Jesus calls out the first members of the church, or the 12 disciples. These were men who would follow Him and learned directly from Jesus.
Matthew 10:1–4
Jesus called his twelve disciples to Him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.
2 These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
Jesus had already chosen the 12 disciples. (Read Mark 3:13–19 and Luke 6:12–16.) They had spent time with Him. Now they were ready to begin their special task. (Compare verses 5–15 with Mark 6:7–13 and Luke 9:1–6.) Here, Matthew called them apostles for the first time.
Verses 2–4 gives a list of Jesus’ apostles. There are 4 lists in the New Testament. (Compare Mark 3:16–19; Luke 6:14–16 and Acts 1:13.) The name of Judas is not in Acts 1:13. This is because he was dead by that time. And he had not been loyal to Jesus. So, he could no longer be called an apostle.
The last name on the list was Thaddaeus. This was his name in Matthew and Mark. But it was different in Luke and Acts. There he was called ‘Jude the son of James’. It probably just meant that he had several names. This was common in Bible times. It is true for us today too. Also, there was Bartholomew. His name was probably also Nathanael. (Read John 1:45–51.)
The people whom Jesus called did not seem to be special. They were very ordinary men. Later, they would change the world. Now, they were a strange group in many ways. We would probably never choose them. But Jesus did. One thing united them. It was their love for Jesus.
The disciples were people like us. They were strong in some ways. But they were weak in other ways. Yet, Jesus used all the disciples.
Peter was the natural leader. He was an exciting kind of man. He had much energy and excitement. But, he was not calm. Often, people could not trust him completely. He pretended to be brave. But he often felt afraid. But Jesus changed Peter. Jesus said that Peter would be like a rock. Peter became leader in the first church. (Note: ‘church’ refers to the group of believers, not to a building.)
Andrew was Peter’s brother. He had been waiting for the Messiah whom God had promised. Andrew was one of the first men to join Jesus’ group. (Read John 1:37–40.) He brought Peter to Jesus. But Andrew did not want to be a leader. He did not care if people did not notice him. (Read John 1:40–42.) Andrew’s home was in Capernaum city. This was the home where Jesus lived. (Read Mark 1:29.) Andrew was a friendly man. His trust was weak. But the Lord Jesus was able to increase it. (Read John 6:8–9.)
James and John were brothers. Their job was to catch fish. They probably had an important relative. We think this because the High Priest knew John. (Read John 18:16.) James and John were men with strong emotions. They could get very angry (Mark 3:17). They could have too much excitement. (Read Luke 9:54–56.) But John was a man who also thought about things. He was a special friend to Jesus. (Read John 13:23; 19:26; 20:2; 21:7, 20.) Stephen was the first Christian who died for Jesus (Acts 7). James was the next one (Acts 12:2). John was probably the last of the apostles to die. (Read John 21:22–24.)
Philip came from Bethsaida. Peter and Andrew came from the same town. (Read John 1:44.) Philip did not want to be a leader. He could not understand all that Jesus said. (Read John 14:8.) It was the same for the other disciples too. But, he was willing to learn, as Andrew was. (Read John 6:5–7.) He was a friendly man too. (Read John 12:21–22.)
We do not know much about Bartholomew. (We think that he was the same man as Nathanael.) John 1:45–49 and 21:2 are the only passages about him. Bartholomew was a sincere student of the Old Testament. He had doubts. But when someone explained the truth to him, he understood it.
We have all heard of Thomas. (Read John 11:16; 14:5; 20:24–28; and 21:2.) He seemed to feel miserable quite easily. But he was also very loyal to his friends. Thomas was not sure about Jesus, like Nathanael was. But Thomas, too, could understand great truths.
Matthew was a man who collected taxes. When Jesus called him, he left his job immediately. (Read Luke 5:27–32.) He did not think that he was clever. He was a humble man. He did not tell us much about himself. None of the Gospels recorded any words that he spoke. But he had probably had the most education of all the disciples. He cared about his friends too. (Read Luke 5:29.)
Simon was probably a brave patriot. (This is someone who loves his country. He supports it. He is ready to defend it.)
We know very little about James and Thaddaeus.
Also there was Judas Iscariot. He did not benefit from his friendship with Jesus. He saw and heard about the things of God for three years. But he did not learn from them.
Apostles
Many people were called ‘apostles’.
• The 12 disciples were sometimes called apostles. Two other main people were called apostles. They were:
• Matthias (Acts 1:26) and
• Paul.
Other men were also called apostles sometimes. They were:
• Barnabas (Acts 14:14)
• James, the brother of Jesus (Galatians 1:19 and 1 Corinthians 15:7)
• perhaps Andronicus and Junias (Romans 16:7)
• men whom the church leaders sent out. They took messages from the church. Or they went to help someone. (Read 2 Corinthians 8:23 and Philippians 2:25.)
However, the 12 disciples seemed to be special.(Read Acts 1:26; 1 Corinthians 15:7 and Revelation 21:14.) These men were with Jesus while He worked on earth. (Read Acts 1:21–22.) They knew that He had died. They were witnesses to the fact that He came back to life. (Read Acts 1:22.) Later, the Bible says that Paul was an apostle. He knew that he was the last of the apostles. (Read 1 Corinthians 15:8.)
Apostles received a personal call from God. (Read Romans 1:1.) He called them to declare God’s word in public. (Read Mark 3:14.) They could use Jesus’ authority in a special way. (Compare Matthew 10:1 with 7:23 and 9:6.) They healed people. They used wonderful signs too. (Read 2 Corinthians 12:12.) Later, these signs were called clear evidence. They showed that God approved of these apostles. (Read Hebrews 2:3–4.)
God also gave a special understanding of God’s word to these men. (Read Acts 2:42; John 15:26–27 and 14:26.) What the apostles wrote is the main part of our New Testament.
Questions
1. Study the list of people whom Jesus chose. How can they encourage us all? How are they strong? How are they weak? In what ways am I like them?
2. Should we choose our church leaders in the same way as Jesus did? Perhaps you do not think that we should. Give your reasons for this opinion. Should members of the church vote for their leaders? Or should the members accept all the leaders who offer themselves?
3. Think of the qualities that a Christian leader needs. Are they different from the qualities that a political leader needs? Are they different from the qualities that a manager of a business needs? What are the differences?