Questions about the New Testament apostles
The Synoptic Gospels and the Book of Acts name 12 men chosen by Jesus as an inner circle of core disciples. They are often referred to as "the twelve" or "the twelve disciples", and were also referred to by Jesus as "apostles" (see Luke 6:13 for what appears to be the earliest such use of the term).
Though the lists are not identical, they are generally correlated as follows:
- Simon Peter
- Andrew (brother of Simon Peter)
- James the son of Zebedee
- John the son of Zebedee
- Philip
- Bartholomew
- Matthew
- Thomas
- James the son of Alphaeus
- Simon (the Zealot/Canaanite)
- Judas (the brother of James/Lebbaeus/Thaddeus)
- Judas Iscariot
The New Testament names at least 4 other men who were later on referred to as apostles: Matthias, James the brother of Jesus (there is a viewpoint that this is the same man as James the son of Alphaeus), Paul, and Barnabas.
Christian history from the 1st and 2nd centuries indicate that it was the apostles who were responsible for declaring the doctrine of Christianity, and that they were witnesses of the resurrection.
