Ch. 18, The Twelve Apostles

“Son of Man: Urantia,” 2nd edition

The Twelve Apostles

We have been taught that the twelve apostles were uneducated—ignorant and unlearned. In Jesus’ time that meant that they were laymen—common people who had jobs or trades and who had not been formally trained in the scriptures like had a rabbi. But all of them, except the Alpheus twins, had graduated from the synagogue schools and seven of them had graduated from the schools in Capernaum, considered the best in all of Galilee. Most of the apostles were well trained in the Hebrew scriptures and the current knowledge of that day, even though they were considered ignorant and unlearned by the Jewish priesthood.

Jesus taught the apostles about the kingdom of heaven, and from his apostles Jesus learned about humanity here and on the other worlds of time and space. Each of these men had different backgrounds and temperaments. They were not all alike because they had not been put through the same ridged and stereotyped education common today. Many of the Galilean fishermen carried gentile blood because a hundred years before the Jews had forcibly converted the people in Galilee. The fact that only one apostle deserted him in the trials ahead says much about how charming and righteous Jesus must have lived his life among these men.

Andrew, the First Chosen

Andrew, who remained chairman of the apostles the entire time, was born in Capernaum. He was thirty-three years old, a full year older than Jesus and the oldest of the apostles when he was chosen. Andrew came from a long line of excellent ancestors and was the oldest of five children along with his brother Simon and their three sisters. His father, who was dead, had been Zebedee’s partner in the fish-drying business at Bethsaida, the harbor for Capernaum. When Andrew became an apostle he was living with his brother, Simon Peter, and his wife. They were both fishermen and partners with the brothers John and James Zebedee.

Andrew had the most skills and abilities of the twelve apostles; he was better at everything except public speaking. Jesus never gave Andrew a nickname, but before long the rest of the apostles started calling him Chief like they started to call Jesus, Master. Andrew was good at organizing, but better at administering the duties of his position. He would make a quick decision on problems unless he thought that they were beyond his authority, and in that case he would take them straight to Jesus. Andrew was firm, clear, and logical when needed but his major strength was his stability: he never wavered. What he did lack was any enthusiasm for praising the others even when it was deserved. Andrew simply abhorred flattery and insincerity: he epitomized the self-made, all-round, even-tempered, and successful man of modest affairs.

Andrew was one of Jesus’ inner circle of four apostles along with John, James, and Peter, but his responsibilities did not allow him to go off with Jesus when he prayed like the others could. Andrew was never an outstanding preacher, but he excelled in personal work and he was Jesus’ main supporter in his plan for the initial tour around the Sea of Galilee. When chosen, Andrew immediately brought his brother Simon into the fold and that man became one of the most significant preachers ever of the kingdom of heaven.

Andrew and Simon Peter were unlike in character and temperament, but to their everlasting credit they got along like best friends. It is not often that an older man like Andrew can exert such a profound influence over a younger and talented brother. But Andrew and Peter were the exceptions to the rule: they never seemed to be jealous of each other’s achievements and proved that even brothers can live and work together peacefully. Late on the evening of the Pentecost after two thousand souls were added to the kingdom because of Peter’s energetic and inspiring sermon, Andrew told Peter that while he could not have done that he was glad to have a brother who could. And Peter returned the admiration telling Andrew that if he had not brought him to Jesus and then kept him there, he would not have been there to do it.

After that Pentecost sermon Peter was famous, but it never bothered the older Andrew to spend the rest of his life being known and introduced as Simon Peter’s brother. Of all the apostles, Andrew was the best judge of people. He knew that trouble was brewing in Judas Iscariot long before the others suspected that something was wrong with their treasurer, but he never told them his fears. Andrew’s great service to the kingdom was in advising John, Peter, and James concerning the choice of the first missionaries who were sent out to announce the gospel, and also in counseling these early leaders on administering the affairs of the kingdom. Andrew had a gift for discovering the latent talents of young people. While every one of the apostles loved Jesus, each was drawn to him because of some certain trait that made a special appeal to that apostle. For Andrew, it was Jesus’ dignity and sincerity that he admired the most. Once men got to know Jesus they wanted to share him with their friends and let the whole world know about him.

Soon after the resurrection, Andrew began writing a personal journal of Jesus’ life. After Andrew was himself killed, copies of his private record were made and freely given to the early teachers of the Christian faith. Andrew’s informal notes were then later edited until they made up a fairly consecutive story of Jesus’ life on Earth. The last of these few altered copies was destroyed in a fire at Alexandria about a hundred years after Andrew wrote the original. Later, after the persecutions had scattered the apostles far from Jerusalem, Andrew journeyed through Armenia, Asia Minor, and Macedonia. He brought many thousands of people into the kingdom before he was finally apprehended and crucified in Patrae, in Achaia. It took the robust Andrew two full days to die on the cross, and throughout all of these tragic hours he continued to announce the kingdom of heaven and bring new souls to God.

Simon Peter

When Simon joined the apostles he was thirty years old. He was married, had three children, and lived at Bethsaida near Capernaum. His brother Andrew and his wife’s mother lived with his family. Both Peter and Andrew were fishermen and partners with Zebedee’s sons. Jesus had known Simon for some time before Andrew suggested him as the second apostle. When Jesus named Simon, Peter, he did it with a lighthearted smile meaning it to be sort of a nickname because Simon was well known to be erratic and impulsive. Still, it is true that later on Jesus did attach new and significant importance to what he lightly bestowed on Simon.

Simon Peter was an impulsive optimist. He had grown up indulging his strong feelings and letting everything inside, out. He was always getting into trouble because he kept speaking without thinking. His thoughtlessness also made trouble for his friends and at times Jesus had to kindly scold him for it. The only reason Peter’s mouth did not cause him more trouble was because early on he had learned to first talk with Andrew before taking off on a tangent. Peter was a dramatic and eloquent preacher: he was also a natural and inspirational leader. Peter was a quick thinker but not a deep thinker. He asked many questions, more than all of the other apostles put together, but while most of them were relevant there were many that were foolish and thoughtless. While Peter’s mind was not complex, he did know himself fairly well. Because of this he was known for quick decisions and sudden action. For example, while the others were talking about how astonished they were to see Jesus on the beach, Peter just jumped off of the boat and swam ashore to meet his Master.

The one trait that Peter most admired about Jesus was his exceptional tenderness. He often thought about Jesus’ patience and tolerance, and he never forgot Jesus’ lesson about forgiving the wrongdoer not only seven times, but seventy times and seven. He thought much about his Master’s forgiveness during those dark and dismal days after he had denied him in the high priest’s courtyard. Simon Peter would suddenly swing from one extreme to the other; for example, at first he refused to let Jesus wash his feet, and then on hearing the Master’s reply he begged Jesus to wash him all over. Still, Jesus knew that Peter’s faults were in his head and not in his heart. He was one of the most unexplainable combinations of courage and cowardice that had ever lived on Earth. His noblest strengths of character were loyalty and friendship. Peter truly loved Jesus. But despite his huge devotion to Jesus, he was so unstable and inconstant that he even let a servant girl tease him into denying his Lord and Master. Peter could withstand persecution and any other form of direct assault, but he just could not handle being ridiculed. He was a brave soldier when he was facing a frontal attack, but he was a fear-cringing coward when surprised with an assault from the rear.

Peter was the first of Jesus’ apostles to defend Paul’s work with the gentiles, and Philip’s work with the Samaritans. But then later at Antioch he reversed himself when he was ridiculed by some Jews, which then brought down Paul’s wrath on him. Peter was the first apostle to make a wholehearted confession of Jesus’ combined humanity and divinity, and yet at the same time he was the first apostle, except for Judas, to deny him. It was not that Peter was so much a dreamer, he just wanted to indulge his ecstatic and enthusiastic side instead of handling the plain and matter-of-fact duties of the real world. When following Jesus, either figuratively or literally walking down the road, Peter was either leading the charge or trailing way behind. After his rash denials of Jesus, Peter found himself with Andrew and the others back at the fishnets while they waited to learn what was going to happen after the crucifixion. When Peter was completely sure that Jesus had forgiven him and he knew that he was still one of his apostles, the fires of the kingdom burned so brightly in his soul that he became a great and saving light to thousands who sat in darkness. Peter was the outstanding preacher of the twelve, and he did more than any other single person, except for Paul, to establish the kingdom of heaven and send its messengers to the four corners of the Earth in one generation. Something of Peter’s style and teaching is shown in the sermons partially recorded by Luke and in the Gospel of Mark, but his vigorous style was better shown in his “First Epistle of Peter,” at least before it was later altered by one of Paul’s disciples.

After leaving Jerusalem and before Paul became the leader of the gentile Christian churches, Peter traveled extensively visiting all of the churches from Babylon to Corinth. He even helped many of the churches that had been formed by Paul. Although Peter and Paul differed much in their education and temperaments, even in their theology, they worked together in harmony with one another to build churches during their later years. But Peter persisted in making the mistake of trying to convince the Jews that Jesus was the Jewish Messiah. Right up to the day of his death Simon Peter was confused between ideas of Jesus as the Jewish Messiah, Christ as the world’s redeemer, and the Son of Man as the revelation of God our loving Father. Peter’s wife was a strong and capable woman. For years she was a member of the women’s corps, and then when Peter was driven out of Jerusalem she went with him on all of his missionary excursions. When Peter was finally caught by the Romans and condemned to die on the cross like Jesus had been—a sentence that he considered to be a high honor—his loyal wife was fed alive to the wild beasts in the arena at Rome.

James Zebedee

James, the eldest of Zebedee’s sons, was thirty years old when they became apostles. These two had known Jesus longer than the others, and he nicknamed them the “sons of thunder.” James was married, had four children, and lived near his parents on the outskirts of Capernaum. He and his brother John, along with Simon and Andrew, all made their livelihoods fishing together.

James was a contradiction when it came to his temperament. It was almost like he was two different people at times, and both of them were bound by strong feelings. When he became angry his fiery temper would let loose a hurricane. Then he would find a way to justify his anger and put it off to righteous indignation. But other than those times he was much like Andrew, except without Andrew’s discretion or insight into human nature. James was also a better public speaker than Andrew, being right up there with Peter and Matthew as the best of the twelve.

James would a fantastic storyteller one day, and then quiet and reserved for days at a time. These spells of unaccountable silence were his one critical weakness. The one thing about Jesus that James admired the most was his interest in and sympathy for everything regardless how small or huge, rich or poor.

James’ outstanding feature was his ability to see all sides of a situation. Of the twelve he came the closest to grasping the importance of Jesus’ teachings, and by the time they ended their training he understood Jesus’ lessons better than the others. He could get along with a wide range of personalities—from the versatile Andrew, to the impetuous Peter, to his self-contained brother John. James was a well-balanced thinker, and along with Andrew one of the more level headed of the apostles. He did what needed to be done, but he was never in a hurry doing it: he was the perfect balance for Peter.

Though John and James had trouble working together, it was inspiring to witness how well they did get along. They did not do as well as Peter and Andrew, but they did much better than most brothers, especially ones as headstrong and determined as these two were. They liked each other, and had played well together as kids. When it came down to it, they were more tolerant of each other than they were of strangers. After all, these were the “sons of thunder” who wanted to call down fire from the heavens to destroy the Samaritans for disrespecting their Master. But James’ untimely death tended to quench his younger brother’s intensity.

James was modest and undramatic. He worked every day without drawing attention to himself, and once he had grasped part of the real meaning of the kingdom he never sought special rewards. In the story about John and James’ mother asking Jesus if her sons could sit on his right and left-hand sides, she did that, not them. John and James also knew the consequences of following Jesus. When he asked them if they were ready to drink the cup, they both said they were. And with regard to James, that literally happened—he was the first apostle martyred when he was killed early on by Herod Agrippa’s sword. Herod feared James more than all of the other apostles because even though he was quiet, he was brave and determined when he stood for his convictions. James was thus the first of the twelve to sacrifice his life on the new battle lines of the kingdom. James lived a full life, and when they killed him he bore himself with such grace and fortitude that even his accuser—the man who had informed on him and who was at his trial and execution—was so impressed that afterwards he joined Jesus’ disciples.

John Zebedee

John was twenty-four years old and the youngest of the twelve when he became an apostle. He was single, living with his parents at Bethsaida, and fishing with his brother James along with Peter and Andrew. Both before and after becoming an apostle, John was Jesus’ personal helper for taking care of his mother and family; he held this responsibility after Jesus’ resurrection until Mary died. Shortly after Jesus appointed Andrew director of the group, he told Andrew to assign two or three of the apostles to always be with him for comfort and to get him his daily needs. Andrew decided that it was best for him to assign this duty to the three apostles that were chosen right after he had been. Andrew wanted to be part of this group but he already had his job, so he immediately assigned Peter, John, and James as Jesus’ personal assistants.

Since John was the youngest of the twelve and so closely involved with Jesus’ family affairs, he was dear to Jesus. But it is not completely true where it is said that John was the disciple that Jesus loved. Jesus did not have favorites, or love some of his apostles more than the others. This idea came from the fact that John was one of Jesus’ three personal aides, and that he and his brother James had known him longer than the others. John Zebedee had many good traits, but he was also conceited even if he did hide it well. His long-time friendship with Jesus had changed John for the better in many ways, and for a while it lessened his conceit. But later in life after he grew old and became a bit childish, it returned. When John was telling Nathan what to write in the Gospel of John, he continually referred to himself as the disciple that Jesus loved. Given that John had come closer to being Jesus’ best friend than any other person on Earth, and that he had been entrusted with so many of Jesus’ personal affairs, it was to be expected that he thought of himself as the person most loved by Jesus even if in truth Jesus loved all of them equally.

John’s greatest strength of character was dependability: he was prompt and courageous; devoted and faithful. His biggest problem was his conceit. It is possible that by being the youngest in his family and the youngest of the apostles, that John was just a bit spoiled and had been humored a too much in his life. Regardless, the later John was a different person than the self-admiring and erratic young man who joined Jesus’ ranks when he was twenty-four years old.

What John most liked about Jesus was his love and unselfishness. These traits made such an impression on John that the rest of his life was dominated by love and brotherly devotion. He talked about love and wrote about love. This son of thunder became the apostle of love. At Ephesus when our aged bishop could no longer stand and preach and had to be carried to church in a chair, he would be asked to say a few words to the believers at the end of the service, and for years the only thing he said was “My little children, love one another.”

John did not say much except when his temper was aroused. He had a creative imagination, and while he thought much he said little. As he grew older his temper lessened, but he never did become one to speak more than absolutely necessary. John was also somewhat bigoted and intolerant. In this respect he and James were alike—they both wanted to call down fire from heaven on the heads of the disrespectful Samaritans. And later when John came across some strangers teaching in Jesus’ name, he promptly forbid them from doing so. But he was not the only one of the twelve that thought he was better than everyone else.

John’s life was influenced by seeing how Jesus conducted his business without having a home, especially knowing how faithfully he had taken care of his mother and family. John also sympathized with Jesus because of his family’s failure to understand him, and he knew that they were gradually withdrawing from him. This entire situation, together with Jesus always deferring his slightest wish to the will of the Father in heaven and living his daily life based only on implicit trust, made a profound impression on John and produced permanent changes in his character: changes that manifested themselves throughout his later life.

John was cool, daring, and courageous—traits few of the other apostles possessed. He was the one apostle who went with Jesus the night of his arrest, and dared to go with him into the very jaws of death. John was nearby right up to Jesus’ last hour on Earth, ready to receive whatever instructions he was given in Jesus’ last moments. One thing is certain: John was thoroughly dependable. John usually sat on Jesus’ right side when the twelve ate, he was the first of the apostles to believe Jesus had been resurrected, and he was the first to recognize Jesus when he came to them on the seashore after his resurrection. John helped Peter on the Pentecost, worked closely with him in the early Christian movement, and became a chief supporter of the Jerusalem church.

Several years after James was martyred John married his brother’s widow, and for the last twenty years of his life he was taken care of by a loving granddaughter. John was placed in prison several times, and for four years he was banished to the Isle of Patmos until another emperor came to power in Rome. If John had not been tactful and sagacious where his brother James had been brash and outspoken, he would have been killed right along with him. Over time, John along with Jesus’ brother James learned how to deal with the civil magistrates when they appeared before them. They learned that a soft answer worked best, and to represent the church as a spiritual brotherhood devoted to the social service of humanity rather than as the kingdom of heaven. They were teaching loving service rather than ruling power as in king and kingdom.

When John was exiled on Patmos he wrote the Book of Revelation, which has been vastly abridged and distorted over time. What we now call the Book of Revelation only contains the surviving fragments of a much more impressive revelation, large portions of which were lost and others that were removed or changed after John wrote it. After John became the bishop of the Asian churches he settled down at Ephesus when he was ninety-nine years old and oversaw his associate, Nathan who wrote the so-called Gospel according to John. Of the twelve apostles John Zebedee eventually became the outstanding theologian. He died of natural causes at Ephesus in A.D. 103 when he was one hundred and one years old.

Philip the Curious

Philip was the fifth apostle chosen. He was brought into the group when he and Nathaniel happened to meet Jesus, John, James, Peter, and Andrew on their way to Cana from John’s camp on the Jordan River. Philip was twenty-seven years old, lived in Bethsaida, and was recently married but still without children. He knew about Jesus, but it had never occurred to him that he was special until Jesus looked at him and said “Follow me.” He was also influenced by the fact that the other four had already accepted Jesus as the Deliverer. Philip earned the nickname that meant more or less curiosity because he always wanted to be shown everything. It was not that he was dull, he was just a commonplace matter-of-fact individual who could not visualize ideas like could some of the other apostles.

Philip was made steward of the apostles; it was his duty to see that they always had enough to eat and to take care of their daily needs. He did his duties well: he was thorough, methodical, and systematic with a good handle on the math needed for his job. Philip was the next to the oldest of a family of three boys and four girls. His family also fished for a living, and after the resurrection Philip baptized all of his family into the kingdom. His mother came from a mediocre family, but his father was a deep thinker and a capable man in many respects. While Philip was not a man who could be expected to do big things, he was a man who could do little things well and in a big way. He managed the apostles’ commissary efficiently and intelligently. There were only a few times in four years that he did not have enough food on hand to feed the group.

Philip’s strong points were being reliable and methodical: his weak point was his utter lack of imagination. He was mathematical but not constructive, being more the average commonplace man of the times. But this was good for the people to see, and it gave them the courage to believe. Philip was like most of them, and it brought the masses important peace of mind to see that a normal everyday person like themselves was included in Jesus’ councils on the affairs of the kingdom. Jesus in turn learned how our human minds operate as he patiently listened to Philip’s foolish questions and dealt with his need to be shown proof of everything.

The trait that Philip admired the most, or in fact actually worshiped, about Jesus was his generosity: he could never find anything about Jesus that was in any way small, stingy, or niggardly. Philip was not an impressive man. He was often known as “Philip of Bethsaida, where Peter and Andrew live.” Philip had almost no ability to visualize the possibilities of any given situation: he was not pessimistic, he simply did not have a mind complex enough to see ahead. He also lacked much in the way of spiritual insight: it did not bother him in the least to interrupt Jesus in the middle of a deep discussion to ask what to the others was a foolish question.

But Jesus never scolded Philip for interrupting him or asking his questions. Jesus knew that for Philip these were honest questions, and that if he was to reprimand him even one time for asking them it would hurt his feelings to the point that he would never again feel free to ask another. Jesus knew that on his worlds of time and space there were many billions of similar people, and he wanted them all to freely come to him with their problems and questions. Jesus greatest interest was in knowing people, all types of people, and he was actually more interested in Philip’s questions than in the sermon he may have been preaching when interrupted.

Philip was not a good public speaker, although he was persuasive and successful in his personal work. He did not get discouraged easily and kept at whatever job he had until it was done. Philip had that rare gift of saying “Come” like when his first convert, Nathaniel, wanted to argue about Jesus’ qualities and all Philip said was “Come and see.” He was not a dogmatic preacher who told people to go and do something. Instead, in all situations he would tell people to come with me, and I will show you the way. And that is always the best way to teach. Even parents can learn from Philip, and instead of the telling to their children not to do something they would get better results telling them to come with me, and I will show you a better way.

Philip’s inability to adapt to a new situation was shown when the Greeks came to him at Jerusalem and wanted to see Jesus. Philip would have said to any Jew asking such a question, “Come.” But these men were foreigners, and Philip could not remember any instructions on what to do in this case. The only thing he could think of was to tell the chief, Andrew, and then they both went and took the Greeks to Jesus. Likewise, when Philip went into Samaria to preach and baptize people like Jesus had instructed him to, he would not touch those believers as a sign of them receiving the Spirit of Truth. John and Peter did this later when they came down from Jerusalem for the mother church to watch Philip’s work. After Jesus’ resurrection Philip helped with the reorganization of the twelve apostles, and he was the first to go out and baptize people outside of the immediate Jewish ranks. He was successful working with the Samaritans and in all of his later efforts on behalf of the kingdom.

Philip, the onetime steward of the twelve, was a mighty man in the kingdom and won souls wherever he went. His wife who was a member of the women’s corps, worked with him spreading the gospel after they had to flee from the persecutions in Jerusalem. She was a fearless woman, and when Philip was finally crucified at Hierapolis she stood at the foot of his cross encouraging him to announce the glad tidings even to his murderers. When Philip’s strength failed and he could no longer speak, she began to recite the story of salvation by faith in Jesus until a group of angry Jews stoned her to death. Their eldest daughter, Leah, continued their work later becoming the renowned prophetess of Hierapolis.

Honest Nathaniel

Nathaniel was the last of the original six apostles chosen by Jesus personally. When he and Philip met Jesus and the others on the road to Cana he was twenty-five years old, making him the second youngest of the apostles after John Zebedee. He was also the youngest of his family of seven siblings, who by this time had all died or married. Nathaniel was single and the only one of the children still living with his parents who were old and weak and relied on his support. Nathaniel and Philip had entered a couple of business ventures in the past, and he was thinking about becoming a merchant to make his living: he was the best educated of the apostles except for Judas Iscariot.

It was the other apostles who gave Nathaniel his nickname that meant, more or less, that he was an honest sincere man that would not trick a person when doing business. This was his most important virtue. His greatest shortcoming was his extreme pride in anything personal like his city, family, nation, or reputation. Pride, like many traits, is only commendable to a certain point: after that it becomes prejudice. This caused Nathaniel to be quick in prejudging people according to his personal opinions. For example, even before meeting Jesus his first question to Philip was if anything good could come out of Nazareth. But with that said, Nathaniel was not stubborn and he could change his mind like he did with Jesus as soon as he looked into his face.

Nathaniel was the odd genius of the apostles: he was at once a dreamer and philosopher, but with a practical side. He could swing from being serious and intellectual one moment, to telling jokes and stories the next. When at the top of his game Nathaniel was the best storyteller of them all, and Jesus enjoyed talking with him whether serious or not. Over time Nathaniel gave importance to Jesus, his mission, and the kingdom of heaven even if he never took himself seriously. The trait that Nathaniel most admired about Jesus was his tolerance—his generous sympathy and broadmindedness.

With the exception of Judas Iscariot, Nathaniel was loved and respected by the other apostles. They all got along well. Judas’ problem related to Nathaniel’s attitude: he did not think that Nathaniel was taking his job seriously. At one point Judas even went so far as to go to Jesus secretly and complain about Nathaniel. After listening to Judas, Jesus scolded him a bit saying “Judas be careful and watch your step; do not overmagnify your office. Who of us is competent to judge his brother? It is not the Father’s will that his children should only do the serious things in life. Let me repeat: I have come that my family in the flesh may have more abundant joy, life, and happiness. Go and do the work that has been entrusted to you and do it well, but leave Nathaniel, your brother, to make his account for God.” Judas had too much pride, and he did not appreciate being chastised by Jesus. This memory of those and many other events continued to taint Judas’ heart right up until the end.

There were many times when Jesus was away on the mountain with John, Peter, and James that issues between the other apostles would become heated to the point that even Andrew was not sure how to relieve the tension. It was times like this when Nathaniel would come up with a flash of good humor or a bit of appropriate philosophy to bring everything back to balance. Nathaniel’s job was to take care of everyone’s families. This meant he could not attend all of the conferences between Jesus and the apostles because whenever something happened he would immediately have to leave, go to that home, and handle the problem. Nathaniel performed his duties well, and all of the others rested securely knowing that their families were safe in his hands.

After the Pentecost and the death of his father, Bartholomew, Nathaniel left for India and Mesopotamia baptizing believers and spreading the good news of the kingdom of heaven. He was not part of organizing the religion that arose after Jesus was killed, and none of the others ever knew what happened to their poet, humorist, and philosopher. But Nathaniel was a remarkable man in the kingdom and did much to spread Jesus’ teachings before he died in India.

Matthew Levi

Matthew, chosen by Andrew, was the seventh apostle. He came from a family of taxmen and was himself a customs collector in Capernaum where he lived. Matthew was married, thirty-one years old, and had four children when he joined the group. Jesus never gave Matthew a nickname, but before long the others started calling him the money getter or something to that extent. Matthew was moderately wealthy, the only one of the apostles who was. He was a good businessman, and naturally gifted with the ability to make friends and to get along well with many different types of people. Because of these traits, Andrew put Matthew in charge of their finances; he was the apostles spokesman when it came to raising money from the wealthier citizens. Matthew was a good judge of human nature and did well at marketing: he was intense, sincere, and continually grew in his belief in Jesus and the certainty of the kingdom of heaven even though his duties finding money meant he was not in on all of the best of Jesus’ talks to the others.

Matthew’s strong point was his complete devotion to the cause. He was intensely loyal to Jesus and devoted to his job of filling the treasury. Matthew was overwhelmed that he, a taxman, had been accepted by Jesus and the apostles. Still, it took the other apostles some time to get use to the idea of having a publican in their group. This was especially true with Simon Zelotes and Judas Iscariot. Matthew persevered despite his past, and in time all of the apostles became proud of him and his efforts for the kingdom.

Matthew’s weakness was being shortsighted and materialistic, although these traits lessened as time progressed. What Matthew most admired about Jesus was his forgiveness, and he constantly kept in mind the fact that faith was the only thing needed to enter the kingdom of God. For Matthew, and this was how he told it to the others, he was now in the business of finding God. Matthew was one of the apostles who took notes on Jesus’ lessons, and these were the basis of Isador’s later account that became known as the Gospel according to Matthew. Over the ages Matthew’s life as a businessman and tax collector has led many thousands of other politicians and public officials into the kingdom of heaven. Matthew’s presence among the twelve kept the doors of the kingdom wide open to masses of outcast and downhearted souls who thought they had long since lost any saving grace, and Jesus never turned even one away.

While Matthew freely took donations from Jesus’ disciples and others who came to hear Jesus speak, he never went out in public asking for money. Most of his fund raising was done in secrecy, and he received most of the money from the small group of wealthier believers in the kingdom. Over time Matthew also used all of his own savings to support the apostles, but they never knew about this because he did not tell them: he was worried they would think his money was tainted. Instead he donated his money in someone else’s name, and there were times when rather than going out and asking for money he stayed and listened to Jesus’ teachings knowing he had to make it up out of his own pocket. Matthew never did let the apostles know that it was his money keeping them fed most of the time. He kept it secret even though he was more or less on probation with the others at the start of the mission, and he wanted them to know all that he was doing for the cause. Matthew’s heart burned to let Jesus know about all of this, little realizing that Jesus was already aware of his efforts and generosity.

When the persecutions began and everyone had to flee Jerusalem, Matthew headed north preaching the gospel and baptizing believers in Syria, Thrace, Galatia, Bithynia, and Cappadocia: none of the other apostles ever knew what became of him. In Thrace at Lysimachia a group of unbelieving Jews conspired with the Romans to kill him, and Matthew died confident in his faith in God.

Thomas Didymus

Chosen by Philip, Thomas was the eighth apostle. He was married, twenty-nine years old, and had four children. In the past he had been a carpenter and stone mason, but when he joined the apostles he was fishing out of Tarichea, a small village on the west bank of the Jordan where it flows out of the Sea of Galilee. Thomas was not well educated, but he was the leading citizen of his town. Coming from excellent parents who lived in Tiberias, he had the one truly keen and analytical mind of the twelve. This was Thomas’ most impressive strength. He was the real scientist of the apostles: logical and skeptical. But while he has been known as doubting Thomas, the apostles hardly saw him as a trifling skeptic with his courageous loyalty.

Thomas’ homelife as a child was not good. His parents were not happy being married and this affected Thomas’ adult life: he tended to be disagreeable. As a matter of fact even his wife was glad to see him join the apostles, happy that her pessimistic husband would be away from the house most of the time. Thomas was also suspicious and this was his Achilles’ tendon. In the beginning Thomas made Peter so mad that he went to his brother, Andrew, and complained that Thomas was mean, ugly, and always skeptical. But as the apostles grew to know Thomas they liked him more. He proved himself to be superbly honest, sincere, courageous, and unflinchingly loyal. Still, he had grown up a real pessimist and he found fault in almost everything. By the time Thomas became an apostle he had lost most of his faith in humanity and his superb mind had become cursed with skepticism. But once he met Jesus his disposition began to transform for the better, even though he never overcame his mistrust throughout his life on Earth.

Andrew assigned Thomas to manage the itinerary and he performed these duties well. He was a good executive and an excellent businessman, but Thomas was also handicapped by his many different moods: he would be one man one day and another man the next, even if he did improve over time. Jesus enjoyed his long personal talks with Thomas. By being one of the apostles he was an immense comfort to all honest doubters and proof that Jesus loved them despite those doubts. Thomas encouraged many troubled minds to come into the kingdom even though they could not understand all of Jesus’ spiritual and philosophical teachings.

Thomas revered Jesus because of his matchless symmetry and his superbly balanced character: the fact that Jesus was so just yet so merciful. Thomas admired that Jesus was firm but never obstinate; calm but never indifferent; tender but never vacillating; positive but never rough or rude; strong but at the same time gentle; pure and innocent but at the same time virile; humorous and playful but free from levity and frivolity; truly courageous but never rash, forceful, or foolhardy; helpful and sympathetic but never meddlesome or dictatorial, and a lover of nature but free from all tendency to revere nature. Intellectually, Thomas probably appreciated Jesus more than any of the twelve.

In the discussions between the apostles Thomas was the conservative. He was cautious and focused on safety first. He would debate something as being foolhardy and presumptuous to the bitter end, but if Andrew put it to a vote and he lost the argument he was the first to say “Let’s go!” and fearlessly head out to do whatever had been decided. Time and again Thomas would argue against Jesus exposing himself to danger, but if Jesus decided to do so anyway it was always Thomas who rallied the other apostles by saying “Come on men, let’s go and die with him.” Thomas was a good loser; he did not hold grudges.

Thomas was in some respects like Philip in that he always wanted to be shown. But Thomas’ outward expressions of doubt were analytical not merely skeptical. As far as physical courage was concerned, he was one of the bravest among the twelve. Thomas had some bad days; he could be moody and downcast at times. He had lost his twin sister when he was nine years old, and this sadness added to his temperamental problems later in life. When Thomas would get melancholy Peter, Nathaniel, and many times one of the Alpheus twins would help bring him out of it. In the beginning Thomas received permission from Andrew to go off by himself for a day or two, but he quickly learned that when he was down it was best to stick to his work and to stay around his friends. Unfortunately when he was depressed he would also try to avoid Jesus. But Jesus knew all about this and understood why he was harassed by doubts and occasional times of depression. Regardless, no matter what occurred in his emotional life Thomas kept right on being an apostle and it was always him who would be the first to say “Let’s go!”

Thomas is the heroic example of a person who has doubts, faces them, and wins. He was not a harping critic, and he had an impressive mind. Thomas was logical and became the acid test for Jesus and his fellow apostles. If Jesus and his work had not been true, it could not have held Thomas from the start to the finish. He had a keen and sure sense of fact and no tolerance for anything but fact: he would have walked at the first sign of fraud. Know this: while today’s scientists may not understand Jesus and his work on Earth, there was a man who lived and worked with Jesus and the others who had the mind of a true scientist—Thomas Didymus—and he believed in Jesus of Nazareth.

Thomas had a hard time during the days of the trial and crucifixion. For a while he despaired but he rallied his courage, stuck to the apostles, and was with the rest of them to later welcome Jesus on the Sea of Galilee. Thomas gave the apostles good advice after the Pentecost and when the persecutions scattered the believers he went to Crete, Cyprus, Sicily, and the North African coast baptizing believers and preaching the kingdom of heaven until the Roman’s caught and killed him in Malta. Thomas had just started writing his story of the life and teachings of Jesus a few weeks before he died.

Judas and James Alpheus

Judas and James, the sons of Alpheus, were twins living and fishing near Kheresa. They were married, twenty-six years old, with Judas having two children and James three. They were the ninth and tenth apostles brought into the group and were chosen by John and James Zebedee.

There is not much to be said about Judas and James: they were two commonplace fishermen. They loved Jesus and he loved them, but they almost never asked him questions. Judas and James Alpheus could not understand much of what Jesus taught, and pretty much stayed out of the religious debates that went on between the other apostles. That said, they were ecstatic to find themselves numbered among such a mighty group of people. Judas and James were almost identical in mentality, appearance, and spiritual perception. What is said of one can be recorded of the other.

Andrew assigned Judas and James to be in charge of all of the people that came to hear Jesus speak. The common folk were encouraged to see two people like themselves honored as apostles, and this alone brought many fainthearted believers into the kingdom. They also appreciated that it was two ordinary people like themselves acting as the official ushers telling them what to do. Judas and James were in effect the expediters for the twelve. They helped Philip with the supplies, took money to the families for Nathaniel, and were always ready help out as needed.

Judas and James were also called Lebbeus and Thaddeus. They had no weak or strong points: there was nothing outstanding about either of them. They did not have the same mental power as the others, they knew it, and they were actually happy about it. The other apostles gave these two nicknames, all in fun, that pretty much meant that they were average, ordinary, and commonplace guys. The twins were good natured and simple minded helpers, but they were also kind, faithful, and generous. Everybody loved them. Jesus took them on as apostles because he did not look down on a lack of talent, just evil and making it sin. Judas and James were like many other fear-minded people on his worlds of time and space. When Jesus refused to allow a certain rich man to become an evangelist unless he sold his goods to help the poor, and yet the people saw that the twins were apostles, they were then certain that Jesus was no respecter of persons. For Jesus, a person’s status on any of the material worlds of time and space means nothing: faith is all that matters. Only the kingdom of heaven could be built on such a fragile human foundation, and the twins were proud yet humbled to be included.

For Judas Alpheus it was Jesus’ dignity and humility that he admired the most. Jesus never tried to bring attention to himself and that made a significant impression on Judas. For James Alpheus, it was Jesus’ simplicity that he admired the most. While the twins could not understand Jesus they did feel the love bonding them together. They did not benefit much intellectually from their time with Jesus but the spiritual experience they had was significant. They believed in Jesus and they knew that they were sons of God with him in the kingdom of heaven.

Judas and James Alpheus served faithfully to the end, despairing with the others through the dark days of the trial and crucifixion. They never lost faith in Jesus, and except for John Zebedee they were the first to believe in his resurrection. But the twins never did understand what was meant by establishing the kingdom of heaven here on Earth. When the other apostles went out to continue their work, Judas and James returned home to their families, went back to fishing, and were honored and blessed for their four years of service with Jesus, a Son of God and the creator of our universe.

Simon the Zealot

Simon Zelotes was the eleventh apostle and was twenty-eight years old when he was chosen by Simon Peter. He was capable, came from good ancestry, and lived with his family at Capernaum. Simon was an agitator and he had a bad habit of speaking without thinking. He had been a merchant in Capernaum before turning all of his attention to the Jewish patriotic organization, the Zealots. Simon was put in charge of organizing the recreation for the group, and he did well. He was a rebel by nature and a revolutionary by training. Simon had always leaned toward protest but Jesus guided him on the path of eternal progression to truth and spirit. He was a man of intense loyalties with warm personal friendships, and he deeply loved Jesus. The one thing that Simon admired the most about Jesus was his composure: he was always calm, poised, and sure that he was right.

Simon’s strength was his ability to inspire people. When the apostles found someone that was unsure about entering the kingdom they would send for Simon, and it usually only took him about fifteen minutes to help the person see their salvation through faith in God. Simon’s biggest weakness was that he was material minded. Even though Jesus had many talks with him over the four years, Simon could not make the transition from being a worldly based Jewish nationalist to a more spiritual view that included others in the kingdom. Jesus told him that it was proper to want to see the social, economic, and political orders improved but then he would always add “That is not the business of the kingdom of heaven. We must be dedicated to doing the Father’s will. Our business is to be ambassadors of a spiritual government on high, and we must not immediately concern ourselves with anything but the representation of the will and character of the divine Father who stands at the head of the government whose credentials we bear.” This was all hard for Simon to understand, and it took him a long time to grasp even a part of Jesus’ teaching. Still, Jesus was always patient with him. Jesus was not afraid to identify himself with skeptics, patriots, laborers, optimists, publicans, pessimists, politicians, businessmen, and philosophers.

While Simon started out as a fearless revolutionary agitating people wherever he went, he eventually calmed down and became a powerful and effective preacher of peace on Earth and good will among humanity. He loved to argue and when it came to dealing with the legalistic minds of the educated Jews or the intellectual quibbling of the Greeks the apostles always sent Simon. When the apostles were scattered from Jerusalem because of the persecutions, Simon was emotionally crushed and went into semi-retirement. He had given up his patriotic mission to follow Jesus, and then after everything he thought he had lost it all. It took Simon a few years but he eventually aroused his spirits and went forth preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God. He first went to Alexandria and then after working his way up the Nile he went deep into the heart of Africa, preaching the gospel of Jesus and baptizing believers along the way until he died a frail old man.

Judas Iscariot

Judas Iscariot was the twelfth apostle and was chosen by Nathaniel. He was single and thirty years old. Judas was born in Kerioth, a small town in southern Judea; when he was a child his parents moved to Jericho. Judas had worked for his father until he started following John the Baptist, and then because his parents were Sadducees they disowned him. Judas was hoping to get a job drying fish on the lower end of the Sea of Galilee when Nathaniel met him at Tarichea.

Judas was probably the best educated of the twelve, and the only Judean of the apostles. He had no natural outstanding traits but he did have culture and social training. Judas was a good thinker but not always an honest thinker; he did not understand himself that well and at times he lied to himself. Andrew made Judas the treasurer for the twelve: he was well trained for the job and did his duties honestly, faithfully, and efficiently up until he betrayed Jesus.

For Judas, there was not anything that he thought was special about Jesus. He could never get over his prejudice: he was a true Judean and the rest of the apostles were just Galileans. While the other eleven looked on Jesus as the perfect man the self-satisfied Judas would criticize him about many things—not out loud but in his heart. Judas actually thought that Jesus was timid and afraid to assert his power and authority.

Judas was an excellent executive; he was a stickler for organization and could plan ahead. He had the tact, ability, patience, and devotion needed to manage the finances for an idealist like Jesus, to say nothing of dealing with the chaotic business methods of some of the apostles. None of the twelve ever criticized Judas. As far as they could tell he was able, loyal, and educated even if at times critical. To them he was in every sense of the word a huge success for a person of that time. They loved Judas and in all ways they considered him one of them.

Judas was an only son of unwise parents. When he was young he was pampered and spoiled: as an adult he was conceited. Judas was a poor loser and he had lax ideas of fairness. He could also be hateful or suspicious. Judas would make assumptions and misinterpret what his friends would do or say, and all his life he was in the habit of harboring grudges against those he thought had offended him. Taken all together his sense of values and loyalties was skewered.

Judas must have believed in Jesus, but we doubt that he loved him with a whole heart. The situation with Judas illustrated the truth in the saying “There is a way that seems right to a person, but the end of it is death.” The path to sin and death is a slippery slope; it is easy to be deceived when making peace with evil a little bit at a time. And no, money was not the motive for Judas’ betrayal of Jesus; he was always financially loyal to his Master and his fellow apostles.

For Jesus, Judas was an adventure in faith. From the beginning Jesus knew about Judas’ weaknesses and the dangers of letting him into the group. But the Sons of God in all universes give every created being a full and equal chance for survival and salvation. What occurred here on Earth was not only about Judas: Jesus wanted the mortals on all of his other material worlds of time and space to know that even when a Creator Son questions the sincerity and wholehearted devotion of the person to the kingdom, that they will be received. The door of eternal life is wide open to all: there are no restrictions or qualifications except for the faith of the one who enters. This is the reason that Jesus let Judas go on to the end and why he always did everything possible to save and transform this weak and confused apostle. But when the light of God is not honestly received and lived up to, it tends to become darkness in the soul. In his mind Judas grew intellectually from Jesus’ teachings of the kingdom, but in his heart he did not grow spiritually like did the other apostles.

Judas had his feelings hurt many times, and he became more disappointed each day. He became suspicious and finally resentful of Jesus and the other apostles. In the end he was obsessed with getting even, even if it meant betraying his Master. These wicked and dangerous ideas took shape in Judas’ mind when a woman, in gratitude, broke an expensive box of incense at Jesus’ feet, and when Judas complained about the loss Jesus swept his concerns aside in front of everyone. That was too much for Judas and it brought forth all of the stored-up hate, hurt, malice, revenge, prejudice, and jealousy that had been building up over his lifetime. Judas focused this evil side of his nature on the one innocent person in his entire life, Jesus, and in doing so he chose death and darkness over the progressive kingdom of light. Jesus had, both publicly and privately, warned Judas that he was slipping. But divine warnings are mostly useless when dealing with an embittered human mind. Jesus did everything possible consistent with Judas’ free choice of will to prevent him from choosing the wrong path. But when the critical test finally came Judas, the son of resentment, failed. He gave into his evil side and let his pride, resentment, and desire for revenge take over his mind and this quickly sent him into a pit of despair, confusion, and depravity.

Judas formed his plan to betray Jesus and the others, and quickly put it into action. There were times when he would have moments of shame and regret, but he would defend his actions thinking that there was still the possibility that Jesus would exert his power and save himself at the last minute. When the whole rotten plan was over and done with, this renegade mortal who thought so little of selling out Jesus for thirty pieces of silver just to get even went out and committed suicide to escape the reality of what he had done. The other eleven apostles were stunned and horrified, but Jesus just felt pity for his betrayer. The celestial host has found it hard to forgive Judas, and his name has become shunned across our entire universe.