The Twelve

“THE TWELVE”

Jesus selected TWELVE of his DISCIPLES to be His APOSTLES
~ The Twelve had to be appointed by Jesus (Mark 3:14)
~ The Twelve had to be with Jesus from baptism through ascension (Mark 3:14, Acts 1:21-22)
~ The Twelve were sent out to preach (Mark 3:14)
~ The Twelve were given authority to do miracles (Mark 3:14)

12b. Judas (Iscariot)
~ He was the only non-Galilean Apostle (from Kerioth, Judea)
~ He was the ‘treasurer’ for The Twelve, but helped himself to the funds (John 12:6)
~ From Tuesday of the Passion Week onward, he looked for opportunity to turn Jesus over to His enemies (Matthew 26:14-16)
~ During the Lord’s Supper, Satan entered into him (John 13:27)
~ After betraying Jesus (Matthew 26:47), Judas experienced great remorse (27:3) and hanged himself (27:5)
~ A pseudipigraphal ‘Gospel of Judas’ reflects the Gnostic heresy

12a. Matthias
~ He had been with the disciples from Jesus’ baptism through His ascension (Acts 1:21-22), possibly one of the 70 (Luke 10:1)
~ The void caused by Judas was foreknown in prophecy (Acts 1:20)
~ He was to become ‘a witness’ with the others to the resurrection of Christ (Acts 1:22)
~ He was said to have been on the ascetic side of holiness (Eusebius: Book 3, Section 29)
~ Various traditions place his ministry/martyrdom in Ethiopia (crucifixion) and Jerusalem (stoned  Beheaded)
~ A pseudopigraphal ‘Gospel of Matthias’ was considered heretical (Eusebius: Book 3, Section 25)

11. Simon (the Zealot)
~ Only mentioned 4 times in Scripture (all 4 lists of ‘the twelve’)
~ He is called ‘the Zealot’ primarily to distinguish him from Simon-Peter
~ His description as a ‘Zealot’ implies that he was passionately anti-Roman
~ His description as a ‘Zealot’ sets his background in contrast to Matthew
~ Various legends place him as a ministering team with Judas-Thaddaeus to Persia/Armenia
~ He is said to have been cut to pieces by a saw

10. Judas Thaddaeus (of James)
~ Only mentioned 5 times in Scripture (all 4 lists of ‘the twelve’ & John 14:22)
~ He is called ‘Thaddaeus’ (in Matt & Mark) seemingly to distinguish him from Judas Iscariot
~ His description as ‘Thaddaeus’ has caused some confusion with a member of ‘the seventy’
~ His description as being ‘of James’ has led some to believe he was Jesus’ step-brother (author of “Jude”)
~ Various legends place him as a ministering team with Simon the Zealot to Persia Armenia
~ He is said to have been put to death in AD65 alongside Simon the Zealot

9. James (of Alphaeus)
~ Mentioned, probably, 7 times in Scripture (all 4 lists of ‘the twelve’ & Matt 27:56, Mark 15:40, 16:1)
~ He is called ‘Son of Alphaeus’ to distinguish him from James of Zebedee
~ His mother (Mary) was among ‘the women’ who ministered to Jesus
~ He has been linked to Cleopas (Luke 24:18  John 19:25), Matthew (Mark 2:14), or Jesus (Mark 6:3)
~ Should such links be inaccurate, we know next to nothing about James of Alphaeus
~ He is reported to have been crucified in lower Egypt and later sawed into pieces

8. Matthew (Levi)
~ Mentioned 7 times in Scripture (all 4 lists of ‘the twelve’ & 3 accounts of his calling)
~ He was a tax collector prior to becoming a disciple (in stark contrast, then, to Simon the Zealot)
~ We are given an account of his calling (Matt 9:9-10, Mark 2:13-15, Luke 5:27-29)
~ He is sometimes linked with James of Alphaeus (Since both James & Levi are said to be sons of Alphaeus)
~ Both a quality & quantity of sources link him to the ‘Gospel of Matthew’ likely written in the early 60’s
~ Traditions hold that he was martyred in Ethiopia or Parthia

7. Thomas (Didymus)
~ Only mentioned 8 times in Scripture (all 4 lists of ‘the twelve’ & John 11:16, 14:5, 20:24-28, 21:2)
~ His name means ‘twin’ (Didymus, also, means two-fold)
~ In John 11, Thomas shows himself to be a very loyal disciple, willing to die with Jesus
~ In John 14, Thomas shows himself to be a confused disciple, not understanding Jesus’ mission
~ In John 20, Thomas shows himself to be a skeptical disciple, unwilling to believe without visible evidence
~ The ‘Gospel of Thomas’ is a very controversial work discovered in 1945
~ Strong tradition places his mission/martyrdom in Edessa (King Abgar) & India (Christians of St. Thomas)

6. Bartholomew
~ Only mentioned 6 times in Scripture (all 4 lists of ‘the twelve’ & John 1:43-49, 21:2)
~ Almost all scholars associate him with ‘Nathanael’ b/c of the connection with Philip in John’s Gospel
~ Nathanael heard about Jesus from his friend Philip
~ Nathanael either had a prejudice against Nazareth OR was surprised the Messiah could be from Galilee
~ Nathanael, for some reason, was very moved by the fact that Jesus saw him under the fig tree
~ Tradition says he brought a copy of the Gospel of Matthew to India
~ After his martyrdom, his bones were said to have washed up on the island of Lipari (near Sicily)

5. Philip
~ Only mentioned 8 times in Scripture (all 4 lists of ‘the twelve’ & John 1:43-48, 6:5-7, 12:21-22, 14:8-9)
~ Philip, as far as we know, is the 1st Disciple of whom Jesus commanded to ‘Follow me’
~ Philip, immediately, invited his friend Nathanael to meet Jesus (he also arranges for Greeks to meet Jesus)
~ Philip’s faith was tested early on by Jesus at the feeding of the 5,000
~ Philip, like Nathanael, didn’t quite grasp the fullness of Jesus and His mission
~ Strong tradition confirms that Philip was married and allowed his daughters to marry
~ Tradition places his martyrdom by crucifixion in Greece

4. John (of Zebedee)
~ Mentioned over 30 times in Scripture (all 4 lists of ‘the twelve’ & over 20 other instances)
~ John was a disciple of John the Baptist when he met Jesus for the first time (John 1:35-40)
~ John was a fisherman in Galilee when called to follow Jesus (Matthew 4:18-22, Luke 5:1-11)
~ That Jesus named John & James the ‘Sons of Thunder’ seems to speak to their boldness (Mark 3:17)
~ John was a special witness to many events during ministry (Mark 5:37, 9:2, and 13:3)
~ John was rebuked by Jesus on 3 ‘ego’ issues (Mark 9:38-41, 10:35-45, Luke 9:51-56)
~ John was a special witness to key events of the passion (Mark 14:33, John 19:25-27, 20:1-5, 21:7, 20-24)
~ John seems to have ministered alongside Peter in the very early church (Acts 3-4, 8:14-17)
~ John is the supposed author of almost 20% of the New Testament (John, 1-3 John & perhaps Revelation)
~ John was persecuted, but is believed to have been the only of ‘the twelve’ to die of old age

3. James (of Zebedee)
~ Mentioned about 20 times in Scripture (all 4 lists of ‘the twelve’ & over 10 other instances)
~ James was a fisherman in Galilee when called to follow Jesus (Matthew 4:18-22, Luke 5:1-11)
~ That Jesus named John & James the ‘Sons of Thunder’ seems to speak to their boldness (Mark 3:17)
~ James was a special witness to many events during ministry (Mark 5:37, 9:2, and 13:3)
~ James was rebuked by Jesus on 2 ‘ego’ issues (Mark 10:35-45, Luke 9:51-56)
~ James was, along with Peter & John, considered a ‘pillar’ in the early church (Galatians 2:9)
~ James was put to death (by sword) by King Herod to please the Jews (Acts 12:1-2)

2. Andrew
~ Mentioned over 10 times in Scripture (all 4 lists of ‘the twelve’ & 5 other instances)
~ Andrew was a disciple of John the Baptist when he met Jesus for the first time (John 1:35-40)
~ Andrew immediately connected his brother, Simon-Peter, to Jesus (John 1:41-42)
~ Andrew seems to have typically been just outside the ‘inner three’ (Mark 13:3)
~ Andrew was involved in the story of the feeding of 5000 (John 6:8)
~ Andrew is usually mentioned alongside Philip (John 1:40-43, 6:7-8, 12:21-22)
~ Strong tradition places his ministry in Eastern Europe
~ Strong tradition places his death by crucifixion (x-shaped)

1. Simon Peter (Cephas)
~ Mentioned over 150 times in Scripture (all 4 lists of ‘the twelve’ & over 40 other instances)
~ His brother Andrew first introduced Simon to Jesus, who then renamed him Peter (John 1:40-42)
~ Peter was a married fisherman in Galilee when called to follow Jesus (1 Cor. 9:5, Luke 5:1-11)
~ Peter walked on water, but took his eyes off Jesus (Matthew 14:22-32)
~ Peter confessed Christ, but then rebuked Jesus (Matthew 16:13-23)
~ Peter witnessed the transfiguration, but then stuck his foot in his mouth (17:1-5)
~ Peter prepared the Passover, but wouldn’t let Jesus wash his feet (Luke 22:8, John 13:5-10)
~ Peter was invited to watch & pray at Gethsemane, but kept falling asleep (Mark 14:32-42)
~ Peter risked his life for Jesus, but did it with the violence of a sword and was rebuked (John 18:1-11)
~ Peter followed Jesus through the trials, but denied Him 3 times (John 18:12-18, 25-27)
~ Peter was restored to right relationship with Jesus after the resurrection (John 21:1-19)
~ Peter seems to have been the key leader in the earliest church (Acts 1:15-22, 2:14, 3:1+12, 4:8, 5:3)
~ Peter was active in evangelism, discipleship & miracle working (Acts 8:14-17, 9:32-43)
~ Peter allowed God to change his heart concerning gentiles (Acts 10:1-11:18, 15:6-11)
~ Peter was imprisoned, but miraculously escaped (Acts 12:1-18)
~ Peter succumbed to peer pressure, but eventually did the right thing (Galatians 2:11-14, 2 Peter 3:14-16)
~ Peter was the source for the Gospel of Mark and author of 1st & 2nd Peter
~ Strong tradition places his death by crucifixion (upside-down) in Rome during the reign of Nero (60’s)