In thePauline epistles,Paul, although not one of the original twelve, described himself as an apostle,[3] saying he was called by theresurrected Jesus himself during hisroad to Damascus event. He later describes himself as "an apostle to theGentiles".[4] The period and associated events in timeline of early Christianity during the lifetimes of the twelve apostles is called theApostolic Age.[5]
The termapostle comes from theGreekapóstolos (ἀπόστολος) – formed from the prefixapó- (ἀπό-, 'from') and rootstéllō (στέλλω, 'I send, I depart') – originally meaning 'messenger, envoy'. It has, however, a stronger sense than the wordmessenger, and is closer to a 'delegate'.[6]
Mark 6:7–13 states that Jesus initially sent out these twelve in pairs (cf.Mt 10:5–42,Lk 9:1–6) to towns inGalilee. The text states that their initial instructions were toheal the sick anddrive out demons.[6] They are also instructed to "take nothing for their journey, except a staff only: no bread, no wallet, no money in their purse, but to wear sandals, and not put on twotunics", and that if any town rejects them they ought to shake the dust off their feet as they leave, a gesture which some scholars think was meant as a contemptuous threat.[7]
Later in the Gospel narratives, the Twelve Apostles are described ashaving been commissioned to preach the Gospel to "all the nations",[8] regardless of whetherJew orGentile.[9] Paul emphasized the important role of the apostles in the church of God when he said that the household of God is "built upon the foundation of apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone."[10]
All four canonicalGospels record the circumstances in which some of the disciples were recruited.[11][12][13][14] According to theGospel of John,Andrew, who was the disciple ofJohn the Baptist, and another unnamed disciple of John the Baptist, traditionally believed to beJohn, upon hearing the Baptist point out Jesus as the "Lamb of God", followed Jesus and spent the day with him, thus becoming the first two disciples called by Jesus. For this reason theEastern Orthodox Church honours Andrew with the nameProtokletos, which means "the first called".[15]
Despite Jesus only briefly requesting that they join him, they are all described as immediately consenting and abandoning their nets to do so. The immediacy of their consent has been viewed as an example of divine power, although this is not stated in the text. Another explanation is that some of the disciples may have heard of Jesus beforehand, as implied by the Gospel of John, which states that Andrew was a disciple ofJohn the Baptist, and that he and his brother started following Jesus as soon asJesus had been baptized.[16]
Matthew describes Jesus meeting James and John, also fishermen and brothers, very shortly after recruiting Simon and Andrew. Matthew and Mark identify James and John as sons ofZebedee. Luke adds to Matthew and Mark that James and John worked as a team with Simon and Andrew. Matthew states that at the time of the encounter, James and John were repairing their nets, but readily joined Jesus without hesitation.[17]
This parallels the accounts of Mark and Luke, but Matthew implies that the men have also abandoned their father (since he is present in the boat they abandon behind them), and Carter feels this should be interpreted to mean that Matthew's view of Jesus is one of a figure rejecting the traditional patriarchal structure of society, where the father had command over his children; most scholars, however, just interpret it to mean that Matthew intended these two to be seen as even more devoted than the other pair, or that Jesus expected the imminent coming of the kingdom.[18]
The Synoptic Gospels go on to describe that later in Jesus'ministry he noticed atax collector in his booth. The tax collector, called Matthew inMatthew 9:9, and Levi inMark 2:14 andLuke 5:27, is asked by Jesus to become one of his disciples. Matthew/Levi is stated to have accepted and then invited Jesus for a meal with his friends. Tax collectors were seen asvillains in Jewish society, and thePharisees are described as asking Jesus why he is having a meal with such disreputable people. The reply Jesus gave is now well known: "it is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."[19]
Then Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness. These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him.
He went up the mountain and called to him those whom he wanted, and they came to him. And he appointed twelve, whom he also named apostles, to be with him, and to be sent out to proclaim the message, and to have authority to cast out demons. So he appointed the twelve:[b] Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); James son of Zebedee and John (not the Baptist) the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder); and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles: Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
Monument of Jesus and the Twelve Apostles inDomus Galilaeae, Israel
Each of the four listings of apostles in the New Testament[26] indicate that all the apostles were men. According to Christian tradition they were all Jews.[27][28] Thecanonical gospels and the book ofActs give varying names of the Twelve Apostles. The list in the Gospel of Luke differs from Matthew and Mark on one point. It lists "Judas, the son of James" instead of "Thaddaeus".[a] All listings appear in three groupings, always with the same four apostles in each group. Each group is always led by the same apostle, although the order of the remaining three names within the group varies. Thus,Peter is always listed first,Philip is always listed fifth, andJames, son of Alphaeus is always listed ninth.Judas Iscariot is always listed last.
Unlike the Synoptic Gospels, theGospel of John does not offer a formal list of apostles. Although it refers to "the Twelve",[29] the gospel does not present any elaboration of who these twelve actually were, and the author of the Gospel of John does not mention them all by name. There is also no separation of the terms "apostles" and "disciples" in John.
Two of the leading triumvirate, Peter and John, were additionally sent by Jesus into the city to make preparation for the finalPassover meal (theLast Supper),[49] and were also the only two sent by the collective apostles to visit the newly converted believers inSamaria.[50] If John is to be identified with thedisciple whom Jesus loved, then it was also only Peter and John who followed behind Jesus after his capture in theGarden of Gethsemane,[51] and who ran to the empty tomb afterMary Magdalene bore witness to theresurrection of Jesus.[52][53]
After Judas betrayed Jesus (and then in guilt committed suicide[54] before Christ'sresurrection, one Gospel recounts), the apostles numbered eleven. The group is referred to as "the eleven" inMark 16:14 (part of the "longer ending" of Mark) and inLuke 24:9,33. InActs 1:26 they are "the eleven apostles", inMatthew 28:16 they are "the eleven disciples". When Jesus had been taken up from them, in preparation for the coming of the Holy Spirit that he had promised them, Peter advised the brethren:
Judas, who was guide to those who took Jesus... For he was numbered with us, and received his portion in this ministry... For it is written in thebook of Psalms, "Let his habitation be made desolate, Let no one dwell therein", and, "Let another take his office"... So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day he was taken up from us, must become with us a witness to his resurrection.
Paul the Apostle, in hisFirst Epistle to the Corinthians, appears to give the first historical reference to the Twelve Apostles: "For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared toCephas, then to the twelve" (1 Cor 15:3–5).
The New Testament also uses the termapostle in an expanded sense. As theCatholic Encyclopedia states, "It is at once evident that in a Christian sense, everyone who had received a mission from God, or Christ, to man could be called 'Apostle'"; thus extending the original sense beyond the twelve.[6]
Paul states that Andronicus and Junia were "of note among the apostles." This has been traditionally interpreted in one of two ways:
That Andronicus and Junia were "of note among the apostles," that is, distinguished apostles.[58]
That Andronicus and Junia were "well knownamong the apostles" meaning "well knownto the apostles"
If the first view is correct then Paul may be referring to a female apostle[59][60] – the Greek name (Ἰουνίαν, Iounian) is in theaccusative and could refer either to Junia (a woman) or to Junias (a man) which are bothfirst declension.[61] Later manuscripts add accents to make it unambiguously Junias; however, while "Junia" was a common name, "Junias" was not,[60] and both options are favored by different Bible translations.
In the second view, it is believed that Paul is simply making mention of the outstanding character of these two people which was acknowledged by the apostles.
Historically it has been virtually impossible to tell which of the two views were correct. The second view, in recent years, has been defended from a scholarly perspective by Daniel Wallace and Michael Burer.[62]
The "seventy disciples" or "seventy-two disciples" (known in theEastern Christian traditions as the "Seventy Apostles") were early emissaries of Jesus mentioned in theGospel of Luke.[63] According to Luke, the only gospel in which they appear, Jesus appointed them and sent them out in pairs on a specific mission which is detailed in the text.
InWestern Christianity, they are usually referred to asdisciples,[64] whereas in Eastern Christianity they are usually referred to as apostles.[65] Using the originalGreek words, both titles are descriptive, as anapostle is one sent on amission (the Greek uses the verb form:apesteilen) whereas adisciple is a student, but the two traditions differ on the scope of the wordsapostle anddisciple.
Although not one of the apostles commissioned during the life of Jesus, Paul, aJew also named Saul,[66] claimed a special commission from the post-ascensionJesus as "the apostle of theGentiles",[67] to spread the gospel message afterhis conversion. In his writings, theepistles to Christian churches throughout theLevant, Paul did not restrict the term "apostle" to the twelve, and often refers to his mentorBarnabas as an apostle.[5]
Inhis writings, Paul, although not one of the original twelve, described himself as anapostle.[3] He was called by the resurrected Jesus himself during hisRoad to Damascus event. With Barnabas, he undertook the role of apostle in the church.[68]
Since Paul claimed to have received a gospel not from teachings of the Twelve Apostles but solely and directly through personal revelations from the post-ascension Jesus,[69] after Jesus's death and resurrection (rather than before like the twelve), Paul was often obliged to defend his apostolic authority (1 Cor. 9:1 "Am I not an apostle?") and proclaim that he had seen and was anointed by Jesus while on the road to Damascus.
Paul considered himself perhaps inferior to the other apostles because he had originally persecuted Christ's followers[70] while thinking he was not in the least inferior to those "super-apostles" and not lacking in "knowledge".[71]
Paul referred to himself as theapostle of the Gentiles.[72] According to Paul's account in hisEpistle to the Galatians, James, Peter and John in Jerusalem accepted the "grace" given to Paul and agreed that Paul and Barnabas should go to the Gentiles (specifically those notcircumcised) and the three apostles who "seemed to be pillars" to the circumcised.[73] Despite theLittle Commission of Matthew 10, the Twelve Apostles did not limit their mission to solely Jews asCornelius the Centurion is widely considered the first Gentile convert and he was converted by Peter, and the Great Commission of the resurrected Jesus is specifically to "all nations".
Relics of the apostles in 2017, while they were in Utah during the Relic Tour[74]
Of the Twelve Apostles to hold the title after Matthias' selection,Christian tradition has generally passed down that all of the Twelve Apostles exceptJohnwere martyred. It is traditionally believed that John survived all of them, living to old age and dying of natural causes at Ephesus sometime after AD 98, during the reign ofTrajan.[75][76] However, only the death of his brotherJames who became the first Apostle to die inc. AD 44 is described in theNew Testament.[77] (Acts 12:1–2)
Matthew 27:5 says that Judas Iscariot threw the silver he received for betraying Jesus down in the Temple, then went and hanged himself.Acts 1:18 says that he purchased a field, then "falling headlong he burst open in the middle and all his bowels gushed out".
According to the 18th-century historianEdward Gibbon, early Christians (second half of the second century and first half of the third century) believed that only Peter, Paul, and James, son of Zebedee, were martyred.[78] The remainder, or even all, of the claims of martyred apostles do not rely upon historical or biblical evidence, but only on late legends.[79][80]
By the2nd century AD, association with the apostles was esteemed as an evidence of authority. Churches that are believed to have been founded by one of the apostles are known asapostolic sees.[5]
Paul's epistles were accepted asscripture, and two of the fourcanonical gospels were associated with apostles, as were otherNew Testament works. Various Christian texts, such as theDidache and theApostolic Constitutions, were attributed to the apostles.[5] TheApostles' Creed, popular in theWest, was alleged to have been composed by the apostles themselves.
Bishops traced their lines of succession back to individual apostles, who were said to have dispersed from Jerusalem andestablished churches across great territories. Christian bishops have traditionally claimed authority deriving, byapostolic succession, from the Twelve Apostles.[5]
^of Hierapolis, Papias."Fragment X".Exposition of the Sayings of the Lord. Peter Kirby.Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved10 September 2015.
^John Saward –Cradle of redeeming love: the theology of the Christmas mystery p18 2002 "St Jerome concludes that St James, son of Alphaeus, and St James, brother of the Lord, are one and the same person.169 But why is James, son of Alphaeus, called our Lord's 'brother'? St Jerome's answer is as follows. In Matthew 13:55 we hear of four 'brothers' of our Lord: James and Joseph, Simon and Jude. Later, in the Passion narrative, St Matthew mentions a Mary who is the mother of James and Joseph (cf Mt 27:56) "
^The brother of Jesus: James the Just and his mission p17 Bruce Chilton, Jacob Neusner – 2001 "Given that James has been identified as the son of Alphaeus, Jerome indicates he cannot explain the connection of Mary the ... Chrysostom (347–407) was first to suggest that James the brother of the Lord is the son of Clopas though ..."
^DeYoung, Kevin (11 February 2011)."Should Churches Select Elders by Casting Lots?".The Gospel Coalition. Retrieved9 February 2025.Most famously, Matthias was chosen by the casting of lots to replace Judas as the twelfth apostle (Acts 1:26).
^"Disciple". New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia.Archived from the original on 24 January 2018.The disciples, in this disciples, in this context, are not the crowds of believers who flocked around Christ, but a smaller body of His followers. They are commonly identified with the seventy-two (seventy, according to the received Greek text, although several Greek manuscripts mention seventy-two, as does the Vulgate) referred to (Luke 10:1) as having been chosen by Jesus. The names of these disciples are given in several lists (Chronicon Paschale, and Pseudo-Dorotheus in Migne, P.G., XCII, 521–24; 543–45; 1061–65); but these lists are unfortunately worthless.
^Gibbon, Edward (1826)."Chapter XVI. The Conduct of the Roman Government toward the Christians, from the Reign of Nero to that of Constantine".The history of the decline and fall of the Roman empire. Vol. II. New York: J. & J. Harper for Collins & Hanney. p. 20.27. In the time of Tertullian and Clemens of Alexandria the glory of martyrdom was confined to St. Peter, St. Paul and St. James. It was gradually bestowed on the rest of the apostles by the more recent Greeks, who prudently selected for the theatre of their preaching and sufferings some remote country beyond the limits of the Roman empire. See Mosheim, p. 81. and Tillemont, Memoires Ecclesiastiques, tom. i. part 3.
^"The Biblical Archaeologist". American Schools of Oriental Research. 7 March 1974.Archived from the original on 26 August 2022. Retrieved26 August 2022 – via Google Books.
^abCuming, H. Syer (December 1870)."Notes on a group of reliquaries".Journal of the British Archaeological Association.Archived from the original on 26 August 2022. Retrieved26 August 2022.
Pope Benedict XVI,The Apostles. Full title isThe Origins of the Church – The Apostles and Their Co-Workers. published 2007, in the US:ISBN978-1-59276-405-1; different edition published in the UK under the title:Christ and His Church – Seeing the face of Jesus in the Church of the Apostles,ISBN978-1-86082-441-8.
Carson, D.A. "The Limits of Functional Equivalence in Bible Translation – and other Limits Too." inThe Challenge of Bible Translation: Communicating God's Word to the World. edited by Glen G Scorgie, Mark L. Strauss, Steven M. Voth.
Carter, Warren. "Matthew 4:18–22 and Matthean Discipleship: An Audience-Oriented Perspective."Catholic Bible Quarterly. Vol. 59. No. 1. 1997.
Clarke, Howard W.The Gospel of Matthew and its Readers: A Historical Introduction to the First Gospel. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2003.
"Fishers of Men."A Dictionary of Biblical Tradition in English Literature. David Lyle Jeffrey, general editor. Grand Rapids: W.B. Eerdmans, 1992.
France, R.T.The Gospel According to Matthew: an Introduction and Commentary. Leicester: Inter-Varsity, 1985.
Karrer, Martin. "Apostle, Apostolate." InThe Encyclopedia of Christianity, edited by Erwin Fahlbusch and Geoffrey William Bromiley, 107–08. Vol. 1. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1999.ISBN0-8028-2413-7
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