Judas

“JUDAS/THADDUES: THE LORD’S BROTHER”

Matthew 13:55-57 John 7:1-5 John 14:22 Jude 24-25

There are many dynamics that define family relationships. This is true both positively and negatively. Parents and children, brothers and sisters know both the good and bad habits of one another. Have you noticed that with such information, if a person attempts to convince the others in the family about a matter of importance, skepticism can quite often be the overwhelming response? Let me interrupt the direction of my opening remarks at this point.

Last week we discovered that one of the disciples of the Lord was named James. In part of that sermon we attempted to differentiate three men, who were prominent in the New Testament, named James. We pointed out that one of the half-brothers of Jesus was named James. He was not one of the apostles but later rose to a position of leadership in the Jewish church located in Jerusalem. He is listed in a passage of scripture found in Matthew 13.

(Matthew 13:55-57)

1. JUDAS WAS A HALF-BROTHER OF JESUS!

We discover that there were 4 other sons of Mary and Joseph beside Jesus, the son of Mary. There were sisters as well. Notice that the James we just remembered had brothers named Joseph (after his dad). Then there was a Simon and a Judas. Today we will look at the brother whose name is “Judas” in Greek; “Judah” in Hebrew. Two of the gospels (Matthew 10:3, Mark 3:18) name him “Thaddeus” to make sure he is not confused with the betrayer: “Judas Iscariot”. As we saw in this scripture passage, this disciple grew up in the same house as Jesus. This brings me back to my introductory comments concerning family dynamics. The reason we come to the conclusion that Thaddeus is another name for Judas is because the other names on the list of the twelve disciples all remain the same in the gospel accounts: except when either Thaddeus or Judas is listed. We never find the two names in the same listing. This has led church historians to see these two names as interchangeable. But, that was minor information. Let’s return to our consideration of family dynamics as we continue our exploration of this individual.

Family members know each other well by simply living under the same roof. It is difficult for any of them, once they have learned how other family members approach life, to change their viewpoint about each other. In the case of Jesus (think of this): his family members were faced with the reality of living with someone who never sinned or did anything wrong. If that was your experience, imagine how you would feel if you had to live with someone who was perfect. Some folks live with people who think they are perfect but that’s a different matter, isn’t it? Think what it would be like to live with someone who never made a mistake. How would it be to live with someone who would have scriptural input for every situation which occurred? Imagine living with someone who never copped an attitude or retaliated, etc. Such things could easily become frustrating! All of this has to be added to each one’s different individual temperament, different personality and different season of life like adolescence. So our first point is to recognize that one of Jesus’ disciples, named Judas, was also one of his half-brothers.

(John 7:1-5)

2. JUDAS DIDN’T ACCEPT JESUS AS READILY AS THE OTHER DISCIPLES DID!

In John 7, a time of teaching takes place in the synagogue in Capernaum. By piecing together the events of Christ’s ministry, which we find when we put together all four gospels, the Lord had given his famous Sermon on the Mount. Then he walked on the water of the Sea of Galilee. Now Jesus teaches the crowd that he is “the bread of life” (John 6:35). This spurred a controversy concerning the Lord’s ministry among his listeners (John 6:52). Because of this hard teaching, (John 6:60) many who had been following the Lord grumbled, some became disillusioned and a number of them left him. As we begin the seventh chapter of John, we see that a number of Jewish leaders began seeking a way to assassinate the Lord. This is the stated reason Jesus was avoiding a trip to Jerusalem. (John 7:1) This prompts his brothers to talk to him in verses 7:3-4 with brotherly, family advice. This would have included Judas. They pointed out to him that by ministering in Galilee he is not in the public view. They encouraged him to head to Jerusalem where there would be a larger potential group who would respond. The narrative notifies us that at this time (verse 5) “even his own brothers did not believe in him”.

There were definite obstacles these brothers of the Lord had to face in accepting Jesus as the Christ. When we encounter them in John 7, it is stated that none of them had grown into that position yet. We don’t know when Judas came to the place of actually accepting his sibling as the messiah, but it was much later in his travel with Jesus than we learned when looking at Nathanael or Andrew, for example. If you remember, Jesus demonstrated to Nathanael that he knew he was studying the scriptures. The Lord also showed this friend of Philip he knew the very passage he was reading: the one concerning Jacob having a dream about a ladder from heaven to earth with angels ascending and descending. For Judas, (a disciple who most likely shared a bedroom, ate his meals and did chores with Jesus) faith came further down the road. Often one’s actual family members are the hardest ones to convince about important issues. But our study of this man doesn’t end in disbelief! We move to a third point in the gospel record of this disciple.

John 14:22

3. JUDAS ACKNOWLEDGES HIS BROTHER AS HIS LORD!

We find ourselves in the upper room eaves-dropping on a conversation between the Lord and his disciples. Jesus instructs these men (INCLUDING HIS OWN BROTHER) with this statement, “Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.” (John 14:19-20) At hearing this, check out Judas responsive question to his brother. We read, “Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, ‘But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?’” (Verse 22)

This disciple acknowledges his brother as his Lord. He has changed! Completely diffusing and discounting any of the family hang-ups he would have incurred concerning the perfect Jesus while growing up, he is now a committed disciple. He has been won over. Acts 1:13 informs us that he remained one of the apostles following the ascension of the Lord.

The entire group of disciples is acknowledged in the book of Acts as accepting their apostleship as an urgent call to evangelism and outreach for the Lord. Yet, Judas stands out in stark contrast to the others because of being one of the Lord’s own family members. For this man there was an additional urgency that the world would know about the message along with the sacrificial death, burial and resurrection of his brother.

Church historians tell us that Judas was known to have probably been closest to Simon, the Zealot, whom we have discovered was called by Jesus. There are non-Biblical records indicating that these two disciples were martyred together in Beirut, Lebanon around the year, 65 A.D.

We, lastly, need to recognize this disciple as one of the authors of the New Testament. He wrote the New Testament book of Jude. If you are at all familiar with this book of only one chapter, you know that Judas is very straightforward concerning his message. He is appalled at the huge number of “false teachers” who have crept into the church to compromise the gospel. He writes to his readers, “Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints. For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.” (Verses 3-4)

Do you see the incredible change in this man? Once a skeptic, concerning the Lordship of his brother, he now has given his unconditional life to getting people “on track” with the Christian faith. He has a priority for this very cause. There is only one way to finish this message (as it challenges us to have the same commitment as this member of Jesus’ family had!) Here are the concluding words of Thaddeus’ Epistle. “To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy—to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen. (Verses 24-25)