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SUTTON AND WAWNE
TEAM MINISTRY
The Twelve
Apostles
The original twelve apostles
may be considered, with one exception (i.e.
Judas), to be some of the most fortunate people
that ever lived. Often referred to simply as "The
Twelve," they were chosen by Jesus Christ
Himself, and actually lived and worked with Him
during His Ministry.
The names of The Twelve are
listed in 4 places in The Bible (Matthew 10:2-4,
Mark 3:16-19, Luke 6:12-19, Acts 1:13) with some
minor differences due to the various uses of
first, family, or nicknames at different
times.
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Simon. More generally known as
Peter, perhaps to differentiate him from
another apostle called Simon, details below.
Peter was the brother of Andrew and a fisherman
from the Sea of Galilee. Considered to be the
most impulsive of the group, always ready to
speak up, and swing a sword on occasion (e.g.
the cutting off of a man's ear at the time of
Jesus' arrest - see The Fateful Night). Some
traditions hold that he was eventually
crucified, upside down, by the Romans. There
has been a very long debate as to whether or
not he was actually the first pope. At any
event, christian tradition has it that he held
the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven, hence this
symbol.
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Andrew. He was active in bringing people
to Jesus, including and most importantly, his
brother Simon Peter. Born in Bethsaida on the
Sea of Galilee, both brothers were fishermen,
and at the beginning of Jesus' public life,
they all occupied the same house in Capharnaum.
Andrew at once recognized Jesus as the Messiah,
and hastened to introduce Him to his brother.
As well as being the patron saint of Scotland,
he is also a venerated patron saint in Russia,
Sicily, Greece and Romania, as well as of
fishermen.
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James. James was the older brother of
John, and a fisherman. He was the first of The
Twelve to be martyred, and is often referred to
as "The Greater" to distinguish him from the
other James further down the list. His symbol,
being another fisherman, is the scallop shell
with his image, seen illustrated here. Said to
have gone to Spain to preach the Gospel, James
was martyred by decapitation on his return to
Jerusalem with a sword by Herod Agrippa
himself. His disciples carried his body by sea
back to Spain, where they landed on the coast
of Galicia, and took it inland for burial at
Santiago de Compostela. James is also the
patron saint of Spain.
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John. The Apostle John, whilst exiled on
the Greek island Of Patmos, is thought to have
also written the Book of Revelation, the final
book in the New Testament, as well as the
Gospel according to St John long attributed to
him. But some theologians now think they were
different people, confusion arising out of the
fact that John was a very common name.
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Philip. From Bethsaida, as were Andrew
and Peter. Eventually martyred, possibly at
Hierapolis.
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Bartholomew. He was one of the disciples
to whom Jesus appeared at the Sea of Tiberias
after His resurrection, along with Thomas
below. He was also a witness of the Ascension.
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Thomas. He was also called Didymus which
is the Greek version of his name. Not easily
convinced, he has the nickname "Doubting
Thomas" because he wanted to actually see and
touch Jesus after His Resurrection. Certainly a
good witness for us today, because he wanted
indisputable proof of what he was expected to
report about, and he got it.
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Matthew. Formerly a tax-collector at
Capernaum, he became one of the more prominent
apostles. Thought to have been martyred in
Ethiopia by the king's brother, Hyrtacus, after
baptising the Ethiopian king, Aeglippus,
Matthew had refused to bless the marriage of
Hyrtacus to his late brother's daughter and so
was put to death. Other traditions have it that
he was martyred in modern-day Turkey, but his
bones are now in Salerno Cathedral.
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James. Known as James the Younger, or
James the Less, he wrote the epistle which
bears his name.
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Thaddaeus. Also known as "Judas the
brother of James;" while John probably
referring to the same person, speaks of "Judas,
not Iscariot."
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Simon the Zealot. The Zealots were a
nationalistic sect with very strong political
views. There seemed to be a wide variety of
personalities among the apostles.
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Judas Iscariot. The traitor, who gave
Christ away to the Romans. But it is worth
remembering that Jesus did forgive Judas for
giving him away .. he understood his fear, his
worries, and understood the capacity for making
an horrendously wrong decision. Conversely, it
is thought that Jesus did not forgive Peter for
his 'thrice denial before the cock crowed'.
Perhaps Our Lord knew that Peter should have
known better, and in some ways, it was the
greater sin.
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Matthias. To bring the number back up to
twelve after Judas fell away, Matthias was
chosen by the remaining eleven apostles.
The above information is reproduced from the
website of :
THE DAILY BIBLE STUDY
at
http://www.keyway.ca/htm2002/apostles.htm
an evangelist site based in Canada.
The link opens in a new window.
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