People of the Bible: The Disciples Part 3: Philip, Matthew/Levi, Simon the Zealot

Jesus chose 12 men to be his first disciples. They were normal people, with normal jobs, but God had a special plan for them. Jesus taught the disciples many things while on Earth. Last week we studied John, James, and Bartholomew. Click HERE to read about these three disciples. Today, let’s look into Philip, Matthew/Levi, Simon the Zealot.

The Call: Matthew 10:2-4- 2 These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Philip:

Philip was one of Jesus’s earliest followers. When he learned about Jesus, he told his friend Bartholomew about him so he could follow him too. We learn from Philip that it is important to tell the people around us about Jesus so they can experience him too.

There are several conversations between Jesus and Philip recorded in the Bible. Many of these are Jesus testing the disciples’ faith. A couple of these can be found in John 6:1-15 and John 14:5-14.

Besides this initial call and some conversations recorded in the Bible, we do not know much about Philip the disciple. The book of Acts talks about another Philip who is called Philip the evangelist or the deacon. Most people believe these are two separate people that often get confused for each other. What we do know is that Philip followed Jesus with the rest of the disciples for about 3 years and continued to spread the gospel after Jesus’s resurrection.

Matthew/Levi:

Matthew is another disciple that has multiple names. In some places his name is Matthew and in others his name is Levi. Most believe that Matthew is the author of the gospel of Matthew. This was one of the first written accounts of who Jesus was, and what he did. Some of the other disciples used Matthew’s written account to help spread the good news about Jesus while they were traveling.

Even though Matthew wrote a gospel, the Bible does not have much information about him. However, we do know that Matthew was a tax collector when Jesus called him to be a disciple. As a tax collector, it would have been Matthew’s job to collect taxes for the Roman government. Traditionally, tax collectors were not very well-liked in society. People questioned Jesus because he hung out with tax collectors like Matthew because they thought all tax collectors were evil sinners. Jesus turned the tide by explaining that all people are sinners and in need of a Savior.

Simon the Zealot:

Simon the Zealot is one of the disciples we know the least about. However, his name gives us quite a bit of information. One reason he is called Simon the Zealot is to differentiate him from Simon Peter. But another reason is that he was in fact a zealot. A zealot is someone who is very zealous for a cause. In Simon’s case, most people believe that he was zealous about overthrowing the Roman Empire. The promise of Jesus as Savior and Messiah would have been a welcomed idea since most believed the Messiah would establish his own kingdom (we now know that Jesus will in fact do this one day at his second coming, but many believed it would happen then).

It is important to note that Matthew and Simon the Zealot were quite different. Matthew worked for the Roman government while Simon wanted to overthrow it. This shows us that Jesus calls people from all backgrounds with all kinds of different views. Our differing views should not divide us, but our common belief in Jesus should unite us like it united the disciples.

Key Takeaways:

• Tell people about Jesus

• Jesus loves Sinners

• Jesus’s followers are different

• Everyone Needs Jesus

Parents, 3treesKIDS will also be learning about Philip, Matthew/Levi, and Simon the Zealot this Sunday, both in-person and online.

Be sure to check out their lesson at www.3trees.com/kids.

To find service times and locations, visit https://www.3trees.com/planyourvisit.

Disciples Part 2: John, James, Bartholomew/Nathanael

Jesus chose 12 men to be his first disciples. They were normal people, with normal jobs, but God had a special plan for them. Jesus taught the disciples many things while on Earth. Last week we studied Andrew, James and John. Click HERE to read about these three disciples. Today, let’s look into John, James, and Bartholomew.

The Call: Matthew 10:2-4- 2 These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

John:

John was another fisherman like Andrew and Peter. When John heard of Jesus, he decided to leave his father Zebedee and his job fishing to follow Jesus full-time. John along with Peter and his brother James was in Jesus’s inner circle. John witnessed many miracles and healing from Jesus as a part of being in this circle. John had a special relationship with Jesus. The Bible refers to John as “the disciple whom Jesus loved”. This is not to say that Jesus did not love the other disciples, but he was extra close to John.

After Jesus ascended to heaven, he put the responsibility of ministry in his disciples’s hands. John himself had many disciples and led many people to Jesus. The fruits of his ministry have lasted long after his death because much of what he wrote is in the Bible. John wrote the gospel of John, the letters 1, 2, 3 John, and the book of Revelation.

An interesting fact about John is that he is thought to be the only disciple to die a natural death. The rest of the disciples were killed because of their faith in Jesus. John did suffer persecution though. People tried to kill him by dropping him in a pot of boiling oil but he was unharmed. He was eventually exiled to the island of Patmos where he grew old.

James:

James was the third and final person that belonged to Jesus’s inner circle. He and his brother John were nicknamed “the sons of thunder” for their zealous attitudes. This name is believed to come specifically from an event recorded in Luke 9:52-56 where James and John ask Jesus if they want them to call fire down from heaven. The brothers also asked Jesus if they could sit at his right and left hand in the kingdom of heaven, but Jesus only promised them that they would share in his suffering.

Even though James was in Jesus’s inner circle, his faith remained fairly weak until after the resurrection. Once James saw the resurrected Jesus, he fully believed that he was the son of God and this is evident by the way he spent the rest of his life. However, his faith in Jesus led to him being killed by King Herod (he was one of the first disciples to be martyred). We learn that following Jesus can be hard and we may suffer persecution but there are eternal rewards for his followers in heaven.

Bartholomew/Nathanael:

The synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) call him Bartholomew, the gospel of John calls him Nathanael, but they are more than likely referring to the same person. It was normal in biblical times for people to go by more than one name.

Another disciple (Philip), told Bartholomew about Jesus. At first, Bartholomew was skeptical about Jesus being the Messiah but very soon he declared that Jesus was the son of God. This is recorded in John 1:45-49.

Besides this early account, we do not know much about Bartholomew. After Jesus’s resurrection, it is thought that he helped spread the gospel and eventually die a martyr’s death.

Key Takeaways:

• We are called to be disciples of Jesus

• Have Big Faith

• Jesus is the son of God

• Everyone Needs Jesus

Parents, 3treesKIDS will also be learning about John, James, and Bartholomew/ Nathanael this Sunday, both in-person and online. Be sure to check out their lesson at www.3trees.com/kids.

To find service times and locations, visit https://www.3trees.com/planyourvisit.

People of the Bible: The Disciples Part 1: Andrew, Peter, and Thomas

Jesus chose 12 men to be his first disciples. They were normal people, with normal jobs, but God had a special plan for them. Jesus taught the disciples many things while on Earth. Over the next four weeks, we will be taking a deeper look into each of the 12 disciples. Today, we will begin with three: Andrew, Peter, and Thomas.

The Call: Matthew 10:2-4- 2 These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Andrew:

Andrew was one of the first people who followed Jesus. He was originally a disciple of John the Baptist and when he heard him preach about Jesus as the Messiah he started following Jesus. The Bible also tells us that he went to get his brother Peter to tell him about Jesus. Before they were called, he and his brother Peter were fishermen. Jesus called them both by telling them that he would make them fishers of men, and that’s exactly what he did.

Besides his early following of Jesus, we do not know much about Andrew. But it is clear that he played a significant role in getting his brother Peter to follow Jesus as well. Historically, it is believed that after Jesus ascended to heaven Andrew became a missionary and spread the gospel.

Peter:

Unlike his brother Andrew, we know quite a bit about Peter. Peter witnessed and was involved in many of the miracles of Jesus. Most notably, Peter walked on water with Jesus (Matthew 14:22-33). He was also one of Jesus’s 3 closest disciples (John and James will be talked about next week). As a part of this Jesus told him that he would be the “rock” that he would build the church on (Matthew 16:18). At Pentecost, this prophecy started its fulfillment when Peter preached to a crowd of people and 3,000 people were saved. Peter is also credited with writing the New Testament books 1 and 2 Peter.

Peter did some incredible things with Jesus, but not everything was pretty. Peter is also known for denying Jesus 3 times the night before he was crucified. Jesus told him it would happen and Peter said it couldn’t be true, but when people began to ask him if he knew Jesus he lied and said he didn’t.

Peter had his ups and downs, but his life teaches us that even though we may deny him sometimes, Jesus still loves us. Jesus is faithful to us even when we are not faithful to him. We all sin, but like Peter, Jesus wants us to build his church until he returns for us.

Thomas:

Thomas is a disciple that we know a moderate amount about. He has been nicknamed “Doubting Thomas'' because he refused to believe the other disciples when they tried to explain that Jesus had been resurrected. He said that he would not believe until he could put his hand in his wounds (John 20:25). Eventually Jesus appears and he allows Thomas to examine his wounds. After this, Thomas believed and was in amazement.

Jesus told Thomas that he believed because he saw. But that there would be many who could not see and would still believe, and these people would be blessed. Today we fall in the unseen category. None of us can touch Jesus like Thomas could, but if we believe the accounts in the Bible then Jesus says we will be blessed.

Key Takeaways:

• Follow Jesus

• Jesus calls us to be a disciple and build the Church as well

• Have Big Faith

Parents, 3treesKIDS will also be learning about Andrew, Peter, and Thomas this Sunday, both in-person and online.

Be sure to check out their lesson at www.3trees.com/kids.

To find service times and locations, visit https://www.3trees.com/planyourvisit.