Judas Thaddeus, a man of many names in the Bible, was one of the original twelve disciples of Jesus Christ and leaders in the early church. Sometimes referred to as Jude, Judas, or Lebbaeus, Thaddeus is sometimes overlooked by Christians since not much is known or written about him in Scripture. But while this quiet and seemingly gentle soul spends most of the gospels living in the shadows of the other, more outspoken apostles, Thaddeus nonetheless became an outspoken minister of the gospel and bold witness to the love and power of Jesus Christ.
When it comes to the twelve disciples of Jesus, there are some names we remember better than others. Most Christians know that Peter was the one who walked on water. Matthew was the tax collector who went on to write the first book of the New Testament. Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. Doubting Thomas didn’t believe Jesus had been resurrected. James and John were nicknamed the “Sons of Thunder.”
Those with individual stories in the gospels are easier to remember than others, as are the ones who feature prominently in the book of Acts or went on to write books of the New Testament.
Unlike Peter, Andrew, James, and John, Matthew, Thomas, or Judas Iscariot, however, not much is known about the one called Thaddeus.
We don’t know who he was before being called to follow Jesus or where he came from. We don’t know about his profession or family life other than his father being named James. In fact, the Bible doesn’t even tell what he went on to do after Jesus ascended into heaven.
Apart from a single mention in John’s gospel, Thaddeus is only listed as one of the twelve disciples (Matthew 10:2-4; Mark 3:16-19; Luke 6:14-16; Acts 1:13). That’s it. Everything we know about this disciple comes from his name and a handful of stories from church history.
So who was Thaddeus, and why is his story worth knowing?
In both Matthew and Mark’s gospels, he is referred to as “Thaddeus,” whereas in Luke and John’s gospels, as well as the book of Acts (written by Luke), he is called “Judas, the son of James.”
Some translations even refer to Judas Thaddeus as “Lebbaeus,” with Thaddeus being his surname (Matthew 10:3). This has naturally led some to ask, why so many names for such a seemingly obscure individual?
The historian Jerome also seemed to make light of this fact, referring to Thaddeus as “Trinomius” or “man with three names.”
The clearest explanation for the many names of this somewhat obscure apostle is that Judas, a common Jewish name at the time (derived from Judah), was Thaddeus’ birthname. That being the case, it wouldn’t be uncommon for a man named Judas or Judah to be called Jude for short, in the same way we might refer to Gregory as Greg or Philip as Phil.
In his book Twelve Ordinary Men, John MacArthur concludes that Thaddeus and Lebbaeus were probably used more as nicknames (178). MacArthur also notes that the name Thaddeus roughly translates to “breast child” in English, which suggests that others might have teased Thaddeus for being small, young, or a bit of a “mamma’s boy.”
Could Thaddeus have been a younger member of the twelve? It’s possible. The same could be true of James, the son of Alphaeus, sometimes referred to as James the Less, James the Little, or James the Younger.
Coupled with the name Lebbaeus, however, which comes from the Hebrew root word for someone who is tender-hearted, gentle, or sweet-spirited. Therefore, it’s not a stretch to conclude that Judas Thaddeus was probably a more childlike, soft-spoken man, especially when compared to apostles like James and John—who Jesus nicknamed “Boanerges” or “Sons of Thunder” (Mark 3:17).
Despite his many names, however, we know that Thaddeus, Lebbaeus, and Judas (the son of James) are all the same person.
The fact that the gospel writers and church historians have used all the names listed above could also be a way of distinguishing Judas Thaddeus from other individuals with the same name, particularly Judas Iscariot and even Jude the half-brother of Jesus.
Unfortunately, Judas Thaddeus is often overshadowed by other members of the twelve and thus overlooked by many in the church to this day.
The only time we find Thaddeus mentioned apart from the list of the twelve is in John’s gospel, where John clearly distinguishes him from the other Judas, Judas Iscariot, the betrayer (John 14:22).
In that instance, Jesus was speaking to His disciples about the promise of the Holy Spirit when He said:
“I will not leave you as orphans; I am coming to you. After a little while, the world no longer is going to see Me, but you are going to see Me; because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you are in Me, and I in you. The one who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and the one who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will reveal Myself to him” (John 14:18-21).
To this, Thaddeus tenderly asked Jesus, “Lord, what has happened that You are going to reveal Yourself to us and not to the world?” (Matthew 14:22)
It is the only recorded instance where Thaddeus speaks up or stands out from the others. But what was he really asking, and what do we learn about him from such a simple question?
In many ways, Thaddeus still struggled to comprehend why Jesus would choose not to manifest the full glory of His power to the entire world. Why just the disciples? Didn’t Christ deserve to be revealed, worshipped, and magnified to everyone?
According to John MacArthur, Christ was essentially telling His disciples, “I’m not going to take over the world externally; I’m going to take over hearts, one at a time. If anyone loves Me, he will keep My Word. And if he keeps My Word, My Father and I will come to him and together we’ll set up the kingdom in his heart” (180).
Though Thaddeus, like the rest of the apostles, failed to comprehend Christ’s ultimate plan for salvation, Jesus was already working to establish His kingdom in the heart of even this meek and tender-hearted apostle.
It doesn’t take a biblical scholar to notice that the name Jude (or Judas) was fairly common throughout the Bible. In fact, reading just the New Testament introduces us to several important figures in the early church who all went by the name of Jude or Judas.
From Judas Thaddeus and Judas Iscariot (the betrayer) to Judas Barsabbas and Jude the half-brother of Jesus, it’s not always easy to keep track of who’s who in the cast of biblical characters.
We also encounter the same issue with James, a name shared by three key leaders of the first-century church:
- James, the son of Zebedee, “son of thunder,” brother of John, and original disciple of Jesus
- James, the son of Alphaeus and one of the original twelve disciples
- James, the biological half-brother of Jesus
When reading the New Testament, many readers have understandably confused these men for each other, as they have with Judas.
In fact, some readers have historically assumed that the book of James was written by the apostle James, often mentioned in the gospels next to his brother John. But where the apostle John went on to write 1, 2, and 3 John, as well as the book of Revelation, his brother James was the first of the twelve disciples to be martyred for his faith, dying by the sword of Herod about fourteen years after Christ ascended into heaven (Acts 12:1-2). In fact, James is the only one of Christ’s disciples whose death is recorded in Scripture. The rest we learn about from historical accounts and church history. Therefore, the author of the book of James is attributed instead to Jesus’ half-brother, who had become a leader and key pillar of the church in Jerusalem.
In this case, as in all cases involving the study of Scripture, authorship provides essential context. The same is true for Judas Thaddeus, who some have linked with the single-chapter book of Jude, found near the end of the New Testament. In the introduction to his letter, however, the author of Jude identifies himself as “a bond-servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James” (Jude 1:1). Though some believe this could be Thaddeus the apostle, most historians have concluded that this Jude is instead Jude, the half-brother of Jesus by their common mother Mary, not Judas Thaddeus.
While the fulfillment of the great commission, growth of the early church, and proliferation of the gospel are central themes in the book of Acts, the specific ministries and travels of the original twelve apostles after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ aren’t documented extensively in Scripture. Most of the disciples’ post-resurrection stories are pieced together from ancient records, church history, and tradition.
What we do know, though, is that, except for Judas Iscariot, all of Christ’s disciples remained faithful to the very end. Except for John, who probably died in exile on the island of Patmos, all eleven disciples died as martyrs for the gospel’s sake.
But what happened to Thaddeus after the resurrection of Jesus?
By some accounts, Thaddeus took the gospel north to Edessa, a city in Mesopotamia in what is now modern-day Turkey. Some records even describe Thaddeus healing the king of Edessa, a man by the name of Abgar. In fact, 4th-century historian Eusebius writes that the archives of Edessa once contained the full records of Thaddeus’ visit and healing of king Abgar, who were both instrumental in establishing Edessa as a center of Christianity for centuries to come. What happened to Thaddeus after he ministered to Edessa is largely unknown.
Thaddeus may have died in the city where he’d devoted a significant portion of his later ministry. Most traditions say that Thaddeus was eventually clubbed and killed for his faith. Whether in Edessa or somewhere else, we do not know.
While it’s true that Thaddeus can often be forgotten, overlooked, or overshadowed by some of the more outspoken figures of the New Testament (at least those who’ve had more written about them), nothing about Thaddeus, his ministry, or his love for Christ was small or insignificant.
According to John MacArthur, “this tender-hearted soul followed his Lord faithfully to the end. His testimony was as powerful and far-reaching as that of the better-known and more outspoken disciples. He, like them, is proof of how God uses perfectly ordinary people in remarkable ways” (180).
In many ways, Thaddeus, in his quiet, humble obscurity, demonstrates what Jesus Himself had said when He promised that “for all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted” (Matthew 14:11).
At the very least, we know that Thaddeus was given a crown of glory upon reuniting with his lord and savior in eternity. His contribution to the church and the gospel’s spread should never be forgotten or overlooked.
References
MacArthur, J. (2002). Twelve Ordinary Men: How the Master Shaped His Disciples for Greatness, and What He Wants to Do with You. Dallas: Thomas Nelson.
Photo Credit: Getty Images/sedmak
This article is part of our People of Christianity catalog that features the stories, meaning, and significance of well-known people from the Bible and history. Here are some of the most popular articles for knowing important figures in Christianity:
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