Disciples of Jesus – Jude

1. Disciples of Jesus – Jude – 6th January 2017
“To him who is ableto keep you from stumblingand to presentyou beforehisgloriouspresencewithout
faultand with great joy—25 to theonlyGod ourSaviorbeglory,majesty,powerand authority,through Jesus
ChristourLord,beforeall ages,now and forevermore!Amen.” (Jude1:24-25).
Jude,Thaddeus,orLebbeus,sonof AlpheusorCleophasandMary. He was a brotherof Jamesthe
Younger.He was one of the verylittle-knownApostlesandlivedinGalilee.Traditionsayshe preachedin
AssyriaandPersiaanddieda martyr inPersia. Jude hasbeencalled "Trinomious"whichmeans"aman
withthree names."InMark 3:18 he is calledThaddeus.In Matthew10:3 he iscalledLebbeus. We can
learnfromMatthew 10:3, “Jesuscalled histwelve disciplesto himand gave them authorityto drive
out impurespirits andto heal every diseaseandsickness. 2
These are the namesof the twelve
apostles:first,Simon(who iscalled Peter) and hisbrother Andrew; James son ofZebedee, andhis
brother John; 3
PhilipandBartholomew;Thomasand Matthew the tax collector;James son of
Alphaeus,andThaddaeus; 4
Simonthe Zealot and JudasIscariot,who betrayed him.” Bible scholars
generallyagree,however,thatthe fournamesusedforhimall refertothe same person.
Jude’s surname wasThaddeus.In Luke 6:16 andActs 1:13 he iscalledJudasthe brotherof James. When
we read above,we canlearnthat JudasIscariotand Judasare two differentpeople: Luke6:16, “Judas
son ofJames, andJudasIscariot, whobecame a traitor.” JudasThaddeus(Jude)was alsowascalled
Judasthe Zealot. By character he was an intense and violent Nationalist with the dream of world
power and domination by the Chosen People. In the New Testament records Jude (Judas
Thaddeus) where he askedJesus at the Last Supper as to why He was showing(explaining) Himselfto
the disciplesandNOTtothe world:“ Then Judas(not JudasIscariot) said,“But,Lord, why do you
intendto showyourselfto us and not to the world?” We can learnJesusanswerwhen: Jesusreplied,
“Anyonewho lovesme will obeymy teaching. My Father will lovethem, and we will come to them
and make our homewith them. 24
Anyonewho does not loveme will not obey my teaching.These
words youhear are not my own; they belongto the Father who sent me.”(John 14:22-24).
Judas Thaddeus was interested in making Christ known to the world. Not as a suffering Saviour,
but as ruling King. We can see plainly from the answer Jesus gave him, that the way of power
can never be substituted for the way of love. Itis saidthat Jude wenttopreach the gospel inEdessa
nearthe EuphratesRiver. There he healedmanyandmanybelievedinthe name of the Master. Jude
wentfromthere to preachthe Gospel inotherplaces.He was killedwitharrowsatArarat.The chosen
symbol forhimisthe shipbecause he wasa missionarythoughttobe a fisherman.
ListedtogetherwithSimonthe ZealotandJamesthe Less,the ApostleThaddeuscompletesagrouping
of the leastknowndisciples.In TwelveOrdinary Men,JohnMacArthur'sbookabout the apostles,
Thaddeus,alsoknownasJude,ischaracterizedasa tender-hearted,gentle manwhodisplayedchildlike
humility. Some scholarsbelieve Thaddeuswrote the bookof Jude.It'sa short epistle,butthe closing
twoversescontaina beautiful doxology,one of the finestexpressionsof praise toGodinthe entire New
Testament. We can readthisin Jude 1:24-25, “To him whois able to keep you from stumblingandto
present you before hisgloriouspresence without faultandwith great joy— 25
to the onlyGod our
Saviorbe glory,majesty,power and authority,throughJesus Christour Lord, before all ages, now and
forevermore! Amen.”

2. In listsof the Twelve,he iscalledThaddeusorThaddaeus,asurname forthe name Lebbaeus,which
means"heart"or "courageous." The picture isconfusedfurtherwhenhe iscalledJudasbutis
distinguishedfrom JudasIscariotwhoiswell knownforwhathe did. Churchtraditionholdsthat
Thaddeusfoundedachurchat Edessaandwas crucified there asa martyr.
AccomplishmentsofThaddeus: Thaddeuspreachedthe gospel as amissionaryfollowingJesus'
resurrection.Some Biblescholarsbelieve Thaddeuspennedthe book of Jude,althoughmore take the
viewthatJude,the half-brotherof Jesus,isthe author.The final twoversesof Jude (24-25) containa
doxology,or"expressionof praise toGod,"consideredthe finestinthe New Testament.
Thaddeus' Strengths: Thaddeuslearnedthe gospel directlyfromJesusandloyallyservedChristdespite
hardshipandpersecution.
Thaddeus' Weaknesses:Like mostof the otherapostles,ThaddeusabandonedJesusduringhistrial and
crucifixion.
Referencedinthe Bible:Matthew 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:16; John 14:22; Acts 1:13.
Key Verses:
John 14:21-22 :[Jesusspeaking] "Whoeverhasmy commandsand keepsthemistheone who lovesme.
The onewho loves me will beloved by my Father,and Itoo will lovethem and show myself to them."
Then Judas(notJudasIscariot) said,"But,Lord,why do you intend to show yourself to usand notto the
world?"(NIV)
Jude 20-21: But you,dearfriends,build yourselvesup in yourmostholy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit.
Keep yourselvesin God's loveas you wait forthe mercy of ourLord JesusChristto bring you to eternal
life.
Jude 24-25: To him who is able to keep you fromstumbling and to presentyou beforehis glorious
presencewithoutfaultand with greatjoy—to theonly God our Saviorbe glory,majesty,powerand
authority,through JesusChristourLord,beforeall ages,now and forevermore!Amen. (NIV)