The Twelve: Four Disciples
TITLE: The Twelve: Four Disciples
PREACHER: Craig Herbert
DATE: 9 MARCH 2014 – Sunday AM at Bedfordview
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MEET THE MEN
Name: Philip
Marital Status: Home town and general facts: Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. He was called by Jesus to follow him the day after Peter and Andrew.
Profession: Unknown
Age: Unknown
Death: A second century Ephesian tradition believes he died at Hierapolis, roughly one hundred miles inland of Ephesus. Another tradition says Philip was crucified; and as a result, medieval art often depicts Philip on the cross.
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Name: Thomas, or Didymus, meaning the twin
Profession: Unknown. Possibly a fisherman. He was fishing with six other disciples (Peter, James, John, Nathanel and 2 others that are unnamed) on the Sea of Tiberias after Jesus’ resurrection when Jesus appeared to them. The second miraculous catch of fish happened and Jesus cooked them breakfast. It seems as though these men had gone back to their old job in the absence of clear direction from Jesus after his resurrection. Hometown: Unknown. Traditionally somewhere in Galilee.
Married: Unknown.
Age: Unknown. Probably young. Most sources say Peter or James were probably the oldest of the 12, being between 20 and 25 years old. It is quite possible that he was still in his upper teens or low twenties.
Post-ascension ministry: There are many different accounts but they generally seem to agree that he first travelled through the near east: Turkey and Iran (Persia in those days) before reaching India sometime between 49AD and 52AD. He is generally credited with being the first to take the gospel to India, and beginning the church which then became the Orthodox church in India. His time in India is surrounded with legend with claims that he ministered to kings, built many great buildings, and evangelised a great many people. Historical evidence does seem to indicate that the orthodox churches in India (including southern India) are old enough to make the spread of the gospel there in the first century plausible. Certainly Christianity is one of the oldest religions in India – older than Islam.
Death: Most traditional accounts claim that he was martyred in India sometime about 72AD, possibly at Mylapore near Chennai. There is a tomb in Chennai which is claimed to be the tomb of Thomas. A catholic church, San Thome Basilica, was built over this tomb in the 16th century. Other traditional accounts claim that he was martyred in Persia. Still others claim that he died a natural death in Edessa. The last account is an account from the explorer Marco Polo from the 13th century: he claimed that Thomas was accidentally killed by an arrow near Chennai – he claimed that the arrow was shot by a man hunting peacocks.
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Name: James son of Alpheus
Father’s name: Alphaeus
Town of Origin: Unknown.
Other names/nicknames: Possibly ‘James the Less’ or ‘James the Younger.’ This is a result of a possible correlation with the James referred to in Mark 15.40 who may or may not also be the James (the son of Mary) referred to in Luke 24.10 and (more probably) Mark 16.1.
Meaning of nickname: The Less would probably have referred to a younger age or a shorter height – not importance or status.
Profession: Unknown
Hometown: Unknown.
Married: Unknown.
Age: Unknown. Probably young. Most sources say Peter or James were probably the oldest of the 12, being between 20 and 25 years old. It is quite possible that he was still in his upper teens or low twenties.
Best remembered for: Being one of the 12.
Relatives: Possibly the brother of the apostle Matthew (Levi) who is also referred to as the son of Alphaeus. Otherwise unknown. Some dubious traditional sources claim he was a member of Jesus’ family – usually his brother, half-brother or cousin.
Social status: Unknown.
Personality: Unknown.
General facts: None known.
Post-ascension ministry: Very little known.
Death: Tradition maintains that he was martyred by crucifixion in Lower Egypt at Ostrakine.
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Name: Jude, also know by several other names: Judas (not Iscariot) and Thaddeus. In lists of the Twelve, he is called Thaddeus, a surname for the name Lebbaeus (Matthew 10:3, KJV), which means “heart” or “courageous.” He wrote the book called Jude in the New Testament.
Marital Status: Unknown
Home town: Unknown
Profession: Unknown
Age: 16-18
Relatives: Father – Alphaeus , Brother – James the Less
Social Status: Unknown
Personality: A man of unwavering conviction
Death: He was crucified at Edessa, A.D. 72 while on a missionary trip to Persia, according to tradition.
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THEY LAID THEIR LIVES DOWN
As elders we feel that, as a church, we are called to be followers of Christ, and that’s what the disciples were. They learned Jesus’ trade, which was to seek and save the lost.
We don’t know much about these four disciples. When it comes to Peter, James and John we see them often encouraged and rebuked and a lot of scripture is around them. It’s been difficult finding things about these four men, we’ve had to look at church history in a big way for this one, to see how they influenced the world.
What’s significant about all four of these disciples is that they laid their lives down for the Gospel. Read more
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