Philip, Matthew, Jude, and Simon the Zealot · Roman Empire · 33 AD
"But Teacher," said one of the twelve solemn men, "the last time You were in Jerusalem, the Jews tried to stone You."
Another spoke up, "It wasn't that long ago, either. Are You sure You want to go back there?"
Jesus' answer only made them more confused. Why was He talking about
walking in the daylight and stumbling at night? Finally Jesus said
plainly, "Lazarus is dead. And for your sakes, I am glad I wasn't
there, because this will give you another opportunity to believe in Me.
Come, let us go to him."
Then Thomas turned to the rest of the disciples and said, "Let's go
too. We might as well die with Him." They agreed, and all went to
Jerusalem with Jesus.
As it turned out, no one died. Instead, Lazarus was mirac¬ulously
raised from the dead in front of many witnesses. But from then on the
religious leaders plotted to kill Jesus.
The night before His arrest, as Jesus and His disciples approached the
Mount of Olives, Jesus told them, "Tonight you will all desert Me, for
it is written: 'I will strike the shep¬herd, and the sheep of the flock
will be scattered.' But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into
Galilee."
Peter replied, "Even if everyone else deserts you, I never will."
Jesus answered, "This very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny you know Me three times."
But Peter insisted, "Even if I have to die with You, I will never deny You." And all the other disciples said the same thing.
That night, when the soldiers came to arrest Jesus, all of the
disciples ran off just as Jesus had predicted. Later, Peter and John
watched the Lord's trial from the safety of the dark courtyard. Only
John joined the women at the foot of the cross.
It wasn't until after the Resurrection and the Day of Pen¬tecost that
the disciples became bold witnesses for the Lord. They knew Jesus was
the true Messiah, the Son of the Liv¬ing God. They had heard His words,
had seen His miracles, and had witnessed His resurrection.
Persecutions, threats, beatings, imprisonment, even the death of their
friends and fellow believers could not silence them.
Not one of them quit and went back to the family busi¬ness. Instead,
these few men single-handedly took the Gospel story throughout the
known world. In the end, all faced death for their Lord rather than
deny Him again.
Philip
Right after Stephen was martyred in 34 AD, Philip trav¬eled to Samaria,
where he led an early revival that was accompanied by signs and great
miracles. Later, when the disciples divided the known world between
them, Philip drew what is now Turkey and Syria. He taught and planted
churches in many cities in this region.
Finally, he came to Hierapolis in Phrygia. The idol wor¬shippers there
would not listen to the Gospel Philip preached, even though the Lord
worked several miraculous signs in their city. Some ancient historians
say they whipped him, threw him in prison, and later crucified him.
Other his¬torians say he was tied to a pillar and stoned to death.
Philip died in 51 AD, becoming the second apostle to be martyred.
Matthew
While still in Jerusalem, Matthew wrote his gospel to the Jews in
Hebrew. Later, at the dividing of the countries among the disciples,
Matthew drew Ethiopia. There, he accomplished much, with teaching as
well as with miracles.
Ethiopia's King Aeglippus favored the Christians, but when he died, an
unbelieving heathen took the throne. King Hytacus had Matthew arrested
while he stood teaching in his church. He was dragged outside, nailed
to the ground with short spears, and beheaded. He died in 66 AD.
Jude, Brother of James
Jude, also known as Thaddeus and Lebbaeus, wrote the book of Jude. He
was also the younger brother of Jesus and James the Less. He traveled
in Mesopotamia, Syria, Arabia, and Persia (present-day Iran), reaching
as far as Edema. There, he preached boldly against worshipping idols
and making heathen sacrifices. When the pagan priests saw that they
were losing followers - and money - because of Jude's teaching, they
attacked him with sticks and clubs, beating him to death. He died in 68
AD.
Simon the Zealot
Simon the Zealot was also known as Simon the Canaan¬ite. He preached
the Gospel in Egypt, North Africa, Mauri¬tania (an island in the Indian
Ocean), and in the islands of Great Britain. Some historians say he was
crucified in Great Britain in 70 AD.
Other historians say Simon left Great Britain and went to Persia, where
he found Jude. Together they steadfastly con¬tinued teaching and
preaching until Jude's death in 68 AD. Later that same year, Simon was
painfully tortured and cru¬cified by a governor in Syria.
A
servant is not greater than the master. Since they persecuted me,
naturally they will persecute you. And if they had listened to me, they
would listen to you! The people of the world will hate you because you
belong to me, for they don't know God who sent me.
Jesus
(JOHN 15:20,21 NLT)
My daughters
had their Fall fundraiser for their school today. I sat there
watching parents, teachers, staff and volunteers put on this tremendous
Monopoly Themed Walk-A-Thon. It was a great day filled with food,
fun, music, cake walks, games and the like. not to mention
"carnie-food." I love carnival food!!! But there was a
camaraderie present. A common bond existed between people
there. All these people united to help raise funds for this
wonderful school. People investing in the lives of young
people--I LOVE THAT!
This
weekend we are going to be serving as a student ministry in the
Festival of Light. We need you to serve in one of three areas. 
I was
surfing some of the blogs I read regularly today, and I came across an
article that talked about a Catholic High School that canceled its
prom. It got tired of it getting more and more excessive with all
the after prom parties, limousines, alcohol, and other excesses that
seem to go along with prom. You can 
So
we have company staying with us this weekend. They are great
friends from when we lived in Malibu. Actually the wife's dad
grew up here at Campbell and went to church here when he was a
kid. These are friends that we did everything with when we lived
in Malibu. We went to church, skied together, discovered
Starbucks, went to movies, hung out at each others apartments,
vacationed and ate out a lot together. We miss them now that we
live 7 hours away from each other. But friendships like this
endures distance and time. I know that when they arrive we will
pick up right where we left off.
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