In Christian theology and ecclesiology, the apostles, particularly the Twelve Apostles (also known as the Twelve Disciples or simply the Twelve), were the primary disciples of Jesus according to the New Testament. During the life and ministry of Jesus in the 1st century AD, the apostles were his closest followers and became the primary teachers of the gospel message of Jesus. There is also an Eastern Christian tradition derived from the Gospel of Luke that there were seventy apostles during the time of Jesus' ministry. The word comes from the Koine Greek apóstolos, meaning a messenger or envoy, with a sense closer to delegate than to messenger. The gospels and Acts give four lists of the Twelve which differ slightly in the names, and the Gospel of John refers to the Twelve without ever listing them.
The commissioning of the Twelve Apostles during the ministry of Jesus is described in the Synoptic Gospels. After his resurrection, Jesus sent eleven of them (as Judas Iscariot by then had died) in the Great Commission to spread his teachings to all nations. Peter, James and John form an inner circle within the group, alone present at the raising of Jairus' daughter, the Transfiguration and the agony in Gethsemane. After Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus and died, the remaining eleven chose Matthias by lot to restore the number to twelve.
Apart from the original twelve, there were other people who were considered apostles. In the Pauline epistles, Paul, although not one of the original twelve, described himself as an apostle, saying he was called by the resurrected Jesus himself during his road to Damascus event. He later describes himself as "an apostle to the Gentiles". Paul also describes Andronicus and the woman Junia as "outstanding among the apostles." The period and associated events in the timeline of early Christianity during the lifetimes of the twelve apostles is called the Apostolic Age. Barnabas and James the brother of Jesus are also called apostles in the New Testament, and Paul uses the word well beyond the original twelve.
Christian tradition holds that all the Twelve except John were martyred, though only the death of James son of Zebedee is recorded in the New Testament. Scholars differ over how much of the martyrdom tradition is historical, some treating most accounts as late legend. Relics of the apostles are claimed by churches across Europe and beyond, among them St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, Santiago de Compostela Cathedral and San Thome Basilica in Chennai.
By the 2nd century, a link to the apostles was treated as a mark of authority. Churches founded by one of them were known as apostolic sees, bishops traced their office to the Twelve through apostolic succession, and texts including the Didache and the Apostles' Creed were attributed to them.
Etymology
The term apostle comes from the Greek apóstolos () – formed from the prefix apó- (, 'from') and root stéllō (, 'I send, I depart') – originally meaning 'messenger, envoy'. It has a stronger sense than the word messenger, and is closer to a 'delegate'.
Biblical narratives states that Jesus initially sent out these twelve in pairs (cf. , ) to towns in Galilee. The text states that their initial instructions were to heal the sick and drive out demons. 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 two tunics", 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.
Later in the Gospels, the Twelve Apostles are described as having been commissioned to preach the Gospel to "all the nations",, , regardless of whether Jew or Gentile., , , Paul emphasized the 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."
Calling by Jesus
All four canonical Gospels record the circumstances in which some of the disciples were recruited. According to the Gospel of John, Andrew, who was the disciple of John the Baptist, and another unnamed disciple of John the Baptist, traditionally believed to be John, 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 the Eastern Orthodox Church honours Andrew with the name Protokletos, which means "the first called".
Matthew describes Jesus meeting James and John, also fishermen and brothers, shortly after recruiting Simon and Andrew. Matthew and Mark identify James and John as sons of Zebedee. Luke adds 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.
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 Jesus rejected the traditional patriarchal structure of society, where the father had command over his children; most scholars interpret it to mean that Matthew intended these two to be seen as more devoted than the other pair or that Jesus expected the coming of the kingdom.
Despite Jesus only briefly requesting that the Apostles join him, they are all described as immediately consenting, even abandoning fishing 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 of John the Baptist, and that he and his brother started following Jesus as soon as Jesus had been baptized.
The Synoptic Gospels go on to describe that later in Jesus' ministry he noticed a tax collector in his booth. The tax collector, called Matthew in , and Levi in and , 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 as villains in Jewish society, and the Pharisees 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.".
Commissioning of the Twelve Apostles The commissioning of the Twelve Apostles is an episode in the ministry of Jesus that appears in the three Synoptic Gospels. It relates the initial selection of the Twelve Apostles among the disciples of Jesus.
In the Gospel of Matthew, this event takes place shortly before the miracle of the man with a withered hand. In the gospels of Mark and of Luke, it appears shortly after that miracle.
Lists of the Twelve Apostles in the New Testament
Each of the four listings of apostles in the New Testament, , , and indicate that all the apostles were men. According to Christian tradition they were all Jews.Origen. Contra Celsum. Book 2, Chapter 2. The canonical gospels and the book of Acts give varying names of the Twelve Apostles; ancient biographies could display flexibility when reporting events, though the Synoptics were more conservative than other contemporary historians in adaptation of sources. The list in Luke mentions "Judas, the son of James" instead of "Thaddaeus". 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, and James, son of Alphaeus is always listed ninth. Judas Iscariot is always listed last.
Unlike the Synoptic Gospels, the Gospel of John does not offer a formal list of apostles. Although it refers to "the Twelve", 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.
According to the New Testament there were only two pairs of brothers among the Twelve Apostles: Peter and Andrew, the sons of Jonah, as well as James and John, the sons of Zebedee. Since the father of both James, son of Alphaeus and Matthew is named Alphaeus, according to the tradition of the Eastern Orthodox Church the two were brothers as well. According to the tradition of the Catholic Church based on the writing of the Apostolic Father Papias of Hierapolis the apostles James, son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus were brothers and sons of Alphaeus (named also Clopas) and his wife Mary of Clopas who was the sister of the mother of Jesus. The Golden Legend, compiled by Jacobus de Voragine in the 13th century, adds to the two apostles also Simon the Zealot.
Gospel of MatthewGospel of MarkGospel of LukeGospel of JohnActs of the ApostlesSimon ("also known as Peter")Simon ("to whom he gave the name Peter")Simon ("whom he named Peter")Simon Peter / Cephas "which is translated Peter"PeterAndrew ("his [Peter's] brother")AndrewAndrew ("his [Peter's] brother")Andrew ("Simon Peter's brother")AndrewJames ("son of Zebedee")James ("son of Zebedee") / one of the "Boanerges"Jamesone of the "sons of Zebedee"JamesJohn ("his [James's] brother")John ("brother of James") / one of the "Boanerges"Johnone of the "sons of Zebedee" / the "disciple whom Jesus loved"JohnPhilipPhilipPhilipPhilipPhilipBartholomewBartholomewBartholomewNathanaelBartholomewThomasThomasThomasThomas ("also called Didymus")ThomasMatthew ("the publican")Matthew / LeviMatthew / Levinot mentionedMatthewJames ("son of Alphaeus")James ("son of Alphaeus")James ("son of Alphaeus")not mentionedJames ("son of Alphaeus")Thaddaeus (or "Lebbaeus"); ThaddaeusJudas ("son of James," referred to as brother in some translations)Judas ("not Iscariot")Judas ("son of James," referred to as brother in some translations)Simon ("the Canaanite")Simon ("the Cananaean")Simon ("who was called the Zealot")not mentionedSimon ("the Zealot")Judas IscariotJudas IscariotJudas IscariotJudas ("son of Simon Iscariot")(Judas replaced by Matthias)
Inner circle among the Twelve Apostles Peter, James son of Zebedee, and James's brother John formed an informal triumvirate among the Twelve Apostles in the Gospels. Jesus invited them to be the only apostles present on three notable occasions during his public ministry: the Raising of Jairus' daughter, the Transfiguration, and the Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane.