The Twelve Apostles, part 2
1. James Zebedee was 30-years old when he and brother John became apostles. They had known Jesus longer than the others. Jesus nicknamed them the sons of thunder. James was married, had 4 kids, and lived in the outskirts of Capernaum. He fished with his brother John, and Andrew and Simon.
2. James was a contradiction: almost two different people at times. His anger was intense, and he justified it as righteous indignation. Other than Peter and Matthew, he was the best public speaker. James would be quiet and reserved one day, and a great storyteller the next.
3. James admired Jesus for his sympathy and interest in things small and the great, rich and the poor. Of the twelve, he came the closest to grasping the significance of Jesus’ teaching, and by the time they ended their training he understood Jesus’ lessons better than the others.
4. James, along with Andrew, was one of the more level-headed apostles. He did what needed to be done, but he was never in a hurry doing it. He was the perfect balance for Peter. James was a well-balanced thinker and planner.
5. James and John more tolerant of each other than of strangers. These sons of thunder wanted to call down fire from the heavens to destroy the Samaritans for disrespecting their Master. James was the first of the twelve to sacrifice his life for the kingdom.
6. John Zebedee was twenty-four years old and the youngest of the twelve when he became an apostle. Both before and after becoming an apostle, John was Jesus’ personal helper when it came to taking care of his mom and family, and he held this responsibility after Jesus’ resurrection for as long as Mary lived.
7. Since John was the youngest of the twelve and so closely involved with Jesus’ family affairs, he was very dear to him. But it’s not completely true where it’s said that John was the disciple whom Jesus loved. Jesus didn’t have favorites or love some of his apostles more than the others.
8. John Zebedee had a lot of good traits, but he was also really conceited. When John was telling Nathan what to write in the Gospel of John, he continually referred to himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved. John’s greatest strength of character was dependability: he was prompt and courageous, faithful and devoted.
9. What John most liked about Jesus was his love and unselfishness. These traits made such an impression on John that the rest of his life was dominated by love and brotherly devotion. He talked about love and wrote about love. This son of thunder became the apostle of love.
10. When John was exiled on Patmos, he wrote the Book of Revelation: it has been greatly abridged and distorted over time. What we now call the Book of Revelation only contains surviving fragments of a much greater revelation, large portions of which were lost and other portions that were removed or changed after John wrote it.
11. After John became bishop of the Asian churches, he settled down at Ephesus when he was 99-years old and oversaw his associate, Nathan, who wrote the so-called Gospel according to John. Of the 12 apostles, John Zebedee became the outstanding theologian. He died of natural causes at Ephesus in A.D. 103 when he was 101-years old.
12. Philip was the 5th apostle chosen. Philip was 27-years old, lived in Bethsaida, and was recently married but still without children. Philip earned the nickname that meant more or less curiosity, because he always wanted to be shown everything. Philip wasn’t dull, just commonplace and matter-of-fact.
13. Philip was steward of the apostles; it was his duty to see that they always had enough to eat and to take care of their daily needs. He did his duties well: he was methodical, systematic, and thorough with a good handle on the arithmetic he needed for his job.
14. Philip’s strong points were being methodical and reliable: his weak point was his utter lack of imagination. It brought the masses great peace of mind to see that a normal everyday person like themselves was included in the Master’s councils on the affairs of the kingdom.
15. The trait that Philip worshiped, about Jesus was his generosity: he could never find anything about Jesus that was in any way small, niggardly, or stingy. Philip was crucified by the Romans at Hierapolis, and his wife stoned to death by the Jews. Their daughter, Leah, continued their work, and became the renowned prophetess of Hierapolis.
Okay, folks, that’s it for the highlights for Son of Man: Urantia, Chapter 18, part 2, “The Twelve Apostles.”
This week we continue with Chapter 18, part 3.
Have a fantastic week out there everybody.
Bob