Philip the Apostle was one of
the original twelve apostles.
He came from Bethsaida in
Galilee.

Jesus invited Philip to
become His disciple
(John 1:43).

Philip became the sixth disciple of Jesus, and
introduced his friend Nathanael (Bartholomew)
to Jesus, who also became an apostle.

When Jesus was about to perform a miracle and
feed a multitude of people with a small amount
of food, Jesus asked Philip where they should buy
the bread to feed the people. Jesus was testing
Philip, for He knew where He would get the food.
(John 6:5-6).

During the Last Supper, Philip asked Jesus to
show them the Father. Jesus replied that he sees
Him, that he has seen the Father. They are one.
(John 14:8-11).

Phillip was present during the prayer meeting in
the upper room with the 120 (Acts 1:13-15),
after the ascension of Jesus.

Not a lot more is known about him except that
he was supposedly crucified in 62 A.D.

John, also an apostle, was James' brother and a

son of Zebedee. He worked as a fisherman along

with his brother and Peter and Andrew in Galilee.

John is named among the 12 apostles and one of

the inner circle with Peter and James (his brother).

Jesus called him and his brother "Sons of Thunder",

because he and his brother had been known to call

fire down on those they opposed.

He was at the raising of Jairus' daughter;

He was at the Transfiguration;

He was at the Garden of Gethsemane;

He and Peter went to prepare the Passover

for Christ;

He was with Peter when the Sanhedrin throws

them in jail for speaking about Christ and healing a

lame man;

He was with Peter when they traveled into Samaria

to give the Holy Ghost to the new christians;

He seems to be consistently identified as the disciple

whom Jesus loved;

He wrote the book of John and the book of Revelation.

John faced martyrdom when he was thrown into a

huge vat of boiling oil during a time of persecution in

Rome. However, he was miraculously delivered from

death and was then sentenced to a time of

prison on the island of Patmos.

He wrote his prophetic Book

of Revelation on Patmos.

He was later freed and he died

as an old man, out living all the

other apostles.

James had suffered more for Christ than the
others. His martyrdom was an encouragement
to them. His ambitious nature had at one time
hurt them, but he was to prove that he really
was first, not in authority, like Peter; not in
laboring, like Paul, but he was first in death.
James, the Journey Apostle. The other apostles
would often remember their brother, James.

The mission of James was finished at his death
for Christ, and immediately he received his reward.
But Peter and the other apostles still had a whole
world to win.

By his noble death the apostle James became
"the Great" and "the First.”
He died before the first council of the apostles in
49 A.D.

Thank

you

Lord

Jesus

for

this

Great

Thanksgiving Day!

When Jesus made His triumphal entry, the sons
of Zebedee boldly approached Him asking Him,
"'Grant to us that we may sit, one at thy right
hand and the other at thy left hand, in thy glory.'"
Even in this extremely grave hour in Jesus‘ life,
James and John brought up their selfish desire.

When Jesus asked, " 'Can you drink of the cup...?' "
James answered quickly and self-confidently, "
'We can.' " Surprised and glad, Jesus looked deep
into James' heart, His daring son of Thunder.
In compassion, He prayed for this courageous apostle.

On the way to the place of execution his accuser
followed him and pleaded for pardon. James
considered only a moment, (this Son of Thunder?) then
he embraced him and said, "Peace be with you.”
He was then beheaded by orders
from King Agrippa,
in 44 AD.

James' personality and character was high-minded
and ambitious, sometimes haughty, strong and
energetic, and influential.

"There were...James the son of Zebedee, and John
the brother of James that is, Sons of Thunder."
James and John had such thundering and stormy
natures and reckless manners, that Jesus
deliberately added this surname, which could have
been partly praise.

“'You do not know of what manner of spirit you are;
for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's
lives, but to save them.'" Reading some of their
encounters with the people Jesus was ministering
to-what a fitting name for these two brothers!

James was much like Andrew, who
was his neighbor and fellow apostle.
Yet they are quite different in
character and manners. James was
also a fisherman on the Sea of Galilee,
and had worked on the water with
Andrew and Simon Peter for many years. The
Gospels tells us that the two families shared the
boats and nets, etc, and conducted their fishing
businesses together.

James had a brother who also was called by
Jesus. He was John the Evangelist. James stood
in his shadow, much like Andrew with Peter.

But James was not quiet or shy like Andrew.
James, was a bold Apostle. He was Zebedee’s
son, and his name meant “gift of God” His father
was pointed out in order to distinguish this James
from another apostle with the name of James,
who was called by Christ after James the son of
Zebedee. This James was called the Elder.

After the resurrection, Peter went to the tomb

with the “other disciple” after being told of the

event by the women. When the Lord came

before the disciples, he gave Peter the famous

command to“ Feed my sheep”.

Right after the Ascension, Peter was considered

the head of the Apostles, (this is seen in the Acts).

He appointed the replacement of Judas Iscariot;

He was first to speak to the crowds after Pentecost;

He was the first Apostle to perform miracles in the

name of the Lord;

He rendered judgment upon Ananias and Sapphira.

Peter was used to bring the Gospel to the Gentiles.

And He baptized Cornelius, to mention a few of his

works.

After escaping from prison by an angel. He continued

in Jerusalem and his missions took him to Antioch,

Corinth, and eventually Rome. It was from Rome

apparently, that Peter wrote his two epistles that are

in the Bible.

It is certain that Peter died in Rome about 66 or 67 AD

and that he was marterd. When being crucified he said,

“I am not worthy to die like my Master, crucify me

upside down”.

Peter was a Galilean fisherman. He was married,
and his brother was apostle Andrew.

The Gospels show many elements of his
personality, his boldness but with fear, doubt, and
meekness. He was famous for being impetuous, a
tendency to speak first and think later. It caused
Jesus once to rebuke him saying: “Get thee behind
me Satan.”

He was prominent among the apostles. Peter
was always listed as the first of the Apostles.
and was a member of the inner circle of Jesus,
with James and John.

He is recorded more than any other disciple.
He was at Jesus’ side at the Transfiguration;
the raising of Jairus’ daughter, and at the
Garden of Gethsemane. When Jesus was
arrested, Peter cut off the right ear of a slave
of the high priest and then denied Christ three
times as the Lord predicted.

Peter whose name was Simon, but Jesus gave
him the name Cephas. It means stone or small
rock in Aramaic, and Peter in Greek.

Jesus did not make him the first pope because
of this name. Also Peter was married (Jesus
healed his mother-in-law...his wife's mother)
and the Popes can never be married.

The church was built upon the fact that
'Jesus is the Rock....' He is referred to as
'a or the Rock' all over in scripture.

Peter's answer to Jesus' question "Who do you
say that I am." Peter said, "you are the Christ,
the Son of the living God." Jesus said, "upon this
rock (himself) I will build my church, and the
gates of Hell shall not prevail against it." Upon
the fact that He, Jesus is the Rock, the
Christ, the Son of the Living God.

The Bible tells us much about not trusting in

human flesh, or man or anyone or anything

other than Jesus. So He would never build His

church on a man or anyone but Himself.

Andrew was Peter's brother. He was also a
fisherman and lived with his brother in
Capernaum. But he wasn't as prominent as
Peter, even though he was one of the 12
apostles.

Peter, James and John were of the inner circle
of the apostles. Andrew "attained not unto the
first three." He would join them often but didn't
minister in the ways of his brother Peter.

Nearly each time Andrew is mentioned, he is
acting as a go-between. For instance when he
first saw Jesus, he was the one who saw Him
then ran to find Peter so Peter wouldn't miss out
on finding and seeing the Messiah.

It's been told that Andrew died 69AD as a martyr.
He hung on a cross for 3 days suffering greatly
but telling of the love of Jesus to those around
him. Finally some spoke to the governor to ask
that he be taken down. When he was removed,
he died as his body fell to the ground.

Following the call of Peter, Jesus called together
the twelve disciples. Matthew, the tax collector,
Philip, Nathanael, Thomas, Judas, and continued
until twelve were called. They were an odd and
assorted group of men but they were bound by
their faith and devotion to Jesus. They were the
beginning of what is now called Christianity.

Jona, Peter’s father, had named him Simon but
Jesus changed it to Peter meaning ‘a little rock’.
It’s not understood why Jesus named him that
because he wasn’t the rock Jesus built His church
upon but he was one of the apostles that formed
the foundation. (Matthew 16:17-18; 1 Peter 2:5)

So the twelve left their homes and occupations to
follow Jesus. Peter later was the one to claim they
had “left all” Mark 10:28 (Peter was really talking

about how he had been making his living).

They returned home periodically as they worked
in and out of the city of Capernaum. How he had

made sure his wife was cared for is not mentioned

but they were all cared for by Jesus.
Judas was the treasurer and carried the bag.