SHEPHERD TO
SHEEP
THE TWELVE
DISCIPLES
ANDREW: Left
John the Baptist to follow Jesus. He is
always seen leading other to Jesus including his brother Peter. He died a martyr of the faith by crucifixion
in Achaia, Greece.
NATHANAEL (Bartholomew):
Phillip told him about Jesus the Messiah.
He was skeptical at first but met Jesus and was converted. Jesus said he was an Israelite indeed with no
deceit. History places him in various
countries preaching, including Armenia.
He died a martyr.
JAMES: Brother of John and son of Zebedee. He was a fisherman in a family business in
Galilee. He was a member of the Lord’s
inner circle, which included his brother John and Peter. He was killed by Herod with the sword (Acts
12:1-2).
JAMES (The
Less or Younger and son of Alphaeus): He is the more obscure disciple with
little information about him in the gospels.
He is a picture of serving Christ graciously in the shadow of
others. He was apparently stoned to
death in Jerusalem.
JOHN:
Brother of James and son of Zebedee and a fisherman. He was known as the beloved disciple. Wrote a gospel, three epistles, and
Revelation. He preached among the
churches of Asia Minor. He was banished
to the island of Patmos. He died an aged
man in Ephesus.
JUDAS: From
Kerioth of Judah and treasurer of the band of disciples. He stole from the money bag and betrayed
Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. He
committed suicide. Jesus said it would
have been good for that man if he had never been born. (Mark 14:21)
JUDAS
(Thaddeus/Lebbaeus): The disciple with the three names has zero information about
him in the New Testament. Hippolytus
records he preached to the people of Edessa, and to all Mesopotamia, and died at
Berytus (Lebanon), and was buried there.
MATTHEW
(Levi): A tax collector by the Sea of Galilee where Jesus called him. He was better with a pen than with a fishing
pole (like most of the other followers) and so has the distinction of writing
the first gospel. Details of his death
are uncertain but most say he died a martyr.
SIMON
(Peter/Cephas): A Galilean fisherman and brother to Andrew. He was the outspoken disciple and writer of
two epistles. With the keys to the
kingdom he opened up doors for the gospel. He was martyred on a cross upside
down because he felt unworthy to die like his Lord.
PHILIP: An
early follower of Jesus who was tested by Jesus at the feeding of the five
thousand. He knew how to lead others to
Christ and asked Jesus to show the Father.
It is said he preached in Phrygia and was crucified in Hierapolis.
SIMON (The
zealot): Not much is known about Simon except that he was likely a fanatical Jewish
nationalist prior to his conversion. A church
tradition holds that he spread the gospel in Egypt as a missionary and was
martyred in Persia.
THOMAS
(Didymous or the twin): He was willing
to die with his Lord and asked Jesus to show him the way. He is best known as the doubter of the
resurrected Christ who was later convinced by his Lord’s scars. Strong church tradition places him as a
martyr in India.
Louie
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