The Twelve Apostles, Paul, and other apostles in a general sense

I confess that I often lose track of the names and profiles of the apostles—let alone people in my church!

I have thus prepared this briefing note to provide an overview of the identified apostles in the Bible:

• Twelve Apostles, who were chosen by Jesus, according to the Gospels
• Matthias, whom the other Twelve Apostles chose to replace Judas Iscariot, according to the Acts of the Apostles
• Paul and other apostles in a general sense, according to Paul in his epistles

Collectively, this briefing note organizes the apostles into five categories:

• Authors of the New Testament canon
• Apostles who appeared to be the closest to Jesus
• Apostles with limited biblical description
• Apostles with effectively no biblical description
• Apostle who betrayed Jesus

The sequence of categories and names do not reflect the relative importance of apostles.

Authors of the New Testament canon

Three of the original Twelve Apostles, and Paul, were authors of the New Testament.

• Peter, also known as Simon Peter, was a married Jewish fisherman and a brother of Andrew (another apostle). Peter is well recorded across the New Testament. Peter was the apostle who denied knowledge of Jesus on three occasions. While the Scriptures indicate Peter to be an equal member of the Twelve Apostles (1 Peter 5:1-5; Ephesians 2:19-20), the Roman Catholic tradition considers him to be the lead apostle, based upon its doctrine of apostolic succession. Peter wrote two epistles in the Bible: 1 Peter and 2 Peter. According to Christian tradition, Emperor Nero blamed Christians for the Great Fire of Rome, and sentenced Peter to be crucified on a cross in Rome. Peter supposedly requested to be crucified upside down.

• John, was a Jewish fisherman, whose brother was James (another apostle). John is well recorded across the New Testament; he was one of three apostles to be in the “inner circle” of Jesus. He is traditionally assumed to be one of two former disciples of John the Baptist (John 1: 35-39). John describes himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved. He authored five books in the Bible: the Gospel of John, three letters, and the Book of Revelation. Although the Bible does not record his death, John is the only apostle to be assumed to have lived to old age.

• Matthew, also known as Levi, was a Jewish publican (tax collector) for the Roman Empire. Although he wrote the Gospel of Matthew, the Bible provides limited description of him. According to tradition, Matthew was martyred in modern Ethiopia.

• Paul, also known as Saul in Hebrew, was an educated Jewish Pharisee with Roman citizenship. Paul confessed that he persecuted early Christians (Galatians 1:13–14) before Jesus approached him in a vision (Acts 9). He wrote 13 letters in the Bible; he might have written the Book of Hebrews. Like Peter, Christian tradition indicates that Emperor Nero sentenced him to death—but Paul was supposedly beheaded, not crucified, because of his Roman citizenship.

Apostles who appeared to be closest to Jesus

Overlapping the first category, three apostles (Peter, John and James) appeared to be in the “inner circle” of Jesus. Jesus invited them to witness his transfiguration (Mark 9), and to accompany him in the Garden of Gethsemane before his arrest (Matthew 26:36-37).

• James, son of Zebedee, was a Jewish fisherman, whose brother was John (another apostle). The Bible does not record his apostolic activities. However, James is the only apostle whose death was recorded in the Bible: Herod sentenced him to beheading (Acts 12).

Apostles with limited biblical description

For the following four apostles, the Bible provides limited context or information about their background, interactions with Jesus, apostolic activities and cause of death.

• Andrew was a Jewish fisherman, whose brother was Peter (another apostle). He is traditionally assumed to be one of two former disciples of John the Baptist (John 1:35-39). Tradition indicates that he was crucified on a X-shaped cross in modern Greece.

• Thomas, also known as Didymus, is most known for his initial doubt of Jesus’ resurrection. Tradition indicates that Thomas preached in modern India, where he was ultimately martyred.

• Philip was recorded in two main instances in the Bible: introducing Bartholomew to Jesus, and asking a question in the Last Supper (John 12:20-22). He appeared to be a friend or family relative of Bartholomew. Tradition indicates that, after the Ascension of Jesus, Philip preached and was martyred in modern Turkey.

• Simon was a member of the Zealots, a political movement that sought to overthrow Roman rule over Palestine. Although his political affiliations can provide context, the Bible does not indicate his interactions with Jesus or apostolic activities. Tradition indicates that Simon preached in modern Iran, where he was martyred.

For clarification, “Philip” was the name of four different people: (1) an apostle of Jesus; (2) an evangelist and a deacon, who preached in modern Ethiopia and had four unmarried prophesying daughters; and (3 and 4) two of King Herod the Great’s sons by different wives (Matthew 14:3 and Luke 3:1)

Apostles with effectively no biblical description

For the following four apostles, the Bible provides no substantive information about their background, interactions with Jesus, apostolic activities and cause of death.

• Bartholomew, also known as Nathanael, was only recorded in one conversation during his introduction to Jesus (John 1:46-51). He appeared to be a friend or family relative of Philip. Tradition indicates that he preached in modern Iran and India. There are conflicting accounts of his death: he was either tied up and dropped in sea, crucified, or skinned alive and beheaded.

• Thaddeus, also known as Jude, Lebbaeus or Judas, was only recorded to have asked one question to Jesus in John 14:22. Tradition indicates that, after Pentecost, Jude founded a church in modern Turkey. There are conflicting accounts of his death: he was either clubbed or axed to death, or crucified.

• James, son of Alphaeus is also known as James the Less. He is the least known member of the original Twelve Apostles. The Bible does not indicate his background, interactions with Jesus or apostolic activities. Tradition indicates that he preached in modern Iran, where he was martyred.

• Matthias was nominated by the other apostles to replace Judas Iscariot (Acts 1:23–24). He had accompanied Jesus from the time of his baptism to his Ascension (Acts 1:21–22). Matthias was selected when the casted lot fell on him (Acts 1:26). The Bible otherwise provides no other information about Matthias. According to tradition, he preached in modern Turkey. There are conflicting accounts of his death: he was either killed in modern Ethiopia, stoned in modern Georgia, or stoned and beheaded in Jerusalem.

For clarification, “James” was the name of three different people: (1) James, son of Zebedee, who was an apostle in the “inner circle” of Jesus; (2) James, son of Alphaeus, who was an apostle; and (3) James, a brother of Jesus and Jude, who was not an apostle and wrote the Epistle of James.

Paul considered Barnabas (Acts 14:4), Titus (2 Corinthians 8:23), Epaphroditus (Philippians 2:25), and Andronicus and Junia (Romans 16:7), to be apostles. The 72 disciples, whom Jesus sent out (Luke 10), could also be considered as apostles. Paul might have considered more unnamed disciples of Jesus to be apostles. For these apostles in a general sense, the Bible provides effectively no information.

Apostle who betrayed Jesus

• Judas Iscariot managed money for the ministry of Jesus (John 12:6). While the Bible does not indicate his motive for betrayal, Judas was paid thirty silver coins to aid in the plot to kill Jesus (Matthew 26:15). Scholars explain that Judas hung himself (Matthew 27:5), and his guts of his decomposed body spilled over a field (Acts 1:18).

For clarification, “Judas” was the name of three different people in the Bible: (1) Judas Iscariot, who was an apostle and betrayed Jesus; (2) Thaddeus, also known as Jude, Lebbaeus or Judas, who was an apostle; and (3) Judas, more known as Jude, who was a brother of Jesus and James, was not an apostle, and wrote the Book of Jude.