For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

This lesson covers the final 5 apostles -- previous podcasts covered the first 7 plus Paul. Note: While we covered Judas Iscariot, we did not discuss Matthias (Acts 1:13,26), who was Judas' replacement. Click here for more on this somewhat obscure addition to the apostolic band.

1. Matthew (Levi)

Matthew is mentioned in Matthew 9:9 and 10:3, and comes from Capernaum. His other name is Levi, son of Alpheus (Mark 2:14; Luke 5:27). Matthew collected taxes for Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee. He may have been despised as a collaborator, but his willingness to follow Christ shows his heart was good. As a tax collector he would have been literate in both Aramaic and Greek, in addition to being good with numbers. We actually know more about Zacchaeus (Luke 19), another tax collector in the first century.

2. Bartholomew (Nathanael)

In the synoptic gospels, Philip and Bartholomew are mentioned together; in John, it's Philip and Nathanael. Thus we can equate Bartholomew with Nathanael. We encounter this direct and honest man in John 1:43-51, 21:2. Despite his initial skepticism, he quickly came to faith once he began to interact with Jesus.

3. Simon the Zealot

Some ancient church fathers thought he was Simon the Canaanite (Hebrew qana' = be zealous). We find him in Luke 6:15 and Acts 1:13, though little is known about him. If "zealot" was not a description of his personality or Christian commitment, then perhaps he was part of the first-century extreme political faction, the Zealots.

4. James the Younger (James son of Alphaeus)

This apostle was son of the other Mary, wife of Clopas (Cleopas). There is little information on this man

5. Thaddaeus (the other Judas)

Thaddaeus was Lebbaeus, in some manuscripts of Matthew 10:3. He was also called Judas son of James (John 14:22), known as St. Jude by the Catholics. He preached in Syria, launching the Christian movement east of Palestine, which led to the Church of the East. This Christian movement evangelized Syria, Persia, China, Mongolia, and other lands. It was a persecuted people, for the Church of the East never became political, or a state church. Eusebius (church historian at the court of Constantine, early 4th century AD), wrote "Thomas, one of the twelve apostles, under divine impulse sent Thaddeus, who was also numbered among the seventy disciples of Christ, to Edessa, as a preacher and evangelist of the teaching of Christ" (Church History I, xiii), Thaddaeus was martyred about 65 AD.

Some things we learn from these 5 apostles
 

• Be willing to take the gospel into all the world; either "go and grow," or "stay and pay."
• There is a high price to be paid for leadership.
• Be careful not to judge people for their former political associations.
• Authenticity -- from Nathanael (Bartholomew) -- doesn't mean one has to remain a skeptic, or take forever to make a decision of faith.

Apostles and Martyrdom

Hippolytus, a disciple of Irenaeus (2nd/3rd century AD), provides information about the deaths of the apostles, and may contain some true history. These stories should definitely be taken with a grain of salt. The 8 apostles Hippolytus says were martyred are marked with the sign +.

• +Peter -- preached in Asia Minor and Italy, crucified upside down in Rome
• +Andrew --  preached to Scythians and Thracians, then crucified on an olive tree in Achaia
• John -- banished to Patmos, dying in the time of Trajan (emperor 98-117)
• +James -- beheaded by Herod the Tetrarch in Judea (Acts 12)
• +Philip -- preached in Phrygia, crucified upside-down in Hierapolis
• +Bartholomew -- preached to Indians, and crucified upside-down, and buried in Armenia
• Matthew -- died in Parthia
• +Thomas -- preached to Medes, Parthians, Persians, and others, speared to death with a spear of pine wood in India
• +James son of Alphaeus -- stoned to death while preaching in Jerusalem
• Jude (also called Lebbaeus) -- preached in Syria and Mesopotamia
• Simon the Zealot (also called Jude) -- died in Jerusalem
• Matthias -- died in Jerusalem
• +Paul -- beheaded in Rome