The Twelve Apostle

 

 

 

The twelve apostle Peter is often called the leader of the twelve. He, along with James and John were the closest to Our Lord. Peter given name was Simon. Jesus gave him that name at their first meeting, Peter (Greek) or Cephas (Aramaic), both of which mean, rock. (John 1: 42)

Peter died in Rome at the hands of Nero, the Emperor. His close companion in his latter days was young John Mark, author of the Gospel of Mark. John: John identifies himself in his own Gospel as the disciple whom Jesus loved. (John 21:20)

James and John were the sons of Zebedee. They were called together to leave their father fishing business and follow Jesus. John had a temper and Jesus nicknamed him son of thunder (Mk. 3:17)

John probably also wrote 1,2 and 3 John and the Revelation. Matthew: Matthew had been a tax collector for the Romans. He was also called Levi. Author of Matthew Gospel. James: He was the brother of John (see above).

James was the first of the apostles to die as a martyr. He was killed in 44 AD by Herod Agrippa I. Andrew: Andrew was from Bethsaida. Andrew and John were the first converts of Jesus. (John 1: 40,41)

Peter was his brother. Philip: Came from the same town as Peter and Andrew. Bartholomew: (Nathanael) He was from Cana. Tradition says that he preached in what we now know as Iran.

Thomas: One of twins. It was Thomas who had to see the scarred body of Jesus in order to believe that he had risen from the dead. James: Son of Alpheus. Called James the less to distinguish him from the other James. Thaddeus: Judas, son of James. Also called Lebbaeus. Was sent to Edessa, Syria, Arabia and Mesopotamia. Simon: He was also called the Zealot.

Judas Iscariot: The one who betrayed Jesus. He came from a town in Judah, the only disciple not from Galilee. He hanged himself after Jesus was condemned to die.