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The twelve disciples (Mk 3:13-19; Mt 10:1-4; Lk 6:12-16)
Jesus has chosen 12 disciples and called them ‘apostles’ (Lk 6:13). “And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils.” (Mk 3:14-15) The apostles should take preaching their priority task, healing and casting devils next. This is in line with the aim of Jesus' ministry. Luke 6:12 tells us that Jesus has prayed overnight before choosing the twelve disciples. It indicates how important to him the choice he was going to make. Now let’s examine a few of the specialties of these 12 disciples.
(Simon Peter)
The meaning of “Peter”
“Simon he (Jesus) surnamed Peter” (v16). John 1:42 revealed the meaning of “Peter”—“And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona, thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation. A stone.” Cephas is Aramaic and Peter is Greek word; both mean “stone”.
Peter is the leader of the 12 disciples. Matt 16:16-19 states: “He (Jesus) saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
The Catholics believe that Peter is the one who built the church, as Jesus said in 16:18, “upon this rock I will build my church.” Therefore they placed him as the first Pope of Roman Catholic Church. However, if we examine the original Greek word for 16:18, we will discover there is a difference between “Peter (stone)” and “rock”. “Peter” in Greek is “Petros,” which means a small stone. “Rock” in Matt 16:18 is “petra,” which means a large rock. In this sense, Jesus is referring to himself when he said, “upon this rock I will build my church.” The church is indeed built on Jesus, the Son of God. Peter himself referred to Jesus as the living stone in I Peter 2:4, “To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious.” He further pointed out that Jesus fulfilled the Scripture in Isaiah 28:16, “Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Zion a chief corner stone, elect, precious, and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.” (I Peter 2:6) We all know the church, an assembly of believers, is formed only when we believe in Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord. In no way can Peter replace Jesus with respect to our faith.
Character—risk-taker
Matt 14:22-33 recorded Jesus walking on the water. Peter was the only one who boldly took the risk of imitating Jesus to walk on the water—“And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?” (Mt 14:28-31)
Even though Jesus said Peter had little faith, at least he exercised his little faith and dared to ask the Lord for help. Because of his willingness to try, he experienced what it was like when walking on the water. He learnt a great lesson from this small step. He learnt that as long as you have the guts to ask the Lord, you can do the things that Jesus can do. However, you need to keep the same initial faith in order for the task to be completed.
Character—straight-forward
John 13:1-10 recorded Jesus washing the disciples’ feet. Peter was also the only one who rejected to be washed. “Then cometh he to Simon Peter; and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet? Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter. Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet.” (Jn 13:6-8a)
Just as John the Baptist refused to be baptized by Jesus, Peter refused to let his feet be washed by Jesus. He felt that he ought to wash the feet of his Lord but not vice versa. He was certainly not qualified to receive that kind of treatment from his Master. I think the other disciples also felt uneasy as their dirty feet were washed by their Master. Imagine we are the boss of a company. We can hardly think of giving our employees the kind of treatment as if they were the boss. However, only Peter dared to express his humble and embarrassing state outwardly.
Then, “Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.” (Jn 13:8b-9) You might say that Peter was kind of greedy. But I think that Peter feels insecure if only his feet are washed. He wanted to make sure no part of his body is lacking to relate himself with Jesus. So I think he is rather naïve in this occasion. It indicates though that he cherishes his spiritual relationship with his Master.
(James & John)
Two accounts are negative about these two brothers:
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According to Mark 10:35-37, these two brothers made a request with Jesus that once he gained his kingship, they were granted seats on his left and right sides. This unjustifiable request drew envy and dispute from the other ten disciples (Mk 10:41).
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According to Luke 9:51-54, as Jesus and his disciples were heading for Jerusalem, they were about to pass a Samaritan village. However, the Samaritans did not welcome them to enter their village. These two brothers suggested, “Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elijah did?” Jesus rebuked them immediately for their merciless heart. This incident reflected their hot-tempered manner as implied by their nicknames “the sons of thunder” named by Jesus. (Mk 3:17)
James—the first martyr
James, who is the older brother, is the first apostle to die for the gospel ministry after Jesus ascended to heaven. According to Acts 12:1-2, he was executed by King Herod just for pleasing the Jews.
John—the beloved disciple of Jesus
John is the writer of the Gospel of John. He refused to mention his own name (not even once) in his book, except in a very obscure manner—the disciple “whom Jesus loved”. And 3 times John referred to himself this way. (Jn 13:23, 21:7, 21:20) John 21:24 reveals to us that this disciple is the writer of the Gospel of John.
(Peter, James and John)
These 3 disciples are mentioned together in several important occasions.
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When Jesus entered the house of Jairus, a synagogue ruler, to heal his deceased daughter, he only brought along with him these 3 disciples. Jairus’ daughter was one of the few who were brought alive from death in Jesus’ miracles (Mk 5:37). Jesus also raised a widow’s son (Lk 7:12-15) and Lazarus (Jn 11:43-44).
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The most important occasion that only these 3 disciples were with Jesus was His transfiguration on a high mountain. Jesus only brought them with him up the mountain and thus they became his witness when he was transfigured into a glorious body. (Mt 17:1-2, Mk 9:2-3)
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According to Mark 13:3-4, when Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives during the final week of his suffering, “Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately” about the signs of the end of the world.
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When Jesus was about to pray to the Father in the Garden of Gethsemane about his suffering, he only took three of them with him to a quiet place further. (Mk 14:33)
From the above passages, it is obvious they are closer to Jesus than the other disciples. Perhaps this is the reason why Mark lists the three together among the twelve. (v16-17) In Matthew and Luke, Peter and Andrew are listed first on the list. (Mt 10:2, Lk 6:14)
(Andrew)
Andrew is Peter’s brother. According to John 1:35-40, Andrew was once the disciple of John the Baptist. When John the Baptist pointed to Jesus and said, “Behold the Lamb of God!”, Andrew was there. It was he who introduced his brother Peter to Jesus.
In the event of “feeding the five thousand,” Jesus asked his disciple Philip, “Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?” Philip answered, “Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.” His answer lets us know roughly the amount of money required to buy the bread for the five thousand. Then Andrew added, “There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?” Then Jesus fed the five thousand with five loaves and two fishes. (Jn 6:5-9) Although Andrew’s discovery seemed to be useless, it has become the famous “five loaves, two fishes” miracle, telling us that our negligible talent could be used gloriously in the hands of our Lord.
(Matthew)
He is the writer of the Book of Matthew. He is a “publican” (KJV) or “tax collector” (NRSV). He has another name called “Levi” (Luke 5:27), “Levi the son of Alphaeus.” (Mk 2:14) There is another disciple “James the son of Alphaeus” (v18), but the two are not brothers since their relationship, if any, should have been mentioned on the list like the other two pairs of brothers. Following the calling of Jesus, Luke 5:29 says, “Levi made him a great feast in his own house; and there was a great company of publicans and of others that sat down with them.”
(Philip and Bartholomew)
Philip lived in “Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.” (Jn 1:44) According to John 1:43, the next day after Andrew and Peter followed Jesus, Jesus found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” In John 1:45-51 was recorded how Philip introduced Nathanael (Bartholomew) to Jesus and how Nathanael decided to follow Jesus. Although Nathanael responded to Philip with a negative comment about Jesus (“Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?”), Jesus gave a positive comment about Nathanael, “Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!” (Jn 1:47) Jesus appreciated his sincere and straightforward character.
Nathanael (Bartholomew) is no longer mentioned in the Bible. Only Philip is mentioned 3 more times in the Book of John. One of the accounts is the miracle of “feeding the five thousand”. In John 6:5-7, when Jesus saw the multitude on the mountain, “he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.” What Philip thought at the time was the amount of money left in the money bag, which of course was not sufficient to buy the bread to feed five thousand people.
Another place that mentions Philip is John 14:6-10. Jesus said to the disciples, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.” Philip then said, “Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us.” Jesus said, “Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.” What Jesus means here is explained in John 1:18, "No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him."
(Thomas)
Thomas was famous for his unbelief of the resurrected Jesus. This account is found in John 20:24-29. He happened not to be there when Jesus suddenly appeared to the disciples inside a room. When the other disciples told him about the appearance of their Lord, he said to them, “Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.” The second time Jesus appeared to the disciples, Jesus straightly said to Thomas, “Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side; and be not faithless, but believing.” Thomas responded, “My Lord and my God.” Jesus said to Thomas, “Because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed; blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.” What Thomas demands is a tangible evidence, which has become an obstacle for many people who refuse to believe in Christ purely by faith.
There are two other accounts in John where Thomas was mentioned. The first record occurred at the death of Lazarus. (Jn 11:11-16) In speaking of Lazarus’ death, Jesus said to the disciples, “Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.” Then the disciples said, “Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well.” Then Jesus explained what he meant by “sleeping” and told them plainly, “ ‘Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes (for the sake of the disciples) that I was not there (while Lazarus was still breathing on his bed), to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him.’ Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellow disciples, ‘Let us also go, that we may die with him.’ ” His response sounds weird.
Before Jesus faced his death sentence, he comforted his disciples by saying, “Let not your heart be troubled…In my Father’s house are many mansions…I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.” Thomas said, “Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?” The question that Thomas posed is probably the question of the other disciples. Jesus said to Thomas, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also; and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.” (John 14:1-7)
(Judas Iscariot)
Judas Iscariot (distinguished from another disciple also called Judas) is the one who betrayed Jesus. All four Gospels told us how he betrayed Jesus. He first went to the chief priests and bargained with them for the reward of betraying Jesus, “What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver. And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him.” (Mt 26:15-16) During the last supper, Jesus disclosed the betrayer, “He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me.” (Mt 26:23) Then Judas betrayed Jesus with the sign of a kiss—“Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he; hold him fast. And forthwith he came to Jesus, and said, Hail, master; and kissed him.” (Mt 26:48-49) After Jesus was crucified, Judas “repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? See thou to that. And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself. And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood. And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in. Wherefore that field was called, The field of blood, unto this day.” (Mt 27:3-8) After Jesus ascended to heaven, the eleven disciples chose Matthias to replace Judas after prayer. (Acts 1:25-26)
A primary reason for Judas to be the betrayer of Jesus was his greed for money. His post in Jesus’ ministry was to keep the money. He was the treasurer. John 12:3-6 recorded that Mary, Lazarus’ sister, anointed Jesus’ feet with a pound of expensive ointment after Lazarus was raised. Then Judas said immediately, “Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?” The author commented in the next verse: “This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein (常取其中所存的).” John told us that Judas would steal the money from the bag he kept from time to time! He was a “thief” or an embezzler!
John 13:2 told us that after the last supper was served, “the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him.” Luke 22:3 confirmed this point by saying “entered Satan into Judas” right before he went to the priests and discussed with them how to betray Jesus. So, he was actually used by Satan to betray Jesus due to his greediness for money.
(Another Simon)
This Simon is named in Matthew and Mark as “Simon the Canaanite,” meaning that he is not a Jew. In Luke and Acts, he was called “Simon Zelotes” (KJV) or “Simon the Zealot” (NRSV, ASV). He belongs to a clan of radical Jews that opposes King Herod and the Roman government. There is no account of him in the Bible.
(Another James)
Jesus’ another disciple among the twelve is also called James. He is the son of Alphaeus. (v18) There is no record about him in the New Testament.
James, the half brother of Jesus
Another James who is occasionally mentioned in the N.T. is Jesus’ brother, the son of Mary. Matt 13:55-56 says, “Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? And his sisters, are they not all with us?” This James is the writer of the Book of James. He is quite often mentioned in the N.T. (Matt 13:55, 27:56; Mark 6:3, 15:40, Acts 12:17, 15:13, 21:18; I Cor 15:7; Gal 1:19, 2:9,12; James 1:1). According to Paul, James had seen the resurrected Jesus before His ascension (I Cor 15:7). In fact, he is one of the church leaders in the early church period. Paul in Gal 2:9 mentioned, “James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars”, referring to them as church pillars. He is one of the church leaders or elders in Jerusalem besides Peter and John (Acts 12:17, 21:18, Gal 2:9,12). His tremendous influence in early church was apparent when he made a speech regarding the issue of Peter’s visiting Gentiles’ homes at the first Jerusalem church council (Acts 15:13). In his speech, he defended for Peter’s act and proved by the O.T. that God’s salvation was set not just for the Jews but for the Gentiles as well. He proposed that the Gentile believers “abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.” (Acts 15:13-21)
(Another Judas)
Besides Judas the betrayer, there is another disciple named Judas among the twelve disciples. In Matthew and Mark, he was named Thaddeus (Mt 10:3, Mk 3:18) but in Luke and Acts, he was named “Judas the brother (or ‘son’ , NRSV & ASV) of James” (Lk 6:16, Acts 1:13). This Judas is only mentioned once in the Bible. Jesus in his final intercourse with his disciples said, “ ‘He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me; and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.’ Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, ‘Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?’ Jesus answered and said unto him, ‘If a man love me, he will keep my words; and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.’ ” (Jn 14:21-23) Jesus only manifests himself to those who love him and keep his words.
Judas, the half brother of Jesus
Jude, the writer of the Book of Jude, bears the same English name as Judas. Jude introduced himself as “brother of James” (Jude 1). This James is actually the half brother of Jesus and the writer of the Book of James. So, Jude is also the half brother of Jesus. Matt 13:55 mentions the names of Jesus’ other brothers “James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas.”