The Disciples Cont.
Luke 6:14-16
Let’s discuss the last four of the twelve disciples. This should not take long because very little is known about these men. First up is James the less. The title “the less” comes from the Greek word micros. This might be in reference to his stature, his age, his influence, or all the above.
In Mark 2:14 we see that Levi, or Matthew was the son of Alpheus. In the Luke account we see that James the less is also son of Alpheus. This was not a very common name: therefore, it is probable that the two were brothers. Christ liked to work with brothers as he did with James and John and Peter and Andrew and Judas and James. Also, if you compare Mark 15:40 and John 19:25 we see that James the less might also be the cousin of Christ.
Simon the Zealot is next. Zealots were one of four political parties and were very fiery and temperamental in character. I think it is safe to assume the same about Simon. His name is only mentioned in the lists of the twelve and that is all we know.
Continuing on is Judas, the disciple with three names. One was
Trinimious, another is Lebbaeus which means heart child, and the last one is Thaddaeus which means nursing baby. If you put them all together we can see that Judas was a sensitive person with a compassionate heart and apparently taking things personally. In John 14:21, 22 we see he is worried that Christ will only manifest himself to the disciples and not to the world.
Lastly, we see Judas the traitor. Judas is different from the other eleven. His name means Jehovah leads, but through his life we see another story. From Judas we see the evil potential that lay inside all of mankind. We see the possibility of walking with Christ intimately and yet not truly knowing Him. We also see that no matter how evil man can be, God’s plan can never be thwarted. God made you the way He wanted too and longs to empower you if you let Him.