12 Ordinary Men and an Itinerant Rabbi

12 Ordinary Men and an Itinerant Rabbi

I have always been intrigued with the people in the Bible, their backgrounds and professions, their societal roles and historical significance, their successes and failures, and the ramifications of their choices from their acceptance or rejection of their callings by God. Particularly intriguing to me are the 12 men who became the first disciples of Jesus. Their unconventional path to becoming some of the most historically significant men in the last 2000 years is almost as astounding as the impact they had in furthering the Gospel of Christ. They were unremarkable and mostly blue-collar men who (in some cases literally) walked away from their current lives and livelihoods to become followers of an unknown itinerant rabbi who eventually became teachers, preachers, and extraordinary ambassadors at large of the very Son of God himself, Christ Jesus.

These 12 ordinary men were:

Andrew,     Bartholomew,     James, son of Alphaeus          

James, son of Zebedee,     John,     Judas Iscariot

Simon (later called Peter),     Philip,     Matthew

Simon the Zealot,     Jude Thaddaeus,     Thomas

Before we look at them specifically, let’s look at the master/student - rabbi /disciple relationship that was in place at the time these men were called.

A rabbi was a teacher of God’s Word which in those days was the Old Testament. Rabbis were educated men, had expert knowledge of the Torah (first five books of the Bible) and the writings of the prophets and were held in high regard by Jewish society. A rabbi also had a following, a group of students called a Talmidim (pronounced tal-mee-deem). Becoming a Talmid was to belong to a very exclusive group.

There was a difficult selection process to become a Talmid. A child had to be welled schooled and by 12 years of age, they were expected to have memorized the first 5 books of the Bible. (Put that in context with our Sunday school where on any given week we hope our kids will memorize just one verse!!) There were a lot of other prerequisites and factors involved including a candidate’s family standing and political connections. The higher the renown of the rabbi they were trying to become a student of, the higher the degree of prerequisites required.   Rabbis were highly selective as in those days one of the gauges of the prestige of a rabbi was “quality” of his Talmidim. On the flip side of that relationship, the standing of a Talmid among his peers was based upon the prestige of his rabbi.

Though the selection process for any given Talmid was rigorous, it began with a very simple question from a prospective student to his rabbi – “Can I be like you?” A student was then thoroughly tested by the rabbi and if he successfully met the rabbi’s expectations, he would answer “Yes, I believe you can become what I am”, and would accept the young man as his student. However, should the candidate be found lacking, the answer would be something to the effect of “Perhaps you should follow in your family’s chosen profession...” Due to the nature of the selection process, low numbers of open spots for students, and the numbers of candidates “applying”, washouts were frequent and could be socially and politically devastating to both student and family.

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I am a football guy (Go Giants!!) and tend to put things into a football perspective, so to understand just how severe of an outcome a rejection by a rabbi was, imagine this - Creyton Namming (misspelling intentional, I do not wish to be sued…), coming from the storied Namming “Football Family” of great renown, preparing from a young age to be an NFL quarterback of the highest caliber, experiencing progressive levels of success in pee-wee league, high school and college football. This great success is leading to greater and greater visibility with him ultimately becoming the highest graded draft prospect of the pro football scouting community. He then goes to the pro scouting combine looking to showcase his impressive quarterback skills and striking football acumen with the goal of becoming the #1 draft pick and enjoy all the professional and financial rewards which come from being #1. But despite all the previous success and extensive effort, coaching, and time in preparation, HE TOTALLY BOMBS.

• Passes that don’t hit the dirt are caught by everyone BUT the receiver that he was throwing to including every single player on the defense, the guy selling giant foam #1 fingers, and the Aflac duck who is there making his next commercial.

• 50% of the snaps from shotgun hit him in the face repeatedly breaking his nose, the other 50% shoot between his legs, one of which grazes his knee, takes a bad bounce and accidently hits a kid acting as ball-boy in the face breaking his nose as well.

• Even though snap count is “1” for every play, he forgets the snap count and fumbles and even though it is only him and one receiver on the field to throw too, he tries to audible.

• He scores a -5 on the Wunderlic test because he mistakenly fills in the answer bubbles one line below the actual test question number AND while signing in, he breaks the test proctor’s  fountain pen which just so happened to be used by Abraham Lincoln to sign the Emancipation Proclamation.

Afterwards the scouts thank poor Creyton and tell him, “Hey, once you get the bleeding under control and that nose surgically repaired, you could maybe sell used cars or open a donut shop”.  It was that level of devastating…

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Jesus though had a habit of breaking tradition and the way he and his 12 disciples came together is no exception. You see, Jesus did not hold candidate job interviews for his Talmidim, he went to them and invited, sometimes even challenged them to join him, something no self-respecting rabbi WOULD EVER lower himself to do. Jesus also did not select from the cream of the crop of the Jewish educational system, he selected grown men, each which already had jobs. Think back to what was mentioned earlier, those children who were not selected by a rabbi usually went on to work in the family business, so it is likely that some of the original 12 disciples were even washed out Talmid rejects.

Jesus could not have picked a more diverse and unlikely gaggle of unspectacular men for his Talmidim. As a group, they had very little in common with one another—Some fishermen (one with a big mouth), a fanatical Jewish nationalist, a lost and loathed tax-collector, a total skeptic, two brothers with volatile (thunderous even..?) tempers, and a betrayer for hire.

But these 12 ordinary men would also witness Jesus perform many miracles including healing, defying gravity, stopping a storm in mid blow, and him even bringing a very dead guy back to life. Yet despite seeing all that and Jesus’ best efforts at preparing them (they could be knuckleheads in so many ways), it wasn’t until AFTER his death, resurrection, and ascension that the disciples were transformed into the men Jesus saw them as from the beginning. In Acts 2 they received the indwelling Holy Spirit, the powerful driving force that enabled the disciples to accomplish the mandate (see Matthew 28: 18-20) Jesus had entrusted to them. They became the core of what became a truly world-wide Church by testifying (for all but one at the expense of their very lives) that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, the redeemer of all who trust in His death on the cross to deliver them from sin, and the source of eternal life for all who accept Him as their Savior.

Some of the disciples we know more about than others, some we barely know anything about at all. I would say up front that while some of the knowledge we have of these men is from Scripture, some is also from other historical sources of the times such as Hippolytus, a 3rd-century theologian in the Christian Church in Rome, Eusebius of Caesarea, a Roman Historian who lived from 263-339 AD. With the exception of James (Son of Zebedee) and Judas Iscariot whose deaths are documented in the Bible (and there is even some question with Judas), what is known about the deaths of the remaining disciples is murky and based on tradition.

In no particular order, let’s now take a look at the men who Jesus chose to be his students and closest friends.

Matthew:  

• Author of the Gospel of the same name, Matthew’s calling is referenced in the Bible – Matthew 9:9 “As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he arose and followed Him.”

• Matthew was a tax collector, a profession universally despised because they taxed well over what was required by the Roman Government and were allowed to keep extra. They were generally thought of as corrupt and Matthew, as a Jew working for the Romans and using Roman soldiers to enforce his will, was likely thought of a traitor who sold out his heritage to make a buck.

• In decisively deciding to follow Jesus, Matthew had one of the most radically changed lives in the Bible. He did not hesitate at Jesus’ invitation and he left behind a life of wealth and security for poverty and uncertainty.

• Matthew’s fate is unknown but certain traditions say he preached for 15 years in Jerusalem following the death and resurrection of Jesus, then went out to other countries doing the same where he was  arrested in Ethiopia and there nailed to the ground with short spears and beheaded.

Andrew:

• Andrew (brother to Peter) was a fisherman by profession, whose calling is recorded in Scripture –Matthew 4:18-20 “And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 19 Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 They immediately left their nets and followed Him.”

• Per the Gospel of John 1:35-40, Andrew was a disciple of John the Baptist, whose testimony first led him to follow Jesus. Andrew at once recognized Jesus as the Messiah, and hastened to introduce him to his brother Simon (later Peter).

• The traditional fate of Andrew has him preaching in Achaia (Southern Greece) and Scythia (Ukraine and southern Russia where his is the patron saint), and him being crucified at Patras in Southern Greece. Further tradition holds that he did not feel worthy to be crucified on the same shape cross as Jesus and so requested to be crucified on an “X” shaped cross.

  Bartholomew:

• Little is known about him but based upon the origins of his name, it could be concluded that he was the son of a farmer.

• Bartholomew is mentioned in the Bible but only as part of various lists of the disciples, generally associated with Phillip, see Luke 6:14 as an example.

• "Bar-tholomew" is a patronymic, meaning "son of Tolmai (or Talmai) and it can reasonably be argued that he had another name (Nathaniel) which fits in with John’s Gospel account (John 1:43-50) of an associate of Phillip named Nathaniel who was introduced to Jesus.

• We have no firm information on his later life but Hippolytus holds that Bartholomew / Nathaniel preached in Armenia, and crucified upside down. Other accounts have him being flayed to death by a whip or skinned alive and beheaded.

Thaddaeus:

• Very little is known of him and he is also referred to as Jude or Judas with Jude/Judas Thaddaeus a likely an attempt to distinguish him from Judas Iscariot (I can’t IMAGINE why he wanted that…).

• Other than being included in lists of disciple, he is only mentioned in Scripture in John 14:22 asking Jesus “Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?”

• His fate per the Bible is unknown but it has been said he suffered martyrdom in Persia. Tradition holds he was clubbed and his head was shattered with an axe. Another version tells us he was martyred in Armenia where he was crucified on a cross and pierced with arrows.

Judas Iscariot:

• Was likely the treasurer for the disciples – John 13:29 “For some thought, because Judas had the money box…”

• Famous (infamous actually) for his betrayal of Jesus for 30 pieces of silver – Matthew 26:14-16 “Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 15 and said, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?” And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver. 16 So from that time he sought opportunity to betray Him.”

• Matthew records that after the death of Christ, Judas, riddled with guilt returned the 30 pieces of silver and committed suicide – Matthew 27:3-5 “Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, 4 saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” And they said, “What is that to us? You see to it!”  5 Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself. “

• Acts 1:18-19 also speaks to the death of Judas – “18 (Now this man purchased a field with the wages of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his entrails gushed out. 19 And it became known to all those dwelling in Jerusalem; so that field is called in their own language, Akel Dama, that is, Field of Blood.)

** The apparent differing “deaths” of Judas in Scripture (Matthew – hanging  / Acts – falling & exploding I KNOW, gross right !?!?) could be the subject of its own posting but this is my Readers Digest non-seminary school totally tactless explanation.  

1.      Overwhelmed by guilt, Judas threw the 30 pieces of silver on the floor of the temple, went to the field, hung himself and died.

2.      Jewish law at the time held that even though he threw the $$ on the floor, because it was “blood money” it was both:

a.      Ceremonially unclean (could not be used by the priests for priestly things)

b.      Still Judas’ $$, even though he threw the money away, it was legally still his.

3.      Since the ground where Judas was still hanging was itself now unclean and pretty much good for nothing but a cemetery, the priests bought the field where the now bloating Judas hung himself. And because the tainted $$ were still legally Judas’, the purchase of the field would have been in Judas’ name.

4.      And speaking of Judas…, touching even a regular dead body made one ceremonially unclean, so certainly no self respecting Jew, priest or not, would ever defile himself to cut down and bury the likes of Judas’ very dead body and they just left him up there ripening in the hot Middle Eastern sun.

5.      Eventually something happened, the rope broke or the tree branch snapped, and Judas hit the ground, popped, and oozed.

All in all, a nasty death and awful legacy for a man who did a vile thing….

Onward…

Simon the Zealot:

• Simon is only mentioned in the Bible in the various listings of the 12 disciples.

• Before he became a disciple of Jesus, Simon was thought to be a merchant who turned Jewish nationalist, became a bit of a revolutionary, and joined the Zealots, proponents of the overthrow of Roman rule and the establishment of a Jewish seat of government.

• Differing accounts of his death are found however it is commonly thought that Simon preached his way up the Nile River into Africa and at some point was executed for his beliefs.

James (son of Alphaeus):

• Very little is known of this disciple, sometimes spoken of as “James the Lesser”, and he is only mentioned as being present at various events.

• In Mark 15:40, a “Mary” (not the “Mary” but one of the women who watches the crucifixion) is cited as his mother – “There were also women looking on from afar, among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the Less and of Joses, and Salome…”

• Hippolytus cites that he was stoned and then beaten to death with a fullers club while preaching in Jerusalem.

Philip:

• Philip is another disciple cited in the Bible as being purposely sought out by Jesus.  John 1:43-44 – “The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, “Follow Me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.”

• In John 6:7, he is quoted in a rather uninspired answer to a question posed by Jesus at the Feeding of the 5000 “Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little.”

• Some influence could be inferred to Philip as he served as an intermediary for people to speak with Jesus – John 12:20-22 “Now there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the feast. 21 Then they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” 22 Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn Andrew and Philip told Jesus.”

• Again according to Hippolytus, Philip preached and was executed by crucifixion in what today is eastern Turkey.

Simon (Peter):

• Like his brother Andrew, Peter is a fisherman and he is brought to see Jesus at the behest of his Andrew and ff there was ever something that needed to be said (and also things that did not), Peter would be the guy who opened his mouth.

• Peter is one of the founding fathers of the early Christian church, is spoken of in multiple occurrences throughout the New Testament, and becomes the de-facto leader of the 12 – Matthew 16:15-19 “15 He (Jesus) said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

• Famous for denying three times that he Jesus at the time of his arrest.

• Per Luke 24:12, Peter was the first of disciples to view the empty tomb of Jesus – “But Peter arose and ran to the tomb; and stooping down, he saw the linen cloths lying by themselves; and he departed, marveling to himself at what had happened.”

• Peter preached the Gospel in Galatia, Cappadocia, and Betania, Italy, and Asia and was afterwards crucified by Nero in Rome with his head downward, apparently at his own request.

Thomas:

• Famously known as “Doubting Thomas” because he was not present at the time of Jesus’ first post-resurrection appearance to the disciples and wanted to see Jesus for himself upon being told by the other disciples – John 20:24-28 “Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” 26 And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!” 27 Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.” 28 And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”

• Tradition holds that Thomas preached and was killed by spear or lance in India.

James (son of Zebedee):

• James was part of the inner circle of the disciples and witness to many significant Biblical events including the Transfiguration of Christ and attending Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night before His death.

• Potentially due to their hot-headed natures, along with his brother John, in Mark 3:17 Jesus nicknamed them “The Sons of Thunder”.

• James was actually scolded by Jesus in the Bible for seeking favor - Mark 10:35-40 “Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask.” 36 And He said to them, “What do you want Me to do for you?” 37 They said to Him, “Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory.” 38 But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” 39 They said to Him, “We are able.” So Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink the cup that I drink, and with the baptism I am baptized with you will be baptized; 40 but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared.”

• In Acts 12:1-2, James’ death at the hand of Herod is definitively recorded  - “Now about that time Herod the king stretched out his hand to harass some from the church. 2 Then he killed James the brother of John with the sword.”

John:

• Brother of James, author of five books in the New Testament including the Gospel of John, three Epistles of John, and the Book of Revelation.

• John is the only disciple noted for staying with Jesus as he was on the cross – John 19:26-27 “When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold your son!” 27 Then He said to the disciple, “Behold your mother!” And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home.”

• John is purported to be the only one of the original disciples to die from natural causes.