Who Were the Disciples?
Matthew 9: 35 - 10: 8
Mark 3: 13 - 19
Luke 6: 12 - 18
John 1: 35 - 42
Disciple means pupil or student, and the disciples were
people who chose to follow Jesus and to listen to
his teaching. They called him rabbi, or teacher. The twelve
disciples were followers of Jesus whom he had chosen to become his core
group, the people he talked things over with and depended on.
Simon and his brother Andrew were the first disciples
Jesus chose. Next Jesus called James
and John, then Philip, Nathaniel
(also called Bartholomew), Matthew, Thomas, and
James, son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and
Judas, son of James, and Judas Iscariot.
According to the Gospel of John, Andrew
and one other of the disciples had first been disciples of John
the Baptist.
The disciples were more interested in telling Jesus' story than in telling
their own, but we do know a few things about some of them.
Jesus nicknamed Simon Peter, and the nickname stuck.
Peter, Andrew, James and John were commercial fishermen. They (or their
families) owned their own boats. James and John were the sons of Zebedee,
and this John may be the person who wrote
the Fourth Gospel, the Gospel of John.
Andrew and Philip have Greek names and spoke Greek to the travelers who
came from Greece to hear Jesus preach. They may have had Greek relatives
or Greek or Roman educations.
Matthew had been a tax collector, a disrespected
way of earning a living in those days. Tax collectors were not allowed to
testify in court, because everyone believed they were totally dishonest.
Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot may have been
political activists, belonging to some of the many groups that wanted to
overthrow the Roman government. The Jews at that time wanted very much to
have a Jewish king and Jewish courts that understood their beliefs and the
way they observed the religious laws.
We only know Thomas's nickname: both Thomas in Aramaic and
Didymus in Greek mean twin. He may have had an actual twin
brother - or he may have looked so much like Jesus that everyone joked that
he was Jesus' twin brother. Nowhere in the Gospel accounts does anyone mention
that Thomas had a twin brother or sister.
What we know for sure about all the disciples is that they all left their
livelihoods and commitments to follow Jesus as he traveled around the country,
preaching, teaching, and healing.
Simon Peter - Fisherman, son of John
Andrew - Fisherman, son of John and Peter's brother
James - Fisherman, son of Zebedee, son of Boanerges (thunder)
John - Fisherman, son of Zebedee, Boanerges (thunder), brother of James
Philip - From Bethsaida
Matthew - tax collector, son of Alphaeus
Nathaniel (Bartholomew) - from Cana, a "true Israelite"
Thomas
James, son of Alphaeus
Simon, the Zealot - Guerrilla fighter
Judas, son of James
Judas Iscariot - Guerrilla fighter, son of Simon
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