Upon commencing His three year earthly Ministry of healing bodies and souls, Jesus of Nazareth (1) called many by name to follow Him, to include a group of unschooled, ordinary men (Acts 4:13) known as the Twelve Apostles (or Disciples). They were chosen by Jesus to learn from Him so that they, in turn, could freely share the Good News (2) with others- to EVANGELIZE (3). They are:

Simon Peter (4)

James the Greater (son of Zebedee) (5)

John (son of Zebedee) (6)

Andrew (7)

Philip (not the Philip mentioned in Acts 8 and 21) (8)

Bartholomew (Nathanael) (9)

Levi (Matthew) (10)

Thomas (11)

James the Less (son of Alphaeus) (12)

Jude (Thaddeus) (13)

Simon the Zealot (14)

Judas Iscariot (15)

As the noun "Apostle," is translated into "one who is sent," 11 of these original 12 went on to travel about and openly proclaim that Jesus was the Messiah (16), Son of the living God (17). Another term to define these followers of Christ is "Disciple," which can be translated to "a follower or a student of a teacher." One can surmise that one would have to be a Disciple before becoming an Apostle. One has to be taught BEFORE they are sent.

The infallible Word of God tells us of many others who were following Jesus but ended up falling away from Him (John 6:64-66). Unfortunately, this continues to happen present day (18). The original Twelve Apostles learned "The Way" directly from Jesus and they personally witnessed Him perform many Signs/Wonders (19) and Miracles (20).

As much as they witnessed first-hand, even the faith of these men who walked in the very footsteps of Jesus was shaken when He was falsely accused (21) of blasphemy and arrested (initiated by the betrayal of Judas). Only one Apostle - John - was known to have been at Calvary when Jesus was crucified (22). The rest scattered, as yet another Old Testament prophecy (23) (Zechariah 13:7) was fulfilled (Matthew 26:31, Mark 14:27, John 16:32), even in death, by Jesus Christ.

The Good News for us is that Jesus defeated Sin and Death at His Cross! Amen! After His glorious Resurrection (24), but before He ascended to the right hand of His Father in Heaven, Jesus gave one final command to His Apostles and to all who proclaim Him as their personal Lord and Savior:

"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20, Mark 16:19-20, Luke 24:36-53). This is known as "The Great Commission" and is the cornerstone for Discipleship (25).

Just where did these obedient and Holy Spirit (26)-filled Ambassadors of Christ go to preach and teach the Good News of repentance and salvation? As they accomplished their supernatural feats a few thousand years ago, many accounts of who went where and when they did it are sketchy and unconfirmed. But, we have compiled some resources and have listed them herein.  The accompanying chart also lists where, how and when the Apostles may have died.

As it was illegal to be a practicing Christian in the first century (and still is today in dozens of countries), many teachings share that 10 of the original 12 Apostles (except for John & Judas) died horrific deaths for refusing to renounce the teachings of Jesus. Accordingly, they are called "Martyrs" (27).

After the death of the original 12 and 1st century Apostles, we do not find missionary figures possessing the stature of the great Ambassador in Chains, Paul of Tarsus (28). Yet, the faith continued to spread like wildfire for about 400 years after the Ascension of Christ...what do you think we need to do to get that same fire rekindled again today? Looking at the examples of how the Apostles mirrored the actions of their Savior (29), we have a roadmap that leads us on The Journey of being a true Follower of Jesus.

Check out the charts below for much info...for a printer friendly version of this page, please click on the PDF document offered over in the lower sidebar...

Modifications are welcome at goodnews@downriverdisciples.com. Be blessed!

FOOTNOTES:
 

  (1) https://www.downriverdisciples.com/jesus-christ

  (2) https://www.downriverdisciples.com/the-good-news

  (3) https://www.downriverdisciples.com/called-to-evangelize

  (4) https://www.downriverdisciples.com/apostle-peter

  (5) https://www.downriverdisciples.com/apostle-james-the-greater

  (6) https://www.downriverdisciples.com/apostle-john

  (7) https://www.downriverdisciples.com/apostle-andrew

  (8) https://www.downriverdisciples.com/apostle-philip

  (9) https://www.downriverdisciples.com/apostle-bartholomew

(10) https://www.downriverdisciples.com/apostle-matthew

(11) https://www.downriverdisciples.com/apostle-thomas

(12) https://www.downriverdisciples.com/apostle-james-the-less

(13) https://www.downriverdisciples.com/apostle-jude

(14) https://www.downriverdisciples.com/apostle-simon-the-zealot

(15) https://www.downriverdisciples.com/apostle-judas-iscariot

(16) https://www.downriverdisciples.com/jesus-the-messiah

(17) https://www.downriverdisciples.com/image-of-god

(18) https://www.downriverdisciples.com/the-leavers

(19) https://www.downriverdisciples.com/seven-signs-of-jesus

(20) https://www.downriverdisciples.com/miracles-of-jesus

(21) https://www.downriverdisciples.com/six-trials-of-jesus

(22) https://www.downriverdisciples.com/obituary-of-jesus

(23) https://downriverdisciples.com/jesus-ot-prophecies

(24) https://www.downriverdisciples.com/resurrection-of-jesus

(25) https://www.downriverdisciples.com/discipleship

(26) https://www.downriverdisciples.com/the-holy-spirit

(27) https://www.downriverdisciples.com/the-first-martyrs

(28) https://www.downriverdisciples.com/ambassador-in-chains

(29) https://www.downriverdisciples.com/jesus-the-apostles

(a) Bible Gateway (NIV) link

(b) Whatever Happened to the Twelve Apostles? (Ken Curtis, PH.D., April 28, 1910) link