Last week we looked in some detail at Simon Peter and Andrew, and this week we look at the other ten disciples as well as considering a few other details.

In these last ten apostles we have a mix of the well-known and the almost unheard-of.  For example, John, the son of Zebedee is the one of the 12 disciples who contributed most to the Bible and is the second-most commonly mentioned of Jesus’ disciples.  Yet among the others we also see James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, who are only mentioned in the lists of disciples.  There is no other information about them in the Bible. 

Family and siblings

Men and women found Jesus’ teaching irresistible: he offered a way forward that most had never been able to see before.  He not only lived a pure and wonderful life himself, but he was able to convince others that they really could walk a path of holiness themselves.

Since interests, preferences and skills often flow through families, it should be no surprise to us when more than one member of a family followed Jesus.

Simon Peter and Andrew were not only both fishermen, they were brothers.  Jesus also cured Peter’s mother-in-law of a fever.

James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were also both fishermen and brothers.  Their mother, Salome, was also Mary’s sister and both women were present at Jesus’ crucifixion.  When Jesus was on the cross and asked John to look after Mary, he was asking him to care for his aunt.  This could have caused some family conflict, since Jesus’ siblings probably expected to look after their mother, but at the time, they did not believe Jesus’ teachings.  Sadly, there is no indication that Zebedee, Salome’s husband, had any interest in the teachings of Jesus either.

There are two other disciples whose fathers have the same name: Matthew  the tax collector (also known as Levi) and the second James.  The name Alphaeus only occurs in the Bible as being the father of these two disciples, so it is quite possible that they were also brothers – although the Bible never suggests it.

Thomas has an interesting point for us to note: he is called “Didymus” in Greek, which means “the twin”.  Assuming that he was born a twin, we have no hint as to who his twin was.  Yet calling him “the twin” seems appropriate only if the people using the name knew his twin.  It is also possible that his twin had previously died but that his acquaintances still remembered the twin.  Who was his twin?  We aren’t told.

Occupations

Our occupations can reflect many things about us, and Jesus’ disciples had a range of work interests apart from their interest in religion.  As mentioned above, we know that four were fishermen, and when Peter announced that he was going fishing one night after Jesus rose from the dead, six others went with him, all of whom appear to have been disciples of Jesus.  Perhaps they went together because they wanted to talk, but possibly more than four had expertise as fishermen.

Matthew was a tax collector – not a popular profession with those who had to pay taxes.

The other Simon is described as a Zealot, a group known for their opposition to the Romans and the use of violence to pursue their goals.  In accepting Jesus’ call to repentance and service, Simon had repudiated the Zealots’ violent approach, yet his former association is not forgotten any more than Matthew’s.

Nicknames

Jesus gave Simon the fisherman a new name, and that name, “Peter”, is now used to refer to him more than his original name, although he is often called “Simon Peter” also.  In Greek, “Peter” means a stone or rock.  We may be able to look at Peter in more detail in another newsletter some other time.  Jesus uses both “Simon” and “Peter” at different times when talking to the big fisherman, but seems to carefully choose the name he wants to use on many occasions.  Jesus often calls him “Simon” when Peter is behaving like the fisherman of old, while “Peter” refers to the man whom Jesus was teaching to catch men for God.  Perhaps the name Jesus chose could give Peter a private nudge without the need for public criticism.

Jesus gave James and John the name “Boanerges”, which means “Sons of Thunder”, and Jesus may have used their nickname in the same way as he used Simon and Peter.  On one occasion, James and John asked Jesus if they should call down fire from heaven on Samaritans who would not welcome Jesus.  This gives a picture of a pair who, by nature, preferred justice to mercy and were still learning Jesus’ ways.  While John appears calm and quiet as the writer of his gospel and letters, that could easily have been the result of years of learning control.

The last ten Apostles

Note that whenever "J" appears in the table or event lists, it refers to Jesus.

References to John, the son of Zebedee

This is not a complete list, but tries to include everything particularly significant.

Mt 4:21-22; Mk 1:19-20 in a boat preparing the nets with Zebedee and hired men when J called him and James
Mk 1:29 left synagogue with J and went to house of Peter & Andrew
Lk 5:10 partner with Peter & Andrew
Mt 10:2; Mk 3:17; Lk 6:14 list of apostles. In Mk 3:17, J named James and him, ‘Boanerges’ or ‘Sons of Thunder’
Mk 5:37-43; Lk 8:51 went with J, Peter and James to raise Jairus’ daughter
Mk 9:38; Lk 9:49 told J of forbidding another man to heal since he did not follow J
Mt 17:1-13; Mk 9:2-10; Lk 9:28-36 transfiguration
Mk 10:35-41 with his brother James, asked to sit at left and right of J
Lk 9:51-56 asked J if they should call fire from heaven
Mk 13:3-27 asked (with Peter, Andrew & James) J when all buildings of temple would be thrown down
Lk 22:8 sent with Peter by J to prepare Passover
Jn 13:23 reclining close to J at Last Supper
Mt 26:37-46; Mk 14:33-42 went (with James & Peter) away from rest with J while he prayed
Jn 18:15 knew High Priest
Jn 19:27; 20:10 had a house (in Jerusalem?)
Mt 27:56; Mark 15:40; Jn 19:25 his mother at crucifixion (Salome was Mary’s sister)
Jn 19:26-27 J told him to look after Mary
Jn 20:2-8 Mary Magdalene told him and Peter about missing body, ran to tomb, saw and believed
John 21:2-22 went fishing after resurrection with several disciples and recognised J from a distance 
Acts 1:13 in upper room
Acts 3:1-26 went with Peter to temple at hour of prayer (9th hour) and healed lame man
Acts 4:1-21 arrested with Peter by Jewish leaders and threatened
Acts 8:14-17 went with Peter to Samaria to give Holy Spirit to those baptised

At Bible Tales we publish different types of books: single volume novels; series; collections of micro-tales; a novelette (Paul in Snippets); a book of Jeremiah in chronological order.  This, however, is the first time we have built one book on top of another and included much of the text in a series of newsletters over four years!

In this new book, "Upside Down With Paul", the layout of the book is extremely important.  The book contains four categories of information:

• an updated form of the novelette, "Paul in Snippets" which presents the amazing career of Paul as described by Luke in the Acts of the Apostles, 
• imaginative sketches of events taken from the life of Paul,
• an introduction to Paul, his background, biography, journeys and letters, and
• the Berean Literal Bible text of the book of the Acts of the Apostles with some extra notes and helps.

The real challenge for this book is in presenting the varied information in a format that makes a reader feel at home.  Our goal is to make a book that is easy for a reader to enjoy while mulling over the life of one of the most important men in the Bible. 

We have selected a larger paper size – 203mm x 127mm (8" x 5") – as this gives more room to work with on a page than is available in our ordinary novel size of 178 x 111 (7" x 4.37").

It's an exciting project for us and we plan to release the book in hardcover first, then in paperback and eBook.

Sketches, extra sketches and scripture

The short work that started in 2016 as "Paul in Snippets" was enhanced with 36 imaginative sketches from Paul's life and work and became 28 episodes in the Bible Tales newsletter, starting four years ago on 12 June 2021 and finishing today.

The 10,000-word novelette expanded to 52,000 words in our newsletter, yet "Upside Down with Paul" still has some way to grow before we release the final result.

Five previously unpublished sketches will be included (about 10,000 words).

The text of the Biblical book of "Acts" will be incorporated, starting from Chapter 6 where it becomes relevant to the story of Paul, with some added features and notes (adding another 22,000 words).

The final book will contain about 85,000 words.

Pre-orders

To pre-order a copy of "Upside Down With Paul" on our web store, press one of the buttons below, or if you want to easily see the price of all five available options in your local currency, use this link.

Please note that if you place your order just before the closing date, we may not be able to get your book to you on time, depending on your location.  We recommend that you place your order as early as possible.