The Disciples of Christ

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Jesus chose twelve men to be His followers. There were His disciples. A disciple is one that is a learner, a student. They were also called Apostles which means sent ones, special messengers. Jesus chose these men so that He could teach them what He knew and to continue His work when He was raised from the dead and ascended back to the Father. Below is a chart of the 12 men and the order they appear in each book:

Matthew 10:2–4

 

Mark 3:16–19

 

Luke 6:14–16

 

Acts 1:13

 

Peter

Andrew

James

John

 

Peter

James

John

Andrew

 

Peter

Andrew

James

John

 

Peter

James

John

Andrew

 

Philip

Bartholomew

Thomas

Matthew

 

Philip

Bartholomew

Matthew

Thomas

 

Philip

Bartholomew

Matthew

Thomas

 

Philip

Thomas

Bartholomew

Matthew

 

James

(son of Alphaeus)

Lebbaeus

(surn. Thaddeus)

Simon

Judas Iscariot

 

James

(son of Alphaeus)

Thaddeus

Simon

 

Judas Iscariot

 

James

(son of Alphaeus)

Simon

Judas

(son of James)

Judas Iscariot

 

James

(son of Alphaeus)

Simon

Judas

(son of James)[1]

 


Most of what we know about these men are in the four gospels and the book of acts. Now, let me introduce you to each one.

Peter – His birth name was Simon. He was also called Cephas (John 1:42). Andrew was his brother. They were fishermen by trade. Jesus gave him the name Peter. Peter means rock or small stone. He is the most bold and vocal of the disciples. He denied the Lord three times when he said that he wouldn’t (Matthew 26:12;69-75; Mark 14:68-75; Luke 22:56-62). Peter is the author of 1 and 2 Peter. He is also regarded as the author of the gospel of Mark. Mark is regarded as the scribe who recorded the words of Peter. Peter preached the first Church sermon in Acts 2 which resulted in about 3,000 people receiving salvation. Peter is also the one that declared that Jesus was the Christ (means the Messiah or the Anointed One), Matthew 16:17.

Tradition says Peter was crucified upside down because he said he was not worthy to die like his Lord. Two early church fathers attest to this: Origen and Eusebius. Jesus predicted Peter’s death in John 21:18-19,”Truly, truly, I say to you when were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” (This He said to show by what death he was to glorify God.)

Was Peter the first Pope?

The Catholic Church claims that apostle Peter was the first bishop or Pope of Rome. They also teach that Peter passed down his apostolic authority to the bishops after him. This teaching is known as apostolic succession. This teaching is not Biblical. Because of a misinterpretation of Matthew 16:18 where Catholics believe Jesus built his Church on Peter (his name means rock or small stone), they have concluded that me must be the first bishop of Rome and they are the one true church. They claim an unbroken line of apostolic succession from Peter all the way to the present pope. For the record, Jesus did not build His church on Peter. This is what Matthew 16:18 means. Jesus asked his disciples the question, “Who do men say that I am? They replied, ‘Some say you are John the Baptist, some Elijah; and others Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. He (Jesus) said unto them, but who do you say that I am? Simon Peter answered and said, You are the Christ the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said to him, blessed are you Simon Bar-Jonah; for flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I say unto you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church…(Matthew 16:14-18). What rock was Jesus talking about. The rock was not Peter, but the revelation the Lord gave to Peter that He (Christ) was the Son of the living God. That is what Jesus built His Church on, not on Peter. Peter is a foundation member of the Church, (Ephesians 2:20), but the Church does not exist because of Peter. Jesus used a play on words. The Greek word for the name Peter is petros, a small stone. The word rock is petra, which means a huge rock. What Jesus was saying was, “Peter who are a small stone. Your confession that I am the Christ (i.e. Messiah, The Anointed One) is the bedrock confession of faith on which my church will be built upon.” 

I’ll say this in wrapping up about Peter. Any Church that does not acknowledge Jesus as the Christ is a false Church.  

John – John was the brother of James who was also a disciple. They also were fisherman. John is the author the gospel of John. He also authored 1, 2, 3 John and the book of Revelation, the last book of the Bible. He describes himself in the third person as “the disciple whom Jesus loved” (John 13:23;21:20). He is also known as the apostle of love. Jesus nicknamed John and his brother James Boanerges which means, “Sons of Thunder” (Mark 3:17). The infamous number 666 which is the mark of the beast appears in Revelation. John also describes The Great White Throne Judgment and the eternal Lake of Fire in the 20th chapter of Revelation.

Andrew – Andrew is the brother of Peter. Not much is known about him. He did introduce Peter to Jesus (John 1:42). So, we see that he had an evangelistic spirit.

James – James is the brother of John. Some believe he was the older brother of the two because his name is always mentioned first. He was part of Jesus’ inner circle of 3 – him, his brother John and Peter. James along with John and Peter witnessed Jesus’ transfiguration and was there when Jesus prayed in the garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 17:1;Mark 9:2;Luke 9:28), (Matthew 26:37;Mark 14:33). James was the first disciple to be martyred for his faith (Acts 12:2).

Philip – Philip is always the fifth disciple mentioned in the roll call. Philip is the one that asked Jesus the question, “Lord show us the Father and it is enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I not been so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me (John 14:8-10)?

Bartholomew – His other name was Nathanael. He is only called Nathanael in John’s gospel (John 1:46). He is always mentioned after Philip in the roll call of the disciples. Philip is the one that brought Nathanael to meet Jesus. Jesus said of Nathanael that he was a man with no deceit (John 1:47). Bartholomew Nathanael is amazed Jesus knew something about him. He declared to Jesus, “You are Son of God. You are the King of Israel” (John 1:49). No other information is given regarding him in the Bible. According to tradition, he preached the gospel in India. He died a martyr by being drowned.

Thomas – He had another name. It was Didymus which means twin. Apparently, he had a twin sibling who is not mentioned in the scriptures. He is also called doubting Thomas because he doubted the resurrection of Jesus Christ when the other disciples declared He rose from the dead. Thomas who was not with them, said, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into his side, I will never believe” (John 20:25b). Eight days later Jesus tells Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands, and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve but believe” (John 20:27). Thomas declared his courage when Jesus was heading to Bethany to raise Lazarus from the dead. The disciples were convinced that Jesus would be killed. Thomas said, “Let us also go that we may die with Him (John 11:16). How many of us are ready to die for Jesus? Probably not many. He died for us. Are we willing to die for Him if necessary?  Thomas was.

Matthew – He is the author of the gospel that bears his name. By profession he was a tax collector. He would have been an unlikely member of the disciples. Why? Because as a tax collector he was loyal to the Roman government which the Jews hated. You see the Romans made Jews collect taxes. That made Matthew a traitor to his fellow countrymen. In addition, tax collectors charged more than necessary which meant that they became rich through extortion. Matthew was also called Levi which was his Hebrew name (Matthew 9:9). Jesus saw Matthew and commanded him to follow Him. Matthew knew that he was a scoundrel in the eyes of society had to be thrilled that Jesus even acknowledged him. In gratitude, he held a banquet in Jesus’ honor. He invited his friends to his home, tax collectors so that they could meet Jesus. Matthew perhaps unbeknownst to him was evangelizing those whom he knew were lost in sin like him. These were the sick that needed to be made well (Luke 5:29-32).

The gospel of Matthew is comprehensive. It contains fulfilled OT prophecy, a precise genealogy of Christ’s ancestry. Along with Jesus’ kingdom parables and many miracles.

James (Son of Alphaeus) – In Mark 15:40 he is called James the less or James the younger. Perhaps given that distinction because the other James who was the older brother of John. The word less in the Greek is mikros which means little. Perhaps this James was a small man physically or he was less in terms of influence or both. We know his mother was named Mary according to Mark 15:40. Other than that we have no other information about him.

Lebbaeus – He had two other names, Thaddaeus and Judas (not Iscariot). He asked Jesus, “Lord how is it that you will manifest yourself to us and not the world” (John 14:22)? According to Eusebius, a fourth century historian, Judas (Thaddeus  Lebbaeus) traveled to a place called Edessa in Mesopotamia. It was reported he healed the king, a man by the name of Abgar[2]. The apostolic symbol for Judas is a club because he was supposedly beaten to death with a club for his faith.

Simon – Simon belong to a radical political party called the Zealots. He and his companions were terrorists who were determined to overthrow the Roman government, by any means necessary. They believed that they should serve no one but God alone. They were defeated by the Romans and went underground when they revolted over Roman taxation.  They formed another group called sicarri – means “dagger men”. They were known to conceal curved daggers in their robes, sneak up behind Roman soldiers and politicians and stab them in the back between the ribs piercing the heart. They were trained assassins. Interesting that Jesus would choose a trained killer to be one of his followers. Perhaps Simon (the Zealot) was interested in following Jesus because he thought Jesus would lead a rebellion against their Roman oppressors. Simon no doubt at one time may have hated Matthew the tax collector because he was considered a traitor to the Jews and was collecting tribute for Rome. Only the love of God could convert his heart to love a man like Matthew, a fellow disciple.

Judas Iscariot – Judas was Benedict Arnold before Benedict Arnold. There is absolutely nothing good to say about the man who betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver, the price of a slave at that time. Judas loved money, not the Lord. Jesus knew what Judas was before Judas knew himself, a thief and a devil (John 6:70-71). Jesus also calls him the Son of Perdition (John 17:12). The only other person given that infamous description is the antichrist (2 Thessalonians 2:3). Perdition means destruction. To destruct things means to destroy, to tear things down. In this context, the kingdom of God. That is what Judas was attempting to do. When he realized His betrayal of Christ was way more costly than the money paid him, he was overcome with shame, remorse and sorrow, he killed himself (Matthew 27:5).

Divine sovereignty and the human will working together

Why did Jesus choose Judas when He already knew in advance that Judas would betray Him? The Bible tell us, so that the scripture would be fulfilled. Judas’ betrayal was prophesied in the Old Testament. Psalm 41:9 says, “He that eats my bread has lifted his heel against me.” Jesus fulfills this in Matthew 26:21-25). As a matter of fact, in John’s gospel it says after Jesus gave the sop to Judas Satan entered into him (John 13:26b-27). Although Judas’ betrayal of our Lord was predicted to happen that in no way absolves Judas of the choice he made to betray Jesus. He made a conscious decision to betray Jesus. He was fully responsible for his actions.

Why did Jesus choose these men? Because he was commanded to by the Father. There was nothing special about them that compelled the Lord to choose these specific men. They were ordinary uneducated Jewish men who God sovereignly selected to do extraordinary things. They have a testimony from their enemies: They turned the world upside down (Acts 17:6).


[2] Eusebius Pamphili, Ecclesiastical History, Books 1-5

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