Topic: The Disciples of Jesus

Philip: A native of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.

  • When Philip was called by Jesus he readily responded to the call. Philip brought Nathanael to Christ. (John 1:43-48). Jesus asked Philip where they could buy bread for them. Philip was tested by Jesus because Jesus already knew what He would do. Philip answered that Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.
  • It was Andrew who told Jesus about the lad who had five barley loaves and two small fishes. There were five thousand fed by Jesus. (John 6:5-12). Philip introduced Greeks to Christ close to the time the Son of man was to be glorified. Certain Greeks came up to worship at the feast and came to Philip telling Philip they desired to see Jesus. Philip told Andrew and they both told Jesus. (John 12:20-24).
  • Jesus told His disciples of His betrayal and of His death. Jesus told the disciples not to let their hearts be troubled if they believed in God, to believe also in Him. If they knew Jesus they should know His Father also. Christ gently rebuked Philip when he asked Jesus to show the Father and it will satisfy them. Jesus asks Philip if he does not know Him since they have been together for a long time. Jesus told Philip that if Philip has seen Him then he has seen the Father. (John 14:1-12).
  • The disciples witnessed the Ascension of Jesus Christ and returned unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet. They went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James. (Acts 1:13).
  • Philip preached and did miracles in Samaria. Philip removed unclean spirits out of many who were possessed, healed palsies, the lame. Many Samarians believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized. (Acts 8:5-13).
  • Philip was told by an angel of the Lord to go toward the south down from Jerusalem unto Gaza in the desert. There Philip led the Ethiopian eunuch to Christ. Because the Ethiopian eunuch believed that Jesus Christ is the Son of God Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip and (he was) taken to Azotus. (Acts 8:26-40). According to Hippolytus, Philip preached and was executed in what today is eastern Turkey: “Philip preached in Phrygia, and was crucified in Hierapolis with his head downward in the time of Domitian, and was buried there.”

Peter, the Rock.

  • It is, therefore, recorded that Paul was beheaded in Rome itself, and that Peter, likewise was crucified under Nero. This account of Peter and Paul is substantiated by the fact that their names are preserved in the cemeteries of that place even to the present day. —- (Book 2, Chapter 25)
  • Hippolytus confirmed the fact that Peter was crucified by Nero in Rome:
  • “Peter preached the Gospel in Pontus, and Galatia, and Cappadocia, and Betania, and Italy, and Asia, and was afterward crucified by Nero in Rome, with his head downward, as he had himself desired to suffer in that manner.”

James, son of thunder, brother of John, son of Zebedee.

  • James the Greater: James the son of Zebedee, called James the Greater or James Major or James the Elder, and also, along with his brother John and with Peter, belonged to what seems to have been an inner circle of Three.
  • Mathew 27:55-56 identifies that the mother of James and John was a follower of Jesus, and was present at his crucifixion. He was killed by order of King Herod, as reported in Acts 12:2. (See Matthew 4:21; 10:2; 17:1; P 1:19,29; 3:17; 5:37; 9:2; 10:35,41; 13:3; 14:33; Luke 5:10; 6:14; 8:51; 9:28,54; Acts 11:13; 12:2). According to the Book of Acts in the New Testament, James was killed by Herod: Act 12:1-2 “And at that time Herod the king threw on his hands to oppress some of those of the church. And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.”  This is confirmed by Hippolytus: “James, his brother, when preaching in Judea, was cut off with the sword by Herod the tetrarch, and was buried there.” Eusebius described more precisely what was cut off of Jame
  • “First Stephen was stoned to death by them, and after him James, the son of Zebedee and the brother of John, was beheaded…” (Book 3, Chapter 5)
  • Note: James and John are called “The Sons of Thunder”

John (the beloved) son of thunder, brother of James, son of Zebedee.

  • Eusebius discusses the reason that John wrote his Gospel: “Matthew and John have left us written memorials, and they, tradition says, were led to write only under the pressure of necessity…And when Mark and Luke had already published their Gospels, they say that John, who had employed all his time in proclaiming the Gospel orally, finally proceeded to write for the following reason. The three Gospels already mentioned having come into the hands of all and into his own too, they say that he accepted them and bore witness to their truthfulness; but that there was lacking in them an account of the deeds done by Christ at the beginning of his ministry.” (Book 3, Chapter 24) According to Hippolytus, John was banished by Domitian to the Isle of Patmos, and later died in Ephesus: “John, again, in Asia, was banished by Domitian the king to the isle of Patmos, in which also he wrote his Gospel and saw the apocalyptic vision; and in Trajan’s time he fell asleep at Ephesus, where his remains were sought for, but could not be found.”

Bartholomew:

  • According to Hippolytus, Bartholomew preached in India: “Bartholomew, again, preached to the Indians, to whom he also gave the Gospel according to Matthew, and was crucified with his head downward, and was buried in Allanum, a town of the great Armenia (modern day southern Georgia).” Scholars date his death at around AD 62. Though Bartholomew was listed among the Twelve Apostles in the three Synoptic gospels: Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and also appears as one of the witnesses of the Ascension, each time named in the company of Philip, he is one of the apostles of whom no word is reported nor any individual action recorded in the New Testament. According to John 1:47 Jesus’ first words on meeting Nathanael were: “This man is a true Israelite… There is no guile in him.”

Thomas, the doubter.

  • Hippolytus records that Thomas was an active missionary, and that he met his fate in India: “And Thomas preached to the Parthians, Medes, Persians, Hyrcanians, Bactrians, and Margians, and was thrust through in the four members of his body with a pine spear at Calamene, the city of India, and was buried there.”

Matthew Levi, the tax collector.

  • Eusebius referenced to Bishop Papias of Hierapolis, as early as c. 110 A.D., bearing witness to Matthew’s authorship of his gospel:
  • ….Matthew put together the oracles [of the Lord] in the Hebrew language, and each one interpreted them as best he could.” (Eusebius, Book 3, Chapter 39)
  • According to Hippolytus:
  • Matthew wrote the Gospel in the Hebrew tongue, and published it at Jerusalem, and at Hierees, a town of Parthia.\224 [Parthia is near modern day Tehran]

James, son of Alphaeus.

  • James the Less: James the son of Alphaeus (Alpheus) appears on lists of the Twelve Apostles (usually in the ninth place) but is never mentioned otherwise. He is called James the Less, or James Minor, or James the Younger. (See Matthew 10:3; P 3:18; Luke 6:15; Acts 1:13) Hippolytus identifies that James was stoned to death in Jerusalem: “And James the son of Alphaeus, when preaching in Jerusalem, was stoned to death by the Jews, and was buried there beside the temple.”

Thaddaeus, also called Judas, son of James, also called Lebbaeus.

  • According to Mat 10:3 (KJV): Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus…. Thaddaeus is also known as Lebbaeus.
  • Hippolytus records: Jude, who is also called Lebbaeus, preached to the people of Edessa, and to all Mesopotamia, and at Berytus, and was buried there.

Simon the Zealot, also called Simon the Canaanite.

  • Simon the Canaanite was one of the twelve disciples called by Jesus Christ. (Matthew 10:4; Mark 3:18). Luke refers to Simon as the Zelotes (or Zealot) in Luke 6:16. He is also mentioned as Simon Zelotes (or Zealot) being among the disciples in the upper room after the ascension of Jesus Christ. (Acts 1:13). There is no other Biblical record regarding him.

Judas Iscariot, the betrayer. He is the son of Simon Iscariot.

  • The scripture must be fulfilled, concerning Judas Iscariot who purchased a field with the reward of iniquity, and fell headlong, burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out. The field was called the Field of Blood. It is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein: and his bishoprick let another take. Judas by his transgression fell, that he might go to his own place. (Acts 1:16-20,25). Jesus went as it was written of Him to go, but woe to Judas Iscariot who betrayed the Son of man. It is better for that man if he had not to have been born. (Mathew 26:24). There was only one of those given to Jesus that was lost, and that was the son of perdition, so that the scripture might be fulfilled. The son of perdition is Judas Iscariot. (John 17:12). There are only two men who are called the “son of perdition,” Judas, and the coming Antichrist.


PHILIP Verses:Comments
John 1:43 The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, “Follow Me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”Philip knew scripture when he said: “Him of whom Moses wrote…” Such a prophet is first introduced in Deuteronomy 18:15, when Moses announces to the people:
Deuteronomy 18:15 “The LORD your God will raise for you A Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear.”
Note: Moses didn’t say “Prophets”, He said “A” Prophet like him. How is Jesus like Moses?
* Jesus was the blood of the Passover lamb Moses told the people to put over their door lintel to keep the angel of death away.
* Jesus died on the exact same day as Passover.
*At his death He led the captives held in Paradise of Sheol free the exact same time Moses led the captives out of Egypt leading them to freedom.
* Moses set up a serpent on a bronze tree to heal the Hebrews of their snake bites. It was the serpent who had Jesus crucified and His crucifixion is the healing for the nations.
John 6:5 Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?” John 6:7 Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little.”Philip was overwhelmed with the numbers of people and how in the world would they feed them. He would become even more overwhelmed when Jesus was able to feed the thousands with the handfuls of bread and fish and baskets left over.
Acts 8:5 Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. Acts 8:6 And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. Acts 8:12 But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized. Acts 8:13 Then Simon himself also believed; and when he was baptized he continued with Philip, and was amazed, seeing the miracles and signs which were done.Philip’s faith exploded.
Acts 8:26 Christ Is Preached to an Ethiopian Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is desert. Acts 8:29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and overtake this chariot.”
Acts 8:30 So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” Acts 8:31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him.
Acts 8:34 So the eunuch answered Philip and said, “I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?” Acts 8:35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him.
Acts 8:37 Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” Acts 8:38 So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. Acts 8:39 Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing. Acts 8:40 But Philip was found at Azotus. And passing through, he preached in all the cities till he came to Caesarea.
Peter is on fire. The Spirit speaks to him and he hears the Spirit. The result is not only sharing Jesus with an Ethiopian but he experiences being in one place and suddenly finding himself in another place supernaturally. Being on fire for the Lord causes the fire to grow.
Acts 21:8 On the next day we who were Paul’s companions departed and came to Caesarea, and entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him.Philip has earned a reputation. He is called “Philip the evangelist”. It is said he was martyred by being hung (or strangled).
Philip the disciple


ANDREW VersesComments
Matthew 4:18 Four Fishermen Called as Disciples – And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.Andrew is Peter’s brother.
Mark 1:29 Peter’s Mother-in-Law Healed – Now as soon as they had come out of the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon (Peter) and Andrew, with James and John.Peter and Andrew are brothers. James and John are brothers being called “The sons of thunder.”
Mark 13:3 The Signs of the Times and the End of the Age – Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked Him privately,Andrew was of the four who inquired about “the end of the age”.
John 1:40 One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.Andrew first heard John the baptizer speak before he met and followed Jesus.
John 1:44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.Philip, Andrew and Peter are all from Bethsaida.
Acts 1:13 And when they had entered, they went up into the upper room where they were staying: Peter, James, John, and Andrew; Philip and Thomas; Bartholomew and Matthew; James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot; and Judas the son of James.Andrew took part in the prayer meeting to choose the disciple who was to take Judas’ place.
Andrew the disciple


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