(This show was made possible by your generous donation)
(ARS Donation 060-705-0000)
Nice to meet you all
Among the Twelve Disciples,
we'll be talking about James the Less and Thomas
I think James the Less might be a disciple
that you're not very familiar with
Let's start with James the Less,
or James, the son of Alphaeus, in the Bible
In Matthew 10:2-4
and Mark 15:40,
there are records of James
We will now listen carefully to the part in the Bible
that testifies about James
(9. The House of James the Less, by Jean-Michel)
'The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter,
and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and
John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector;
James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;
Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him' [Mt. 10:2-4]
'There were also women looking on from a distance,
among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother
of James the younger and of Joses,
and Salome' [Mk. 15:40]
Mentioning him as James the Less, or James the son of Alphaeus,
the Bible records very briefly about the disciple
As we read the Gospels, we cannot find any records of this disciple
performing any special actions or having any conversations
He simply appears briefly
in the list of the Twelve Apostles
James the son of Alphaeus or James the Less
He is recorded only as that
He is one of the twelve apostles, yet finding detailed information
about him is quite difficult
As he is one of the least mentioned among the Twelve,
there are often hymns we sing
'Without Name, Without Glory, I Will Serve with Thanks'
Perhaps this is the kind of life that this disciple lived
This is the kind of James who is vaguely inferred
When studying this disciple,
the most confusing aspect
Is that the name James
was a common name in Judea
Even today, in Western countries,
the most common name is John
with James often ranking second
That's how common these names are
So, many Jameses appear frequently in the Bible
So we wonder if this James is the same as that James,
or if that James is different
It often causes confusion for us
So, I first conclude that this James is not that James
that we know of
First,
The James who appears most frequently in the Bible
is James the son of Zebedee
James, the son of Zebedee
James the son of Zebedee was
one of the inner circle of Jesus
Three disciples were often present with Jesus during key moments
Peter, James and John
So, this James is not the one who was part of that inner circle
This James today is a different one
And that James, the son of Zebedee,
this James is likely the one mentioned in Acts 12
who was martyred by King Herod,
making him the first martyr of the Jerusalem Church
This is James, the son of Zebedee
But the James we're studying today is not that James, the son of Zebedee
Another point we should not confuse is that
There was a James among Jesus' brothers
James, the brother of Jesus
For example, Galatians 1:19 says,
'James the Lord's brother' [Gal. 1:19]
The Lord's brother
It means he is Jesus' physical brother
The father of James, the Lord's brother, would have been Joseph
Right? James' mother being Mary
But it's not that James
The Bible seems to indicate that Jesus' physical brothers
did not believe him to be the Savior
while he was on earth
The Bible often mentions that
'For not even his brothers believed in him' [Jhn. 7:5]
So, it seems that even though they were with Jesus
His brothers did not consider him the Messiah or the Savior
However, there comes a significant turning point
in the thinking of Jesus' brothers
That turning point occurred after Jesus' resurrection
When He conquered death and rose again,
in 1 Corinthians 15, it says that
'...He appeared to more than
five hundred brothers at one time'
More than five hundred people
witnessed the resurrected Jesus with their own eyes
At that moment, it's likely that
seeing their brother resurrected as the Lord,
they must've realized that Jesus indeed was
the true Messiah
As a result, they experienced a transformation as well
Even Jesus' brothers experienced a change
So if you take a look,
Jesus' brothers also became
His disciples and began living as apostles,
witnessing and proclaiming the Lord
But again, the James for today is not that James
So, two things are clear
This James is neither the son of Zebedee
nor the brother of Jesus, but a different James altogether
The Bible simply refers to him as
James the son of Alphaeus
The son of Alphaeus
But what's clear is that
the name of the father of the James we are considering today is...
Did I ask too profound a question?
James the son of Alphaeus
So, who is the father of today's James?
He is Alphaeus
In Mark 15:40, the name of his mother is mentioned
His mother is named Mary
There are too many Marys in the Bible
This also is confusing
The person we are discussing today is
one of the twelve apostles, James the Less,
or James the son of Alphaeus
And we know that James' father is Alphaeus
and that his mother is Mary
Mark 2:14 also says,
'Levi the son of Alphaeus'
Levi, the son of Alphaeus
The person we are studying now is James,
but Alphaeus had another son as well
The other son's name is Levi
But Levi has a nickname that he goes by
Levi's nickname is Matthew
So, Matthew is his nickname, and his real name was likely Levi
Then, something very interesting happens
The James for today, known as James the Less,
is part of a group that divides the disciples into three main groups
The first group,
which we see most often in the Bible,
includes Andrew, Peter, James, and John
A group of four
The second group,
Consists of Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, and Matthew
The last, third group,
the least mentioned in the Bible,
which includes
the one we were discussing, James the Less
Thaddaeus, Simon, and Judas Iscariot
This is the third group
However, biblical scholars suggest that this third group
Was likely influenced by the Zealots
Who were active in the Jewish Independence movement
People who are called the Zealots
The Zealots were anti-Romans
But among the sons of Alphaeus, there is Levi (Matthew)
What was Matthew's occupation?
He was a tax collector
Tax collectors collaborated with the Roman authorities
The person who was gaining economic benefit
was a pro-Roman
Then, one of the brothers was an anti-Roman,
and the other was pro-Roman
In terms of our time, one is conservative
and the other is progressive
Between brothers,
could this be happening?
Of course it can
There are times brothers fight in the election season
Our parents' generation and our generation think differently
So, he was probably someone
Who carried conflict among his brothers
However, the only information we can know about this person is
James the Less
Why does the Bible refer to him as James the Less?
We can make three different guesses
First but simple, he was short
It’s possible that he was called that due to his smaller stature
Another possibility is,
because he was younger than the other disciples
It is possible he was called the Less because of younger age
Another possibility is
that he had the least influence,
though it is not mentioned in the Bible
According to the historian Eusebius,
a Jewish historian, he provides a testimony
about this disciple
Eusebius writes about him in his historical accounts that
he was a man of few words,
but he was always a disciple who prayed
He didn't talk very much
So, there isn't much to record, as he didn't speak much
But he was always praying
Then, this disciple is very important
We don't do God's work merely with words
We can do God's work through prayer
So, even though he is not mentioned frequently in the Bible
He is considered to be
a necessary disciple
Therefore, I'd like to give this disciple a nickname
Less yet essential disciple
He was a Less disciple,
yet necessary in the kingdom of God
According to church tradition,
this disciple later became a martyr
like the other apostles
Actually, Judas betrayed Jesus
and John lived the longest
While the rest were martyred
But for the James the Less,
they say he was martyred in Jerusalem
They also say that
he was martyred in Egypt
It is believed that he was martyred by being sawn in half
while preaching, according to traditions
Therefore, even though
This disciple may not have left many accomplishments,
he was still essential in the eyes of the Lord,
which is why he was included among the Twelve Apostles
For an orchestra,
the second violinist is
one of the most essential
though not many apply to be one
The first violinist often gets lots of applicants, but not for second
But without the second violinist, the piece cannot be played
The second violinist is essential
If we visit a national cemetery,
not far from here,
where would the most
honorable one be?
I lived in Washington, D.C. for a long time
And there is the Arlington National Cemetery
Occasionally, when I visit, events take place there
It takes place
at the Tomb of the Unknowns
The Unknown Soldiers
They may not have been widely recognized by name,
but were absolutely essential
I think James the Less
was this kind of disciple after all
Even though there may not be grand records in the Bible,
he is whom God knows,
whom Jesus knows,
and whom He called to be his disciple
Similarly, among us,
even if we have no lived a dramatic life,
if, as Christians,
we quietly follow Jesus
and do God's work through prayer,
we are like James the Less
An essential disciple
James the Less
Is there anyone
who can relate
to James the Less?
As we reflect on the lesson of James the Less,
let us now move on to the next disciple
The next disciple is one who may be more familiar to us,
and someone we might have many questions about
He is often referred to as
the doubting disciple
The doubting disciple
It's Thomas
However, I would rather give this disciple a nickname of
not a the doubting one, but a the questioning disciple
Is a student who asks many questions
considered an outstanding student or not?
They are excellent students
Smart students are those who ask many questions
I like this disciple
I like Thomas
Let us listen to the passage
from the Gospel of John chapter 20,
verses 24-29, which testifies about Thomas
(7. House of Thomas, by Kim Kang)
'Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin,
was not with them when Jesus came'
'So the other disciples told him,
“We have seen the Lord”'
'But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails,
and place my finger into the mark of the nails,
and place my hand into his side,
I will never believe'
'Eight days later, his disciples were inside again,
and Thomas was with them' 'Although the doors were locked,
Jesus came and stood among them and said,
“Peace be with you"'
'Then he said to Thomas.
“Put your finger here, and see my hands;
and put out your hand, and place it in my side'
'Do not disbelieve, but believe'
'Thomas answered him,
“My Lord and my God!”'
'Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me?
Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed"' [Jhn. 20:24-29]
First, let's think about
the meaning of this person's name
In the passage we just listened to from John 20,
Thomas is not only referred to as Thomas
but also as Didymus, right?
Thomas as Didymus
The name Didymus is originally Greek,
and the name Thomas is originally Aramaic
which, in modern terms, is similar to Syrian
However, during the time of Jesus,
the most commonly spoken language in Judea was Aramaic,
which is Syrian
It is Thomas in that language
In English, it is 'Thomas'
but in Greek, that
Therefore, during the time of Jesus, both Greek and
Aramaic were spoken
It's similar to how we think of the Japanese occupation period
During the old Korean period of Japanese occupation
Of course, Korean was our native language so it was still used then
But at the same time, Japanese was widely spoken
It's just like that
But they both mean the same
What do Didymus and Thomas mean?
They both mean twins
Why was he named a twin?
Probably because he was one of the twins
That's why his name was a twin
If he is one of the twins, there's got to be another twin
There must be
But there's no record of it
Therefore, we don't know
Anyway, he is one of the twins
If we assume he was a twin, it is almost certain that he was one
The fact that the name Didymus and Thomas are both used suggests
Is anyone here a twin?
Or, have you seen any other twins?
When parents raise twins,
there are many great stories
For twins,
generally what do parents do?
They dress them similarly
Because difference may cause
one envying another
They might feel jealous at times
So, parents pay more attention to these things
Because they were twins,
growing up, it likely had a significant impact
on the development of his character and personality
His tendency to ask many questions and be somewhat difficult
might be closely related
to his twin birth
It's something we can imagine
If we look for records of Thomas in the Bible,
he is only recorded in the Gospel of John
His name appears in the lists of the apostles,
in all the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke
But the specific things
he said or did are
only recorded in the Gospel of John
Specifically, Thomas appears in three episodes in the Gospel of John
Let's briefly consider each one
The first episode is in John 11
At that time, Lazarus, whom Jesus considered a friend, dies
Lazarus dies
However, Jesus was far away from Lazarus at that time
Lazarus' sisters
Martha and Mary send messengers to Jesus
They say, their brother, Lazarus, is dying
But Jesus, instead of leaving quickly, stays where He is
If He were truly a friend,
he would go immediately, pray for him, and heal him
But Jesus delays for more than three days
Then, suddenly, Jesus says that
'Lazarus has fallen asleep' [Jhn. 11:11]
That means Lazarus has died
In this scene, Thomas appears
and says,
''Let us also go, that we may die with him' [Jhn. 11:16]
That's what Thomas says
What did he mean by that?
Let us also go that we may die with him?
It may be a self-deprecating remark out of frustration or disappointment
Jesus has been delaying,
and Lazarus is dead
So he sounds like he's resigned to the situation
But at the same time,
it also sounds like he's saying 'better late than never'
As in, if he died, we have to follow him,
how can we let him be alone, out of friendship and bravery
Or little bit of both emotions
The second episode is in John 14
John 14 begins with
'Let not your hearts be troubled' 'Believe in God; believe also in me'
Then he says,
'And you know the way to where I am going' [Jhn. 14:4]
That's what Jesus says
'I am the way, and the truth, and the life' [Jhn. 14:6]
This is a little later, but before that, Jesus says
'And you know the way to where I am going' [Jhn. 14:4]
In this scene, Thomas pops up again
'Thomas said to him,
“Lord, we do not know where you are going"'
'"How can we know the way?"' [Jhn. 14:5]
This also sounds a bit like sarcasm
So, it's not just a pure and normal conversation,
but rather a slightly sarcastic remark
At the same time,
when he says "Lord, we need to know the way in order to follow You properly",
it also seems like a serious statement
It's a mix of different tones in Thomas' response
The third scene where
Thomas appears is in John 20
The resurrected Jesus
appears before His disciples
When Jesus first appeared to the disciples, Thomas was not there
The other disciples, having seen the resurrected Jesus,
excitedly told Thomas, "We have seen the Lord! He is alive!"
But Thomas appears,
and then what does he say?
"There's no way, if he is back to life,
Unless I put my hand into His side,
I will not believe it!"
This here again,
he sounds sarcastic and doubting again
In other view, he wants to check and know for sure
If He has truly risen, he really needs to confirm it for himself
You could think of Thomas as having the mindset of an empirical skeptic
Thomas has a somewhat complex personality, right?
Those are the three episodes of Thomas
But what's important is that
the Bible never clarifies
whether Thomas actually tried his hand in Jesus' side
The Bible has no record of it
Despite all that, the resurrected Lord appears again
Thomas gets shocked,
and says, "Let me touch him and see if he is really the Lord"
but he didn’t actually go and check
Instead, he bows before Jesus
As he bows down, he confesses,
"My Lord, My God!"
From that moment on, Thomas lives a life as a true disciple,
bearing witness to the Lord throughout his life
Now, at the end of his preaching journey,
according to church traditions,
Thomas eventually traveled as far as Persia and then to India,
where he did missionary work
When you think of missionary work in India,
who comes to mind as someone who left an immortal legacy in Indian missions?
Is the name familiar? William Carey,
the father of modern missions?
William Carey, the person who opened the door to missionary work in India
But before William Carey, who was the first to go?
It was Thomas
Among the Twelve Disciples,
it was Thomas who went first, and in India or Pakistan,
you can still find many traces of Thomas including the Thomas Memorial Church
In the end, he was martyred in India
Now, what background allowed Thomas,
a disciple who was often doubtful with a complex personality,
to go all the way to India to spread the gospel
And ultimately become a martyr?
As we study his life,
I believe there are four key reasons
Why his life transformed from a skeptical, empirical doubter
into a martyr and witness for Christ
First, asking questions is important
As you live out your faith, questions will naturally arise
You have to ask those questions
You shouldn't stay silent Smart students ask questions
And a believer who asks questions is one who grows and matures in their faith
Only by asking questions can we receive answers
Next, you must have fellowship
You must create fellowship with fellow believers
Whenever Thomas acts skeptical and rebellious
And when Thomas displayed a self-deprecating attitude,
it was always because he wasn't with the other disciples
When the resurrected Jesus appeared Thomas wasn't there at first
He was 'not with them when Jesus came' [Jhn. 20:24]
That's what the Bible says
However, if you look at the later records of the disciples,
Thomas does not miss a single event
In John 20:26, we find this verse
'...Thomas was with them'
'Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them' [Jhn. 20:26]
Being together is important
Even if we have doubts,
or face difficulties in our faith,
being with fellow Christians
in a community is important
In it, we help each other overcome our doubts
It allows our faith to mature and grow
That’s the lesson we can learn
And overcoming temporary discouragement is also important
Thomas, too, first showed skepticism and a self-deprecating attitude
He ultimately overcame it
Similarly, we may experience moments of retreat in our faith journey
We may take a short break as well
What truly matters is overcoming it in the end
And the most important thing is
the significance of the confession of faith
Being finally convinced of who Jesus is and making the confession,
"My Lord, my God"
He accepted Jesus not just as a human,
but acknowledged His divinity confessing him as Lord, God, and Savior
This confession ultimately led him to dedicate his entire life to the Lord,
to become a martyr,
and to leave a significant mark of the gospel,
in the vast land of India, living as an apostle
Isn't the life of Thomas fascinating?
Is it a challenge for you as well?
(Pastor Lee Dongwon's Story of the Twelve Apostles Q&A)
As I listened to you,
I couldn't help but think that I have lived a life similar to Thomas'
But there were times during my church life
where I had many questions time to time
I often asked these questions,
but there was also a point when I decided to let go of those questions
I thought I was asking ministers too many questions
I thought it'd disrupt the air,
or even make me seem like a bad example
to others who share the faith together
-SoI started to hesitate because of that -I see
For the sake of my faith,
in order to make a confession like Thomas in the end,
I know that a lot of process is needed
I would like to ask for an advice regarding this
Korean churches are usually like this
If you ask too many questions,
you might be regarded as someone lacking in faith
Or in some cases, seen as a difficult
or picky person
This creates hesitation in us
I can really relate to that, because I was the same way
I wasn't someone who was raised in a family with faith
In my twenties, I started attending an English Bible study
to learn English from missionaries
And that's when I began to develop my faith
I received a lot of criticism, asking too many questions
But as I look back,
I got those answers only because I asked those questions
Another thing is that when I ask questions, others gain courage
And there are actually others who wanted to ask the same questions
It's just that they don't
And among teachers,
there are some who dislike questions
But a capable teacher
should be able to embrace any question
That is what makes a great teacher
I prefer Bible studies
where we can exchange a lot of questions
That's how I like it
I get to learn, too
As a teacher, I also learn alongside them
And there's no way I would know everything
It takes courage to be honest when I don't know something
I believe that the process of finding answers together
as a community is also a blessing
Mine's on James the Less
Many people have the desire to be greatly used by God
That desire is present in many people
But sometimes, I think there is discouragement
that comes when we feel like we haven't made a significant impact
I'm sure it's not just me
But when reading the Bible,
even Moses, with the Promised Land right ahead, stopped
when God said "let's stop here"
The first time I read that,
I actually felt sorry for Moses
But still, God is good
and while I may not know the full answer
I believe that even for James the Less,
He must've lived with satisfaction and gratitude before God
However, looking at my own life, I am often unable to do the same
Could you share more about this part?
I think the reason why someone like James the Less
appears in the Bible is or people like you, sister
Because in this world, there aren't many great people
or those who leave behind great contributions
However, there are many more people
living quietly with small lives
But that small life can be much more important
In fact, when we look at the Bible, When Jesus praises someone,
it's never because someone has done great things,
and is a great servant
'You have been faithful over a little,
I will set you over much' [Mat. 25:23]
He valued the small things more
Small things come together to create great things
It's not just the big tasks that matter
When we stand before the Lord,
even the small people will be highly valued
One of the impressions I get from reading the Bible
is that while Moses, Peter, and Paul
were prominent leaders but,
for example, when we look at Paul's letters in the New Testament,
at the very end, there are numerous
names of people unfamiliar to us
Why were these names recorded?
Names that are not familiar to us
Names like Tychicus, Aristarchus, Epaphras
But I believe they were included to teach us
that each and individual people was a precious vessel in God's kingdom
That must've been why the Bible recorded them
So, there's no need to be disappointed just because I'm not standing out more
On the contrary, God pays more attention to my ordinary life
I don't know if I gave you a good enough answer
I have a strong interest in missions
Thomas is said to have gone to India as a missionary
I'm curious about the exact reasons,
and what kind of inspiration led him to go to India
And I'm curious about what specific kind of mission work
he did once he got there
In Acts 1, we see that after Jesus resurrected,
He stayed on earth for 40 days
before he ascended
Before He ascended, in Acts 1:2 and following,
Jesus talked to his disciples
'...speaking about
the kingdom of God' [Acts 1:3]
And after that,
one of the disciples asked this,
'Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?' [Acts 1:6]
Since He has resurrected,
they expected Him to conquer Rome,
give freedom to Israel
So they asked about the political restoration
But Jesus replied,
"The Father has fixed the time, so that's not what we should focus on"
So, rather than the restoration of Israel,
what is more important from God's perspective
is that the gospel is preached to the ends of the earth
And Acts 1:8 famously 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]
That's the command He gave
And then in Acts 2, the Holy Spirit comes upon them
So, in order to just obey his word and follow it,
they literally went to the ends of the earth,
in the fullness of the Holy Spirit
Scattering away like so,
very literally
If you go north from Jerusalem, you'll reach Samaria
From Samaria, going further north, you'll reach Syria
A bit beyond Syria
is present-day Turkey,
also known as Asia Minor
Then, if you go a little further,
you'll reach Persia,
and then India
Thus, literally,
they all went to the ends of the earth
Ends of the earth,
following the guidance of the Holy Spirit
At least ten of the twelve apostles scattered
and went to the places as far as they could travel,
with the knowledge they had at the time,
where God opened doors for them
to preach the gospel
In the case of Thomas, it was India
Actually, ancient India
included what is now Pakistan
So when I went to Pakistan,
I was surprised to find a church called the Thomas Mission Memorial Church
Thinking, why is this here in Pakistan?
Upon thinking about it,
in the past, India and Pakistan were one country
Therefore, that's as far as
Thomas reached
Or it wasn't himself,
someone else influenced by Thomas
went there to preach the gospel
Thank you
Let's summarize
Especially thinking about the two,
James the Less
and then Thomas,
we learn how less isn't small
Small things are also important in the Kingdom of God
And then, even though Thomas is seen doubtful,
questioning isn't a bad thing
Creative questions can lead to answers
So later, he was able to be used as
a more precious witness of the gospel
I hope that lesson is planted in all of our hearts today
Let us pray
Heavenly Father,
today, we shared about
James the Less and Thomas
Though we may be Less in the eyes of God,
at times questioning like Thomas,
and wander time to time,
may we be ultimately held in the Lord's hand
as witnesses of God's kingdom
and be used as precious instruments of the gospel
We pray that You guide each of us to live such a life
In Jesus' name, I bless and pray
Amen
Thank you very much
Thank you