the twelve apostles

who were the twelve apostles? which ones does mainstream christianity use?

Matthew 10:2-4 and Mark 3: 16-18 say:

1. Simon (aka Peter)
2. Andrew
3. James (son of Zebedee)
4. John
5. Philip
6. Bartholomew
7. Thomas
8. Matthew
9. James (son of Alphaeus)
10. Lebbaeus (surname Thaddeus)
11. Simon (the Canaanite)
12. Judas (Iscariot)


Luke 6:14-16 and Acts 1:13 say:

1. Simon (aka Peter)
2. Andrew
3. James
4. John
5. Philip
6. Bartholomew
7. Thomas
8. Matthew
9. James (son of Alphaeus)
10. Judas (James' brother)
11. Simon (Zealotes)
12. Judas (Iscariot)


besides the traitor, there is judas in two accounts, but not the other. thaddeus is missing from two but present in the ones that only have one judas. what's up?

Bartholemew and Nathanael are the same person.

I personally reject the epistles of Paul, I would be led to believe that the first listing is correct but that is based merely on personal conviction and not on fact.

There are more than twelve Apostles. There are the Twelve, which do have a special place (but Paul does not figure in those and nor does James the Brother of the Lord, and they hold special places also). Then there are also the Seventy. Where some people get the idea that there were only twelve is beyond me.

James

JamesThePersian said:

There are more than twelve Apostles. There are the Twelve, which do have a special place (but Paul does not figure in those and nor does James the Brother of the Lord, and they hold special places also). Then there are also the Seventy. Where some people get the idea that there were only twelve is beyond me.

James

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the 12 were the head of the church the seventy are to go out and do what the 12 have insructed them. there is an order in all things in cluding Christs church...

JamesThePersian said:

There are more than twelve Apostles. There are the Twelve, which do have a special place (but Paul does not figure in those and nor does James the Brother of the Lord, and they hold special places also). Then there are also the Seventy. Where some people get the idea that there were only twelve is beyond me.

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And why you would assume that there were more than twelve is equally baffling to me.

To begin with, the Bible frequently (roughly 2 dozen times) refers to "the twelve" without even mentioning the word "apostle" at all, but clearly in describing the twelve apostles. To me it's obvious that "the twelve" were unique among Christ's many disciples. Mark 3:14 states that Christ "...ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach..." It doesn't say that He ordained some indefinite number. They acted as an authoritative body, both during Christ's life and after His death and, at least in the beginning, when one of them died, the others called someone to fill his position. This would hardly have been necessary if the number was arbitrary or subject to change over time. The same was true with regard to the seventy, even through they had a different role and responsibility than the apostles. Christ's Church was established according to a very specific pattern and that's how He intended it to function.

ChristineES said:

Bartholemew and Nathanael are the same person.

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Nathanael is not present on the list in the OP...How does this comment pertain to the question posed in the OP?

uumckk16 said:

Nathanael is not present on the list in the OP...How does this comment pertain to the question posed in the OP?

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Haha, I was just thinking the same thing. I'm glad it wasn't just me being dense.

Issabella said:

who were the twelve apostles? which ones does mainstream christianity use?

Matthew 10:2-4 and Mark 3: 16-18 say:

1. Simon (aka Peter)
2. Andrew
3. James (son of Zebedee)
4. John
5. Philip
6. Bartholomew
7. Thomas
8. Matthew
9. James (son of Alphaeus)
10. Lebbaeus (surname Thaddeus)
11. Simon (the Canaanite)
12. Judas (Iscariot)


Luke 6:14-16 and Acts 1:13 say:

1. Simon (aka Peter)
2. Andrew
3. James
4. John
5. Philip
6. Bartholomew
7. Thomas
8. Matthew
9. James (son of Alphaeus)
10. Judas (James' brother)
11. Simon (Zealotes)
12. Judas (Iscariot)


besides the traitor, there is judas in two accounts, but not the other. thaddeus is missing from two but present in the ones that only have one judas. what's up?

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Hi Issabella. Notes from E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible, pp 1388, clears it up for me. Maybe it will for you. Notes are next to verses in Mark.

"surnamed = added [the] name.Peter. Only his given name here; not his appointment. In Mark: Peter, James and John are kept in a group. In Matthew and Luke, Andrew is placed between."

"Bartholomew. One (Aramaic) of two names, the other being Nathanael (John 1. 40,41). John connects Philip with Nathanael; in the other Gospels, with Bartholomew.
Bartholomew is not mentioned in John 21. 2, Nathanael is. The other Gospels mention Bartholomew but not Nathanael."

"Thaddaeus (or Lebbaeus as in Matt. 10.3). He is the Judas of John 14. 22, both words having the same meaning = beloved child. Aramaic."

"Canaanite = Canaanaean or Zealot = one who regarded the presence of the Romans as treason against Jehovah."

Bick

Katzpur said:

And why you would assume that there were more than twelve is equally baffling to me.

To begin with, the Bible frequently (roughly 2 dozen times) refers to "the twelve" without even mentioning the word "apostle" at all, but clearly in describing the twelve apostles. To me it's obvious that "the twelve" were unique among Christ's many disciples. Mark 3:14 states that Christ "...ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach..." It doesn't say that He ordained some indefinite number. They acted as an authoritative body, both during Christ's life and after His death and, at least in the beginning, when one of them died, the others called someone to fill his position. This would hardly have been necessary if the number was arbitrary or subject to change over time. The same was true with regard to the seventy, even through they had a different role and responsibility than the apostles. Christ's Church was established according to a very specific pattern and that's how He intended it to function.

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Maybe its because I still take seriously the meaning of the word Apostle, as one sent out and that I belong to a tradition which has later saints called Apostles as well for exactly this reason? The fact that you agree that the 70 existed proves that you accept that there were more than 12 Apostles. It doesn't in any way alter the fact that the 12 hold a special place, though. I said as much in my last post. There have been an awful lot more than 12 Apostles. I know that for you the idea of the being 12 Apostles charged with leading the Church has a dogmatic status, but most of us do not view Apostles in the same way you do. To reiterate, the 12 hold a special place but they are far from the only Apostles.

James