Introduction
I have always been fascinated with the lives of the twelve apostles. Who isn’t? The personality types of these men are familiar to us. They are just like us, and they are like other people we know. They are approachable. They are real and living characters we can identify with.
1:? Common Men, Uncommon Calling
Despite the obstacles [the disciples] faced, they triumphed. In the midst of great persecution and even martyrdom, they fulfilled their task. Against all odds, they entered victorious into glory. And the continuing witness of the gospel?spanning two thousand years’ time and reaching into virtually every corner of the world?is a testimony to the wisdom of the divine strategy. No wonder we are fascinated by these men.
2:? Peter ? the Apostle with the Foot-Shaped Mouth
By nature Simon was brash, vacillating, and undependable. He tended to make great promises he couldn’t follow through with?. When Jesus met him, he fit James’s description of a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways (James 1:8). Jesus changed Simon’s name, it appears, because He wanted the nickname to be a perpetual reminder to him about who he should be. And from that point on, whatever Jesus called him sent him a subtle message. If He called him Simon, He was signaling him that he was acting like his old self. If He called him Rock, He was commending him for acting the way he ought to be acting.
3:? Andrew ? The Apostle of Small Things
Of the four in the inner circle, however, Andrew was the least conspicuous. Scripture doesn’t tell us a lot about him. You can practically count on your fingers the number of times he is mentioned specifically in the Gospels. (In fact, apart from the places where all twelve disciples are listed, Andrew’s name appears in the New Testament only nine times, and most of those references simply mention him in passing.)
4:? James ? The Apostle of Passion
If there’s a key word that applies to the life of the apostle James, that word is passion. From the little we know about him, it is obvious that he was a man of intense fervor and intensity. In fact, Jesus gave James and John a nickname: Boanerges?”Sons of Thunder.” That defines James’s personality in very vivid terms. He was zealous, thunderous, passionate, and fervent.
5:? John ? The Apostle of Love
Love was a quality he learned from Christ, not something that came naturally to him. In his younger years, he was as much a Son of Thunder as James. If you imagine that John was the way he was often portrayed in medieval art?a meek, mild, pale-skinned, effeminate person, lying around on Jesus’ shoulder looking up at Him with a dove-eyed stare?forget that caricature. He was rugged and hard-edged, just like the rest of the fishermen-disciples.
6:? Philip ? The Bean Counter
Piecing together all that the apostle John records about him, it seems Philip was a classic “process person.” He was a facts-and-figures guy?a by-the-book, practical-minded, non-forward-thinking type of individual. He was the kind who tends to be a corporate killjoy, pessimistic, narrowly focused, sometimes missing the big picture, often obsessed with identifying reasons things can’t be done rather than finding ways to do them.
7:? Nathanael ? The Guileless One
One striking fact about Nathanael is obvious from how Philip announced to him that he had found the Messiah: “Philip found Nathanael and said to him, ‘We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote'” (John 1:45). Obviously, the truth of Scripture was something that mattered to Nathanael.
8:? Matthew ? The Tax Collector; And Thomas ? The Twin
Whatever Matthew’s tortured soul may have experienced because of the profession he had chosen to be in, down deep inside he was a Jew who knew and loved the Old Testament. He was spiritually hungry. At some point in his life, most likely after he had chosen his despicable career, he was smitten with a gnawing spiritual hunger and became a true seeker.
Thomas was devoted to Christ. He may have been the equal to John in this regard. When we think about someone who loved Jesus and was intimate with Him, we usually think of John, because he was always near Jesus. But it is clear from this account that Thomas did not want to live without Jesus.
9:? James ? The Less; Simon ? The Zealot; And Judas (Not Iscariot) ? The Apostle with Three Names
It may well be that all these things were true of James, so that he was a small, young, quiet person who stayed mostly in the background. That would all be consistent with the low profile he had among the Twelve. We might say his distinguishing mark was his obscurity.
It is amazing that Jesus would select a man like Simon to be an apostle. But he was a man of fierce loyalties, amazing passion, courage, and zeal. Simon had believed the truth and embraced Christ as his Lord. The fiery enthusiasm he once had for Israel was now expressed in his devotion to Christ.
[Judas (Not Iscariot)] was a pious, believing disciple. This was a man who loved his Lord and who felt the power of salvation in his own life. He was full of hope for the world, and in his own tender-hearted, childlike way he wanted to know why Jesus wasn’t going to make Himself known to everyone.
10: Judas ? The Traitor
The New Testament tells us plenty about Judas?enough to accomplish two things: First, the life of Judas reminds us that it is possible to be near Christ and associate with Him closely (but superficially) and yet become utterly hardened in sin. Second, Judas reminds us that no matter how sinful a person may be, no matter what treachery he or she may attempt against God, the purpose of God cannot be thwarted.