Jesus’ Chosen Crew-Part 2
“These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Matthew 10:5-6
Thus far, Jesus has chosen Peter, Andrew, James, and John, two sets of brothers, to be in His crew of trustworthy men who would accompany Him as He made His way across Galilee and Jerusalem to preach God’s word and heal the sick. The next disciple that He chose was a man named Philip (John 1:43). It was the day after Peter’s and John’s encounter with Jesus. Philip, like Peter and Andrew, was from Bethsaida. He was not the same Philip who led the Ethiopian eunuch to faith in Christ in Acts 8:26-39. The disciple Philip was not as convinced about Jesus’ power as some of the other disciples. When Jesus asked him in John 6:1-7 where bread could be bought to feed 5,000 families in order to test his faith, apparently Philip forgot about the many miracles that Jesus had already performed and exclaimed that they didn’t have enough money to buy that much food. Also, Philip was the one who still couldn’t quite grasp the fact that Jesus and His Father were one, stating, “Lord, show us the Father, and that will be sufficient” (John 14:6-9). The last time we hear of Philip, he is in the Upper Room awaiting the arrival of the Holy Spirit. Just because there is not much written in scripture about Philip is no sign that he wasn’t a significant disciple for Christ. Everything that happened in those days was not recorded.
The next disciple to be chosen was Nathaniel, who was also known as Bartholomew. It was Philip who introduced Nathaniel to Jesus. When Philip first told Nathaniel that he had found the Messiah who was from Nazareth, Nathaniel was skeptical, asking, “Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?” Nazareth wasn’t known for its hospitality. I suppose it was known as being “on the wrong side of the tracks”. When Jesus saw the two of them approaching Him, He verbally recognized Nathaniel as an Israelite in whom there was no deceit or trickery. He was an honest, straightforward, “what you see is what you get” kind of man. He was also curious. How did Jesus know that about him? Jesus told him that He saw him under the fig tree. The reference to the fig tree was apparently known only to Nathaniel and Jesus. It could have been his place of private prayer and worship. Nathaniel had no doubt that Jesus was the Son of God, the King of Israel and stated such. Nothing more is written about Nathaniel (Bartholomew).
The next disciple is familiar to most people because he has a not-so-favorable nickname: Doubting Thomas. He was also from the area around Galilee. His public calling by Jesus was not recorded in scripture. He was a bit of a pessimist. When Jesus announced that He was going to Bethany after His friend Lazarus had died, Thomas must have been worried about the threats made on Jesus’ life by the Pharisees, and said, “Let us also go, that we may die with Him” (John 11:1-16). He reminds me of folks who are always negative, never looking on the bright side, but always expecting the worst to happen. Thomas was also the one who questioned Jesus’ statement about leaving to prepare a place for them for all eternity and that they all knew where and how they would get there. Thomas bluntly said, “We don’t know where You are going, nor do we know the way”. That’s when Jesus made the most profound statement in all of scripture: “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). Thomas was not present when Jesus appeared to His disciples after His resurrection. When told that Jesus had been there, he said that he would not believe them unless he could see the nail scars and the gash in Jesus’ side. The next time they all met, Jesus was there, and all Thomas had to do was to see Him and then he said, “My Lord and my God”. Thomas is only mentioned two more times in scripture, John 21:2 as he fished with the other disciples and Acts 1:13 in the Upper Room.
The next disciple Jesus chose was Matthew, also known as Levi. He was a tax collector for the Roman government which made him a rather unpopular fellow among the Jews. Think about how the Jews felt in comparison to how we feel about the IRS. However, Jesus saw his heart and his potential. His father was named Alphaeus (Mark 2:14). Matthew resided and worked in Capernaum which was the city where Jesus made His primary residence during the time of His ministry. When Jesus called him to be one of His disciples, he did not hesitate and was likely very glad to leave his post in the Roman government. He gave a feast in honor of Jesus in his home (Luke 5:29-32), and some of his other guests were also tax collectors and publicans. The Pharisees who weren’t invited criticized Jesus for dining with rift-raft. The last time Matthew is mentioned in scripture was when he was in the Upper Room with the other disciples (Acts 1:13). His most notable contribution is the compilation of the book of Matthew written around 40 to 45 A.D. which was several years after Jesus ascended back to His Father in heaven. The focus of the book of Matthew is the Kingship of Christ in the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy.
Next time: The remaining four disciples.