Investigating Jesus - Part 11

Investigating Jesus Part 11
Jesus Selects His Disciples

 

18 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 20 At once they left their nets and followed him. 21 Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him. Matthew 4:18-22

There are three main lists of disciples (Matthew 10:1-4, Mark 3:13-19, Luke 6:12-16) who were chosen near the start of Jesus ministry. The Gospel of John offers no comprehensive list but does refer to them as “The Twelve” (John 6:67, John 6:70, and John 6:71). Here are “The Twelve”: the 12 main disciples of Jesus Christ:

• Andrew: he was a fisherman from Bethsaida (Matthew 4:18). It was he who introduced his brother, Simon Peter, to Jesus (John 1:40-42). He was also a disciple of John the Baptist.
• Bartholomew: he was the son of Talemai and possibly was also called Nathaniel (John 1:45-51).
• James: he was the son of Alphaeus. He is also known as James the Less (Mark 15:40). He would later play a leading role in the Jerusalem church (Acts 15).
• James & John: the sons of Zebedee. Both were fisherman (Matthew 4:21; Luke 5:1-11) and Jesus called them the sons of Boanerges or sons of thunder (Mark 3:17). John is known as the “the disciple whom Jesus loved” (John 13:23, John 19:26).
• Judas Iscariot: (Luke 6:13, 16): he was the son of Simon (John 6:71 & John 13:26). He was the disciple who betrayed Jesus (Matthew 26:14-16; Mark 14:10-11) and was replaced after the Resurrection by Matthias (Acts 1:26).
• Matthew: he was a tax collector (Matthew 9:9) and the son of Alphaeus (Mark 2:14. He also authored the gospel by the same name (Matthew 1:1).
• Philip: from Bethsaida (John 1:44; John 12:21). Notably, it was he who introduced Greeks to Jesus (John 12:20-22).
• Simon: known also as Simon the Zealot (Matthew 10:4) and possibly from Jerusalem.
• Simon: brother of Andrew and an uneducated fisherman from Bethsaida (Matthew 4:18; Acts 4:13). Later, he was renamed Peter by Jesus (John 1:42) and would go on be the leader of these twelve disciples (Acts 1:15-26). We know that Peter also wrote letters to churches and we have two of them in what is our New Testament, the books known as 1 Peter and 2 Peter.
• Thaddeus: listed as a disciple in Mark 3:18 and known also as Lebbaeus (Matthew 10:3) and Judas brother of James (Luke 6:16).
• Thomas also known as Thomas Didymus. He is best known however, as doubting Thomas for initially disbelieving the resurrection of Jesus before he saw the Lord and proclaimed Him as such (John 11:16, John 20:24, John 21:2).
  

How were they chosen?

It was usual practice for a disciple to take the initiative and choose his master and then voluntarily join that school. However, in reverse of this practice, Jesus Himself chose those who were to follow Him by issuing a simple command “Come, follow me.” This can be seen in several places in the Gospels, for example Matthew 4:18-22; Matthew 16:24; Matthew 19:21; Mark 1:17; Mark 8:34; Mark 10:21; Luke 9:23; Luke 18:22.

The reason that God gave them to Him as his disciples was so that they would produce fruit for God’s Kingdom (John 15:16). Jesus also placed some demands on those who wanted to follow Him. For some, these demands proved too much so they went away, like the rich young ruler (Matthew 19:16-22). Others, who were initially attracted to Jesus, stopped following him and left saying: “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it? (John 6:60)

What was it about these people we know as the Twelve Disciples that made them want to follow Jesus?

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