The Twelve Apostles
A. Doctrine of Apostles
1. Definition and Etymology:
a)
APOSTOLOS is an attic Greek word that was already 500 years old when used in
the New Testament.
1)
It was originally used for a high‑ranking admiral or general officer
chosen by a counsel to command either an army or an Athenian fleet on a
military expedition, generally against the Spartans. Therefore, it was an
admiral, supreme commander, one who has
the highest rank.
2)
Its other meaning was used less extensively
for whomever was in command of a band of Greek colonists when they would leave
b) APOSTOLOS is a Greek noun from the verb APOSTELLOO
which is a compound word from
c) Joseph Thayer states: A delegate, messenger, one sent
forth with orders, specifically applied to the twelve apostles of Christ and in
a broader sense applied to other eminent Christian teachers like Barnabas,
Timothy and Silvanus.
d) So we understand the generic use of the term but in
this outline we are noting the specific use in regards to the twelve.
"The conceptual background of the New Testament
term apostolos
has been variously represented. Many scholars believe that the rabbinic office
of the shaliach—attested
by 150 A.D.—constitutes the proper background for understanding the New
Testament term “apostle.” The shaliach was established as a legal institution in rabbinic
Judaism to insure that an appointed “messenger” was given due regard as the
legal representative of his sender. The shaliach functioned with the full authority of the one who
commissioned him. According to Jewish tradition, “A man’s agent (shaliach) is like to himself” (Mishnah Berakoth 5:5; Rosh ha-Shanah 4:9; compare
2. Apostleship is a spiritual
gift,
3. The qualification for
being an Apostle included:
a) Seeing the Lord and being an eyewitness to His
resurrection,
b) Being invested with miraculous sign-gifts,
c) Being chosen by the Lord and the Holy
Spirit, Mat 10:1-2;
4. The 12 Apostles exercised
absolute authority (spiritual dictatorship) over the churches until the Canon
of Scripture was completed. The Canon is now the absolute authority.
5. Apostles were appointed,
(sovereign decision, no merit involved) by:
a)
God the Father,
b)
Jesus Christ provided the spiritual gifts,
c)
The Holy Spirit matches the gift to the individual,
6. No apostle was appointed
to the Church until after the Ascension of Christ,
7. To qualify, as one of the
twelve Apostles, one must be an eyewitness to the resurrected Christ,
8. An apostle also had the
gift of miracles. Paul did not have the gift of healing at the end of his life,
it was removed from him before he died, some ten years before, in 57 AD,
9. This using of miracles was
necessary to sustain their absolute apostolic authority,
10. There is no perpetuation
of apostleship. No sons became apostles. We never receive anything in the
Christian life through physical birth. Everything we have comes as a result of
spiritual birth, regeneration.
11. Apostles exercised absolute
authority (spiritual dictatorship) over the churches until the completion of
the Canon of scripture (66 Bible books) which is now absolute. Today no one has
the right to exercise authority over more than one church. Each local church
should be self-sustaining and self-governing.
12. Apostles received direct
revelation from God. All revelation today is through the Word. All writers of
the New Testament were either apostles or someone closely associated with an
apostle (Mark, Luke, James and Jude).
13. No one today has or will
reach apostolic stature,
14. Once the Canon of
Scripture was complete, (writing of Revelation), the gift of apostleship was
withdrawn. The Canon of the New Testament became the basis of modus operandi
and the absolute criterion.
15. The list of the original
12 disciples is found in
B. The Roster of the 12 Apostles
1. Simon‑Peter, one of the three
most active apostles.
2. Andrew his brother, who was almost an
honorary apostle because he did so little and had a very short life.
3. John, being one of the most active and
who lived the longest. One of the two sons of Zebedee
with his brother James, came from a very wealthy
family. He wrote 1, 2 and 3 John, Revelation, and the gospel of John.
4. James the brother of John.
5. Philip gets confused with the
Evangelist of the same name.
6. Bartholomew, also
called Nathanael.
7. Thomas, also
called Didymus meaning a twin. He did very little according to the Bible. But
extra‑Biblical sources indicate that he went to
8. Matthew, alias Levi, the writer of the
Gospel.
9. James, the son of Alphaeus, who
disappears immediately. He is mistakenly
called "James the lesser." But
just because we know so little about him doesn't mean he's inferior.
10. Thaddaeus, called “Lebbaeus”
in the
11. Simon the Canaanite, there is nothing
recorded about him. Canaanite was the name of a Jewish sect. He was also called
the "Zealot".
12.
These eleven are mentioned first in Mat 10:2‑4 as apostles to
C. Meet the Apostles
Much of the information below
is taken from various Biblical Dictionaries including, The Holman,
In this discussion we will
not spend much time on Judas Iscariot because we already discussed him early in
this chapter. Likewise, we will not spend much time on Paul, as I have
previously taught on him, and his contributions deserve singular attention.
As we discuss each Apostle we
will note information regarding his Name,
Background, Personality, Role Among the Disciples, Role in the Early Church*,
Missions*, Legacy, and what Foxes book of Martyrs states regarding Him.
* These
categories will only be used for the more well know Apostles were much information
is available. Otherwise, these categories will be included under "Role Among the Disciples" or "Legacy".
Simon - Peter
His
Name:
In the
Greek his name is PETROS, meaning “a rock, stone, pebble, also a mass of rock
detached a larger rock.” His name was formerly Simon that means “hearing”.
There are actually four forms of Peter’s name in the New Testament: the Hebrew
translated into Greek, “Simeon” to “Simon,” and the Aramaic translated into
Greek, “Cephas” to “Petros”.
Our Lord used the Aramaic name Cephas similar to the
Hebrew KEPHA of the same meaning. He was called “Simon” throughout Jesus’
ministry but came to be known as “Peter” more and more in the apostolic age.
Background:
Peter
was the son of Jonas, Jonah or John, Mat
Personality:
The New
Testament tells us more about Peter than any other Apostle with the exception
of Paul. He was a pioneer among the twelve and the early church, breaking
ground that the church would later follow.
Role
Among the Disciples:
Before
becoming a disciple of Jesus, Peter and his brother Andrew had been influenced
by the teaching of John the Baptist,
His
Role in the Early Church:
In
Despite
Peter’s role among the disciples and the promise of his leadership in the early
church, Mat
His
Missions:
Peter
left
After
remaining for some time at
He took
part in the deliberations of the council in
We have
no further mention of Peter in the Acts of the Apostles. He seems to have gone
down to
His
Legacy:
His
legacy lived on long after his death. He is said to have inspired the writing
of the first of the Gospels by Mark, Peter's interpreter in
To a
great extent, subsequent generations of the church rely on the confession,
witness, and ministry of Peter, the devoted, but fallible follower of Christ.
As the representative disciple, his enthusiasm and even his weaknesses have
made him the supreme example of the developing disciple, one who, through the
power of the risen Lord, rose above his faults to become a towering figure on
the church scene.
Tradition
holds that Peter died as a martyr in
Foxes
book of Martyrs states: "Among many other saints, the blessed apostle Peter was condemned
to death, and crucified, as some do write, at Rome; albeit some others, and not
without cause, do doubt thereof. Hegesippus saith that Nero sought
matter against Peter to put him to death; which, when the people perceived,
they entreated Peter with much ado that he would fly the city. Peter, through
their importunity at length persuaded, prepared himself
to avoid. But, coming to the gate, he saw the Lord Christ come to meet him, to
whom he, worshipping, said, “Lord, whither dost Thou go?” To whom He answered
and said, “I am come again to be crucified.” By this, Peter, perceiving his
suffering to be understood, returned into the city. Jerome saith
that he was crucified, his head being down and his feet upward, himself so
requiring, because he was (he said) unworthy to be crucified after the same
form and manner as the Lord was."
Andrew
His
Name:
In
Greek his name means “manly, manliness, or a strong man". No Hebrew or Aramaic name is recorded for him.
Background:
We have
noted a few points about him being the younger brother of Peter. He is a native
of the city of
His
Personality:
Little
is known about Andrew though he was the first to identify the Christ.
Interestingly, though a partner in business with His brother Simon-Peter, James
and John, when in regards to our Lord they are noted as the "inner
circle" and Andrew is left out, though he was one of the
"confidential" disciples with Peter, James, and John. This will be
seen as we discuss James and John below. Andrew was either an unassuming figure
and just forgotten about or had some personality traits that the others did not
have. It is noteworthy that Andrew three times brings others to Christ, 1)
Peter; 2) the boy with the loaves and fish; and 3) certain Greeks. These
incidents may be regarded as a key to his character.
Role
Among the Disciples:
At
first a disciple of John the Baptist, Andrew was led to receive Jesus when John
pointed Him out as “the Lamb of God”,
Further
mention of him in the gospels includes his being ordained as one of the twelve,
Mat 10:2;
His
Legacy:
The traditions about Andrew are various. Eusebius
quotes Origen as saying
Andrew preached in
Andrew
is also noted extra biblically in the Acts of Polyxena
and Xanthippe. Some ancient writers speak of an apocryphal Acts of Andrew. The text appears to have been aimed to be a
continuation of the Acts of Andrew and
Matthias (which was a portion of the Acts
of Andrew that was sometimes found as a separate work). The extremely
fragmentary nature of the Acts of Andrew
makes it difficult to determine whether the text of the Acts of Peter and Andrew was originally considered amongst it, or
was a later addition to the Acts of
Andrew and Matthias fragments. The Acts,
as well as a Gospel of St Andrew,
appear among rejected books.
At
length, tradition states, he came to Patrae, a city
of Achaia, where Aegeas, the proconsul, enraged that
he persisted in preaching, commanded him to join in sacrificing to the heathen
gods, and upon the apostle’s refusal ordered him to be severely scourged and then
crucified. To make his death more lingering, he was fastened to the cross, not
with nails, but with cords. Having hung two days, praising God, and exhorting
the spectators to embrace, or adhere to, the faith, he is said to have expired
on November 30, but in what year is uncertain. The cross is stated to have been
of the form called ,
and commonly known as “St. Andrew’s cross, X.”
See
additional notes on Andrew in Doctrines folder under "Andrew".
Foxes
book of Martyrs states: He preached the gospel to many Asiatic nations; but on his arrival at Edhessa he was taken and crucified on a cross, the two ends
of which were fixed transversely in the ground. Hence the origin of the term,
St. Andrew’s Cross.
James, the greater
His Name:
James is
the English translation of the Greek name IAKOBOS from IAKOB or Jacob, which
means supplanter. The Hebrew equivalent is YAAQOB.
Background:
He is
the older brother of John,
His
Personality:
As we
will see below James seemed to be warm and somewhat impetuous in temperament.
His impetuous, hotheaded and sometimes fanatic nature may have lead to James'
and John's surname "Sons of Thunder",
Role
Among the Disciples:
James
appears first in the narrative as a fisherman. The call to James to follow
Christ, Mat 4:18-22;
1) The transfiguration, Mat 17:1;
2) The raising of Jairus’s
daughter,
3) The
4) With Andrew they listened to the Lord’s private
discourse on the fall of
He was
also present when the risen Jesus appeared for the 3rd time to the disciples
and the miraculous catch of fish made at the
Through
having mistaken views of the Messiah’s kingdom and an ambition to share in its
glory, he and John joined in the request made to Jesus by their mother to be
seated on Jesus' right and left, Mat 20:20-28;
Shortly
after the Transfiguration, when Jesus, was “determined to go to
His
Legacy:
He is
always mentioned with his brother John and mentioned first, probably for being
the elder, except in
Extra
Biblically in "The Acts of James in India" (compare Budge, II,
295-303), tells of the missionary journey of James and Peter to India, of the
appearance of Christ to them in the form of a beautiful young man, of their
healing a blind man, and of their imprisonment, miraculous release, and their
conversion of the people. According to the "Martyrdom of James"
(Budge, II, 304-8), James preached to the 12 tribes scattered abroad, and
persuaded them to give their first-fruits to the church instead of to Herod.
The accounts of his trial and death are similar to that in
James
is also considered the patron saint of
Clement of Alexandria, Stromateis, VI; Apollonius, quoted by Eusebius of Caesarea,
Ecclesiastical History 6.17, stated, according to
the tradition of the early Church, James had not yet left Jerusalem at this
time. Paul in his Epistle to the Romans written after AD 44, expressed his
intention to avoid "building on someone else's foundation",
Foxes
Book of Martyrs:
It was
not until ten years after the death of Stephen that the second martyrdom took
place; for no sooner had Herod Agrippa been appointed governor of Judea, than,
with a view to ingratiate himself with them, he raised a sharp persecution
against the Christians, and determined to make an effectual blow, by striking
at their leaders. The account given us by an eminent primitive writer, Clemens Alexandrinus, ought not to be overlooked; that, as James
was led to the place of martyrdom, his accuser was brought to repent of his
conduct by the apostle’s extraordinary courage and undauntedness,
and fell down at his feet to request his pardon, professing himself a
Christian, and resolving that James should not receive the crown of martyrdom
alone. Hence they were both beheaded at the same time. Thus did the first
apostolic martyr cheerfully and resolutely receive that cup, which he had told
our Savior he was ready to drink. These events took
place A.D. 44.
John
His Name:
John is
the Greek name 'IOANNES. It stems from the Hebrew name YOHANAN that means,
“Jehovah or Yahweh is or has been gracious”.
Background:
John is the younger brother
of James "the greater", Mat 10:2;
His
Personality:
The
synoptic Gospels show John as a zealous and loyal follower of Jesus. He was the
disciple whom Jesus loved, yet he had zeal and intensity of character called
with his brother Jams a “Boanerges” (boa-ner'-gaz) - Son of Thunder. He is not however depicted as
gentle and considerate, he was a "son of thunder". In the early days
it appeared that he knew little of the love that should characterize a follower
of Jesus (as depicted in the scene regarding the Samaritans), but he did have
faith and a passionate conviction that Jesus was the Son of God. In His Gospel
and Epistles we see a similar John but now spiritually matured and abounding in
love. On almost every occasion when he is mentioned in the Bible, he is in the
company of someone else and normally his companion does the speaking. The only
words in the Synoptic Gospels attributed specifically to John are: “Master, we saw one casting out
devils in your name ... and we forbid him, because he does not follow us”,
Role
Among the Disciples:
John
was highly esteemed among the apostles and he stood especially close to Jesus.
Upon the invitation of Jesus, he became a disciple among Jesus' followers,
Another
possible account of the Apostle John besides those attributed to him above, (with Andrew one of John the Baptist’s
disciples,
His
Role in the Early Church:
After Jesus’ ascension and the descent of the Holy Spirit on
Pentecost, John, together with Peter, took a prominent part in the founding and
guidance of the Church. The apostle John
appears three times in the Book of Acts, and each time he is with Peter,
They
were considered “uneducated and untrained men” (probably do to there Galilean
accent as mentioned above and that they did not receive a rabbinical
education),
Peter’s
affection and concern for John are shown in his question in
John in common with the other
Apostles remained some 12 years in the ministry of Jerusalem, until the
persecution of Herod Agrippa I led to the scattering of the Apostles through
the various provinces of the
Paul
mentioned John only once: “James (the
brother of Jesus), Cephas (Simon Peter), and John, who seemed to be pillars” of the church
agreed that Paul and Barnabas would go to the Gentiles, while they would work
among the Jews,
His
Missions:
John
probably remained in
1. That, having come to
2. That the seven churches in
3. That in his work he encountered men who denied the
truth (Gnostics),
After
the reference to him being a pillar apostles in
Extra
Biblical tradition tells us that John of
1. Was shipwrecked off
2. Tertullian says that under Domitian John was taken to
3. Returning to
4. Polycrates bishop of
5. Iraneaus states he fought
vigorously heresy, especially the teachings of Cerinthus,
refusing to be under the same roof as the heretic.
6. Introduced the Jewish mode of celebrating the Easter
feast.
7. Clement of
8. Apollonius said that John raised a dead man, (Eus. 5.18)
9. Cassian told a story about
John playing with a tame partridge and when accused of frivolity he said,
"the bow cannot be always bent".
10. Jerome tells of when all capacity to work and teach
was gone, when there was no strength even to stand, he directed himself to be
carried to the assembly of believers, and simply said, with a feeble voice,
“Little children, love one another”. This occurred repeatedly.
He
appears to have retired to
His Legacy:
Five
books of the New Testament have been attributed to John the Apostle: the
Gospel, three Epistles, and Revelation, the greatest book in the New Testament
of end times prophecy. In each case, the traditional
view is that the apostle was the author of these books can be traced to writers
in the second century, although neither the Gospel nor the epistles identify
their author by name. It may be a "John the elder / presbyter" that
penned the Gospel and Epistles at John's narration, because they identify their
writer as such, (compare
When John was aged, he
trained Polycarp who later became Bishop / Pastor of
Smyrna. This was important because Polycarp was able
to carry John's message to future generations.
John's traditional tomb is
thought to be located at Selçuk, a small town in the
vicinity of
The apocryphal 2nd century
Gnostic text called Secret Book of John or the Apocryphon of John was also attributed to him, though not by established
traditional Christian orthodoxy. It is an
early Gnostic work that purports to contain a vision of the apostle John. It
describes Jesus Christ reappearing after his Ascension and giving secret
knowledge (GNOSIS) to the apostle John. Copies
were found among the codices at Nag Hammadi. The work
itself must go back at least to the second century because Irenaeus
quoted from it.
The
Acts of John is a third-century apocryphal writing which records miraculous
events, John’s journey to
The
apostle John also has a place in the martyrologies of
the medieval church. A fifth-century writer, Philip of Side, and George the
Sinner, of the ninth century, report that Papias
(second century) wrote that James and John were killed by the Jews according to
Foxes
Book of Martyrs:
The
“beloved disciple,” was brother to James the Great. The churches of
Philip
His Name:
In
Greek his name is Philippos that means “fond or lover
of horses”.
His
Background:
Philip,
like the first four mentioned, was also from the city of
His Personality:
When Philip told Nathanael (a.k.a. Bartholomew) about the
Messiah in
His Role Among the Apostles:
He
seems to have held a somewhat prominent place among the apostles. He is
mentioned after the "inner" and "close" circle of apostles
and heads the list of the second quartette of disciples / Apostles each time
listed, Mat 10:2-4;
He is
noted in four events in John's Gospel;
1) The
first act of Philip was to invite Nathanael to “come and see” Jesus. Philip is
usually mentioned with Nathanael,
2) When
Jesus was about to feed the 5,000 He asked Philip, “Where are we to buy bread,
that these may eat?” And it is added, “And this He was saying to test him”,
3)
Certain Greeks, desiring to meet Jesus, made application to Philip for an introduction.
Philip being a Greek name probably led to familiarity from the inquirers. He
then consulted with Andrew, also a Greek name, who went with him and mentioned
the circumstance to Jesus,
4)
Philip is one of the four questioners at the beginning of the Upper Room
Discourse who asks, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for
us”, opening the way for Jesus’ teaching that "to see Him is to see
the Father" and further teaching
about the unity of the Father and the Son,
This is
the third (divine perfection) act of
Philip in regards to "seeing is believing",
as tested by our Lord at the feeding of 5,000.
a) His response to Nathanael in leading him to the
Messiah, "come and see".
b) The Greeks who wanted to "see" Jesus came
to Philip.
c) Philip's Upper Room questioning "show us the
Father".
All
three demonstrate his Jewish propensity of desiring visible proof, Mat 12:38;
His Legacy:
His Biblical accounts are in
the Gospel of John, where John was writing after all his counterparts were
dead. Possibly wanting to include his two friends from youth, Philip and
Nathanael (Bartholomew), who were missing from the Synoptic Gospels, John wrote
about them. Extra Biblical tradition regarding this Philip gets confused with
the Deacon Philip, "one of the seven",
Extra Biblical:
The non-canonical book
"Acts of Philip", with its appendix "the Journeyings
of Philip", recounts the preaching and miracles of Philip. It states that
following the resurrection of Jesus, Philip was sent with his sister Mariamme and Bartolomew to preach in
The mention of daughters does
draw some confusion with Philip the Evangelist who had 4 virgin daughters who
prophesized,
Gnostics also appealed to the
apostolic authority of Philip, ascribing a number of Gnostic texts to him, most
notably the "Gospel of Philip" from the Nag Hammadi
library.
His death accounts are
conflicting. Clement and others says a natural death at age 87, while others
say martyrdom by being stoned then crucified head down, or just crucified head
down. The "Acts of Philip" includes his martyrdom. According to this
text, through a miraculous healing and his preaching, Philip converted the wife
of the proconsul of the city of
Foxes Book of Martyrs:
Was born
at
Bartholomew
His Name:
Bartholomew
is from Hebrew origins "Bar Talmay" meaning
"son of Tolmai". Tolmai means a plowman, so literally it would be
"son of a plowman". In the first three gospels, Mat 10:3;
Nathanael
was his proper name and Bartholomew (Bar-Tolmai) his surname, just as Simon was
called Bar-Jona. Nathanael is Greek from the Hebrew
(Nathan - el) that means "given/gift of God" or “God has given”.
According
to the "Genealogies of the Twelve Apostles", (Budge, Contendings of the Apostles, II, 50), “Bartholomew
was of the tribe of Naphtali. Now his name was formerly John, but our Lord
changed it because of John the son of Zebedee, His
beloved.” There is no mention of his name being John in Scriptures.
His Background:
Bartholomew
was born in Cana of Galilee,
In the
first three gospels Philip and Bartholomew are constantly named together. The
"Smith Bible Dictionary" states, "Bartholomew is named by each
of the first three evangelists immediately after Philip, while by Luke he is
coupled with Philip precisely in the same way as Simon with his brother Andrew,
and James with his brother John". In the fourth Gospel Philip and
Nathanael are similarly combined. Therefore, from this and other early church
writers like Ebedjesu, the fourteenth century Nestorian metropolitan of
Soba, and Elias, the bishop of Damascus, (Giuseppe Simone Assemani Bibliotheca
Orientalis iii.i. pp.
30ff.), we understand Bartholomew and
Nathanael to be one and the same person.
In
His Personality:
Our
Lord best describes him as an “Israelite indeed, without any deceit”,
We also see in this account that he doubted Philip's proclamation
that Jesus was the Messiah, possibly based on His hometown,
In
addition, we understand the "Israelite" character as one who needed a
sign, which our Lord gave Nathanael straight away,
His
Role Among the Apostles:
Bartholomew
was appointed with the other apostles, Mat 10:3;
He was
one of seven of the disciples to whom the Lord appeared after the resurrection
at the
He is one
of the Apostles of whom no word is reported nor any individual action recorded
in the New
Testament.
His Legacy:
Tradition
only speaks of his subsequent unsubstantiated
history that he was a missionary preaching the gospel
along with Philip and Thomas in many countries especially in
Eusebius' Ecclesiastical
History (5.10.3) states that after the Ascension, Bartholomew went on a
missionary tour to
Along with the Apostle Jude,
Bartholomew is reputed to have brought Christianity to
A
“Gospel of Bartholomew” is mentioned by Hieronymus (Comm. Proem ad Matth.), and Gelasius alos gives the tradition
that Bartholomew brought the Hebrew gospel of Matthew to
Foxes
Book of Martyrs:
He
preached in several countries, and having translated the Gospel of Matthew into
the language of
Thomas
His
Name:
Thomas,
a Hebrew name (from TAOM) and Aramaic (T'OMA) means "double or twin",
was also called Didymus, his Greek surname, with the same meaning,
His
Background:
Some
believe that Thomas was born in
There
is much confusion regarding his potential siblings and actual identity:
1) Because of the meaning of his name, twin, several in the early Christian era
attempted to identify his twin brother or sister. But, it is likely that the
twin is not even mentioned in the NT, making such identification impossible.
The name Lysia comes forward from a story that she
was his twin sister.
2) The apocryphal book, The Acts of Thomas, uses the literal meaning of his name “twin” in
making him the twin of Jesus Himself! It supposes that Thomas was also surnamed
Judas Thomas and that Judas Thomas was the Judas of James, the brother of our
Lord. Therefore, Thomas would also be the brother of the Lord. Also in the Book of Thomas the Contender, part of the Nag Hammadi library, it is said to be Jesus himself: "Now,
since it has been said that you are my twin and true companion, examine
yourself…"(Turner, John D. The Book of Thomas (NHC II,7
138,7-138,12). Retrieved
3) Another theory is from the circumstance in the list
of the apostles, Thomas is usually mentioned along with Matthew, who was the
son of Alphaeus,
4) Additionally, because of the Judas surname in Mat
10:3 and
We are
left with no real or credible evidence as to his family background.
His
Personality:
From
the three main accounts of Thomas we see something of his personality. He
willingness to die with the Lord,
His
Role Among the Apostles:
Only
the Gospel of John reveals information regarding various acts of Thomas. The
synoptic gospels purely identify Him, Mat 10:3;
1) When Jesus declared His intention of going to
2) At the Last Supper, when Jesus was speaking of His
departure, Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You
are going, how do we know the way?”
3) He was absent when Jesus first appeared to the
disciples after the resurrection,
4) After that we only hear of Thomas twice more, once on
the Sea of Galilee, with six other disciples post resurrection in witness of
the risen Lord,
His Legacy:
Unfortunately,
Thomas is infamously known for his act of doubt,
When
Jesus appeared to the first assembly after His resurrection, Thomas, for some
reason, was absent. The others told him, “We have seen the Lord!” Thomas broke
forth into an exclamation that conveys to us at once the vehemence of his doubt
and the vivid picture that his mind retained of his Lord's form as he had seen
Him lifeless on the cross,
Just as Peter and Paul are
said to have brought the fledgling Christianity to
In the Agbarus legend from Eusebius (Eccl. His., 1.13), it states
that Thomas sent Thaddaeus to Agbarus, a Syrian historical ruler of the kingdom of Osroene, holding his capital at Edessa,
post ascension in response to Jesus' letter
to Agbarus promising to send someone to him. We will
see more of this under Thaddaeus.
Early
traditions, as believed in the fourth century, represent Thomas as preaching in
According to tradition, the
Indo-Parthian king Gondophares
was proselytized by Thomas, who continued on to southern
In addition, various Eastern
Churches claim that Thomas personally brought Christianity to
Extra Biblical writings:
The Gospel of Thomas (a.k.a.
the "sayings"), next to the Protevangelium, is the oldest and the most widely spread of
the apocryphal gospels. It is mentioned by Origen and
Irenaeus and seems to have been used by a Gnostic
sect of the Nachashenes in the middle of the 2nd
century. It was Docetic, (the belief that Jesus
was not really true humanity and that the cross was just an optical illusion), in regards to the miracles recorded in it.
There is also the Acts of Thomas, (a.k.a. the Infancy Gospel of Thomas),
about Jesus' boyhood, and the
Apocalypse of Thomas. The Acts of Thomas is also a Gnostic work from the 2nd
century written by Leucius the author of several
apocryphal books.
Foxes
Book of Martyrs:
His
martyrdom is said to have been occasioned by a lance. Thomas called Didymus,
preached the Gospel in
He is said to be a martyr and
was killed (AD 72?) by a group of sages in Chennai (formerly
Matthew
His
Name:
Matthew
occurs in two forms Maththaios Ìáèèásïò
and Matthaios - Ìáôèásïò,
as a Greek reproduction of the Hebrew Mattithyah and
is equivalent to Theodore. It means "the gift of Yahweh or Jehovah",
or "Gift of God".
It was
a common Jewish name after the Exile. Before his apostolic call, the Gospels
refer to Matthew by his Hebrew surname Levi meaning, “joined to”,
Whether
Jesus gave him the additional name of Matthew as He did in the case of several
other disciples, we do not know. But some speculate that the Lord changed his
name in recognition to the gift he was to our Lord and His ministry, and to the
Church as the writer of the Gospel.
His
Background:
Mark
calls him “the son of Alphaeus”,
Matthew/Levi
the son of Alphaeus,
James
the lesser son of Alphaeus, Mat 10:3;
It is
improbable that Matthew was the brother of James the Less since this fact would
have been mentioned in Scripture as it is in the cases of Peter and Andrew and
the sons of Zebedee.
Those
who believer otherwise include: 1) Holman who believes Matthew and James
are 1/2 brothers. He states, "James the son of Alphaeus is also listed
among the Apostles". 2) Weiss identifies the father of Levi with
the father of the second James. He says that "James and Levi were
undoubtedly brothers." 3) Chrysostom
says, "James and Levi had both been tax-gatherers before they became
followers of Jesus."
Also
the western manuscripts identify them and read James instead of Levi in
Nevertheless,
it is unlikely that they were brothers and more likely that their fathers had
the same name. In addition, James the lesser's father
Alpheaus is also thought to be named a Clopas in several places. We will note this under James the
lesser. But we never hear of Matthew's father as also being named Clopas
Matthew’s
residence was at
The
publicans proper (tax officials) were usually Romans of rank and wealth who
collected the land and poll taxes, yet they farmed out the business of
collecting taxes on transported goods to local resident deputies called portitors. Matthew was one of these. Matthew’s
office was located on the main highway, the Great West road that ran from
The
publicans were the middlemen in collecting Roman taxes. They paid an agreed sum
to the Roman officials in advance for the right to collect taxes in an area.
Their profit came from the excess they could squeeze form the people. As such,
Matthew knew the value of goods of all description: wool, flax, linen, pottery,
brass, silver, gold, barley, wheat, olives, figs, wheat. He knew the value of
local and foreign monetary systems. He spoke the local Aramaic language as well
as Greek. Therefore he was well equipped to run a profitable collection for the
publicans.
As a
tax collector Matthew may have been a man of wealth, but this occupation also
caused him to be despised by the Jews and considered among the lowest of
people. The Pharisees consistently spoke of tax collectors in the same breath
with sinners, Mat 11:19;
Because
of his profession his fellow Jews most likely hated him. Not only for his
profession but also because he worked for and with the despised Romans. Tax
collectors were ranked with murderers and robbers, and a Jew was permitted to
lie to them if necessary. They were as offensive to the Jews as lepers were for
their uncleanness. The gospels show a similar attitude towards them, lumping them with sinners, Gentiles and harlots, Mat 9:10;
His
Personality:
Matthew
served King Herod Antipas in Capernaum of Galilee collecting tariffs on goods
passing on the road from
So we
see that he was very intelligent and wealthy, but he also had to have a tough
demeanor and thick skin as he was collecting taxes from his fellow Jews,
sometimes forcibly, and at the same time enduring their hatred. Thayer notes:
"The tax collectors were as a class, detested not only by the Jews, but by
other nations also, both on account of their employment and of the harshness,
greed, and deception, with which they did their job."
As a
result of his acceptance of Christ, many other tax collectors and "sinners"
came to hear Jesus,
Matthew
had a number of valuable skills included keeping meticulous records, having a
tough skin and demeanor, understanding people and their motivations, and
understanding wealth as well as insults. These would be valuable assets in the
ministry of Christ. Matthew's skills when combined with our Lord's discipleship
would lead him to be a valuable witness, recorder and author of the Gospel.
His
Role Among the Apostles:
He is listed among the twelve. In
While
Matthew was performing his job as a tax collector, “sitting in the tax office,”
Jesus said to him, “Follow Me!” He probably already knew Jesus, because he
immediately “rose, and followed Him”, Mat 9:9-10;
At what
period of Christ’s ministry he was called does not appear with certainty.
Evidently it was not at the very beginning, because on the day he was called,
Mat 9:11, 14, 18;
The
reception to which he invited Jesus and his disciples, was perhaps a farewell
to his old associates, for “many tax-gatherers and sinners came and were
dining” or to mark the new relationship and introduce Jesus to his old circle
of friends, outcasts from Jewish society.
After
this there is no mention of him except in the catalogs of the apostles,
His Legacy:
This
apostle, according to the testimony of all antiquity, wrote the gospel that
bears his name in the 60's AD. He wrote it in his native tongue Hebrew. It was
later translated to Greek. It emphasizes
Jesus' Kingship, written for the Jews.
What is
found in post-Biblical and extra-Biblical (apocryphal) sources is mainly the
product of imagination and in part based on mistaking the name of Matthew for
Matthias (compare Zahn, Introduction to the New Testament, chapter 54, note 3).
Tradition
states that he preached for 12-15 years in Palestine and that after this he
went to foreign nations, the Ethiopians (Cush in
Egypt), Macedonians, Syrians, Persians, Parthians and
Medea being mentioned.
One of
the few good sources, Eusebius (
He is
said to have died a natural death either in
Foxes
Book of Martyrs:
Whose
occupation was that of a toll-gatherer, was born at
James the
son of Alphaeus
His
Name:
James
is the English translation of the Greek name IAKOBOS from IAKOB or Jacob, which
means “supplanter”. The Hebrew equivalent is YAAQOB.
His father is Alphaeus, Mat
10:3;
So James the son of Alphaeus means “supplanter of the or my exchange”.
James
the Less is better translated James the Little, as the
Greek HO MIKROS means “the small or little” in
His
Background:
The
James’ of the Bible get highly confused. Some lump them together or combine
them in various ways. Nelson’s Dictionary does a good job of defining each
separately. As such James “the son of Alphaeus”, is
always mentioned as such in the apostolic lists. Where “James the Less” is only
mentioned to identify one of the Mary’s at the Cross of our Lord,
Some
equate James the Less with James the brother of our Lord which is very unlikely.
Some
have applied the phrase “his mother’s sister” in
Given
His father’s name Alphaeus from the Hebrew Celeph a
region in the
If this
James is also called “the less”, then from the accounting of his mother Mary,
we know that James had a brother, Joses or Joseph,
Mat 27:56. Of interest our Lord also had
brothers named James, Jose and Judas,
As we
noted above, Matthew (Levi), is also a son of Alphaeus (compare Mat 9:9;
The
King James translation has added further confusion where in
In
addition, there is evidence in apocryphal literature of a Simon, a son of Clopas, who was also one of the disciples. If this be the
same as Simon Zelotes, it would explain why he and
James, (assuming them to be brothers), were coupled together in the apostolic
lists of Luke and Acts. Again we have no conclusive evidence of this.
His
Personality:
We know
nothing about him. Some say he was a tax collector but this is not verified.
His
Role Among the Apostles:
He is
listed as one of the twelve disciples, Mat 10:3;
His Legacy:
As
stated above, his legacy is highly confused: Foxes book of Martyrs states, “Is supposed
by some to have been the brother of our Lord, by a former wife of Joseph. This
is very doubtful, and accords too much with the Catholic superstition, that
Mary never had any other children except our Savior.”
Foxes has that point right but then confuses James the Less with
our Lord’s true half brother James who was not an Apostle by stating, “He was
elected to the oversight of the churches of
We have no real information
about this apostle.
Foxes
Book of Martyrs:
At the age of ninety-four he was beat and stoned by
the Jews; and finally had his brains dashed out with a fuller’s club.
In
addition The Martyrdom of James, the son of Alphaeus (compare Budge, Contendings of the Apostles, 264-66) records that James was
stoned by the Jews for preaching Christ, and was “buried by the Sanctuary In Jerusalem.” But this sounds similar to, the brother of
our Lord, James’ account.
Some also say he was martyred
by crucifixion at Ostrakine in
Thaddaeus
His
Name:
Thaddaeus, a.k.a. Lebbaeus,
a.k.a. Judas son of James, was one of Jesus’ twelve disciples that included two
named Judas.
The surname Thaddaeus is used in Mat 10:3 and
The name by which Luke calls the Apostle, "Judas
of James", in
In addition, others have supposed the reason for the
change to “Judas of James” was that sometime during the ministry of our Lord
Thaddaeus had died and “Judas of James” replaced him. But this can not be
verified.
Continuing in the use of Judas, the Gospel of John
once mentions this same Judas as “not Iscariot",
The use of Judas has led many to confuse him with the
½ brother of our Lord.
When comparing the listings
of the apostles between Matthew and Mark with Luke (Luke
Easton’s
makes this statement because opinion is divided on whether Jude the apostle is
the same as Jude, brother of Jesus, who is mentioned in
[1] Jerome H. Neyrey, 2 Peter, Jude, Anchor Bible Reference
Library, Doubleday, 1993. p.44-45.
[2] The Brethren of the Lord, Catholic Encyclopedia, 1907
[3] The situation is similar
with James: Catholics tend to identify James the brother of Jesus with the
apostle James, son of Alphaeus, but Protestants and Orthodox generally do not
Some say that because the
name "Judas" was so tarnished by Judas Iscariot, it was natural for
Mark and Matthew to refer to him by his alternate name.
Finally,
it is noted that some even called him Judas the Zealot, either confusing him
with Simon or that he may have been from the same sect as Simon that sought to
overthrow Roman occupation.
Meaning of
the names:
Thaddaeus means “gift of God” in
Greek but derived from Hebrew or Aramaic meaning, “breast.” In addition, Edersheim (Life of Jesus, 1:522) derives the term
Thaddaeus from THODAH, meaning “praise”.
Lebbaeus means “heart or courageous”.
Judas is the Greek transliteration of the Hebrew personal
name
Interestingly, Iscariot
means “men of the city” from the Hebrew ISH = man and QIRYAH = city. So Judas
not Iscariot would mean, “Praise Yahweh but not from the men of the city”.
His
Background:
Many scholars say, as we saw
with James the son of Alphaeus, that there is no information on this apostle.
Yet some talk about him. Much though seems to be confused with either a
Thaddaeus of Edessa or Jude the Lord’s half brother.
Nevertheless we have the following.
Some say that Thaddaues/Jude was born into a Jewish family in Paneas, a
town in
Thaddaeus a.k.a. Jude, is
clearly distinguished from Judas Iscariot, who later betrayed our Lord Jesus.
The “Gospel of the Ebionites,” or “Gospel of the Twelve Apostles,” of the 2nd
century and mentioned by Origen, narrates that
Thaddaeus was also among those who received their call to follow Jesus at the
According to the “Genealogies
of the Twelve Apostles” (compare Budge, Contendings
of the Apostles, II, 50), Thaddaeus was of the house of Joseph; according
to the “Book of the Bee” he was of the tribe of
The 14th century writer Nicephorus Callistus makes Thaddaeus/Jude
the bridegroom at the wedding at
Of the various identifications of Thaddaeus with other
Biblical personages which might be inferred from him, that with “Judas … of
James” is the only one that has received wide acceptance.
His
Personality:
We can
not say much about his personality other than that if he were bi-lingual and a
farmer he would have been a hard worker and had tremendous patience. From the
question he asks our Lord in
His
Role Among the Apostles:
One of the Twelve Apostles, Mat 10:3;
His only recorded words are found in
He was
perplexed at our Lord’s statements in verse 1-21, but specifically verse 19.
Having been in a very public ministry for 3.5 years he now understands the Lord
to be saying “I am going to disclose myself to you all only, and not to the
world”. He too did not understand the Lord’s statements in regards to His
death, resurrection and ascension, as well as the sending of the Holy Spirit. His
understanding of our Lord to be removing himself from the public eye and going
into recluse, gave our Lord the opportunity to expand on the relationship of
the believer with the Lord during the Church Age by means of the Word and the
Holy Spirit in verses 23-26.
His Legacy:
Most scholars say we know
nothing about Thaddaeus either Biblically or extra-Biblically. Many of the
accounts associated with him seem to be of another Thaddaeus, Thaddeus of Edessa, one of the Seventy Disciples.
Though Saint Gregory the Illuminator
is credited as the "Apostle to the Armenians," when he baptized King Tiridates III of Armenia in 301, converting the Armenians,
the Apostles Thaddaeus Jude and Bartholomew are traditionally believed to have
been the first to bring Christianity to Armenia, and are therefore venerated as
the patron saints of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Linked to this tradition is
the Thaddeus Monastery.
There is abundant testimony
in apocryphal literature of the missionary activity of a certain
Thaddaeus in
1)
According to the “Acts of Peter” (compare Budge, II, 466 ff) Peter appointed
Thaddaeus over the island of
2)
The “Preaching of the blessed Judas, the brother of our Lord, who was surnamed
Thaddaeus” (Budge, 357 ff), describes his mission in
3)
The “Acta Thaddaei”
(compare Tischendorf, Acta
Apostolorum Apocrypha, 1851, 261 ff) refers to
this Thaddaeus in the text as one of the Twelve, but in the heading as one of
the Seventy.
4)
The Abgar legend, dealing with a supposed
correspondence between Abgar, (king of Syria in the Osroene kingdom holding his capital at Edessa),
and Christ, states in its Syriac form, as translated
by Eusebius (Historia Ecclesiastica,
I, xiii, 6-22), that “after the ascension of Christ, Judas, who was also called
Thomas, sent to Abgar the apostle Thaddaeus, one of
the Seventy” (compare Hennecke, Neutestamentliche
Apokryphen, 76 ff). Jerome, however, identifies
this same Thaddaeus with Lebbaeus and “Judas … of
James” of Luke (Lk
The general consensus seems to indicate, however, that
both Thomas and Thaddaeus the apostle had some connection with
So he may have preached in
Finally, a “Gospel of Thaddaeus” is mentioned in the
Decree of Gelasius.
Foxes
Book of Martyrs:
He was crucified at
According to the Armenian
tradition, Thaddaues/Jude suffered martyrdom about AD
65 in Beirut, Lebanon together with the apostle Simon the Zealot, with whom he
is usually connected. Their acts and martyrdom were recorded in an Acts of Simon and Jude.
Occasionally he is
represented holding an axe or halberd, as he was brought to death by one of
these weapons. The burial place of Thaddaeus is variously placed at
Catholic tradition (probably
confusing Jude the writer of the Epistle) states that sometime after his death,
Saint Jude's body was brought from
Simon
His
Name:
The disciple whom we have saved for last, like the one
who stands at the head of all the lists, was a Simon.
Simon means “a rock or stone” just as we saw with
Peter. It is perhaps a contraction of the Hebrew SHIMEON that means “heard,
hearkening or listening”.
Even though the
1. He was called “Simon the Canaanite” by Matthew and Mark, Mat
10:4;
2. He
was called “Simon the Zealot” by Luke
(Luke
So Matthew and Mark use the Hebrew origin while Luke
used the Greek origin.
His
Background:
This second Simon is as obscure as the first is
celebrated, for he is nowhere mentioned in the Gospel history, except in the
catalogues. Even though he is little known, the epithet attached to his name
conveys both curious and interesting information. All we can glean from his background is from the title given to him by
the Matthew, Mark and Luke. Luke in his gospel puts it best, “Simon who
was called the Zealot”.
The title “Canaanite” does not
mean a native of
From the time of the Maccabees
there existed among the Jews one or more parties who professed great zeal for
the observance of the “law.” According to Josephus (BJ, IV, iii, 9; v,
1; VII, viii, 1) they resorted to violence and assassination in their hatred of
the foreigner. It is not improbable that the “Assassins” of
His
Personality:
How singular a phenomenon is this ex-zealot Simon among
the disciples of Jesus! No two leaders of his following could have differed
more widely in their spirit, ends, and means, than Judas of Galilee and Jesus
of Nazareth. The one was a political malcontent; the other would have the
conquered bow to the yoke, and give to Caesar Caesar’s due. The Zealots aimed
at restoring the kingdom to
So we can understand Simon as one who was fervent in
his beliefs, committed to its means and ends. He was like many of the previous
Galileans, a bold man willing to sacrifice all on behalf of his conviction.
This trait would come in handy during our Lord’s ministry which was constantly
harassed by the establishment of the Israelites.
His
Role Among the Apostles:
He is
listed as one of the twelve in Mat 10:4;
According to the “Gospel of the Ebionites”
or” Gospel of the Twelve Apostles” (of the 2nd century and mentioned by Origen) Simon received his call to the apostleship along
with Andrew and Peter, the sons of Zebedee, Thaddaeus
and Judas Iscariot at the Sea of Tiberias (compare Mat
4:18-22; see also Hennecke, Neutestamentliche
Apokryphen, 24-27).
As noted above, the choice of
Simon to be an apostle gives us another fascinating illustration of Christ’s
disregard of prudential wisdom. An ex-zealot was not a safe man to make an
apostle. He might have been the means of rendering Jesus and His followers
objects of political suspicion not only by the Pharisess
but by the Romans too. Yet our Lord was willing to take the risk knowing the
resultant benefits. Our Lord expected to gain many disciples from the dangerous
classes as well as from the despised, as he had gained many tax collectors as a
result of Matthew. So He would have the Zealots too, being represented among
the twelve.
His Legacy:
The truth is we do not know anything of this apostle after the
resurrection of our Lord.
Foxes book of matyrs may have some insight
where it states, “Surnamed
Zelotes, preached the Gospel in
In later tradition, Simon is
often associated with Jude as a proselytizing team; as such the Catholic church combines their feast day on 28 October. The most widespread tradition is
that after evangelizing in
Some have wrongly identified him with Simon the half
brother of our Lord mentioned in
Another wrong legacy of Simon is stated in the “International
Standard Bible Encyclopedia” that notes he may be Nathanael in referencing the
“Genealogies of the Twelve Apostles” (compare Budge, Contendings
of the Apostles, II, 50). They say Nathanael was the same as Simon, the son
of Cleopas, and was one of the Twelve. But this comes
from
The ISBE makes another link with Simon (Nathanael) son
of Cleopas. It says that as Alpheus,
the father of James, is generally regarded as the same as Clopas
or Cleopas, this identification of the above Simon
Nathanael, son of Cleopas, with Simon Zelotes would shed light on the reason of the juxtaposition
of James son of Alpheus and Simon Zelotes
in the apostolic lists of Luke and Acts, i.e. they were brothers. But
this is highly speculative and is not shown or proven anywhere.
The 2nd century Epistle
of the Apostles (Epistula Apostolorum), a polemic against Gnostics, lists him
among the apostles purported to be writing the letter as Judas Zelotes. This
has led to many confusions regarding Simon as Thaddeaus
or one of the others.
The choice of Simon the Zealot and Matthew the Publican
should be refreshing to many as they are to me. They were two men coming from
opposite quarters. One a tax collector for the Romans, while the other a tax
hater of the Romans. Here they are brought together in close fellowship in the
little band of twelve by our Lord. In the persons of these two disciples
extremes meet, the tax-gatherer and the tax-hater, the unpatriotic Jew, who
degraded himself by becoming a servant of the alien ruler; and the Jewish
patriot, who was irritated under the foreign yoke, and longed for emancipation.
This union of opposites was not accidental, but was designed by Jesus as a
prophecy of the future. He wished the twelve to be the church in miniature and
therefore He chose them so as to intimate that, as among them distinctions of
publican and zealot were unknown, so in the church of the future there would be
neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision,
slave nor free, but only Christ - all to each, and in each of the all.
Foxes
Book of Martyrs:
Surnamed
Zelotes,
preached the Gospel in
Other writings claim various scenarios for his
martyrdom such as Christian Ethiopians who claim that he was crucified in
Judas Iscariot
See
Doctrine of Judas Iscariot.
Saul / Paul
See Doctrine of Paul
Foxes Book of Martyrs - Paul
Paul,
the apostle, who before was called Saul, after his great travail and
unspeakable labors in promoting the Gospel of Christ, suffered also in this
first persecution under Nero. Abdias, declareth that under his execution Nero sent two of his
esquires, Ferega and Parthemius,
to bring him word of his death. They,
coming to Paul instructing the people, desired him to pray for them, that they
might believe; who told them that shortly after they should believe and be baptised at His sepulcher.
This done, the soldiers came and led him out of the city to the place of
execution, where he, after his prayers made, gave his neck to the sword.
Meet the Apostles Conclusion:
Apostles deaths, summary:
Peter - Crucified upside down
Andrew - Crucified in Edhessa or
James - Brother of John,
beheaded in 36 AD
John - Died of old age
Phillip- Scourged, crucified
and stoned to death 54AD
Batholemeo - Beaten, crucified in
Thomas - Great missionary in
Matthew - Run through by a
spear/Halberd in Nadabah 60AD
James son of Alphaeus -
Beaten and stoned by Jew, brains dashed out with fullers club
Thaddaeus - Crucified in
Simon the Zealot - crucified,
he preached in
Paul - Beheaded
6 – Crucified*
2 - Beheaded
2 - Beaten / Stoned to death*
2 - Speared
1 - Old Age
* Philip received both
As a reward for the tremendous
work each apostle performed, they are honored with their names written on the
foundation stones of the New Jerusalem in the new earth created post Millennium,
The decorations on the walls are gems of the future. All
of these are merely approximations, for in the eternal state these materials
are all translucent and they all reflect the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ who
is the only light in the city.
Each foundations stone is a
unique gem and color. This gives us correlation to the Ephod worn by the High
Priest in the Age of Israel,
Adjacent to each foundation
stone are the Gates of the
In verse 13, there are three gates on each side. “On the
east side” as in Numbers chapter two the gates would be named Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, “on the south
side,” Reuben, Simeon, Gad, “on the west side,” Ephraim, Manasseh, Benjamin, “on
the north side,” Dan, Asher, Naphtali. This
may tell us that each Apostle was from one of the twelve tribes of
In Verse 14, “The walls of the city had twelve
foundation stones, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the
Lamb.” So on these stones would be the names of Peter, Andrew, James, John,
Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, James, Thaddaeus, Simon and Paul. Paul is
the twelfth apostle, according to
The New
Jerusalem is the city Abraham was looking forward to in
The
Apostles are the foundation stones, as Christ is the corner stone of the Church
which we stand as today,
Notice also the correlation with
As such
they will be rewarded greatly in the eternal state.
The Apostle Code!
See below
This list of apostles and the
meaning of their names is no random act. Like everything that God does there is
meaning. In the lists we see greater meaning. We see God’s plan of salvation
given to us in a praise hymn. I call this the Apostle Code.
Order of Mat 10:2-4 - Matthew - Emphasizing His
Kingship
Mat
10:1-4, “Jesus summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority over
unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and every
kind of sickness. 2Now the names of the twelve apostles are these:
The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; and James the
son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3Philip
and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of
Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, the
one who betrayed Him.”
Simon Peter,
brother of Andrew - Rock / Stone
Andrew - A
Strong Man, manly
James the
son of Zebedee, brother of John - James means
supplants, undermines, or the heel = Satan, sin. Zebedee
= My Gift or God has bestowed, endowment of
Jehovah
John - The
grace or mercy of the Lord; Jehovah or
Yahweh is or has been gracious.
Philip -
Lover of horses, Warrior.
Bartholomew
- Son of a plowman (Adam tills the ground)
Thomas -
Twin (like Adam)
Matthew, the
Tax collector - The gift of Yahweh or
Jehovah or Gift of God.
James son of
Alphaeus- Supplants, undermines, heal [Alphaeus = changing]
Thaddaeus,
(a.k.a. Lebbaeus), - large heart, a man of heart,
courageous, and son of supplanter.
Thaddaeus means “gift of God” in Greek but derived from
Hebrew or Aramaic meaning, “breast.” In addition, Edersheim
(Life of Jesus, 1:522) derives the term Thaddaeus from THODAH,
meaning “praise”.
Lebbaeus
means “heart or courageous”.
Simon the
Canaanite (Zealot) - Simon means a rock or stone. Zealot means that hears,
harkens, obeys [zealous]
Judas
Iscariot - the praise of the Lord, confession [Iscariot = men of Kerioth = men of cites, the world]
The Apostle Code – Matthew
Jesus Christ - the rock the
corner stone (of our faith), being all-powerful (in hypostatic union), the one
who has supplanted sin. He is the gift of the grace and mercy of the Lord.
Jesus Christ - the warrior on
horse back [
Jesus Christ – supplanting
our sinful flesh by changing (becoming a man). He is the courageous one. Praise
God for His gift the corner stone for all who hear and obey (confess the name
of the Lord). Praise the Lord you men of the world.
Order of
Simon Peter,
brother of Andrew - Rock / Stone
James the
son of Zebedee, brother of John - James means supplants,
undermines, or the heel = Satan, sin. Zebedee = My
Gift or God has bestowed, endowment of
Jehovah
John - The
grace or mercy of the Lord; Jehovah or
Yahweh is or has been gracious. (Sons of thunder)
Andrew - A
Strong Man, manly
Philip -
Lover of horses, Warrior.
Bartholomew
- Son of a plowman (Adam tills the ground)
Matthew, the
Tax collector - The gift of Yahweh or
Jehovah or Gift of God.
Thomas -
Twin (like Adam)
James son of
Alphaeus- supplants, undermines, heal [Alphaeus = changing]
Thaddaeus,
(a.k.a. Lebbaeus), - large heart, a man of heart,
courageous, and son of supplanter.
Thaddaeus means “gift of God” in Greek but derived from
Hebrew or Aramaic meaning, “breast.” In addition, Edersheim
(Life of Jesus, 1:522) derives the term Thaddaeus from THODAH,
meaning “praise”.
Lebbaeus
means “heart or courageous”.
Simon the
Canaanite (Zealot) - Simon means a rock or stone. Zealot means that hears,
harkens, obeys [zealous]
Judas
Iscariot - the praise of the Lord, confession [Iscariot = men of Kerioth = men of cites, the world]
The Apostle Code – Mark
Jesus Christ - the rock, the
corner stone (of our faith), the one who has supplanted sin. He is the gift of
the grace and mercy of the Lord, the all-powerful (in hypostatic union).
Jesus Christ - the warrior on
horse back [
Jesus Christ – supplanting
our sinful flesh by changing (becoming a man). He is the courageous one. Praise
God for His gift the corner stone for all who hear and obey (confess the name
of the Lord). Praise the Lord you men of the world.
Order of
Simon Peter,
brother of Andrew - Rock / Stone
Andrew - A
Strong Man, manly
James the
son of Zebedee, brother of John - James means
supplants, undermines, or the heel = Satan, sin. Zebedee
= My Gift or God has bestowed, endowment of
Jehovah
John - The
grace or mercy of the Lord; Jehovah or
Yahweh is or has been gracious.
Philip -
Lover of horses, Warrior.
Bartholomew
- Son of a plowman (Adam tills the ground)
Matthew, the
Tax collector - The gift of Yahweh or
Jehovah or Gift of God.
Thomas -
Twin (like Adam)
James son of
Alphaeus- supplants, undermines, heal [Alphaeus = changing]
Simon the
Canaanite (Zealot) - Simon means a rock or stone. Zealot means that hears,
harkens, obeys [zealous]
Thaddaeus, - large heart, a
man of heart, courageous
(Judas son of James) – Praise the Lord,
son of surplanter.
Judas is the Greek transliteration of the Hebrew personal
name
Judas
Iscariot - the praise of the Lord, confession [Iscariot = men of Kerioth = men of cites, the world]
The Apostle Code – Luke
Jesus Christ - the rock, the
corner stone (of our faith), being all-powerful (in hypostatic union), the one
who has supplanted sin. He is the gift of the grace and mercy of the Lord.
Jesus Christ - the warrior on
horse back [
Jesus Christ – supplanting
our sinful flesh by changing (becoming a man). The corner stone for all who
hear and obey, (confess the name of the Lord). Praise God for his substitution.
Praise the Lord you men of the world.
Order of Acts
Peter - Rock
/ Stone
John - The
grace or mercy of the Lord; Jehovah or
Yahweh is or has been gracious.
James the
son of Zebedee - James means supplants, undermines,
or the heel = Satan, sin.
Andrew - A
Strong Man, manly
Philip -
Lover of horses, Warrior.
Thomas -
Twin (like Adam)
Bartholomew
- Son of a plowman (Adam tills the ground)
Matthew, the
Tax collector - The gift of Yahweh or
Jehovah or Gift of God.
James son of
Alphaeus- supplants, undermines, heal [Alphaeus = changing]
Simon the
Canaanite (Zealot) - Simon means a rock or stone. Zealot means that hears,
harkens, obeys [zealous]
Thaddaeus, - large heart, a
man of heart, courageous
(Judas son of James) – Praise the Lord,
son of supplanter.
Judas is the Greek transliteration of the Hebrew personal
name
Judas
Iscariot - was dead / missing and not included in this list. A picture of our
Lord in the tomb / in Hades.
The Apostle Code – Acts
Jesus Christ - the corner
stone gift of the grace and mercy of the Lord who has supplanted sin (as our
substitute) being all-powerful (in hypostatic union).
Jesus Christ - the warrior on
horse back [
Jesus Christ – supplanting
our sinful flesh by changing (becoming a man). The corner stone for all who
hear and obey, (confess the name of the Lord). Praise God for his substitution.
(He is gone – until his resurrection).
This
concludes our study of the Apostles!