The first group of four apostles was Jesus’ inner group. They were with Jesus shortly after the beginning of His ministry. John 1:35-42 records the occasion on which they responded to Jesus by believing in Him. That is, they believed He was the promised Messiah. Jesus asked them to follow Him three times. The first time was after they believed. The second time occurred when they were fishing (Mark 1:14-20), and the third time occurred after another time of fishing (Luke 5:1-11). On that occasion they finally left everything and followed Jesus. At least three of them were invited to join Jesus when He raised Jairus’ daughter from the dead (Mark 5:37-43). Jesus also invited only Peter, James, and John to join Him on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matt. 17:1-13). All four privately asked Jesus questions on the Mount of Olives (Mark 13:1-8). Peter, James, and John were asked to wait for Jesus while He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matt. 26:36-37). Lastly, Peter and John were in discussion with Jesus prior to His departure to heaven (John 21:12-23). John was the disciple Jesus asked to care for His mother (John 19:26-27). It should be noted that James and John had the same father, Zebedee (Matt. 10:2), and Peter and Andrew were brothers (Matt. 10:2). These men were part of Jesus’ inner group.

The second group of four apostles included two men who were into details. That is, they appear to have been analytical men: Thomas and Matthew. Thomas is known as Didymus (John 21:2) and “Doubting Thomas” because He questioned that Jesus had actually returned to life (John 20:26-29). He wanted to place his finger into Jesus’ wounds to confirm that the wounds were real. Matthew was a tax collector for the Roman Empire. These two men were probably analytically oriented. It appears from John 1:35-51 that Philip and Bartholomew believed in Jesus Christ as their Messiah on the same day that Peter, Andrew, James, and John did. Bartholomew was also known as Nathanael.

We know very little about the third group of four apostles. We know almost nothing about James the son of Alphaeus from the Bible other than that he was also called James the Less (Mark 15:40) and that Matthew was his brother (Matt. 9:9; Mark 2:14). Thaddaeus was also called Lebbaeus and was known as Judas, the son of James. Simon the Cananaean was also called Simon the Zealot. The Zealots were anti-Rome and were politically motivated. One wonders how Simon felt about Matthew, who would have been considered a traitor by the Jews because he was a tax-collector for Rome. The Bible reveals nothing significant about this apostle. Judas Iscariot was the traitor (Matt. 10:4) who later hung himself (Matt. 27:3-6) and was therefore not listed in the book of Acts.

Finally, Mark 6:7 reveals that Jesus sent the apostles out in pairs. These men were to become the future leaders - Jesus’ apostles. It appears from scripture that Peter was impulsive and vocal, while Thomas was probably a very logical, thoughtful person. James and John were brothers who wanted to be first among the apostles. On one occasion later in His ministry, their mother asked Jesus if they could rule on His left and right. Matthew had been a tax-collector whom the Jews considered to be a traitor because he collected taxes for Rome, and Simon the Zealot was a radical who hated Rome. Judas was a traitor who stole money from the money bag. What a combination that must have been at first. We know almost nothing about some of the men since the pages of scripture are quiet.