A KISS BEFORE DYING


THE TWELVE APOSTLES





 



Apostle(one sent forth), in the New Testament originally 
the official name of those twelve of the disciples whom 
Jesus chose to send forth first to preach the gospel and 
to be with him during the course of his ministry on earth. 
The word also appears to have been used in a non-official 
sense to designate a much wider circle of Christian messengers 
and teachers. See 2Corinthians 8:23; Philippians 2:25


Jesus Christ endowed His Church with Himself and His divine 
Message. He handed it down to His disciples, who constituted 
His Church. Jesus Christ selected from among them Twelve Apostles 
to carry on with authority His Gospel, and He sent them to preach 
it and to baptize converts all over the world: 


"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in 
the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost; 
teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded 
you; and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the 
world" (Matt. 28: 19-20). 




The Apostles kept their mission with integrity and faithfulness. They 
dedicated their lives to it; they injected the new faith in the' true God into 
society to heal its infirmities.


"He went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. 
And when it was day, He called unto Him His disciples. And of them He chose 
twelve, whom also He named apostles: Simon (whom he also named Peter) and 
Andrew, his brother; James and John, Phillip and Bartholomew, Matthew and 
Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon called Zelotes, Judas the brother of 
James and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor" (Lk. 6:12-16). 


What was our Lord's aim in selecting His special group? St. Mark states 
that the purpose was that they might be with Him so He might send them 
forth to proclaim the approach of the Kingdom of God, and so He could 
endow them with the power to heal and to exercise. St. Mark (3:14,15) 
records: 
"He ordained twelve that they should be with Him, and that He might send them
forth to preach and to have power to heal sickness and to cast out devils." 


But the Lord's aim was more than that. It is described by Him on the eve 
of His death. He expected them to be His envoys on earth. Their supreme 
duty was to bear witness to Him; to teach the world how He lived, what 
He said, what He wrought. Jesus prayed for them: 


"As Thou hast sent Me into the world, even so have I also sent 
them into the world" (John 1 7, 18). 


Fate of the Original Twelve Apostles


 


    
Name
    
Manner of Death
    
Year


    
Judas Iscariot
    
Commited suicide by hanging himself.
 
	(Acts 1:18)
    
34 A.D.


    
James
 the Greater
    
The son of Zebedee, was beheaded in
 Jerusalem by the sword (Acts 12:1-9)
    
44 A.D.


    
Philip
    
Crucified at Heirapole Phryga.
    
52 A.D.


    
Bartholomew
    
Beaten, crucified and then beheaded
 by command of a king.
    
52 A.D.


    
Thomas
    
Run through with a lance at Corehandal,
 East Indies.
    
52 A.D.


    
Matthew
    
Slain by the sword in the city of Ethopia.
    
Around
 60 A.D.


    
James
The Lesser
    
The son of Alphaeus was thrown from
 the pinnacle, then beaten to death.
    
60 A.D.


    
Simon or
Peter
    
Crucified head down in Rome
    
66 A.D.


    
Jude or
Thaddaeus
    
Shot to death by arrows.
    
72 A.D.


    
Simon
    
Crucified in Presta.
    
74 A.D.


    
Andrew
    
Bound to death. He preached until
 his death.
    
74 A.D.


    
John
    
Banished to the Isle of Patmos.
 (Revelation 1-9)
    
96 A.D.




It is easy to overlook the fact that Jesus chose Judas 
to be his disciple. We may also forget that while Judas 
betrayed Jesus, all the disciples abandoned him. With the 
other disciples, Judas shared a persistent misunderstanding 
of Jesus' mission. 


	





Sunday, October 20, 2002