The Twelve and their responsibilities
A disciple is a learner or follower; an apostle is someone sent with a particular message. The Twelve belonged to a close group whom Jesus trained before sending them with his authority. Their calling therefore involved both learning from him and taking responsibility for communicating his message. Mark describes their appointment as being with Jesus and being sent to preach (Mark 3:13–19).
- Simon Peter
- Andrew
- James
- John
- Philip
- Bartholomew
- Matthew
- Thomas
- James son of Alphaeus
- Simon the Zealot
- Judas son of James (Luke 6:16)
- Judas Iscariot [1]
These are Luke’s names for the group (Luke 6:13–16). Family relationships help distinguish several members: Andrew was Simon Peter’s brother, while James and John were brothers and sons of Zebedee. Matthew’s list identifies Matthew as a tax collector (Matthew 10:2–4). At least four of the disciples were fishermen. The group thus included men with different working backgrounds, rather than a single shared occupation. [2][3]
The Gospel lists use some different names. Matthew names Thaddaeus (Matthew 10:2–4), while Luke names Judas son of James (Luke 6:16); these are traditionally identified as the same disciple. Bartholomew is also traditionally identified with Nathanael. These identifications connect the accounts, but they should be distinguished from the names each Gospel actually uses. Judas son of James and Judas Iscariot are separate members of Luke’s list (Luke 6:16). [2]
GotQuestions describes Peter, James and John as a still closer group within the Twelve. They accompanied Jesus at the transfiguration (Mark 9:2–3), when he raised Jairus’s daughter (Luke 8:49–56), and during his prayer in Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36–46). GotQuestions suggests that their preparation for later leadership may explain this closeness, while acknowledging that the Bible does not state why Jesus chose these three. [1]
In a Christian understanding, Jesus’ training of this small group prepared leadership through whom his message would reach others. The terms disciple and apostle describe connected responsibilities, and the Gospels sometimes use them interchangeably: the men learned from Jesus and were sent to bear witness. Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus; Acts records Matthias being chosen to take his place among the apostles (Acts 1:16–26). [2]
