Q: What are the names of the 12 apostles in order?

A: First of all, disciples and apostles are sometimes used interchangeably because they share many of the same characteristics. The word "apostle" basically is a reference to those who were personally sent forth by Jesus with a message on His behalf.

The qualifications included A. Being a contemporary of Jesus Christ; B. Being an eyewitness to the Resurrected Lord (Acts 1:22; 1 Cor. 9:1); C. Being invested with miraculous spiritual gifts (Acts 5:15-16, Heb. 2:3-4); and D. Being personally chosen by God (Mt. 10:1-2, Acts 1:26). Whereas, technically, a disciple is one who is taught by another.

For example, there were disciples of Moses (Jn. 9:28) and John the Baptist (Jn. 3:25). Judas, was an example of an unsaved disciple. Likewise, many disciples who deserted Jesus in (Jn. 6:66). There are four lists of the Twelve given in the NT (Mt. 10:1-4; Mk. 3:16-19; Lk. 6:13-16; and Acts 1:13).

Although the lists vary in listing, there are two common denominators: Peter is always listed first and Judas is always listed last. Chronologically, we know that Andrew and Peter were the first two (Mt. 4:18-20)followed by James and John (Mt. 4:21-22). In order we do not have absolute clarity in regards to when they became disciples but the list contains Philip, Bartholomew (same as Nathaniel in John's gospel), Thomas, Matthew, James (son of Alphaeus), Thaddeus (the same as Judas son of James in Lk. 6:16), Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot. The reason some have different names is because due to the Roman occupation it was customary for Jews of the time to have both a Jewish name as well as a Greek version of their name .

Other Questions...