Topic : U) THE TWELVE DISCIPLES

No 1

(Ordinary Men)

This is the first of many studies we will be looking at regarding the twelve men that Jesus chose to carry the message of the Gospel to the world. Were these special men? Quite the contrary, they were very ordinary men! Who were they? Most of them were fishermen, one was a tax collector who was hated by his fellow countrymen; a bunch of uneducated, common men. Of course, as we know, in the hands of the Master they later became flaming evangelists and bold preachers who feared no one. Most of them came from Galilee and as a Pharisee once said “Search, and look: for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet.” John 7:52. In Europe, there are huge cathedrals that have images in stained glass of the Twelve Apostles with shining halos. This is a shame because they were very ordinary men; the kind of men that Jesus wanted. They occupy an exalted place in redemptive history and can be considered pillars on which the true Church of Jesus Christ was built. This does not diminish the fact that they were men as ordinary as you and I. They were common men who had been given an uncommon calling; just like we have today. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 1:26 – 29 “For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: 27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; 28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are 29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.” Then, as today, God uses frail human beings to deliver a message of hope to a dying world. What a privilege!

No 2

(Peter)

The New Testament contains four lists of the twelve Disciples and in each case, Peter is the first one named; it is safe to say that he was the leader. Peter had the necessary inborn gifts to be the leader of the Twelve and in the hand of the Master, he became just that; but not before much work and much patience on the part of Jesus. Peter was inquisitive; he asked more questions than all the other disciples combined. He had initiative; he was generally the first to answer any question that Jesus asked. Peter also got involved. When Jesus came to His Disciples in the middle of the night on the Sea of Galilee, Peter was the only one to walk out on the water; he had drive, ambition and energy. Jesus knew what He had to do to get Peter to acquire the proper skills for the leader he was to be. During Jesus’ three years on earth, He put Peter through a lot tough life experiences that eventually formed him to be the leader that Christ wanted him to become. Another element that a leader must have besides the right inborn material and the right life experiences is character. Peter had character but had problems controlling himself in various situations. He had to be taught to be submissive, to have restraint, to be humble and he had to learn love. Jesus accomplished what He had set out to do with Peter – in Peter’s first epistle, he penned the following words “5 Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. 6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:” (1 Peter 5: 5,6). Another character trait that Peter had to learn was compassion. Oftentimes leaders lack in this area and are intolerant of underachievers. So how was Peter to acquire all these qualities in just three years? The answer is found in a wonderful verse of scripture in the Gospel of Luke “ 31And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat; 32 But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.”(Luke 22:31, 32). The Lord knew what He was doing when He chose Peter. (This study and subsequent ones on the 12 Disciples come from a book by John MacArthur entitled “Twelve Ordinary Men”)

No 3

(Andrew)

Although Andrew was Peter’s brother, he is the least known in the lead foursome. He was the first Apostle to be called (John 1:35-40) and was responsible for introducing his brother Peter to Jesus. He was a man who was zealous for Christ and missed no opportunity to introduce Him to others. In John 12:20-22, the Bible tells of some Greeks who approached Philip because they knew that he was an Apostle of Jesus and they were interested in meeting Him. The text says “The same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus. Philip cometh and telleth Andrew: and again Andrew and Philip tell Jesus.” Philip brought them to Andrew so that he would introduce them to Jesus; Andrew’s reputation followed him. He was a humble person and saw value in insignificant things – Andrew was the one who pointed out to Jesus that a certain boy had five loaves of bread and two fishes (John 6:9); Jesus turned them into a feast for several thousand of His followers. Andrew is the very picture of those who labour quietly in humble places “Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart.” (Eph 6:6). He was not a pillar like Peter, James or John; he was more of a humbler stone. The Bible does not record what he did after Pentecost but tradition says that he took the Gospel north which is probably why he is the patron saint of Russia and of Scotland. Andrew’s example shows us how God can use anyone for effective ministry.

No 4

(James)

James is the least prominent of the Lord’s closest inner circle; he is the older brother of John. He never appears alone in the Gospels and is always paired with John. The only time he is mentioned alone is in the book of Acts when he was martyred by Herod “Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church. And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.” (ch12:1,2). He does however occupy an important place in Scripture. He along with Peter and John accompanied Jesus when He raised Jairus’ daughter (Mark 5:37). James was present when Jesus’ glory was manifested on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matt 17:1). James was among four Disciples who questioned Jesus privately on the Mount of Olives (Mark 13:3). He was also included with Peter and John when the Lord prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane (Mark 14:33). Although Scripture does not give too much information about James, Jesus Himself called him and his brother “Boanerges” which means “Sons of Thunder” (Mark 3:17); James was undoubtedly a passionate person. The place where his passion was most strongly demonstrated was in the Gospel of Luke when Jesus was preparing to go down to Jerusalem for the final Passover. Jesus passed through Samaria, a region that was normally avoided by all Jews because the Samaritans were a mixed race; this angered James and John very much - “And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?” (Luke 9:54). Their reference to Elijah was very significant because it was in this region that Elijah had demonstrated to King Ahab, in a very graphic manner, that the God of Israel was the supreme God of the universe. (1 King 18:21-38).

Often times when a person is as passionate as James was, overconfidence sets in and sin can be the result; their mother requested that her two sons be given a very prominent place in heaven, next to Jesus (Matt 20:20-24). James wanted a place of honor and, instead he got a place of suffering. James is a good example of how zeal and passion, when it is surrendered to the Holy Spirit, produces strong testimony of God’s grace.

No 5

(John)

“Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved” John 13:23. John never mentions his name in his gospel; why should he, he would much rather be called “the disciple whom Jesus loved”. John was the brother of James and son of Zebedee (John 21:2). He was part of the inner group of Jesus but was by no means the dominant member of that group (Peter, James and John). John wrote his gospel, three letters and Revelation; making him the third largest contributor to the New Testament after Luke and Paul. He was passionate, aggressive and personally ambitious. He aged well with the help of the Holy Spirit and this shows us how a person who starts out impetuous and reckless can become mature and wise. This same progression can apply to any person who yields his or her will to the Holy Spirit; in theological termes, this is called sanctification. All through his writings, he demonstrates his desire for truth and is the most black and white in his thinking; there are no grey areas in his teaching. Examples of this in his gospel are where he sets – light against darkness; life against death; the kingdom of God against the kingdom of the devil; the judgment of the righteous against the judgment of the wicked; there are many others.

In his writings, there are two very significant verses for two very distinct groups of people. The first verse is in John 20:31 “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.” This verse is for unbelievers. The second verse is in 1 John 5:13 “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.” This verse is for believers.

John was an apostle of absolutes; his teaching shows us that very well. The Lord had much consideration for John by giving him the honour of writing the last book of the Bible which is really a letter that was to be delivered to seven local churches in modern-day Turkey. The lord said – “….I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.” Rev 1:11. John is also called the beloved Apostle.

No 6

(Philip)

His name in Greek means “lover of horses” and it always appears fifth in the lists of Disciples. He came from Bethsaida, that city of Andrew and Peter (John1:44) and he is not to be confused with Philip, the evangelist who met the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8. We first meet Philip in John 1:43, where Jesus said to him “follow me.” This was the first time that Jesus actually called someone to be one of His Disciples because up until then, John, Andrew and Peter had found Jesus and followed Him. Philip had most assuredly been seeking out the Messiah because in John 1:45 we read, “Philip findeth Nathaniel, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” The next time we see Philip is in John 6 when the crowd that followed Jesus needed to be fed. Jesus tested Philip by saying “Whence shall we buy bread that these may eat?” (v5b). Unfortunately, Philip had pessimistically said “Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them.” Philip had undoubtedly forgotten the miracle of changing water into wine in Cana (John 2) and many other miracles that Jesus had performed.

We meet Philip again in John 12 when certain Greeks wanted to meet Jesus. Again, Philip was unsure of himself because instead of taking the Greeks directly to Jesus, he solicited Andrew’s help “And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast. Sir, we would see Jesus….Philip cometh and telleth Andrew: and again Andrew and Philip tell Jesus.” The last glimpse of Philip is in the upper room just after Jesus had washed the Disciple’s feet and had said “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me”.; Philip blurted out “Lord, show us the Father and is sufficeth us” (John 14:8b). At that point Jesus had to sum up all that Philip had witnessed in the last three years by saying “Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?” John 14:9. Philip is an example to show that Jesus works with those who are of limited ability and transforms them into worthy defenders of the faith.

No 7

(Nathanael)

“..Thou art the Son of God, thou art the King of Israel” John 1:49. Nathanael whose name is also Bartholomew spoke these words in his first encounter with Jesus. As it turns out, he became one of Jesus’ Apostles with his best friend, Phillip who had just told him in verse 45 “Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” By the words Nathanael spoke, it is quite obvious that he knew about the Old Testament prophesies of a Saviour and was undoubtedly a student of Scripture.

His name means “God has given” and his Hebrew surname, Bartholomew means “Son of Tolmai” . Nathaniel had a pure heart because Jesus, on seeing him said “behold an Israelite in whom there is no guile!” (John 2:47b) To which he responded “Whence knowest thou me?” As if to say: “how do you know what is in my heart?” Nathanael realized then and there that he was in the presence of someone who was omniscient. Not much is known of Nathaniel in the Gospels but his eager faith and his sincerity of heart earned him a place in history next to Jesus. Everything he experienced with Christ without doubt made his faith stronger and his heart more sincere. Nathaniel is an example of how God can take an ordinary person from a most obscure place and use him to His glory.

No 8

(Matthew)

“And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him” Matthew 9:9. Matthew’s calling was simple enough – he just got up and followed Jesus. However, there is much more behind this than meets the eye; let’s look and see. Matthew is of course the author of the Gospel that bears his name and, surprisingly, very little is known of his personal life – his name is mentioned only twice in the whole Gospel; we do, however, know a lot about his profession – he was a tax collector, a publican.

They were the most despised people in Israel because they extorted more money than was actually required by Roman law. There were two kinds of tax collectors – Gabai and Mokhes. The Gabbai were the general tax collectors – property taxes, income taxes and poll taxes; these taxes went straight to the Romans so there was not much room for cheating. The Mokhes however collected a duty on imports, exports and anything that moved on the roads. They set tolls on bridges and roads; they taxed beasts of burden and whatever else they could find to tax. There were two kinds of Mokhes – the Great Mokhes and the Little Mokhes. Great Mokhes stayed behind the scene and let the Little Mokhes collect the actual taxes from the people. Zaccheus was apparently a Great Mokhes because the Bible calls him “a chief tax collector” Luke 19:2 and Matthew was evidently a Little Mokhes because he was in public place. Matthew was the worst of the worst.

His decision to follow Jesus was without hesitation, as we have seen, and it was also irreversible because his spot would’ve quickly been taken up by someone else looking to make a fast buck. This is all that we know about Matthew’s personal life and one thing is very clear – he believed in the true God because he realised that by placing his faith in Jesus and by following Him, he would obtain forgiveness for all his sins of impropriety.

No 9

(Thomas)

This disciple is usually nicknamed “doubting Thomas” but in all fairness, he was a better man than what we have become to say of him but he was however a negative person. He has another name that is Didimus which means “twin”; he undoubtedly had a twin brother or sister but that person is not mentioned in Scripture. John’s Gospel reveals to us a great aspect of Thomas’ character. The familiar passage is in John chapter 11 where Jesus finds out about the sickness and ultimate death of His good friend, Lazarus. He wants to go down to his house but the Disciples warn Him by saying “…Master, the Jews of late sought to stone thee; and goest thou there again?” (v8).

Jesus was determined to go but certainly, the Disciples had their reservations about going. This is where we meet Thomas for the first time in the Gospels and he feared nothing; he said “Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellow disciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him” (v16). That statement is pessimistic, not unlike Thomas, but it was a heroic pessimism because he was ready to die if that is what it meant to follow Jesus. He had the courage to be loyal even in the face of danger and his love for Jesus could not be dampened by difficult situations.

The next time we see Thomas is in John 14 when Jesus spoke about preparing a place for them. “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself… and where I go ye know, and the way ye know.” (vs3,4). Here is where Thomas says “Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not where thou goest; and how can we know the way? (v5). He did not want to be separated from Jesus; for Thomas, that’s the worst thing that could happen; again we see his pessimism. He was basically saying that they would never see Jesus again and that they did not know where He was going. Thomas was devoted to Christ and although we do not hear or see him very often in the Scriptures, he was one of the most dedicated of the Disciples; may we be like Thomas.