Peter

James
John
Andrew
Philip
Judas Iscariot
Matthew (or Levi)
Thomas
James, the son of Alpheus
Bartholomew
Judas Thaddeus
Simon Zelotes
Matthias
Jesus Christ
 The 12 Apostles of Jesus Christ: Then and
Now
Jesus Christ’s twelve ancient apostles have preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Many
of them gave their lives for the sake of faith. Today, Apostles are here once again on
the earth, and just like the Apostles of old, they carry the same mission: to testify of
Christ and lead His Church.

Who were the ancient Apostles and what we know about them?

The Bible teaches us that the original apostles of Jesus were Peter; James; John;
Andrew; Philip; Judas Iscariot; Matthew; Thomas; James, the son of Alpheus;
Bartholomew; Judas Thaddeus; and Simon Zelotes.

Among these were fishermen during the time of calling, namely: Peter; James; John;
Andrew. Jesus Christ called Peter “the Rock” on which he would build His Church, and
rightly so it was Peter who presided over His church after His death. Peter was believed
by many to have been oppressed and martyred. The Bible teaches that James was
also killed, but it was John who never experienced death, with Jesus having said that
John would stay on earth and preach the gospel until Christ’s Second Coming. The
other two apostles, Andrew and Philip, have preached the gospel after Christ’s death,
and it is written that both were also martyred.

Matthew was a tax collector or a “publican.” He left his career to follow Jesus Christ,
and became popularly known as the writer of the Gospel of Matthew in the New
Testament. Matthew was probably a well-educated man and the gospel he wrote was
intended especially for the Jews.

Judas Iscariot is among the more famous apostles of Jesus Christ because of his
reputation as a traitor; he betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. Out of remorse and
guilty conscience, Judas hung himself. The apostle Matthias was called to replace
Judas.

Not much has been recorded about the lives of the other apostles like Thomas; James,
the son of Alpheus; Bartholomew; Judas Thaddeus; and Simon Zelotes. We know little
about the mentioned apostles unlike the other popular ones, but despite the limited
information, we can be sure that they were fully committed to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Tradition teaches that many of them traveled the ancient world teaching the gospel and
were ready to give their lives for the sake of their mission. The ancient apostles of Jesus
Christ have manifested amazing faith, unwavering commitment, and unimaginable
sacrifice to preach Christ’s gospel.
Their Call and Ordination (James E. Talmadge, Jesus the Christ)

The night preceding the morn on which the Twelve Apostles were called and ordained
was spent by the Lord in solitary seclusion; He had “continued all night in prayer to
God.”

The Twelve Considered Individually

Simon Peter

Simon, named as the first apostle, is more commonly known as Peter—the appellation
given him by the Lord on the occasion of their first meeting, and afterward confirmed.
He was the son of Jona, or Jonas, and by vocation was a fisherman. He and his brother
Andrew were partners with James and John, the sons of Zebedee; and apparently the
fishing business was a prosperous one with them, for they owned their boats and gave
employment to other men. Peter’s early home had been at the little fishery town of
Bethsaida on the west shore of the Sea of Galilee; but about the time of his first
association with Jesus, or soon thereafter, he, with others of his family, removed to
Capernaum, where he appears to have become an independent householder. Simon
Peter was a married man before his call to the ministry. He was well to do in a material
way; and when he once spoke of having left all to follow Jesus.

James & John

James and John, brothers by birth, partners in business as fishermen, brethren in the
ministry, were associated together and with Peter in the apostolic calling. The Lord
bestowed upon the pair a title in common—Boanerges, or Sons of Thunderl—possibly
with reference to the zeal they developed in His service,

Andrew

Andrew, son of Jona and brother of Simon Peter, is mentioned less frequently than the
three already considered. He had been one of the Baptist’s followers, and with John, the
son of Zebedee, left the Baptist to learn from Jesus; and having learned he went in
search of Peter, solemnly averred to him that the Messiah had been found, and brought
his brother to the Savior’s feet.

Jesus Called Apostles

· Setup: Consider splitting the children into 2 smaller groups. One group will
talk about Christ calling the ancient apostles. The other group will talk about
Christ calling modern apostles.

· Ancient Apostles

o Explain to the children that when Christ was on the earth, He

established His church and called 12 apostles to lead it. Use the red
cups to show the names of the apostles that were called and tell a
little about the apostles. Build a pyramid with the cups. At the very
top of the pyramid place the cup that says Jesus Christ and explain
that Christ leads His church – then and now.

o Using the cups, it can then be explained that after Christ returned
to Heaven after His resurrection, His apostles taught the gospel and
led His Church but in time there was an apostasy. (Show the
pyramid being disassembled).

o Then explain that Christ restored His Church again in our latter-
days and once again it is led by prophets and apostles. (Rebuild the
pyramid).

· Modern Apostles

o Using the wall, have the children “build” the picture of the apostles
all lined up in order.

o Do this by reading off some facts about a specific apostle and

asking the children to guess who it is. Once they’ve correctly
guessed it, let them put the picture on the wall in that correct order.

o Bear testimony of the importance of living prophets and apostles

and that Christ continues to lead His church today.