The Bible Book

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encouraging resistance to foreign

control and religion. As their name

implies, they are “zealous” in

asserting the ancestral traditions

of the nation of Israel and repelling

the depredations of invaders and

false gods. For many Zealots, the

end objective was the overthrow

of Rome itself. By appointing Peter,

as with Levi (Matthew), Jesus

appears to be courting controversy.

He condemns violence, yet also

paradoxically chooses a disciple

who supports it. The selection

of Simon the Zealot shows that

ideological orientation is no barrier

to admission to God’s kingdom.

The professions of the other

six disciples are not specified by

the Gospel writers, but it seems

likely that at least two more of

them were fishermen. The names

of the six are: Philip; Bartholomew,

also referred to as “Nathanael” in

John and probably Philip’s brother;

Thomas, who went on to doubt the

resurrection of Jesus, giving rise

to the term “Doubting Thomas”;

another James (not the brother of

John); Thaddaeus, also known as

Judas; and Judas Iscariot, who

eventually betrays Jesus.

These 12 disciples are also

known as “Apostles” in the Bible

and the two terms are employed

interchangeably in the Gospels.

Indeed, such was their importance

to the spread of Christianity that

the period in which they lived is

known as the “Apostolic Age.”

Martyrdom

Christian tradition maintains

that all but one of the 12 disciples

were martyred, with John alone

surviving into old age and dying

peacefully. However, only the

death of James—fisherman and

son of Zebedee—is described in

the New Testament. There may

be a reason for this: according to

the 18th-century English historian

Edward Gibbon, early Christians

believed that among the original

12 disciples only James and Peter

died for their faith in Jesus.

There are various reports of the

death of Judas Iscariot. Matthew

27:5 records that he throws down

THE CALLING OF THE DISCIPLES

Each of the Apostles in this gilded

and painted alabaster representation

(c.1450) from England holds his emblem

and a colored scroll inscribed with

a sentence of the creed in Latin.

the silver he receives for the betrayal

of Jesus in the Temple and then

hangs himself. Acts 1:18 states that

he purchases a field with his blood

money, and then plunges headlong

into a pit in the field and bursts

open. In any event, Judas Iscariot

is dead by the time of Christ’s

resurrection. The disciples replace

Judas, by election, with Matthias.

New disciples

The Christian teachings inspired

by the short life of Jesus were not

just taught by 11 of the 12 original

disciples and Matthias. Instead,

Eastern Christian tradition

maintains that there were as many

as 70 Apostles during the time

of Jesus’s ministry. A number of

other prominent figures, such as

St. Paul (who was also martyred),

were also known as Apostles,

even though they did not follow

Jesus during His earthly ministry.

The Apostles would become

the foundations of the early Church.

During the 1st century ce, they

established churches throughout

the Mediterranean, as well as

across the Middle East, Africa,

and India, in spite of persecution,

The things you have

heard me say ... entrust

to reliable people who

will also be qualified

to teach others.

2 Timothy 2:2

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203

which continued into the 4th

century. The reputation of these

men, and the esteem in which they

were held, grew as the Church

spread through the world.

Holy lineage

To this day, churches that are

believed to have been founded by

one of the Apostles are referred

to as “apostolic sees,” among

which the Holy See of Rome is pre-

eminent. Bishops throughout the

Christian world have traditionally

claimed their authority via

“apostolic succession”—claiming

to trace their roots back to the

original 12 disciples. In practice,

this means that bishops today

are consecrated by older bishops,

who in turn were consecrated

by bishops before them, with

a chain stretching directly back

to the 12 Apostles.

Today, personal apostolic

succession is still a requirement

for a bishop’s ordination in many

Christian denominations—notably

the Roman Catholic, Eastern

Orthodox, and Anglican churches. ■

THE GOSPELS

Fishing and

the Ichthys

Just as fishermen bear great

symbolism in the New

Testament as “fishers of men,”

so do fish themselves. The

most famous reference to fish

in the Gospels is the feeding

of the 5,000 using just five

loaves of bread and two fish,

which is reported in all four

(Matthew 14:13–21; Mark

6:30–44; Luke 9:10–17; John

6:1–15). In Matthew 13:47–52,

in the Parable of the Net,

Jesus compares God’s Final

Judgment on who goes to

heaven and who to hell to

fishermen sorting out their

catch, keeping the good fish

and throwing the bad away.

After His resurrection, Jesus

is offered grilled fish to eat

in Luke 24:41–43.

The many mentions of

fish in the New Testament

may explain why the ichthys

(Greek for “fish”), the elliptical

shape ending in a fish tail,

became a symbol of early

Christianity. Deployed as

a secret code by Christians

during times of persecution,

the ichthys is sometimes

seen etched into walls or

in floor mosaics in early

Christian basilicas. To this

day, Christians incorporate

the fish symbol in jewelry

and clothing.

Christ

Peter

John James

Andrew

Philip

Bartholomew

Matthew

Thomas

James, son of Alphaeus

Thaddaeus

Simon

the Zealot

Judas

Iscariot

The Apostles of Jesus

The disciples closest to Jesus were

Peter, James, and John. They spent

the most time with Him and witnessed

more of His miracles. In any list of the

Apostles, Peter is always first.

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