Twelve Apostles

The Twelve Apostles, (somebody sent forth/sent out) were men who, according to the Synoptic Gospels and Christian tradition, were chosen from among the disciples (students) of Jesus Christ for a mission. Judaism had an office known as apostle (שליח)".

The Gospel of Mark states that Jesus Christ initially sent out these twelve in pairs, to towns in Galilee.

Twelve Apostles of Jesus

According to the list occurring in each of the Synoptic Gospels (Mark 3:13–19, Matthew 10:1–4, Luke 6:12–16), the Twelve chosen by Jesus near the beginning of his ministry, those whom also He named Apostles, were

Major events in Jesus's life in the Gospels
This box:

It should also be noted that while the "Twelve Apostles" refer to the twelve who followed Jesus during his lifetime (and later Matthias in place of Judas Iscariot), Paul (formerly Saul of Tarsus) can be considered as another apostle. Notably, he begins many of his epistles with "Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus", or some variant. The original twelve were apostles sent out to the Jews, whereas Paul has the unique role of being the apostle to the gentiles after Christ's resurrection and ascent.

The identity of the other apostle of the twelve, traditionally called St. Jude, varies between the Synoptic Gospels and also between ancient manuscripts of each gospel:

The Gospel of John, unlike the Synoptic Gospels, does not offer a formal list of apostles, but does refer to the Twelve in 6:67, 6:70, and 6:71. The following nine apostles are identified by name:

The individual that the Gospel of John names as Nathanael is traditionally identified as the same person that the Synoptic Gospels call Bartholomew, and most would agree that the sons of Zebedee is likely to be a reference to James and John, while Judas (not Iscariot) probably refers to Thaddaeus, also known as St. Jude. Noticeably missing from the Gospel of John are James, son of Alphaeus, Matthew, and Simon the Canaanite/Zealot.

The Disciples of Jesus Christ

NameDetailsMatthewMarkLukeJohnActsJudeJames
Simon PeterAndrew's Brother, Cephas in Latin meaning "The Rock,"10:2 3:16 6:141:35-42
Andrew Simon Peter’s Brother, disciple of John the Baptist 10:2 3:18 1:35-42; 6:14
JamesJohn's Brother, son of Zebedee and Salome, Bornerges, Son of Thunder, nephew of Joseph and Mary, cousin of Jesus10:2; 20:20; 27:56;3:17; 15:40; 16:1;6:14;19:25;
JohnJames' Brother, son of Zebedee and Salome, Bornerges, Son of Thunder, nephew of Joseph and Mary, cousin of Jesus10:2; 20:20; 27:56;3:17; 15:40; 16:1;6:14;19:25;
Philipfrom Bethsaida "of Galilee"10:3;3:18;6:14;1:44; 12:21;
Bartholomew Nathaniel10:3;3:18;6:14;1:43-51;
Matthew LeviSon of Alphaeus, James the Less, Jude, and Simon.10:3; 27:56;2:14; 3:16,18; 6:3; 15:40,47;5:27; 6:14-15; 24:18;1:13; 4:36;
ThomasDidymus - which means "the Twin"10:3;3:18;6:15;20:24-29
James the LessThe son of Alphaeus and Thaddaeus (not to be confused with James The Just, who only became an apostle after Jesus' resurrection)10:3; 27:56;2:14; 3:16,18; 6:3; 15:40,47;5:27; 6:14-15; 24:18;1:13; 4:36;1:1;
Thaddaeus Lebbaeus Judas Juda JudeSon of James - so probably not Jesus' Half-Brother13:55;3:18; 6:3;6:16;1:1;
Simon ZelotesSimon the Zealot is not associated in the Gospels with Jesus' Half-Brother, Simon10:4; 13:55;3:18; 6:3;6:15;
Judas Iscariotthe Traitor: Betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver, later hanged himself10:4;3:19;6:16;
MatthiasDisciple of John the Baptist, replacement for Judas Iscariot1:35-42;1:20-26;

References

  1. ↑ (Ἀπόστολος, apostolic, Liddell & Scott, Strong's G652 Archived 2012-12-21 at Archive.today
  2. ↑ The Bauer lexicon, Walter Bauer's Greek-English Lexicon of the NT: "...
  3. ↑ (Mark 6:7–13, cf. Matthew 10:5–42,Luke 9:1–6)
  4. ↑ Catholic Encyclopedia: The Brethren of the Lord: "His identity with James the Less (Mark 15:40) and the Apostle James, the son of Alpheus (Matthew 10:3; Mark 3:18), although contested by many Protestant critics, may also be considered as certain."
  5. ↑ Catholic Encyclopedia: The Brethren of the Lord: "Some identify him [Symeon of Jerusalem] with the Apostle Simon the Cananean (Matthew 10:4; Mark 3:18) or the Zealot (Luke 6:15; Acts 1:13)."

    Other websites