The Apostles of Jesus Christ

The Definition of an Apostle according to Acts 4:33, D&C 107: 23, and the Bible Dictionary:

The apostles are special witnesses of the name of Christ in all the world, particularly of His divinity and of His bodily resurrection from the dead.

Part of my assignment this week was to look up three of the twelve apostles in the Bible Dictionary. I found this fascinating and wanted to look them all up. I have written as sentence or two about each one that I found.

Some of my findings on the first twelve apostles from the Bible Dictionary:

Peter, also called Simon, was the chief Apostle of his day. Even though he had weaknesses he was able to overcome them because of his faith in Jesus Christ.

Andrew was a disciple of John the Baptist, when he met Jesus he brought his brother Peter to meet Him.

James, the son of Zebedee was one of the inner circle of three chosen to be with our Lord on certain special occasions: at the raising of the daughter of Jairus, at the Transfiguration, and at Gethsemane.

John was also one of the inner circle of three who were with the Lord at the raising of Jairus’s daughter, at the Transfiguration, and in Gethsemane. John did not die but has been allowed to remain on the earth as a ministering servant until the time of the Lord’s Second Coming.

Matthew’s chief object was to show that Jesus is the Messiah of whom the prophets spoke.

I find it interesting that in the Bible Dictionary, all it says of Judas Iscariot is that he was one of the twelve, and the only one who was not a Galilean. It doesn’t mention anything about his betrayal.

All it says of Simon the Canaanite, is that he was one of the Twelve.

Philip was formerly of Bethsaida, he was mentioned along with Bartholomew.

All it says of Bartholomew is that he was one of the twelve.

All it says of the other James is that he was the son of Alphaeus.

All it says of Thomas is that he is mentioned in the lists of Apostles and was one of the twelve.

Lebbæus was not even in the Bible Dictionary!

How Jesus Prepared His Disciples:

The Lord, Jesus Christ, prepares His disciples for their work in Matthew 10:5-42. He lets them know that the favor of the people will not be with them. They will be persecuted and not well liked in a lot of places. He also prepares them to be peaceful in actions but strong in their messages. They were told that they are doing the will of the Father and that if they were acting for Him, He would direct their words. And then he told them that if they should lose their lives for His sake they should find life for real.

How Should We Respond to the Savior?

In Luke 5:1-11 we learn how the apostles responded to Jesus’ call. I love how Peter falls at the Saviors feet and claims that he is unworthy to be in His presence. My favorite part of all is that even after they received this amazing pay load of fish, they leave everything to follow the Savior and be His disciples.

We are so blessed in our lives. I live in a big home with a large family. I have lots of “things” and “stuff” that I've always wanted. I need to remember to put the Lord before my things, before my stuff, and before my own will. The Lord should come first in everything and I have got to be the example for my children to show them how to put Him first.