The Life & Times of Jesus Christ

First Disciples

By Dr Bob Swanger

Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me

cannot be My disciple. Luke 14:27

(NASB95)

2

First Disciples John 1:35–51 (NASB95) 35 Again the next day John was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him speak, and

they followed Jesus. 38 And Jesus turned and saw them following, and said to them, “What do you seek?” They said to Him, “Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are You staying?” 39 He said to them, “Come, and you will see.” So they came and saw where He was staying; and they stayed with Him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. 40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed Him, was

Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He found first his own

brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which translated means Christ). 42 He brought him

to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of

John; you shall be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter). Follow: to follow or accompany someone who takes the lead in determining direction and route of movement—‘to accompany as a follower, to follow, to go along with.’i

3

43 The next day He purposed to go into Galilee, and He found

Philip. And Jesus said to him, “Follow Me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter.

45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46 Nathanael said to him, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Nathanael answered Him,

“Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel.” 50 Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And He said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

4

12 Disciples

Mark 3:16–19 (NASB95) 16 And He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom He gave the name Peter), 17 and James, the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James (to them He gave the name Boanerges, which means, “Sons of Thunder”); 18 and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Zealot; 19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Him.

• Peter [Simon] o At the end of that century Irenaeus says (in Against

Heresies 2.1–3) that Peter and Paul preached in Rome, and Tertullian in the same general period adds that Peter was martyred “like … the Lord” (Scorpiace 15). Clement of Alexandria and Origen both allude to Peter’s presence in Rome, and the latter adds the belief that he was “crucified head-downwards” (Eusebius’s Ecclesiastical History 2.15.2; 3.1.2). The tradition that Peter was crucified may be supported in John 21:18: “when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall … carry thee wither thou wouldest not.”ii

• James Thunderson o Agrippa began his persecution of the Christians by

having James killed “with a sword.” This James is described as “brother of John” and thus was the apostle, the son of Zebedee.iii

5

• John Thunderson o Being at Ephesus, he was ordered by the Emperor

Domitian to be sent bound to Rome, where he was condemned to be cast into a cauldron of boiling oil. [This was a punishment which the philosopher Seneca refers to as being suitable for a slave who had been convicted of a very serious crime.] But here a miracle was wrought in his favour; the oil did him no injury, and Domitian, not being able to put him to death, banished him to Patmos, to labour in the mines, in AD 73. He was, however, recalled by Nerva, who succeeded Domitian, but was deemed a martyr on account of his having undergone an execution, though it did not take effect. He wrote his epistles, gospel and Revelation, each in different style, but they are all equally admired. He was the only apostle who escaped a violent death, and lived the longest of any, he being nearly 100 years of age at the time of his death.iv

• Andrew o Church history tells us that Andrew went to Asia

Minor, which is modern Turkey, and then traveled up near the Black Sea, which is modern southern Russia. He eventually was crucified in Achaia. Because Andrew felt unworthy to die on the same type of cross on which Jesus died, they bound him to an x-shaped cross, and that cross has been preserved in the national flag of Scotland as the St. Andrew’s cross.v

6

• Phillip o The apostle Philip also ministered in Eastern Turkey

and then journeyed from there to the nation of Gaul, which is today France. He’s the only one of the 12 to go to France, and he was stoned for his faith then crucified in Hieropolis.vi

• Nathaniel Bartholomew o Bartholomew, also the one called Nathaniel, went to

Armenia and started the church in that nation. Some historians say that Armenia was the first nation to become thoroughly Christian. Then he went on to Albania, where he was beaten and crucified.vii

• Matthew [Levi] o Matthew went to Ethiopia and probably died in Egypt,

martyred by the Sanhedrin there.viii • Thomas also called Didymus, meaning “twin.”ix

o Church historians claim that Thomas went to India, and today there is strong Indian tradition that the Mar Thoma Church of India was founded by this disciple in A.D. 52. They say he landed at Cranganore and was instrumental in the conversion of many high-caste Indian families. As he continued pushing to the regions beyond, he was martyred in Mylapore on the coast of India.x

• James Alphaeuson o James the son of Alpheus went to Syria and was

eventually martyred in Jerusalem.xi • Thaddaeus [Judas Jameson]

o Judas Thaddeus preached the gospel in Edessa and Armenia and was killed with arrows at the foot of Mount Ararat.xii

7

• Simon the Zealot o Simon the Zealot went across North Africa, preaching

the gospel and establishing churches, and then went up the Atlantic Coast of Europe as far as Britain. He returned to the Promised Land and then traveled into Syria, where he was captured and sawn in half.xiii

• Judas Iscariot o Replaced by Matthias

Of whom less is known than of most of the other disciples, was elected to fill the vacant place of Judas. He was stoned at Jerusalem and then beheaded.xiv

8

FOLLOW ME! Matthew 4:18–22 (NASB95) 18 Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 19 And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. 21 Going on from there He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and He called them. 22 Immediately they left the

boat and their father, and followed Him. Matthew 8:18–22 (NASB95) 18 Now when Jesus saw a crowd around Him, He gave orders to depart to the other side of the sea. 19 Then a scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.” 20 Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” 21 Another of the disciples said to Him, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.” 22 But Jesus said to him, “Follow Me, and allow the dead to bury their own dead.” Matthew 19:21 (NASB95) 21 Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” Matthew 16:24–26 (NASB95) 24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and

follow Me. 25 “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but

9

whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26 “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? CALLING OF MATTHEW Matthew 9:9 (NASB95) 9 As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man called Matthew, sitting in the tax collector’s booth; and He said to him, “Follow Me!” And he got up and followed Him.

John 10:27 (NASB95) 27 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; John 12:26 (NASB95) 26 “If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.

10

Notes:

11

i Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition., Vol. 1, p. 201). New York: United Bible Societies.

ii Osborne, G. R. (1992). Peter, the Apostle. In J. D. Douglas & P. W. Comfort (Eds.), Who’s Who in Christian history (p. 555). Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House.

iii Polhill, J. B. (1992). Acts (Vol. 26, p. 278). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

iv Water, M. (2001). The New Encyclopedia of Christian Martyrs (pp. 33–34). Alresford, Hampshire: John Hunt Publishers Ltd.

v Towns, E. L. (2009). What’s Right with the Church: A Manifesto of Hope (p. 186). Ventura, CA: Regal; Gospel Light.

vi Towns, E. L. (2009). What’s Right with the Church: A Manifesto of Hope (p. 186). Ventura, CA: Regal; Gospel Light.

vii Towns, E. L. (2009). What’s Right with the Church: A Manifesto of Hope (p. 186). Ventura, CA: Regal; Gospel Light.

viii Towns, E. L. (2009). What’s Right with the Church: A Manifesto of Hope (p. 187). Ventura, CA: Regal; Gospel Light.

ix MacDonald, W. (1995). Believer’s Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments. (A. Farstad, Ed.) (p. 1238). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

x Towns, E. L. (2009). What’s Right with the Church: A Manifesto of Hope (p. 187). Ventura, CA: Regal; Gospel Light.

xi Towns, E. L. (2009). What’s Right with the Church: A Manifesto of Hope (p. 187). Ventura, CA: Regal; Gospel Light.

12

xii Towns, E. L. (2009). What’s Right with the Church: A Manifesto of Hope (p. 187). Ventura, CA: Regal; Gospel Light.

xiii Towns, E. L. (2009). What’s Right with the Church: A Manifesto of Hope (p. 187). Ventura, CA: Regal; Gospel Light.

xiv Water, M. (2001). The New Encyclopedia of Christian Martyrs (p. 42). Alresford, Hampshire: John Hunt Publishers Ltd.