- Nice to meet you - Nice to meet you
Today, I would like to share with you
The story of two of Jesus' twelve disciples,
the apostles Matthew and Simon
The first apostle we will talk about is Matthew
You all have heard of Matthew, right?
Where have you heard of Matthew?
The Matthew who appears in the Gospel of Matthew
If he had a nickname
He would be the one who turned contempt into respect
That could be his nickname
Let's first listen carefully to the words from
Chapter 9, verses 9 to 13, where Matthew
becomes a disciple and begins his new life
'As Jesus passed on from there,
he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth,
and he said to him, “Follow me”. And he rose and followed him'
'And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold,
many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples'
'And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples,
“Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”'
'But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician,
but those who are sick'
'Go and learn what this means:
"I desire mercy, and not sacrifice"'
'For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners' [Mt. 9:9-13]
When our Lord Jesus was on this earth,
there were two groups of people
who were most despised in the Jewish society of Palestine
One group could be the prostitutes, who sold their bodies
The other group of people were the tax collectors
We get prostitutes, but why were tax collectors also despised?
At that time, tax collectors were affiliated with Rome
The tax collectors were taking taxes from the Jews
and naturally exploiting their fellow Jews by keeping a portion for themselves
Exactly, they were seen as people who exploit their own people
That's why the Jewish people despised tax collectors so intensely
They were so despised that tax collectors were viewed the same as prostitutes
Matthew was precisely one of those tax collectors
But his life changed
As I mentioned earlier in the introduction,
when we open the New Testament, we meet Matthew first
The first gospel in the New Testament, the Gospel of Matthew
The author of the Gospel of Matthew is none other than Mattew himself
And when we divide Christianity into three major branches
Besides Protestant Christianity, there is also Catholicism
Then there is the Eastern Orthodox Church
But they don't just call him Matthew in Catholicism and the Orthodox Church
Saint Matthew, or the Holy Apostle Matthew
So, he once used to be despised
How did he become a respected saint and how was his life transformed?
How did he influenced others?
Let's follow in the footsteps of Matthew and trace his journey
First, we need to consider his name
At first, we might quickly think that his name is Matthew
Matthew's Matthew, so what?
But his original name was actually not Matthew
Although the Gospel of Matthew records his name as Matthew
In the Gospel of Mark, which records the twelve apostles of Jesus,
or Even the Gospel of Luke says
that his name is recorded as Levi, not Matthew
So, Levi was probably his original name
Matthew was a new name given to him as a gift after meeting Jesus
The name Matthew means 'God's gift', that his new self was a gift from God
It's a beautiful meaning, 'God's gift'
Now, his original name was Levi
Isn't the name Levi a bit familiar?
It doesn't sound unfamiliar at all
Where do we hear the name Levi frequently?
Is it in the New Testament or the Old Testament?
It's the Old Testament
Because there was the tribe of Levi in the Old Testament
The priestly tribe
The reason his name was likely Levi is because
his family came from a priestly background, possibly the tribe of Levi
In fact, priestly families are trained to become priests from a young age
So, they had to be skilled in writing and record-keeping
They also had to be good at keeping things carefully
I think this may have had a significant influence
on his ability to write the Gospel of Matthew later
The background of training to become a priest
likely formed an important foundation
in shaping his role as the author of the Gospel of Matthew
So, how did he meet Jesus,
and come to believe in Him?
Matthew was originally from Capernaum
The town of Capernaum,
in the region of Galilee,
is referred to as 'Town of Jesus'
Even today, for a pilgrimage,
if you visit the town of Capernaum, where Jesus performed many miracles,
you'll see a sign that says 'Town of Jesus'
In fact, many of Jesus' famous disciples
such as Peter, Andrew, James, John, and Matthew were all from Capernaum
So, the people who met Jesus before Matthew in Capernaum
believed Him as the Messiah and Savior, and became His disciples
Specifically, Peter and Andrew,
who were from the same town
Matthew likely heard the message about Jesus from them
Originally, Matthew was a tax collector at the tax collector booth
The tax booth in Capernaum was one of the most well-known among the several tax booths in Israel
If you go on a pilgrimage, you will find that there is the Old City of Jerusalem
Around the Old City of Jerusalem, there are about eight gates
To the north is the Damascus Gate
The gate is called Damascus Gate
If you follow the Gate northward, you would eventually reach Damascus
Damascus is located in Syria
So, if you travel north, you would reach Damascus in Syria
If you were to travel south from there,
the town you encounter in the middle
is an important town located in Galilee
It is Capernaum
That's where the tax booth was located
As a central hub for transportation, there was a tax booth
The tax collectors would collect taxes from those passing through this area
So, Matthew was a tax collector working in Capernaum
Matthew probably heard about Jesus from the Galilean fishermen,
who were the first to meet Jesus in Capernaum
and became His disciples
But one day, as Jesus was passing by the tax booth
He looked up, saw Matthew,
and said to him,
'Follow me' [Mat. 9:9]
'Follow me' [Mt. 9:9]
The Bible records that upon his command Matthew got up and followed Jesus
It is likely that Matthew had already heard about Jesus before that moment
He likely had some prior knowledge about the Messiah,
through the fishermen in Capernaum
When the One who was called the Messiah appeared and said to Matthew,
and said, 'Follow me',
The One called to be Messiah told Matthew to follow Him
This was his turning point
that would radically change his life
So, Matthew became a disciple of Jesus
As soon as he became a disciple, he held a party at his house
because he felt so grateful
that he was chosen as a disciple of Jesus
Then, naturally, who would've attended his party the most?
It would've been Matthew's friends
Who would those friends be?
They were tax collectors
But when the Pharisees and others saw
that the tax collectors and sinners were gathered together,
Jesus talking with the tax collectors,
they asked, 'Why does your teacher
eat with tax collectors and sinners?' [Mt. 9:11]
And Jesus famously says,
'I came not to call the righteous, but sinners' [Mt. 9:13]
'Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick' [Mt. 9:13]
These are the people He came to this world for
Matthew's life as a disciple began with this famous declaration of Jesus
Afterwards, what kind of ministry did Matthew engage in?
First, Matthew received a new name
What was his new name?
Matthew, Levi became Matthew
'A gift from God'
And true to his name,
Matthew dedicated himself to the Lord who called him
And his greatest legacy
was writing the Gospel of Matthew, recording the life of the Messiah
Because he was likely trained in a priestly family,
he would have been skilled in writing and record-keeping
So, with his gifts and talents, Matthew was able to
document the life of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew
It doesn't end there
Not only did Matthew document the life of Jesus,
but he also actively testified about Him
He worked hard to share with others
who Jesus was,
It is known that Matthew primarily preached about Jesus
to fellow Jews in the land of Israel, particularly within Palestine
But he did not stop there
Following the command to "be His witnesses to the ends of the earth",
Matthew traveled as far as Ethiopia
And it was in Ethiopia that Matthew was martyred
Let's summarize the important lesson from Matthew's life
First, his grate decision
to follow Jesus
He could no more earn money as a tax collector anymore
That was a sacrificial decision
At the same time, his life was transformed,
from who takes from others
to who serves others, testifying Jesus, as a witness of God
Through experiencing this transformation in his life,
Matthew became a person whom the Lord could use
With the same hands that once recorded tax records,
Matthew became the apostle who recorded the story of the Messiah
Isn't Matthew's life fascinating, everyone?
As we reflect on the life of Matthew,
what can I learn through
the life of this one disciple, an apostle?
How should our lives, yours and mine, be transformed?
I hope today serves as a time for us to seriously reflect on this
Now, we will focus on someone who doesn't appear much in the Bible
This disciple isn't as much talked about in sermons
It's Simon, but not Simon Peter
It's another disciple named Simon
I would like to give this apostle a nickname
The apostle who was led by true passion
Simon
There’s a passage in the Bible where Simon likely asks this question
Let's listen carefully to the words from Acts 1:6-8
'So when they had come together, they asked him,
“Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”'
'He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that
the Father has fixed by his own authority"'
'"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you,
and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria,
and to the end of the earth"' [Acts 1:6-8]
The passage we just listened to is from Acts 1:6 and onward where they asked
'...will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?'
The Bible does not record that Simon asked this question
However, I will explain the reasons why it is likely
that Simon asked this question as I go through his life story
When the list of Jesus' twelve apostles is mentioned, Simon is included
In the Synoptic Gospels and Acts 1,
when the list of the twelve apostles is given, Simon is always included
But aside from that, there isn't a record
About his actions or conversations
There are no records at all
It is just a hypothesis that the question in Acts 1:6-8
Was likely asked by the disciple Simon
The reason for that is,
now, regarding the disciple Simon,
when the Bible records the list of the twelve apostles,
it is written in Matthew 10:4
as 'Simon the Zealot',
originally 'kananaios'
In the Gospel of Luke,
in Luke 6:15, Simon is referred to
as 'Simon who was called the Zealot'
Zealot in English
means enthusiasm, or zeal
Therefore, Zealot is commonly translated as a hard working member,
or an enthusiastic member
A hard working member or enthusiastic member Simon
So, he was someone who belonged to the Zealot group, that makes sense
But what does kananaios mean?
Does it have to do with him being a Cananaean?
There are scholars who think this way as well
as in, a typo for Canaan
Or 'Canaanite’ because he had lived as a native for a long time in that area?
We could make such a guess
But that's not it
'Canaan' in Hebrew
is called 'Kena'an'
This originally means zeal,
or putting one's passion
So it means the same thing as Zealot
So we can understand through the Bible
that this person's identity is a Zealot
Now, to understand the background of the Zealots
during Jesus' time, we can divide
religious individuals into four main groups
Without understanding these four groups It's hard to grasp the New Testament
You've probably heard of the first group
The Pharisees, sounds familiar?
The Pharisees
The Pharisees were known for copying God’s law, also called the Torah
They interpreted it
and taught it to others
They were zealous in keeping the law,
making them a kind of religious fundamentalists
That was the Pharisee sect
Another group that frequently appears in the New Testament is the Sadducees
The Sadducees
Who are the Sadducees?
Sadducees, are they to do with seduction or what?
They were the priestly class involved in the temple’s sacrificial duties
The priestly class
However, while managing the temple, they were also close to the Romans
Because they were under Roman rule at the time,
they couldn't benefit from the temple without being close to the Romans
So they maintained a close relationship with the Romans
However, unlike the Pharisees,
their faith wasn't as strict in terms of believing in the Bible
They interpreted the Scriptures freely according to their own views,
rather than emphasizing the literal meaning of the Bible
The Sadducees could be seen as religious liberals,
Theologians in this line of thought are also called religious liberals,
as the Sadducees were religious liberals
Therefore, they did not believe in miracles
Being liberals, they didn't believe in the miracles of the Bible
They also did not believe in the resurrection of Jesus
So, when Jesus was talking to the Sadducees, He said,
'"...you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God"' [Mk. 12:24]
They were indifferent to doctrine
and more interested in benefits from befriending the Romans
The Sadducees were the high-class with significant social influence
Then there is another group
The third group is the Essenes
You may have heard of them
They left the city and lived in the wilderness
In the wilderness, they formed a community
And sought a holy life there on their own
They formed a community similar to a wilderness monastery,
practicing purification rituals and striving for a holy life
The most important aspect of their life
was living a clean and pure life
They focused on purifying themselves by distancing the material world
Therefore, they can be considered religious ascetics
If you ever have the chance to visit the holy sites of Israel,
you'll see the Qumran community, located not far south of Jerusalem
where the Dead Sea Scrolls, including Old Testament copies and Jewish texts,
were discovered and became a big news
The traces of the Essenes' way of life are still preserved there
Some scholars speculate that John the Baptist may have come from this sect
They withdrew from everyday life to wilderness, in their own community,
where they lived holy lives in anticipation of the coming Messiah
Those were the Essenes sect
Now, there is a fourth group
We have Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, and finally, the Zealots
Who were the Zealots?
The anti-Romans
Politically, they were nationalists who resisted the Roman rule at the time
They were people like those involved in the independence movement
But they expressed their patriotism aggressively
And hated those who sided with the Romans
They hated people like Matthew
They really did
They would carry knives, stab people who they recognize as pro-Roman
They thought that those who cling to Rome and commit
acts of treason against their own people must be punished
The most aggressive among the Zealots were the Sicarii
The Sicarii were people with daggers
They would carry sharp daggers,
Stab passing people they considered allies of Rome
The disciple Simon was one of them
Simon the Zealot had a Zealot background
How did this person become a disciple of Jesus?
We cannot know for sure in detail
However, we can divide the disciples into three main groups
in three groups of four
The first group consists of Peter, Andrew, James, and John
Who are the most well-known to us among the Twelve Disciples
The second group includes Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, and Matthew
This is the the second group
The remaining disciples belong to the third group
Which includes Simon, Thaddaeus, James the Less, and Judas Iscariot
James the Less, Thaddaeus or Jude, Simon, and Judas Iscariot
They are in the third group
So, the people in the third group were likely close to each other
Some scholars suggest that the third group had Zealots
So, Judas Iscariot included, all of them had Zealot tendencies
When Simon is mentioned, the disciple who appears alongside him is Judas
Simon is mentioned alongside Judas Iscariot
When Jesus sent out His disciples, if they were paired up,
they likely preached together, heard His teachings, and witnessed miracles
However, their lives turned out completely differently
Judas betrayed Jesus,
but Simon became an apostle of Jesus, giving all of his life for the Lord
Let's conclude on Simon's life
He started as a nationalist
However, later he became an evangelical
So, a nationalist became an evangelical
When missionaries go to foreign nations
to spread the gospel,
one of the biggest obstacles they often mention is this
Mission scholars refer to this as ethnocentrism
It's a mindset where one only thinks about their own nation
In God’s perspective of loving all nations, this becomes an obstacle
Therefore, patriotism can actually be an obstacle in following Jesus
The Bible verse from Acts 1 that I mentioned earlier is
after Jesus' resurrection, when He stayed for 40 days before His ascension
One of the disciples came forward and asked,
'...will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?'
After His resurrection, perhaps He'd restore the nation’s independence
Who would have been the disciple most likely to ask this question?
It would be Simon, right? Of course, it was Simon,
since he was a nationalist
And what did Jesus say?
In Acts 1:8, Jesus says,
'But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you,
and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth' [Acts 1:8]
Finally, they laid down their nationalistic ambitions before the Lord
and later became witnesses of the gospel
To be a witness is to be a martyr, willing to lay down one's life
Although this is not mentioned in the Bible,
According to church traditions, Simon later went as far as Persia
In Persia, Simon met his end, martyred by being sawed in half
We reflected on the life of the disciple and Zealot, Simon
As we're living in Korea, what can we learn from his life?
What is the biggest challenge facing our country right now?
What will be the national challenges in the future?
North and South Korea should peacefully reunify
We can't achieve unification through war, right?
It must be peaceful without a war
To peacefully unify, we must learn to embrace the people of the North,
support and love them in any way we can,
just like what the Germans did
Just like the support during German unification, we must prepare the same way
But there is something more
We need a vision that goes beyond just this national vision
Simon started with patriotism but later saw a greater vision for God’s Kingdom
In Acts 1, it says
that Jesus taught about the Kingdom during the 40 days after His resurrection
Learning the vision of God's Kingdom,
Simon let go of his patriotism and became a witness of Christ
If we can have the great vision of God's Kingdom,
we will be able to embrace North Korea
and move toward the day of unification
The lesson that the disciple Simon teaches us is important
You mentioned that Simon was a Zealot
A Zealot would be someone who is always passionate and proactive
But why wouldn't the Bible say much about him?
The Bible selectively includes events, as it cannot record everything
Theologians refer to the biblical history as the history of salvation
The history of salvation
Jesus came to us to save us
It records only what is necessary from the perspective of salvation history
Therefore, from the perspective of salvation history,
Events that may have seemed important to people of the time
were left out by the biblical writers if they were not essential to
teaching future generations of Christians
We could view it from that perspective
Matthew was a tax collector
I believe that tax collector was an important job at that time
Without tax collectors or customs, trade and movement would be disrupted
Does sacrifice for Jesus always have to mean a change in one’s profession
or letting go of one’s own things?
In the Bible, it seems that doctors continued their professions,
but others, like Peter the fisherman
and the tax collectors, left everything behind
I’m curious about your perspective on career choices
Do you think there are particular professions we should have?
The Twelve Disciples are well-known representatives among Jesus’ followers
There were likely many more disciples of Jesus beyond the Twelve
When Jesus sent out followers to spread His message,
it is recorded that He sent out seventy people
The twelve disciples, in fact, gave up their professions
and devoted all their time to spreading the message of Jesus
Basically, they were full-time workers, as we would say today
People like pastors or missionaries, who worked full-time as ministers
Many others continued to maintain their professions, living as Christians
I believe they also participated in spreading the gospel
Therefore, the Twelve Apostles are a special case
Chosen as representatives of Jesus, they were called to work as his apostles
You don’t all need to give up your jobs to become disciples of Jesus
To be one of the Twelve Apostles, you would have to give things up
Being a pastor may mean giving things up, but not for everyone
Working at Duranno, you can serve the Lord and work for God’s Kingdom
The Twelve Apostles were a unique, representative case, like an exception
You said Simon was a Zealot
and that he strongly disliked those who collaborated with Rome
Matthew seems to be one of those people
I imagine the two people staying together for a long time
I think there must have been conflicts along the way
Though not mentioned in the Bible, in any church or community
there are likely people with different values and perspectives
-I'm curious how we should biblically view and treat such people -That's a very important question
You've asked a great question
Right now, in our country, there are many ideological conflicts
The conflict between conservatives and progressives
Therefore, Matthew and Simon must've experienced a lot of conflict
One was pro-Rome, the other was anti-Rome
If it were up to me, I wouldn't choose these two opposing disciples
These two disciples could cause problems day and night
Yet, Jesus is great for choosing these two disciples as His followers
Jesus placed two disciples before Him, with different thoughts and ideologies
and said, 'Love one another'
'A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another' [Jhn. 13:34]
How great is Jesus, who gave us that command
There must've been many conflicts in the beginning
However, as they gradually received Jesus' training
and when the Holy Spirit came upon them,
all disciples eventually became ones
who gave everything for the gospel
So, people with different political views can coexist within the same church
Of course they can
If they are dedicated to God, I believe they can become one
You've asked very good questions today
Also, two very contrasting disciples were
Pro-Roman Matthew
and Anti-Roman Simon,
The Zealot and the tax collector
However, these two disciples, through the process of evangelism,
eventually offered their lives to God
Disciples and apostles are different
A disciple is one who learns and an apostle is one who is sent
By learning well and being sent out they were able to change the world
And dedicate their lives to the Lord
I hope that this secret becomes God's inspiration
And grace for you and me today
Let's pray together and wrap it up. Let's pray
Heavenly Father, thank You
As we shared the stories of Matthew and Simon, two disciples and apostles
Despite differences, we can unite as Your disciples and follow You together
and dedicate ourselves to God's kingdom
Use us, and through us, reveal Your glory
So that Your kingdom may come on earth
May Your will be done on this land as it is in heaven
And may the day of a unified and peaceful Korea come soon
We pray in the precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ
Amen
Thank you very much