Who were the first sevendisciples of Jesus?

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Who were the first seven of the twelve disciples Jesus called not only to follow him, but also to be his special witnesses of what he said and did? Below is a list, in chronological order, of the individual callings of Jesus’ first seven disciples.

John and Andrew

35 The next day John (John the Baptist) was standing there again with two of his disciples (John and Andrew) . . . 38 Jesus turned, saw them following him, and asked, ‘What are you looking for?’ They answered, ‘Where do you live, Rabbi?’ (This word means ‘Teacher.’) 39 ‘Come and see,’ he answered. (John 1:35-39)

Peter

41 At once he (Andrew) found his brother Simon and told him, ‘We have found the Messiah.’ (This word means ‘Christ.’) (John 1:40-42)

Philip

“The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, “Follow Me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.” (John 1:43-44)

Nathanael (Bartholomew)

45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, ‘"We have found the one whom Moses wrote about in the book of the Law and whom the prophets also wrote about. He is Jesus son of Joseph, from Nazareth.’ (John 1)

James (son of Zebedee and brother of John)

“Going on from there [the sea of Galilee], He [Jesus] saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.” (Matthew 4:21-22)

Matthew

“As Jesus passed on from there [Capernaum], 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 9:9)

When did Jesus call his disciples?

The twelve apostles appear to have been called in at least seven distinct time periods.

  • Andrew and John were called together.
  • Peter was called after his brother Andrew told him about Jesus.
  • Philip was called the day after Jesus called Peter.
  • Nathanael (Bartholomew) was called after Philip told him about Jesus.
  • James (son of Zebedee and John’s brother) was called as he was mending nets inside a boat on the Sea of Galilee.
  • Matthew was called as Jesus was leaving Capernaum.
  • Lastly, the remaining five disciples were called: Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Judas brother of James (also called Lebbaeus or Thaddaeus), Simon the Canaanite (Simon the Zealot) and Judas Iscariot.
  • Brothers

    Amazingly, out of the original twelve apostles there were three sets of brothers.

  • Peter and Andrew
  • James and John (the sons of Zebedee)
  • James the son of Alphaeus, Judas brother of James (also called Lebbaeus or Thaddaeus) and Simon the Canaanite (Simon the Zealot).
  • This means that seven out of the twelve disciples had a close relative who was ALSO a disciple!

    Neighbors

    Several of the apostles were known to live in or very near Capernaum. Jesus moved from Nazareth to the city when he began his public ministry (Matthew 4:13-16). The disciples who lived near each other were were James, John, Matthew, Andrew, Peter and Philip.

    Renamed

    Here is a good Bible trivia question. Who were the three disciples that Jesus PERSONALLY renamed? Only four people total in the New Testament got renamed.

    Jesus gave Simon the son of Jonah a new name.

    “One of the two who heard John (the Baptist) speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” . . . Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, ‘You are SIMON the son of Jonah. You shall be called CEPHAS’ (which is translated, A Stone).” (John 1:40-42)

    Cephas is a Syriac word which means the same as the Greek word for Peter. Jesus also gave two brothers (no doubt with a little humor) one name.

    “Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons: Simon, to whom He gave the name Peter; James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, ‘SONS OF THUNDER’ . . .” (Mark 3:14-17)

    The fourth person renamed is Saul, who sometime after conversion became the apostle Paul (Acts 13:1-2, 6-10).

    What do the names ofthe disciples MEAN?

    Lists of Apostles

    In the New Testament there are four separate lists of Jesus’ original twelve disciples. Three of these lists are found in the Gospels (Matthew 10:1-4, Mark 3:13-18, Luke 6:12-16) while the fourth list (which excludes Judas Iscariot) is found in the book of Acts.

    “And after entering Jerusalem, they (the disciples) went up into the upper chamber, where both Peter and James were staying; and John and Andrew; Philip and Thomas; Bartholomew and Matthew; James, the son of Alpheus, and Simon the Zealot; and Jude, the brother of James.” (Acts 1:12-13)

  • Andrew – ‘a strong man’
  • John – ‘the grace or mercy of the Lord’
  • Simon the son of Jonah (Simon means ‘one that hears or obeys.’ Jonah means ‘a dove’) – renamed Peter.
  • James (for both James’) – ‘that supplants, undermines; the heel.’
  • Philip – ‘ warlike, a lover of horses’
  • Nathanael (Bartholomew) – Nathanael means ‘the gift of God.’ Bartholomew means ‘a son that suspends the waters.’
  • Matthew – ‘given or a reward.’
  • Thomas – ‘twin’
  • Simon the Canaanite (Simon the Zealot) – Simon means one ‘that hears or obeys.’
  • Judas brother of James (also called Lebbeus or Thaddeus) – Judas means ‘the praise of the Lord or confession.’ Lebbeus means ‘a man of heart, praising or confessing.’ Thaddeus means one ‘that praises or confesses.’
  • Judas Iscariot – Judas means ‘the praise of the Lord or confession.’ Iscariot means ‘a man of murder; a hireling.’

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