9 T R. E. 1. List Jesus’ twelve apostles and distinguish 2. important facts about each…
Introducing… The Twelve Apostles a. k. a. “The Twelve” “JC’s Homies”
Simon – called Peter l Was a simple fisherman l The name Peter means “Rock” l One of the closest disciples l Became the leader of the Church after Jesus’ death l Was crucified upside down
John l Was another close disciple l He was known as “The beloved” by Jesus l Took care of Mary after Jesus’ death
James l The brother of John l Probably the first of the twelve to be martyred l Along with John was called by Jesus the “Sons of Thunder”
Andrew l Was another fisherman l Was the brother of Simon Peter l Used to follow John the Baptist before becoming a disciple of Jesus
Philip l Another Fisherman l Was one of the first disciples l Also recruited Bartholomew l Phillip found the boy with the loaves and fishes that fed the five thousand
Bartholomew l Was also called Nathaniel l A good friend of Philip l Died by being beheaded
Matthew l Was a tax collector l Gave up his riches to follow Jesus l Probably the author of the Gospel of Matthew
Thomas l Called “the Twin” l Doubted that Jesus had risen from the Dead until he could see Jesus in person l Hence the term “Doubting Thomas”
James l Was often called “James the less” to distinguish him from the other James l Was probably shorter than the other James
Simon l Was a Zealot, which means he was a member of a Jewish political party that wanted to free Israel from the rule of Romans l Gave up his political aspirations after becoming a follower of Jesus
Jude l Also called Thaddeus l Closely linked with Simon the Zealot l Went to Persia to preach and was martyred there
Judas Iscariot l Was the treasurer of the group l His love of money drove him to betray Jesus to his enemies l Judas hanged himself in despair