During Jesus’ ministry, great crowds of people gathered around him to listen to his teaching. Some of those in the crowds committed themselves to him and became his disciples. Then, out of those disciples, he appointed twelve apostles. Luke recounts that moment like this:
“Now it was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer with God. And when day came, He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also named as apostles.” (Luke 6:12-13, NASB)
First, we should observe how serious and significant this moment must have been since Jesus prepared for it by spending the entire night in prayer.
Notice also that there is a difference between being a disciple and an apostle. The words are not synonymous or interchangeable. Jesus called all his disciples to himself and chose twelve men out from that larger group to have the specific role as apostles.
What’s an apostle? The word referred to someone sent as an official representative bearing the authority of the one who sent them. So the twelve apostles are official ambassadors of King Jesus who are sent out by Him with his authority. To fulfill this role, the apostles had to be eyewitnesses to Jesus, especially his resurrection (Acts 1:21-22; 1 Corinthians 9:1).
So all the apostles were disciples, but most disciples were not apostles. Only the twelve plus Paul occupied that unique and important position. The uniqueness of their role is seen when they are described as the foundation of the church (Ephesians 2:20). The apostles being authorized spokesmen for King Jesus, the church is built on their teaching and ministry.
“The uniqueness of their role is seen when they are described as the foundation of the church.”
We often picture the twelve as bearded middle-aged men when Jesus first called them, but in fact many of them were likely teenagers. Perhaps some were in their early 20s. They spent three years with Jesus being trained by him to preach and teach and carry on Jesus’ mission to the world.
What do we know about them, beyond the fact that they were all young Jewish men? Here are a few key facts about each.
Peter
- Peter is one of the most famous apostles.
- His given name was Simon bar Jonah (in Hebrew “bar” means “son of”), but Jesus gave him the nickname Peter, which means rock.
- His hometown was originally the small village of Bethsaida (John 1:44), but by the time Jesus met him, Peter was living in Capernaum and he was married (Matthew 8:14).
- He was a fisherman on the Sea of Galilee by trade.
- He was part of Jesus’ inner circle along with James and John.
- He is well known for having denied Jesus three times before Jesus’ crucifixion, but after his resurrection, Jesus restored Peter and commissioned him to “feed [his] sheep” (John 21:15-17, NASB).
- Peter preached the first gospel sermon on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2) and became the key spokesmen of the twelve apostles.
- He wrote 1 and 2 Peter.
- Early church tradition says he was killed for his faith in Rome by being crucified upside down.
“Peter is well known for having denied Jesus three times before Jesus’ crucifixion, but after his resurrection, Jesus restored Peter and commissioned him to ‘feed [his] sheep.'”
Andrew
- Andrew was Peter’s brother.
- He was also a fisherman originally from Bethsaida but living and working in Capernaum when Jesus called him.
- Even though he was Jewish, his name is of Greek origins and means something like “manly.”
- He was an early disciple of John the Baptist and was introduced to Jesus by him.
- He then introduced his brother Peter to Jesus (John 1:35-42).
- When Jesus fed the 5,000, Andrew is the one who told Jesus about the boy with the loaves and fishes (John 6:8-9).
James
- James was also a fisherman on the Sea of Galilee by trade.
- His father’s name was Zebedee, and the family fishing business must’ve done well because they had hired hands (Mark 1:20).
- He was part of Jesus’ inner circle along with his brother John, and Peter.
- He and his brother John were nicknamed “Sons of Thunder” by Jesus.
- He was the first apostle killed for his faith (Acts 12:1-2).
John
- John was a fisherman on the Sea of Galilee by trade along with his brother James.
- His father’s name was Zebedee, and the family fishing business must’ve done well because they had hired hands (Mark 1:20).
- He was part of Jesus’ inner circle along with his brother James and Peter.
- He and his brother James were nicknamed “Sons of Thunder” by Jesus.
- He wrote the Gospel of John, 1, 2, and 3 John and the book of Revelation (although a few scholars think another John wrote Revelation).
- He outlived all the other apostles and died of old age near the end of the first century.
“He outlived all the other apostles and died of old age near the end of the first century.”
Philip
- Philip was from Bethsaida (John 1:44).
- He introduced Nathaniel to Jesus (John 1:45-46).
- At the feeding of the 5,000, Jesus tested Philip by asking him about buying food for the crowd (John 6:5-6).
- At the Last Supper, Philip is the one who asked Jesus to show them the Father (John 14:8).
Bartholomew
- We know very little about Bartholomew.
- He is listed as an apostle in Mathew, Mark, and Luke.
- Many scholars identify Bartholomew as Nathanael who is mentioned in John. Bartholomew is a last name, so Nathanael would be his first name. Upon meeting Nathanael, Jesus said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit” (John 1:47b, NASB).
Matthew
- Matthew is also known as Levi (Matthew 9:9; Luke 5:27-29).
- His father’s name was Alphaeus (Mark 2:14).
- He was a tax collector and when Christ called him to be a disciple, Matthew left his tax office behind and hosted a dinner party for Jesus with many other tax collectors (Luke 5:29).
- He wrote the Gospel of Matthew.
“He was a tax collector and when Christ called him to be a disciple, Matthew left his tax office behind and hosted a dinner party for Jesus with many other tax collectors.”
Thomas
- We don’t know much about Thomas.
- He is also referred to as Didymus, which means “twin” (John 11:16; 20:24).
- When Jesus purposed to go back to Judea even though it was dangerous, Thomas said, “Let us also go, that we may die with him” (John 11:16b, NASB).
- During the Last Supper, he asked Jesus, “Lord, we do not know where You are going; how do we know the way?” (John 14:5, NASB).
- He is often referred to as doubting Thomas because he rejected the resurrection of Jesus until he had physical proof (John 20:24-25).
- Early church tradition says he preached the gospel in India and is buried there.
James the son of Alphaeus
- We don’t know much about this James.
- Some scholars identify him with James the Less (Mark 15:40) and suppose this designation was a way of distinguishing him from James the son of Zebedee.
Simon the Zealot
- We don’t know much about this Simon. He is mentioned only in the lists of the apostles.
- He is called “the Zealot.” If this description refers to the group known as “Zealots,” they were a revolutionary band who advised violence to eliminate the Romans. However, the description could also mean simply that he was zealous for God’s Law.
Judas the son of James
- We don’t know much about this Judas. He is mentioned only in Luke’s list of the apostles.
- In Matthew and Mark, he seems to be known as Thaddeus (Matthew 10:3; Mark 3:18).
Judas Iscariot
- “Iscariot” might refer to the village of Kerioth, and if so may indicate where Judas was from.
- Judas was the money keeper for Jesus, and he would sometimes take money for himself (John 12:4-6).
- He is famously the one who betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver (Matthew 24:14-16).
- He led the soldiers out to arrest Jesus and he betrayed Jesus with a kiss (Matthew 26:47-56, Mark 14:43-50, Luke 22:47-53, John 18:1-12).
- Afterward he tried to return the money and hanged himself in regret (Matthew 27:3-10).
“Judas Iscariot led the soldiers out to arrest Jesus and he betrayed Jesus with a kiss.”
These were the original twelve apostles. However, after the resurrection of Jesus, the remaining eleven apostles decided to choose someone to replace Judas. And Jesus later called Paul to be an apostle.
Matthias
- He was chosen to be Judas’ replacement.
- Like the other apostles, he had been an eyewitness of Jesus’ ministry and resurrection (Acts 1:21-26).
Paul
- Paul is one of the most famous apostles.
- He is also called Saul, his Hebrew name, whereas Paul was his Roman name. He was from Tarsus, Cilicia, and had Roman citizenship.
- He was a zealous Pharisee who trained in Jerusalem under the famous Rabbi Gamaliel (Acts 22:3).
- He was an early opponent of Jesus and the church, seeking to imprison as many Christians as he could (Acts 8:3).
- He was on his way to Damascus to arrest Christians when Jesus appeared to him on the road. He was blinded and spent the next several days fasting and praying until Jesus sent a man named Ananias to preach the gospel to him and baptize him (Acts 9:1-19).
- He was appointed by Jesus as the apostle to the Gentiles (Acts 26:17), and he travelled throughout the Mediterranean region making disciples and forming churches.
- Since he wasn’t one of the original twelve and since he preached to Gentiles, he frequently had to defend his apostleship and did so by asserting that he had indeed seen the resurrected Jesus and Jesus had commissioned him to ministry (Galatian 1:1, 11-16; 1 Corinthians 9:1; 1 Corinthians 15:8-9).
- Paul wrote 13 of the 27 New Testament books.
“Paul was on his way to Damascus to arrest Christians when Jesus appeared to him on the road.”
These are the apostles who are the foundation of the church. They represent a wide range of people. Some were tradesmen like the fishermen. Others like Matthew were turncoats making bank by taking from his own people in service to the Romans. Others were extremely zealous for faithfulness to God. And Paul was schooled as a rabbi and a rising star among his countrymen, until he gave it all up to follow Jesus.
Here’s a fact that’s true about all of them: Once Jesus appeared to them after his resurrection and commissioned them to make disciples, these men were committed to that mission at great personal cost. They were ordinary men of extraordinary devotion who gave their lives in service to their King who appointed them as his apostles.
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