Thaddaeus (Jude), an apostle of Jesus

   Judas is the Greek form of Judah.[1]  Thus it was a common name in Judea.  I discussed the name confusion with James, son of Alphaeus.  Back at the time the Bible was written, no one wanted to be confused with Judas Iscariot!  Thus this apostle called Judas in John 14:22, which was probably his common name, is listed in the apostle lists as his formal name Thaddaeus or as Jude.

   Clement of Alexandria, who lived from approximately 153 A.D. to 217 A.D., said the book of Jude, the last book before Revelation, was written by Jude the “brother” of Jesus.[2]  This authorship is widely accepted among scholars, yet Clement could have been wrong, and the author could have been this Jude who was one of the Twelve.

   John 14:22   “Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, ‘But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?’” (NIV).

   This is the sole Bible verse where Jude speaks.

   Jude ministered in Armenia![3]  By ministering in this country, and probably Mesopotamia, Jude himself showed Jesus to the world!!

   My big find in this study has been the ancient apostle list loosely attributed to Hippolytus, though the authorship is questioned.

   Dr. McBirnie did not mention it.  It is not surprising that he may not have seen that in the Ante-Nicene Fathers.  Back in the 1960’s and 1970’s, an electronic copy of the ten volume Ante-Nicene Fathers was not available.  Now I can do word searches!  I do note research work by Dr. McBirnie was incredible, as his bibliographies display.

   Dr. McBirnie stated he read in a Bible encyclopedia published by Wm. B. Eerdmans from 1960 that Beirut and Egypt were burial places for Jude; there could be more than one site if bones were separated.  But in a visit to Lebanon in 1971, Dr. McBirnie talked with Christians in Beirut in both the Roman Catholic and the Syrian Orthodox Church, and they heard nothing about this.[4]  Yet ancient Berytus, which is modern day Beirut, is exactly where the questioned Hippolytus list states Jude died and was buried.[5]  Interesting.

   That questioned Hippolytus text could have some corruption.  Thus the Berytus statement could be incorrect.  In fact, maybe that Hippolytus text is where a 1960 Bible encyclopedia got some information.

   Yet there are a number of things in that ancient text which check out with primary sources.  I think it is legit.  I consider it an important document, and I am thankful to God I unearthed it after persevering with a word search into that fifth volume one night.

   I add I think Eusebius had access to that writing!  That supports the document not being a late addition.

   I have spent much time doing this research, God has blessed it, and I give Him the glory.

   Jude’s martyrdom is not debated, since his death preceded Bartholomew who then came to Armenia, or who was there when he died.  Yet how Thaddaeus was killed is not clear.

   The strong tradition is he was martyred in Armenia, and that he had a shrine in Artaz (Macoo), which was in ancient southeast Armenia.[6]

Hunter Irvine

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[1] William McBirnie, The Search for the Twelve Apostles
(Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, 1973), 195.
[2] Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson, eds., The Ante-Nicene
Fathers: The Writings of the Fathers Down to A.D. 325 (1867; digital repr.,
Albany, Oregon: SAGE Software, 1996), 2:1207.
[3] William McBirnie, The Search for the Twelve Apostles
(Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, 1973), 199.
[4] William McBirnie, The Search for the Twelve Apostles
(Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, 1973), 202-203.
[5] Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson, eds., The Ante-Nicene
Fathers: The Writings of the Fathers Down to A.D. 325 (1867; digital repr.,
Albany, Oregon: SAGE Software, 1996), 5:535.
[6] William McBirnie, The Search for the Twelve Apostles
(Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, 1973), 200.

James, son of Alphaeus, an apostle of Jesus

   One bizarre fact I learned in my New Testament Survey class at Colorado Christian University: the name “James” in the New Testament, which was written in Greek, was originally Jacob, which comes from the Hebrew word Ya'akov.  Translators many years later translated the name as James instead of Jacob in the New Testament.

   Bizarre.

   At least this explains why the name was so common for Jewish people.

   James, the son of Alphaeus, is sometimes called “the lesser” to distinguish him from the other apostle names James.  Nonetheless, for James “the lesser” we have an identity crisis.  First, James “the lesser,” even in ancient times, was confused with James “the just” (or righteous), the “brother” of Jesus; brother in the sense that he was a natural child of Joseph and Mary.  They both ministered in Jerusalem, thus the confusion.  Second, James “the just” the “brother” of Jesus, has solid historical coverage.  Eusebius gives much information about James “the just.” [1]  The reason is he was the first overseer.  The apostles picked James "the just" as the overseer in Jerusalem.  Noteworthy that the first overseer, or bishop, was not one of the Twelve.

   When it comes to James “the lesser,” there is a lack of information.  James the “lesser” seems to be the apostle lost in history.

   From 1998 to 2000 I was a Youth Minister in Wheat Ridge, Colorado.  And then as a volunteer, I did much youth ministry work at that same church from 2002 to 2009.  That church was named after James, but which James was the church named for?  Everyone assumed James “the greater,” but there was no proof.

   Whoever it was named for, looking back that church fit much more the ministry of James “the lesser.”  The ministry work there was in the shadow of nearby churches like Crossroads and Faith Bible Chapel.  The number of people who worshiped at our church were few.  And that little church had some big problems over the years.  Yet, there were loving people at that church who followed Jesus thanks to His mercy and grace.  There were blessings of Jesus at that church!  There are people from that church I will see in heaven!

   Following Jesus may not lead to making history books, as James the son of Alphaeus failed to do.  Following Jesus leads to people gaining their name in our Holy God’s Book of Life!

   And in heaven, there will be no “lessers,” only blessed children of God who will be loved for all eternity by God.

   Again, Jerusalem was where James the son of Alphaeus ministered.

   He may have been murdered by people stoning him.

Hunter Irvine

[1] Eusebius, Eusebius’ Ecclesiastical History, trans. C.F. Cruse
(Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson, 1998), 35-36.

Matthew, an apostle of Jesus

   The Jewish people had been conquered by the Rome Empire and were under Roman rule during the ministry of Jesus.  Jewish people who worked as tax collectors for the Roman Empire were hated by their fellow Jewish ethnic group, because tax collectors were considered traitors.

   In the Bible, disciples and authors Mark and Luke refer to Matthew as Levi, and neither Mark nor Luke state his occupation in their genealogies.  Most think they were protecting the apostle’s reputation, and I agree.  However, Matthew, in humility, disclosed his former occupation along with his primary name.  Writing of how he was a tax collector even in his apostles list, he was being completely honest.  I think that is cool.

   I add Matthew was the son of Alphaeus, just like James the lesser, so they were probably brothers, though that is not directly mentioned in the Bible.  Maybe that was concealed as the Scripture authors did not want to tarnish Matthew’s brother’s reputation.

   Yet rather than shunning Matthew like most in his ethnic group surely did, Jesus did not shun Matthew, rather He invited Matthew to follow Him.  And Matthew did.
Matthew 9:9 “As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. ‘Follow me,’ he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him” (NIV).

   The result: Matthew was the first to write a “gospel,” sacred Scripture which gives an ancient biography of the ministry of Jesus. Since Matthew was a tax collector, he was probably better educated than many, thus he was suited for writing such Scripture.

   At age 24, I had only been a Christian a short time.  I read the entire New Testament on the Washington D.C. subway going to work for a number of mornings in 1991.  Matthew was the book that reached me the most as a new Christian.

   Early Christians stated the name Matthew much, since they were addressing his Scripture book.  Yet personal information about him is sparse, maybe since when they talked about him they focused on his gospel writing and the content of his book.

   Tradition is strong he ministered in Ethiopia! [1]  Thus we have learned that the apostles started ministering in Jerusalem, and then went out to countries in all directions from there; north, south, east, and west!

   How he was martyred is in question.

Hunter Irvine

[1] William McBirnie, The Search for the Twelve Apostles
(Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, 1973), 176.

Thomas, an apostle of Jesus

   Almost 2,000 years after Thomas was an apostle, he is still often called “Doubting Thomas.”  I have heard that plenty of times in sermons.  Yet though Thomas did doubt, may we remember what came after he saw and touched Jesus after the resurrection!  John 20:28 “Thomas said to him, ‘My Lord and my God!’” (NIV).

   Thomas went on to minister in several ancient countries, including Babylon.  Yet the country he is most affiliated with is India!
I lived in Colorado for 16 years, and one evening I was driving on 6th Avenue near Indiana Street.  I was listening to a preacher on the radio whom I had never heard before.  The man is from India.  He talked about the fact that the village where he grew up in India is only a few miles from the place where all the Christian elders say the apostle Thomas ministered.  And he talked about how the Christian elders in India say Thomas was murdered.

   Clement of Alexandria when talking about martyrdom in his Stromata: “…for all the saved have confessed with the confession made by the voice, and departed.  Of whom are Matthew, Philip, Thomas, Levi, and many others.” [1]

   The strong tradition is that Thomas was speared in India.

   Scripture clearly teaches what is needed for salvation: a person must believe in Jesus (see Acts 16:29-31).  Salvation from spiritual death is by God’s grace through faith in Jesus.  The twelve apostles are not the foundation of my faith.  Jesus, God the Son, is the foundation of my faith.  These tidbits of history I have accumulated as a result of countless hours of research work have increased my faith, but for someone who likes to have many details, the lack of information could have been discouraging if I had a foundation other than Christ.  My foundation is Jesus, of whom there is much evidence of in the Bible.  Yet even with the inspired Bible testimony, faith is needed to receive the One to whom it witnesses, the One who is unseen, yet who can be known.  Jesus has made faith in Him possible.
   Christ’s call to His disciples is to encourage one another in faith.  But skeptics swiftly sow discouragement and strife, and when skeptics are in Christian leadership positions, there is always the risk of people getting hurt.  Yet who of us has never had doubts about God, and Jesus loves even doubters?  Walking by faith is hard in my opinion.  I rely on Jesus to be enabled to keep in faith and to keep loving skeptics.  I am even thankful that because of the outspokenness of this skeptic apostle, we have a blessed witness of Jesus.  John 20:29 “Then Jesus told [Thomas], ‘Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed’” (NIV).
Hunter Irvine

[1] Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson, eds., The Ante- Nicene Fathers: The Writings of the Fathers Down to A.D. 325
(1867; digital repr., Albany, Oregon: SAGE Software, 1996), 2:866.

Bartholomew, an apostle of Jesus

   In sports, if my team is playing, I root for them, in the good times and in the bad times.  This comes to mind since this evening the Colorado Christian University women’s basketball team is playing in the RMAC championship, after starting out 0-8, and I am proud of them.  I have always been loyal to my team.  When it comes to games involving other teams, my entire life I have had a tendency to root for the underdog.  Maybe it is because I grew up in a rough neighborhood as a skinny kid who got mocked much, even by some girls, (I was really skinny), and thus I always felt I was the underdog.  Therefore, when I was a young Christian, I started developing an interest in Bartholomew, Thaddaeus, and James “the lesser” or “the smaller.”  They seemed to be the underdog apostles.

   In my History of Christianity class at CCU with the fantastic Dr. Megan DeVore, in addition to three papers, (that class was great but a ton of work), I had to do a class presentation on an early Christian.  I chose Bartholomew!

   Bartholomew is the mystery apostle.  Beside the four Scripture apostle lists in Matthew 10:2-4, Mark 3:16-18, Luke 6:14-16, and Acts 1:13, he is not mentioned anywhere else in the Bible, thus from Scripture we do not know a single thing he said.

   Some scholars claim he is the same person as Nathaniel, but this is based purely on association.  Bartholomew is always listed with Philip, and Philip introduced Nathaniel to Jesus, so they make an association assumption.  I think this is utterly unscholarly, and there is zero evidence they are the same person.

   Panthaenus was a teacher around 180 A.D. at the now famous school in Alexandria, Egypt, where Christian instruction was part of the education.  Clement of Alexandria was one of his students, a man who would later head the school and who left us some historical nuggets.  Eusebius said Panthaenus’ reputation as a philosopher was top notch, and he went on the say, “…[Panthaenus] is said to have displayed such ardor and so zealous a disposition respecting the divine word, that he was constituted a herald of the gospel of Christ to the nations of the East and advanced even as far as India.”[1]  (Alexander, during his obsessive world conquering, opened a city laden route to India.  Yet the term ‘India’ as used here probably had broader boundaries in the ancient world, so Panthaenus may have gone to an area west of the current borders.)

   And what did Panthaenus encounter in India according to Eusebius?  “And the report was that he there found his own arrival preceded by some who were acquainted with the Gospel of Matthew, to whom Bartholomew, one of the apostles, had preached and had left them the Gospel of Matthew in Hebrew, which was also preserved until this time.”[2]  (Numerous modern scholars refute the gospel of Matthew being originally written in Hebrew.  But they do not have any original manuscripts, and Eusebius quotes several different sources who say Matthew wrote his gospel in Hebrew, though if the information is accurate, which I lean toward, what he termed “Hebrew” was likely Aramaic.)

   Armenia is the country most associated with Bartholomew, which was larger around that time period.[3]  It included some of modern day Iran, and Dr. McBirnie traveled to Iran four times in the 1960’s and the early 1970’s.  In his second book on the apostles he said, “In modern Iran, Christian leaders agree as to the first century ministry of Bartholomew…”[4]  Dr. McBirnie quotes Aziz Atiya who stated Bartholomew was the second “illuminator” of Armenia after 60 A.D., the first being Thaddaeus, and that his shrine still stands at Alpac (Bashkale).[5]

   The evidence for the martyrdom of some of the lesser known apostles is less documented, yet there are strong oral traditions in the Middle East, and for westerners who need it on paper, we have an early reliable statement about the apostles in general being martyred.  This statement is special for me!  Polycarp was a man who had been “instructed by the apostles,” and who had been picked as the overseer in Smyrna by apostles.[6]  This is what he said: “…Paul himself, and the rest of the apostles. [This do] in the assurance that all these have not run in vain, but in faith and righteousness, and that they are [now] in their due place in the presence of the Lord, with whom also they suffered. For they loved not this present world, but Him who died for us, and for our sake was raised again by God from the dead.”[7]

   The tradition is that Bartholomew was cut really bad, and then crucified in Albanus (Derbent).

Hunter Irvine

   How appropriate for a behind the scenes apostle to give a unique video for a song by Sherri Youngward.  She is a special Christian artist who has been ministering since the late 1990’s, yet her ministry has been a bit off the beaten Christian music path.  She never moved to Nashville for starters.  When I was the Youth Minister at a church in Wheat Ridge, Colorado, in 1999, our youth group sponsored her at our church, apparently the first concert our little church had had in about 50 years.  Everyone in my church agreed it was a huge blessing for us all.  There were two parents who did not like me as the Youth Minister, yet after that night, they were always nice to me from then on!  She is a woman doing much for the kingdom of God, as Bartholomew did.

God bless you Sherri!

   I think this video is super cool!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DOqhFtx8RY

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[1] Eusebius, Eusebius’ Ecclesiastical History, trans. C.F. Cruse

(Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson, 1998), 166.

[2] Eusebius, Eusebius’ Ecclesiastical History, trans. C.F. Cruse

(Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson, 1998), 166.

[3] Smith’s Bible Dictionary (Philadelphia: A.J. Holman Company, 1901), [front insert].

[4] William McBirnie, The Search for the Twelve Apostles

(Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, 1973), 132.

[5] William McBirnie, The Search for the Twelve Apostles

(Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, 1973), 133.

[6] Eusebius, Eusebius’ Ecclesiastical History, trans. C.F. Cruse

(Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson, 1998), 121.

[7] Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson, eds., The Ante-Nicene

Fathers: The Writings of the Fathers Down to A.D. 325
(1867; digital repr., Albany, Oregon: SAGE Software, 1996), 1:78.

Philip, an apostle of Jesus

   We have early writings which say Philip had a family.

For example, Clement of Alexandria is quoted by Eusebius stating Philip was married and had daughters. (1)

Acts 8:5
“Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there" (NIV).
   I add that from my cultural background, going from Jerusalem to Samaria should be going “up” since Samaria is north.  In Appalachia I learned that in certain regions people speak of going “down” to a town if it is of lower elevation.
   And Acts 8:26-40 tells the fabulous story of Philip explaining Scripture to an Ethiopian eunuch and then baptizing him.

   Hierapolis is an ancient city where Philip did ministry work.
Papias was an overseer, or “bishop,” at Heirapolis. (2)  Having Papias writings which are now lost apparently, Eusebius makes it clear Hierapolis became Philip’s ministry field! (3)

   Ancient Hierapolis was renowned for its mineral hot springs!!  Regarding Hierapolis and two neighboring cities, Hierapolis had hot water, Colossae had cold water, and Laodicea was said to have lukewarm water.  Many Christians think the metaphor God gave to Laodicea in the book of Revelation was based on this.

   I add there are later statements given that Philip evangelized to the Gauls of modern France.  This is strongly debated, but Philip is embraced by many churches in French history.

   Tradition holds Philip was crucified.  And Eusebius quoted Polycrates:

   “Philip, one of the twelve apostles who sleeps in Hierapolis…” (4)

Hunter Irvine

   For my memorable final exam for my excellent preaching class at Colorado Christian University, I used my keen illustration for the Mosaic Covenant, which is Leonard Nimoy’s famous statement, “Live long and prosper.”  This is the second part of the conditional Mosaic covenant, the blessing. The covenant was that if the Hebrew people would obey the commands of God given to them, then they would live long and prosper in the land that God was going to give them.  This is found in Deuteronomy 6:1-3.

   It is my favorite sermon illustration, and probably always will be.  Before the final exam sermon, I sent everyone in the class an email with a picture of the classic American actor giving the hand greeting.  A number in the class did not know who he was, which surprised me, yet they did after my sermon!

   I give my condolences to the Nimoy family and friends in the wake of the physical loss of Leonard Nimoy.  God bless you!

(1) Eusebius, Eusebius’ Ecclesiastical History, trans. C.F. Cruse
(Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson, 1998), 95.
(2) Eusebius, Eusebius’ Ecclesiastical History, trans. C.F. Cruse
(Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson, 1998), 100.
(3) Eusebius, Eusebius’ Ecclesiastical History, trans. C.F. Cruse
(Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson, 1998), 105.
(4) Eusebius, Eusebius’ Ecclesiastical History, trans. C.F. Cruse
(Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson, 1998), 96.