he was as humble as Matthew, willing to serve the Lord without any applause or notice. Whichever the case, be encouraged that God uses obscure people like James and rewards them accordingly. Someday James will sit on a throne in Christ's millennial Kingdom, judging the twelve tribes of Israel—just like the other, more prominent disciples (Luke 22:30). 

No matter how obscure or prominent you are from a human perspective, God can use you and will reward you with a glorious eternal inheritance.  
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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

Matthew describes himself as "Matthew the tax-gatherer" (Matt 10:3). He is the only apostle whose name is associated here with an occupation. Apparently Matthew never forgot what he had been saved from and never lost his sense of awe and unworthiness over Christ's forgiveness. 
 

Matthew 9:1-8, where he sets the scene of his own conversion, tells us Jesus forgave the sins of a paralytic man and then healed him of his paralysis. When the Jewish scribes accused Him of blasphemy for claiming to have the authority to forgive sins, He said to them, "Why are you thinking evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise, and walk?" He wanted them to know that His miracles testified to His deity. As God, He could as easily forgive sins as He could heal diseases. 

Immediately after that account Matthew gave the account of his own call. It's as if he wanted his own salvation to serve as an illustration of Christ's ability to forgive even the vilest of sinners. Matthew 9:9 says, "As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man, called Matthew, sitting in the tax office; and He said to him, 'Follow Me!' And he rose, and followed Him." 

When the Pharisees questioned Jesus' practice of associating with tax-gatherers, He said to them, "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are ill.... I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners" (w. 12-13). The Pharisees were sick with sin but thought they were healthy. Matthew and his associates knew they were sinners who needed a Savior. 

Do you share Matthew's humility and sense of awe at receiving Christ's precious gift of forgiveness? I pray that you do and that you are continually praising Him for it  

The twelve apostles included "Matthew the tax-gatherer" (Matt. 10:3). 

I remember reading a notice in a local newspaper announcing the opening of a new evangelical church in our community. It gave the date and time of the first services, then added, "Our special guest star will be..." and named a popular Christian celebrity. In its attempt to appeal to unbelievers or simply draw a large crowd, the church today commonly uses that kind of approach. 

Jesus, however, used a different approach. None of His disciples were famous at all. In fact, rather than drawing a favorable crowd, some of them might have repelled or even incited anger and hatred among His Jewish audience. Matthew was such a man because he was a despised tax-gatherer—one of many Jewish men employed by Rome to collect taxes from his own people. As such he was regarded as a traitor by his own countrymen. 

The Roman tax system allowed tax collectors to keep anything they collected in excess of what was owed to Rome. That encouraged bribes, extortion, and other abuses. 

To compound the issue, Matthew was among those who had the prerogative of taxing almost anything they wanted to tax—roads, bridges, harbors, axles, donkeys, packages, letters, imports, exports,merchandise, and so on. Such men could accumulate enormous wealth for themselves. You might remember another tax-gatherer named Zaccheus, who is described in Luke 19:2 as a wealthy man. His salvation was evidenced by his offer to repay those he had defrauded fourfold (v. 8). 

Some people think God can't use them because they're not famous or because of their past sins. But God has used Matthew, Zaccheus, and millions of others like them. Concentrate on your present purity, and let God bless your ministry as He sees fit.   
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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

The twelve apostles included 'Thomas" (Matt. 10:3). 

When Jesus was crucified, Thomas was shattered. He loved Jesus deeply and wanted always to be with Him. He'd even been willing to die with Him, but now his greatest fear had been realized: Jesus was gone. 

Thomas was not with the other disciples when Jesus appeared to them after His resurrection. John 20:25 says, "The other disciples therefore were saying to [Thomas], ‘We have seen the Lord!' But he said to them, ‘Unless I shall see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe."' Thomas was emotionally spent and was unwilling to subject himself to any further pain. So he retreated behind a wall of empiricism, saying in effect, “I’m not going to believe this on your word alone. I need proof! I must see Jesus myself." 

Because of that, people have labeled him "Doubting Thomas," but remember, none of the disciples believed the resurrection until Jesus appeared to them. Thomas wasn't a compulsive doubter—he was a loving pessimist. 

 As it turned out, Thomas didn't need as much proof as he thought. When Jesus finally appeared to him and invited him to touch His hands and side, Thomas didn't do either. Instead he immediately cried out "My Lord and my God!" (v. 28)—which is the greatest single confession of faith ever made. 

Thomas struggled with doubt because he didn't understand what Jesus had said about His own death and resurrection, and he wasn't with the other disciples when Jesus first appeared to them. He failed to understand God's Word and forsook the company of believers—two common mistakes that can lead to doubt. 

Jesus doesn't condemn you when you have doubts. Instead, He gives you His Spirit, His Word, and the fellowship of His people to encourage and strengthen you. So, commune with the Spirit in prayer, know the Word well, and never forsake the fellowship of believers. That's how to change your doubts into hope!   
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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,
 

The twelve apostles included "Thomas" (Matt 10:3). 

When you think of Thomas, you probably think of a doubter. But if you look beyond his doubt, you'll see he was characterized by something that should mark every true believer—an intense desire to be with Christ. John 10:39-40 tells us Jesus and His disciples left Jerusalem because of threats on Jesus' life. While they were staying near the Jordan River, Jesus received word that His dear friend Lazarus was sick. He delayed going to Lazarus because He didn't want merely to heal him, but to raise him from the dead. 

Lazarus lived in Bethany—just two miles east of Jerusalem. So when Jesus decided to go there, His disciples were deeply concerned, thinking it would surely be a suicide mission (John 11:8). Despite the danger, Thomas said, "Let us also go, that we may die with Him" (v. 16). That’s a pessimistic attitude, but it also shows his courage and his desire to be with Christ whether in life or death. An optimist would expect the best, making it easier to go. Thomas expected the worst but was willing to go anyway.

I believe Thomas couldn't bear the thought of living without Christ. He would rather die with Him than live without Him. That's also evident in John 14, where Jesus told the disciples He was going away to prepare a place for them. Thomas responded by saying in effect "Lord, we don't know where you're going or how to get there. Please don't go somewhere we can't go!" (v. 5). He didn't understand what Jesus was going to do. All he knew was that he didn't want to be separated from his Lord. 

Can you identify with Thomas? Is Christ such an integral part of your daily decisions and activities that life without Him is unthinkable? Do you love Him so much you long to see Him? That was Thomas's passion. May it be yours as well. 
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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

The twelve apostles included "Bartholomew [Nathanael]” (Matt 10:3). 

Despite Nathanael's prejudice, Jesus knew he was an honest, sincere Jewish believer in whom there was no religious hypocrisy or deceit (John 1:47). He truly sought after God and looked forward to the Messiah's coming. Most of the Jewish people of Jesus' day believed that every circumcised descendant of Abraham was a true Jew and a beneficiary of the Abrahamic Covenant. But in Romans 2:28-29, Paul explains that salvation is an issue of the heart, not of national origin: "He is not a Jew who is one outwardly; neither is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart." Nathanael was such a man. 

He was shocked when Jesus described him as "an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile" (John 1:47) because they had never met before. He was equally shocked when Jesus said He saw him under a fig tree because Jesus was nowhere near that tree. Nathanael immediately realized that Jesus was omniscient-He knew everything! That’s why he exclaimed, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel" (v. 49). He had found the Messiah for whom he had searched so long! 

The Lord's mention of the fig tree is significant. In that region fig trees were commonly used as a source of shade and outdoor shelter. Many of the houses in Palestine had only one room, so fig trees became a place to be alone for prayer and meditation on the Scriptures. Quite possibly Nathanael was under the fig tree searching the Scriptures and communing with God when Jesus saw his open heart and his desire to find the Messiah. Jesus personally answered Nathanael's prayer. 

When Jesus looks into your heart, does He see a true believer in whom there is no hypocrisy? Nathanael wasn't perfect, but he loved God and was a diligent student of the Word. And the Lord did great things through him. I pray that is true of you as well. 
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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,