THE OTHER DICIPLES
Thomas owes his popularity to the quality
which should be his shame. Thomas, the twin, is the guardian of modernity, as
Thomas Aquinas is the oracle of medieval life. He is the true patron saint of
Spinoza and of all the other deniers of the resurrection, the man who is not
satisfied even with the testimony of his eyes, but wishes that of his hands as
well. And yet his love for Jesus makes him pardonable. When they came to the
Master to say that Lazarus was dead, and the disciples hesitated before going
into Judea among their enemies, it was Thomas alone who said: "Let us also go, that we may die with
him." (John 11:16) The martyrdom which he did not find then came to
him in India, after Christ's death.
Matthew is the dearest of all the Twelve.
He was a tax-gatherer, a sort of under-publican, and probably had more education than his companions. He followed Jesus as readily
as the fishermen. "And after these
things he went forth, and saw a publican named Levi, sitting at the receipt of
custom: and he said unto him, follow me. And he left all, rose up, and followed
him. And Levi made him a great feast in his own house." (Luke 5:27-29)
It was not a heap of torn nets which Matthew left, but a position, a wage,
secure and increasing earnings. Giving up riches is easy for a man who has
almost nothing. Among the Twelve Matthew was certainly the richest before his
conversion. Of no other is it told that he could offer a great feast, and this
means that he made a greater and more meritorious sacrifice by his rising at
the first call from the seat where he was accumulating money.
Matthew and Judas were perhaps the only ones
of the Disciples who knew how to write, and to Matthew we owe the first
collection of Logia or memorable sayings of Jesus, if the testimony of Papia is
true. In the Gospel which is called by his name, we find the most complete text
of the Sermon on the Mount. Our debt to the poor excise-man is heavy: without
him many words of Jesus, and the most beautiful, might have been lost. This
handler of drachma, shekels and talents, whom his despised trade must have
predisposed to greed, has laid up for us a treasure worth more than all the
money coined on the earth before and after his time.
Philip of Bethsaida also knew how to count. When the
famished multitude pressed about Him, Jesus turned to him to ask what it would
cost to buy bread for all those people. Philip answered Him: "Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not
sufficient for them." (John 6:7) He was later to become a proclaimer
of his Master's fame. He it was who announced to Nathaniel the coming of Jesus,
and it was to him that the Greeks of Jerusalem turned when they wished to speak
to the new Prophet.
Nathaniel answered Philip's announcement with sarcasm: "Can there any good thing come out of
Nazareth?" (John 1:46) But Philip succeeded in bringing him to Jesus,
who as soon as He saw him, exclaimed, "Behold
an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! Nathaniel saith unto him, whence
knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, before that Philip called
thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee. Nathaniel answered and
saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.
Jesus answered and said unto him, because I said unto thee, I saw thee under
the fig tree, believest thou? Thou shalt see greater things than these."
(John 1:47-50)
Less enthusiastic and inflammable was Nicodemus, who, as a
matter of fact, never wished to be known as a disciple of Jesus. Nicodemus was
old, had been to school to the Rabbis, was a friend of the Jerusalem Sanhedrin,
but the stories of the miracles had shaken him, and he went by night to Jesus
to tell Him that he believed that He was sent by God. Jesus answered him, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee,
except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." (John
3:3) Nicodemus did not understand these words, or perhaps they startled him. He
had come to see a miracle worker and had found a Sybil, and with the homely
good sense of the man who wishes to avoid being taken in by a fraud he said, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can
he enter the second time into his mother's womb and be born?" (Vs. 4)
Jesus answers with words of profound meaning, "Except a man be born of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter
into the kingdom of God." (Vs. 5)
But Nicodemus still did not understand. "How can these things be?"
Jesus answered, "Art thou THE
master of Israel and knowest not these things?" (John 1:10 NASB)
Nicodemus always respected the young Galilean, but his
sympathy was as circumspect as his visit. Once when the leaders of the priests
and the Pharisees were contemplating how to capture Jesus, Nicodemus ventured a
defense: "Doth our law judge any
man, before it hear him, and know what he doeth?" (John 7:51) He took
his stand on a point of law. He spoke in the name of "our" law, not at all in the name of the new man.
Nicodemus is always the old man, law-respecting, the prudent friend of the
letter of the law. A few words of reproof were enough to silence him. "They answered and said unto him, Art
thou also of Galilee? Search and look: for out of Galilee ariseth no
prophet!" (Vs. 52) He belonged by right to the Sanhedrin, but there is
no record that he raised his voice in favor of the accused when He was conducted to Caiaphas. The trial was at
night and probably to avoid the contempt of his colleagues and his own remorse
for the legal assassination, Nicodemus remained in his bed. When he awoke
Jesus was dead, and then, forgetting his greed, he bought a hundred pounds of
myrrh and aloes to embalm the body.
There is an old tradition that he was baptized by Peter
and put to death for having believed in Him.
See Blog Article “NICODEMUS”
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