Why the Apostles Loved Jesus It is an eloquent testimony to the charm and righteousness of Jesus' earth life that, although he repeatedly dashed to pieces the hopes of his Apostles and tore to shreds their every ambition for personal exaltation, only one deserted him.
The Apostles learned from Jesus about the kingdom of heaven, and Jesus learned much from them about the kingdom of men, human nature as it lives on Urantia [earth] and on the other evolutionary worlds of time in his far-flung local universe.
These twelve men represented many different types of human temperament, and they had not been made alike by schooling. Do not make the mistake of regarding the apostles as being altogether ignorant and unlearned. All of them, except the Alpheus twins, were graduates of the synagogue schools, having been thoroughly trained in the Hebrew scriptures and in much of the current knowledge of that day. When your records refer to these messengers of the kingdom as being "ignorant and unlearned," it was intended to convey the idea that they were laymen, unlearned in the lore of the rabbis and untrained in the methods of rabbinical interpretation of the Scriptures. They were lacking in so-called higher education. In modern times they would certainly be considered uneducated, and in some circles of society even uncultured. One thing is certain: They had not all been put through the same rigid and stereotyped educational curriculum. From adolescence on they had enjoyed separate experiences of learning how to live.
Jesus selected the Apostles in the year 26 A.D. Every one of the Apostles loved Jesus, but it remains true that each of the twelve was drawn toward him because of some certain trait of personality which made a special appeal to the individual Apostle.Andrew, chairman and director general of the twelve. Andrew admired Jesus because of his consistent sincerity, his unaffected dignity. When men once knew Jesus, they were possessed with the urge to share him with their friends; they really wanted all the world to know him.
After Jesus took leave of the Apostles and returned to the Father, Andrew journeyed through Armenia, Asia Minor, and Macedonia and, after bringing many thousands into the kingdom, was finally apprehended and crucified in Patrae in Achaia.Peter. The one trait which Peter most admired in Jesus was his supernal tenderness. Peter never grew weary of contemplating Jesus' forbearance. He never forgot the lesson about forgiving the wrongdoer, not only seven times but seventy times and seven.
Peter was the outstanding preacher of the twelve; he did more than any other one man, aside from Paul, to establish the kingdom and send its messengers to the four corners of the earth in one generation.
Peter was crucified in Rome in 67 A.D. On the day that Peter yielded up his life, his wife, a very able woman, was thrown to the wild beasts in the arena at Rome.James Zebedee. That characteristic of Jesus which James most admired was the Master's sympathetic affection. Jesus' understanding interest in the small and the great, the rich and the poor, made a great appeal to him. James was the first of the Apostles to experience martyrdom, being early put to death with the sword by Herod Agrippa. Herod feared James above all the other Apostles. James lived his life to the full, and when the end came, he bore himself with such grace and fortitude that even his accuser and informer, who attended his trial and execution, was so touched that he rushed away from the scene of James's death to join himself to the disciples of Jesus.
John Zebedee [brother of James]. Since John was the youngest of the twelve and so closely associated with Jesus in his family affairs, he was very dear to the Master, but it cannot be truthfully said that he was "the disciple whom Jesus loved." You would hardly suspect such a magnanimous personality as Jesus to be guilty of showing favoritism, of loving one of his apostles more than the others.
Those characteristics of Jesus which John most appreciated were the Master's love and unselfishness; these traits made such an impression on him that his whole subsequent life became dominated by the sentiment of love and brotherly devotion. He talked about love and wrote about love.
Of all the twelve Apostles, John Zebedee eventually became the outstanding theologian. He died a natural death at Ephesus in 103 A.D. when he one hundred and one years of age.Philip the Curious. The one quality about Jesus which Philip so continuously admired was the Master's unfailing generosity. Never could Philip find anything in Jesus which was small, niggardly, or stingy, and he worshiped this ever-present and unfailing liberality.
Philip, the onetime steward of the twelve, was a mighty man in the kingdom, winning souls wherever he went; and he was finally crucified for his faith and buried at Hierapolis. Philip's wife, like Peter's wife, was a very able and efficient woman. A fearless woman, she stood at the foot of Philip's cross encouraging him to proclaim the glad tidings even to his murderers, and when his strength failed, she began the recital of the story of salvation by faith in Jesus and was silenced only when the irate Jews rushed upon her and stoned her to death.Honest Nathaniel. Nathaniel most revered Jesus for his tolerance. He never grew weary of contemplating the broadmindedness and generous sympathy of the Son of Man.
Nathaniel and Judas Iscariot were the two best educated men among the twelve.
Nathaniel was a great man in the kingdom and did much to spread his Master's teachings. He went into Mesopotamia and India proclaiming the glad tidings of the kingdom and baptizing believers. He died in India.Matthew Levi. It was the Master's forgiving disposition which Matthew most appreciated. He would never cease to recount that faith only was necessary in the business of finding God. He always liked to speak of the kingdom as "this business of finding God."
Matthew had been a customs collector in Capernaum and was a man of moderate wealth, the only one of any means belonging to the Apostolic corps. He was the financial representative of the Apostles. As the fiscal agent of the Apostolic corps, it was his duty to see that the budget was balanced, the treasury replenished. When funds for the week were short of the estimated requirements, Matthew would often draw heavily upon his own personal resources. He often preferred to draw upon his own funds rather than miss some of Jesus' teachings in which he was especially interested. Consequently, when he went forth to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom, he was practically penniless.
When the persecutions caused the believers to forsake Jerusalem, Matthew journeyed north, preaching the gospel of the kingdom and baptizing believers. On he went, preaching and baptizing, through Syria, Cappadocia, Galatia, Bithynia, and Thrace. It was in Thrace, at Lysimachia, that certain unbelieving Jews conspired with the Roman soldiers to encompass his death.Thomas Didymus. The other Apostles held Jesus in reverence because of some special and outstanding trait of his replete personality, but Thomas revered his Master because of his superbly balanced character. Increasingly Thomas admired and honored one who was so lovingly merciful yet so inflexibly just and fair; so firm but never obstinate; so calm but never indifferent; so helpful and so sympathetic but never meddlesome or dictatorial; so strong but at the same time so gentle; so positive but never rough or rude; so tender but never vacillating; so pure and innocent but at the same time so virile, aggressive, and forceful; so truly courageous but never rash or foolhardy; such a lover of nature but so free from all tendency to revere nature; so humorous and so playful, but so free from levity and frivolity.
It was this matchless symmetry of personality that so charmed Thomas. He probably enjoyed the highest intellectual understanding and personality appreciation of Jesus of any of the twelve.When persecution scattered the believers, he went to Cyprus, Crete, the North African coast, and Sicily, preaching the glad tidings of the kingdom and baptizing believers. And Thomas continued preaching and baptizing until he was apprehended by the agents of the Roman government and was put to death in Malta.
James and Judas Alpheus. These twins understood very little about the philosophical discussions or the theological debates of their fellow Apostles, but they rejoiced to find themselves numbered among such a group of mighty men.
Andrew assigned them to the work of policing the multitudes. They were the chief ushers of the preaching hours and, in fact, the general servants and errand boys of the twelve.
James Alpheus especially loved Jesus because of the Master's simplicity. Judas Alpheus was drawn toward Jesus because of the Master's unostentatious humility. Such humility linked with such personal dignity made a great appeal to Judas.
The twins were good-natured, simple-minded helpers, and everybody loved them. Jesus welcomed these young men of one talent to positions of honor on his personal staff in the kingdom because there are untold millions of other such simple and fear-ridden souls on the worlds of space whom he likewise wishes to welcome into active and believing fellowship with himself and his outpoured Spirit of Truth. Jesus does not look down upon littleness, only upon evil and sin. James and Judas were little, but they were also faithful. They were simple and ignorant, but they were also bighearted, kind, and generous.
The twins served faithfully until the end, until the dark days of trial, crucifixion, and despair. They never lost their heart faith in Jesus, and [save John] they were the first to believe in his resurrection. But they could not comprehend the establishment of the kingdom. Soon after their Master was crucified, they returned to their families and nets; their work was done. They had not the ability to go on in the more complex battles of the kingdom. But they died conscious of having been honored and blessed with four years of close and personal association with a Son of God, the sovereign maker of a universe.Simon the Zealot, the rabid revolutionist, the fearless firebrand of agitation. The one thing about Jesus which Simon so much admired was the Master's calmness, his assurance, poise, and inexplicable composure.
After the dispersion because of the Jerusalem persecutions, Simon went into temporary retirement. He was literally crushed. As a nationalist patriot he had surrendered in deference to Jesus' teachings; now all was lost. He was in despair, but in a few years he rallied his hopes and went forth to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom. He went to Alexandria and, after working up the Nile, penetrated into the heart of Africa, everywhere preaching the gospel of Jesus and baptizing believers. Thus he labored until he was an old man and feeble. And he died and was buried in the heart of Africa.Judas Iscariot. He was probably the best-educated man among the twelve.
There was no special trait about Jesus which Judas admired above the generally attractive and exquisitely charming personality of the Master. Judas was never able to rise above his Judean prejudices against his Galilean associates. [Judas was born of wealthy parents in Kerioth, a small town in southern Judea.] He would even criticize in his mind many things about Jesus. Him whom eleven of the Apostles looked upon as the perfect man, as the "one altogether lovely and the chiefest among ten thousand," this self-satisfied Judean often dared to criticize Jesus in his own heart. He really entertained the notion that Jesus was timid and somewhat afraid to assert his own power and authority. Judas must have believed in Jesus, but it is doubtful whether he really loved the Master with a whole heart.
Jesus many times, both privately and publicly, had warned Judas that he was slipping. The great test finally came. The son of resentment failed; he yielded to the sour and sordid dictates of a proud and vengeful mind of exaggerated self-importance and swiftly plunged on down into confusion, despair, and depravity. Judas then entered into the base and shameful intrigue to betray his Lord and Master and quickly carried the nefarious scheme into effect.
When the sordid and sinful business was all over, this renegade mortal, who thought lightly of selling his friend for thirty pieces of silver to satisfy his long-nursed craving for revenge, rushed out and committed the final act in the drama of fleeing from the realities of mortal existence--suicide. [138:10] [Paper 139]The authors of Part IV of The Urantia Book analyzed Judas in considerable detail. What aspects of his personality finally encouraged, or compelled him, to betray Jesus into the clutches of the Sanhedrin? For more about Judas see: [139:12 ~ 177:4 ~ 179:4 ~ 183:2,3 ~ 186:1 ~ 193:4].
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SOURCE: The Urantia Book, published by Uversa Press, a subsidiary of Urantia Book Fellowship. http:// www.urantiabook.org. fellowship@urantiabook.org
Note: Numerous statements in this paper were quoted verbatim from The Urantia Book.ADDITIONAL COMMENTS Is it possible that Jesus might send one or more of the Apostles to earth in the not too distant future in connection with the events of the End Times? If so, this means they would have had about 1900 years to prepare themselves to proclaim the teachings of Jesus as he [Jesus] presented them while on earth. Would the Apostles appear before or after the Day of Armageddon?
The authors of The Urantia Book emphasize that Jesus did not die on the cross to pay for the sins of mankind. Eternally--past, present, and future--each person is fully responsible for his own sins. This being the case, what was the purpose of Jesus' death on the cross? Why did God the Father rule that he could not, or would not, interfere with the outworking of the final hours of Jesus' life?
At 188:4 the authors of The Urantia Book discuss in detail the meaning of Jesus' death on the cross. At 188:5 they explain at length the lessons that can be learned from Jesus' death on the cross. Among other considerations, "Jesus desired to live a full mortal life in the flesh on Urantia. Death is, ordinarily, a part of life. Death is the last act in the mortal drama." [188:4:2]
However, Jesus apparently was not entirely certain that the Father wanted him to submit to a horrendous death on the cross. It appears he suffered from agonizing indecision: Did the Father truly wish him to die on the cross? "He endured great anguish and suffered untold sorrow, for the perspiration rolled off his face in great drops." [182:3:7]
In Jesus' first prayer in Gethsemane, late at night just before Judas and the Roman soldiers arrived, he prayed:
My Father, I came into this world to do your will, and so have I. I know that the hour has come to lay down this life in the flesh, and I do not shrink therefrom, but I would know that it is your will that I drink this cup. Send me the assurance that I will please you in my death even as I have in my life.
Apparently, Jesus still was uncertain in his mind that the Father wished him to accept death on the cross.
He prayed a second time:
Father, I know it is possible to avoid this cup--all things are possible with you--but I have come to do your will, and while this is a bitter cup, I would drink it if it is your will.
And when he had thus prayed, a mighty angel came down by his side and, speaking to him, touched him and strengthened him. Among other words spoken to him by the mighty angel was the message that the Father desired his Son to finish his earth bestowal by passing through the creature experience of death just as all mortal creatures must experience material dissolution in passing from the existence of time into the progression of eternity.
Jesus then prayed a third time:
Father, you see my sleeping apostles; have mercy upon them. The spirit is indeed willing, but the flesh is weak. [Peter, James, and John were asleep nearby.] And now, O Father, if this cup may not pass, then would I drink it. Not my will, but yours, be done.
Each time Jesus prayed in the garden, his humanity laid a firmer faith-hold upon his divinity; his human will more completely became one with the divine will of his Father. After the third prayer, he was humanly convinced that the Father desired him to submit to death by crucifixion. He now faced death with equanimity and in the full assurance of his invincibility as a mortal man unreservedly dedicated to the doing of his Father's will. [182:3]After studying the information, I was not fully satisfied with the explanation. We are taught that God sees the end from the beginning. Therefore, he knew that several of the Apostles would "drink the full cup" because of their work in proclaiming the teachings of Jesus. God knew that Judas would commit suicide. He also knew that large numbers of Christians would drink the full bitter cup because of their belief in Jesus' new gospel.
I concluded that God's decision that Jesus submit to death on the cross represented the "bottom line." By what reasoning did God arrive at the bottom line? While we cannot fathom the mind of God, we might conjecture as follows: God, among other considerations, reasoned that Jesus should share the same fate as would be experienced by large numbers of followers who would be put to death by various methods as the cost of accepting his teachings.April 20 2005