THE APOSTLES OF JESUS

     When Jesus began his Messianic mission at age thirty, he called out twelve men to be his disciples, who were also called apostles.  A disciple is a pupil; an apostle is a messenger.
     Peter and Andrew were brothers as were James and John, the sons of Zebedee.  Peter was also known as Simon Peter.  After that, there were Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James (son of Alphaeus), Simon (called Zelotes), Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, the traitor.
     These men were the twelve disciples; later they would become apostles.  In time, however, and as more and more people came to believe in Jesus, they also became disciples even though they were not part of the original twelve, chosen by Jesus. As Jesus passed by these twelve men, he simply said "follow me" and immediately they stopped what they were doing and followed him. They walked and talked with Jesus.  They listened to Jesus teach and preach.  They witnessed the miracles he performed.  They watched him pray.  In short, Jesus was training twelve men to become the leaders of his Message.
     Many times and in many places, Jesus told the twelve that they and future believers would suffer, be persecuted, and die just as Jesus would be persecuted and die.  Perhaps the twelve did not understand the full meaning of his words.  Neither did they understand why Jesus would die and even be resurrected from the grave.  This was news to them, for they had never known anyone to come back to life after dying.  But in Jerusalem they watched Jesus die, and after the resurrection of the Lord, they were there.
     After the ascension of the Lord, the disciples were in a bit of confusion and with no organization.  Their leader was gone.  For them to become apostles, something had to happen.  They met, they talked, they had discussions.  What the apostles lacked, however, was power.  For Jesus had told them to wait in Jerusalem, which they did, and when the day of Pentecost arrived, each of them was filled with the Holy Spirit.  Now they could do that which they could not do by themselves, for now they had the power of God with them.
       The apostles were pioneers:  sharing the Word of Jesus to people who had never heard of him, to people who had no knowledge of Christ, across language and cultural barriers, and into lands they had never been before; blazing trails that future believers would follow, and which, eventually, would take the good news of Christ to every continent.  In time, they came to understand the words that Jesus had told them about suffering, persecution, and death.
     Initially, Jesus spoke two words, "follow me", and these men arose and followed Jesus.  It may be difficult for us to understand, and perhaps it is not necessary for us to know, how or why these men made that decision so easily.  Without question or reluctance, they followed Jesus, and their lives were never same thereafter.
     John, brother of James, (the sons of Zebedee) was the only apostle to live and die at an elderly age.
     James, brother of John, was beheaded in Judea in 44 A.D.
     James, son of Alphaeus, was beaten, stoned, and clubbed to death in Jerusalem at age 94.
     Jude, brother of James, was crucified in Edessa, Greece, in 72 A.D.
     Matthew was killed with a weapon that had a blade and spike in Nadabah, Ethiopia, in 60 A.D.
     Simon Peter was crucified upside down in Rome.
     Andrew, brother of Simon Peter, was crucified in Edessa, Greece.
     Simon (called Zelotes) was crucified in Britain in 74 A.D.
     Thomas was thrust through with a spear in India.
     Bartholomew was skinned and beheaded in Armenia.
     Philip was scourged, imprisoned, and crucified in Heliopolis, Phrygia (Turkey) in 54 A.D.
     Paul, who replaced Judas Iscariot, was beheaded in Rome.
     Mark and Luke were not apostles, but disciples, and they wrote the gospels of Mark and Luke.
     Luke was hanged from an olive tree in Greece at age 84.
     Mark was dragged to death in Alexandria, Egypt.
     These men gave their lives for Christ and they were also the writers of the New Testament.
     You are invited to read their stories.