The Twelve Apostles

See also: Deaths of the Twelve Apostles.

The four Gospels give varying names of the twelve. According to the list occurring in each of the
three 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, according to
the Gospels of Mark and Matthew:
1. Peter: Renamed by Jesus, his original name was Simon (Mark 3:16); was a fisherman
from the Bethsaida "of Galilee" (John 1:44, cf. John 12:21). Also known as Simon bar
Jonah, Simon bar Jochanan (Aram.), Cephas (Aram.), and Simon Peter.
2. Andrew: The brother of Simon/Peter, a Bethsaida fisherman, and a former disciple of
John the Baptist.
3. James, son of Zebedee: The brother of John.
4. John: The brother of James. Jesus named both of them Bo-aner'ges, which means "sons
of thunder".(Mark 3:17)
5. Philip: From the Bethsaida of Galilee (John 1:44, John 12:21)
6. Bartholomew, son of Talemai: It has been suggested that he is the same person as
Nathanael, who is mentioned in John 1:45-51.
7. Matthew: The tax collector. The similarity between Matthew 9:9-10, Mark 2:14-15 and
Luke 5:27-29 may indicate that Matthew was also known as Levi.
8. Thomas: Also known as Judas Thomas Didymus - Aramaic T'oma' = twin, and Greek
Didymous = twin.
9. James, son of Alphaeus: Generally identified with "James the Less", and also identified
by Roman Catholics with "James the Just".[20]
10. Thaddeus: In some manuscripts of Matthew, the name "Lebbaeus" occurs in this place.
Thaddeus is traditionally identified with Jude; see below.
11. Simon the Zealot: Some have identified him with Simeon of Jerusalem.[21]
12. Judas Iscariot: The disciple who later betrayed Jesus. (Mark 3:19) The name Iscariot
may refer to the Judaean towns of Kerioth or to the sicarii (Jewish nationalist
insurrectionists), or to Issachar. Also referred to as "Judas, the son of Simon" (John 6:71
and John 13:26). He was replaced by Matthias as an apostle shortly after Jesus'
resurrection.
The list in the Gospel of Luke differs from Matthew and Mark at two points:
• It lists "Judas, son of James" instead of "Thaddeus." In order to harmonize the accounts,
some traditions have said that Luke's "Judas, son of James" refers to the same person as
Mark and Matthew's "Thaddeus," though it is not clear whether this has a good basis.
(For more information see Jude the Apostle).
Deaths of the Twelve Apostles
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The Twelve Apostles were, according to the Synoptic Gospels and Christian tradition, disciples
(followers) whom Jesus of Nazareth had chosen, named, and trained in order to send them on a
specific mission. After the Apostle Judas Iscariot had betrayed Jesus, the remaining Apostles
filled the vacancy by electing by lot Matthias, a companion of theirs ever since they had
followed Jesus so that by the time of the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost they actually
numbered twelve again.
Christian tradition has generally passed down that all but one were martyred, with John surviving
into old age. Only the death of James, son of Zebedee is described in the New Testament, and the
details of the other deaths are the subject of pious legends of varying authenticity. In some cases
there is near unanimity in the tradition, and in other cases, there are widely varying and
inconsistent accounts.
Contents
[hide]
• 1 The Twelve
• 2 See also
• 3 Sources
• 4 References
• 5 External links

[edit] The Twelve

Judas Iscariot, originally one of the Twelve, died after the death of Jesus. Matthew 27:5 says that
he hanged himself, and Acts 1:18 says that he fell, burst open, and his "bowels gushed out."
Matthias was elected to take his place as one of the twelve.
According to Christian tradition:
• Peter, crucified upside-down in Rome circa 64 A.D.
• James, son of Zebedee was beheaded in 44 A.D., first of the twelve to be
assassinated
• John, son of Zebedee, natural causes due to old age, last of the twelve to die,
only one of the twelve to die naturally (As mentioned by Christ at the end of
his (John) Gospel.)
• Andrew, Peter's brother, was crucified.
• Philip was crucified in 54 A.D.
• Bartholomew (also known as Nathaniel) was flayed alive (skinned) and then
beheaded; some sources locate his death at Derbend on the Caspian Sea.[1]
• Matthew killed by a halberd in 60 A.D.
• Thomas was killed by a spear in Mylapore, Madras, India in AD 72.
• James, son of Alphaeus, beaten to death by a club after being crucified and
stoned.
• Saint Jude was crucified.
• Simon the Zealot was crucified in 74 A.D.
• Judas Iscariot, according to the gospels, hanged himself after betraying Jesus.
• Matthias, Judas' replacement, was stoned and beheaded.

[edit] See also

• Twelve Apostles
• Christian martyrs
• Christian pacifism
• Religious Persecution
 • Martyrology
• Disciple
• Great Commission
• Apostolic Age

[edit] Sources
• Rick Wade, "Persecution in the Early Church."
• The History of the Early Christian Martyrs
• John Foxe, Foxe's Book of Martyrs.
• D.C. Talk, Jesus Freaks: DC Talk and The Voice of the Martyrs—Stories of
Those Who Stood For Jesus, the Ultimate Jesus Freaks.

[edit] References
1. ^ See, for example, his entry in the Oxford Dictionary of Saints.

[edit] External links

• Catholic Encyclopedia: Apostles
• Apostles.com: Biographies of Christ's Apostles
• Christian History: The Twelve Apostles
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