He outlived all the other Apostles, and in his advanced years our Lord Jesus Christ appeared to him, and delivered to him that wonderful prophecy which John wrote down by His'order; and which is called the Revelation of Jesus Christ; but, being given to this apostle, it is also entitled the Revelalation of St. John the Divine. (see vol. i. p. 2.) Our Lord was pleased to give a particular name to these two brothers, calling them Boanerges, the meaning of which word is, "the sons of thunder." Most probably He did this, because of the earnest zeal which they shewed in the cause of their Master. 5. PHILIP. He was the person whom Jesus bad taken with him into Galilee, when he first went there, before the marriage which He attended at Cana. He belonged to the town of Bethsaida, the place where also Andrew and Peter had lived. (see vol. i. page 146.) 6. BARTHOLOMEW. There is great reason to believe that this person was the same Nathanael, who had been brought to our Lord by Philip, and of whose faith Jesus spoke so favourably. (John i. 44 —51; see vol. i. p. 147.) It was very common for people in those days to have more than one name (see forty-sixth portion, p. 30); and others of the apostles, who certainly had two names, are mentioned sometimes by one and sometimes by another. It is not therefore strange that this man should be called only Bartholomew in one place, and only Nathanael in another. Though the Scripture does not expressly say that they were the same persons, yet we inay gather several reasons from the Scripture for thinking so; and so it was thought by those who lived in very early times. 7. THOMAS. He was called also DIDYMUS, which in the Greek language means "a twin," as does also the word Thomas in Hebrew. (see John xi. 16; xx. 24; xxi. 2.) 8. MATTHEW. This was the apostle who wrote the first Gospel. (see vol. i. p.2) His name was also Levi; he had been a publican, and had been called not long before by our Lord from his business to be one of His disciples, and to follow Him. (see 46th portion, page 30.) In mentioning his own name amongst the Apostles, he calls himself " the publican," and puts himself after Thomas-though in the other Gospels he is put before him. His father's name was Alpheus. 9. JAMES. This James was the son of a man named Alpheus, who was not however the same person as the father of Matthew. The name of Alpheus and Cleopas were the same. And this Alpheus or Cleopas, was married to Mary, who was a sister or cousin to Mary the mother of Jesus (see vol. i.p.161): for which reason, James, her son, is called our Lord's brother. (Gal. i. 19.) He is the person who wrote that letter in the New Testament, which is called the General Epistle of James. To distinguish him from the Son of Zebedee, he has generally been called "James the less": (Mark xv. 40.) after our Lord's death, he was made bishop of Jerusalem, where he was called James the Just, because of his excellent character. 10. JUDAS the brother of James, as he is called by Saint Luke. In the language which was talked in that country at that time, the name "Judas " was called "Thaddeus," and both St. Matthew and St. Mark in putting down the name of this Apostle call him by that name; in the two first Gospels he is join'd with his brother James; but St. Luke puts him with his name sake (very likely because they had the same name). The word Thaddai or Thaddeus means the heart or breast, and Lebbeus means much the same thing. St. Matthew says that St. Jude was called by both these names: and very probably his name was thus mentioned in writing the Gospels, after oar Lord's death, on purpose to make a difference between the faithful and true character of this apostle, and the false and heartless character of the other who had the same name. 11. SIMON. As this Apostle had the same name as Peter, another name was added to distinguish hini, and it was one which expresses his earnest warmth in the cause of Christ. He was called "Simon the Zealous." This same thing is expressed by two different names, according to the different languages from which the words are taken. St. Matthew and St. Mark in their Gospels cal! him "the Canaanite;" which does not here mean that he belonged to the country called Canaan, but it means (in the language then spoken) that he was a zealous man. And St. Luke, both in his Gospel, and in the Acts of the Apostles (Acts i. 13.), calls him Zelotes"; which in the Greek language means the same thing. 12. JUDAS ISCARIOT. This is the apostle who made a secret bargain with the Chief Priests, to give up Jesus into their hands. (Matt. xxvi. 14-16; Mark xiv. 10,11; Luke xxi. 3-6.) For this reason he is said to have "betrayed Him," and is called "the traitor"; which means one who acts falsely when he is trusted. His name of Iscariot is not like the second names of the other apostles, which express their characters in an honourable way. "Iscariot" added to the name of this Judas only shews that he was born at the town of Kerioth. (Josh. xv. 25; Jer. xlviii. 24, 41; Amos ii. 2.) V. THE REPETITION. Now read again the Scriptures. See No. II. VI. THE APPLICATION. The way in which our Lord prepared for the ordaining of his Apostles, ought to lead our minds to two important considerations. 1. We ought, first, to consider how important a thing that must be, for which He thought it necessary to prepare, by passing the whole night in prayer. He was about to appoint those ministers of the Gospel, who were to be the first of a course of ministers, by whom the knowledge of his great work of salvation was to be taken all over the world, generation after generation. He was going to prepare the instruments by which millions of souls were afterwards to be saved. In this country, where the religion of Christ is established, and where his ministers are to be found in every parish, this appointment of our Lord is much less thought of than is reasonable, or safe. The ministry of the Gospel is appointed as a means by which that Word which is able to save our souls (Jas. i. 21.) is brought within our reach, and laid before us, that we may believe it, and thereby profit by it. To receive this great thing as a common matter of course, and of little value, seems very like despising that which our Lord considered to be extremely important and valuable (Luke x. 16); and it is one sign, that a sense of the great mercy of Christ in dying to save us, and in sending us the knowledge of that salvation, has not taken its due hold upon our affections. QUESTIONS. In what light have I hitherto considered the ministry of the Gospel, which Christ has placed within my reach? Do I value it as one of the most important blessings I have? And do I endeavour to profit by it as such? 2. The second consideration arising from the way in which our Lord prepared for ordaining his apostles, is that it shews us how we ought to enter upon every important action of our lives. If it was proper for Jesus to pass a whole night in prayer to God, before taking a step which influenced the salvation of future generations (and of ourselves amongst them), how necessary must it be for us to pray to God earnestly for direction and guidance in every business which we have to transact. We are all apt to be swayed by our own interests and feelings; and nothing but the Spirit of God can enable us wisely to consider all the points which ought to influence our conduct. We cannot tell what may be the consequences of that which we plan; and nothing but the Providence of God can make our best arrangements turn out well. (Prov. xvi. 1, 3, 9, 38.) It is therefore our best wisdom, as well as the command of Scripture, that "in every thing by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, we should let our requests be made known unto God." (Phil. iv. 6.) QUESTIONS. Have I been in the habit of praying about every thing that seems of consequence in my life, before I set to work about it? Do I determine what to do first, and then pray to God for a blessing? or do I pray for wisdom first, in order that I may ask for the blessing with more confidence afterwards? per 3. We are especially told, that in ordaining his apostles, Christ called unto him "whom he would." The same thing happens to this day: for we find that in the Providence of God, very different sorts of sons are duly appointed to the preaching of the Gospel, Many people however expect to have the ministers whom they will, rather than whom CHRIST wills, and this choosing for themselves what kind of person should teach them, is too often a sign, that in secret they choose also for themselves the kind of teaching they will receive. Some shew this by a self-willed |