APOSTLES & APOSTLES

EPHESIANS 2:20 We are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. ²¹ We who believe are carefully joined together, becoming a holy temple for the Lord.

^{Luke 6:12} One day soon afterward Jesus went to a mountain to pray, and he prayed to God all night. ¹³ At daybreak he called together all of his disciples and chose twelve of them to be apostles. Here are their names: ¹⁴ Simon (he also called him Peter), Andrew (Peter’s brother), James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, ¹⁵ Matthew, Thomas, James (son of Alphaeus), Simon (the Zealot),¹⁶ Judas (son of James), Judas Iscariot (who later betrayed him)

^{Matthew 4:18} One day as Jesus was walking along the shore beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers—Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew—fishing with a net, for they were commercial fishermen. ¹⁹ Jesus called out to them, "Come, be my disciples, and I will show you how to fish for people!" ²⁰ And they left their nets at once and went with him. ²¹ A little farther up the shore he saw two other brothers, James and John, sitting in a boat with their father, Zebedee, mending their nets. And he called them to come, too. ²² They immediately followed him, leaving the boat and their father behind.

^{John 1:43} The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, "Come, be my disciple." ⁴⁴ Philip was from Bethsaida, Andrew and Peter’s hometown.⁴⁵ Philip went off to look for Nathanael and told him, "We have found the very person Moses and the prophets wrote about! His name is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth."⁴⁶ "Nazareth!" exclaimed Nathanael. "Can anything good come from there?" "Just come and see for yourself," Philip said.⁴⁷ As they approached, Jesus said, "Here comes an honest man a true son of Israel."⁴⁸ "How do you know about me?" Nathanael asked. And Jesus replied, "I could see you under the fig tree before Philip found you."⁴⁹ Nathanael replied, "Teacher, you are the Son of God—the King of Israel!"⁵⁰ Jesus asked him, "Do you believe all this just because I told you I had seen you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this." ⁵¹ Then he said, "The truth is, you will all see heaven open and the angels of God going up and down upon the Son of Man."

^{Luke 5:27} Later, as Jesus left the town, he saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at his tax-collection booth. "Come, be my disciple!" Jesus said to him. ²⁸ So Levi got up, left everything, and followed him.

Matt 10:2-4

Mark 3:16-19

Luke 6:14-16

Acts 1:13

Simon Peter

Andrew

James

John

Philip

Bartholomew

Thomas

Matthew

James (of Alphaeus)

Thaddaeus¹

Simon (the Cananite)²

Judas Iscariot

Simon Peter

James

John

Andrew

Philip

Bartholomew

Matthew

Thomas

James (of Alphaeus)

Thaddeus

Simon (the Cananite)

Judas Iscariot

Simon Peter

Andrew

James

John

Philip

Bartholomew

Matthew

Thomas

James (of Alphaeus)

Simon (the Zealot)

Judas (the James)

Judas Iscariot

Simon Peter

John

James

Andrew

Philip

Thomas

Bartholomew

Matthew

James (of Alphaeus)

Simon (the Zealot)

Judas (of James)

……………….

Several important sermons and speeches are recorded in the Book of Acts. Over twenty are included, with the majority coming from Peter (7 total) and Paul (11 total). Below are listed the more significant, together with the theme and text location.

Speech	Theme	Biblical Reference
Peter to crowds at Pentecost	Peter’s explanation of the meaning of Pentecost	Acts 2:14–40
Peter to crowds at the temple	The Jewish people should repent for crucifying the Messiah	Acts 3:12–26
Peter to the Sanhedrin	Testimony that a helpless man was healed by the power of Jesus	Acts 4:5–12
Stephen to the Sanhedrin	Stephen’s rehearsal of Jewish history, accusing the Jews of killing the Messiah	Acts 7
Peter to Gentiles	Gentiles can be saved in the same manner as Jews	Acts 10:28–47
Peter to church at Jerusalem	Peter’s testimony of his experiences at Joppa and a defense of his ministry to the Gentiles	Acts 11:4–18
Paul to synagogue at Antioch	Jesus was the Messiah in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies	Acts 13:16–41
Peter to Jerusalem council	Salvation by grace available to all	Acts 15:7–11
Paul to Ephesians elders	Remain faithful in spite of false teachers and persecution	Acts 20:17–36
Paul to crowd at Jerusalem	Paul’s statement of his conversion and his mission to the Gentiles	Acts 22:1–21
Paul to Sanhedrin	Paul’s defense, declaring himself a Pharisee and a Roman citizen	Acts 23:1–6
Paul to King Agrippa	Paul’s statement of his conversion and his zeal for the gospel	Acts 26
Paul to Jewish leaders at Rome	Paul’s statement about his Jewish heritage	Acts 28:17–20

PETER	PAUL
Heals a man lame from birth ^{ACTS 3:1}Peter and John went to the Temple one afternoon to take part in the three o’clock prayer service. ² As they approached the Temple, a man lame from birth was being carried in. Each day he was put beside the Temple gate, the one called the Beautiful Gate, so he could beg from the people going into the Temple. ³ When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for some money. ⁴ Peter and John looked at him intently, and Peter said, "Look at us!" ⁵ The lame man looked at them eagerly, expecting a gift. ⁶ But Peter said, "I don’t have any money for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk!" ⁷ Then Peter took the lame man by the right hand and helped him up. And as he did, the man’s feet and anklebones were healed and strengthened. ⁸ He jumped up, stood on his feet, and began to walk! Then, walking, leaping, and praising God, he went into the Temple with them. ⁹ All the people saw him walking and heard him praising God. ¹⁰ When they realized he was the lame beggar they had seen so often at the Beautiful Gate, they were absolutely astounded! ¹¹ They all rushed out to Solomon’s Colonnade, where he was holding tightly to Peter and John. Everyone stood there in awe of the wonderful thing that had happened.	Heals a man lame from birth ^{Act 14:8} While they were at Lystra, Paul and Barnabas came upon a man with crippled feet. He had been that way from birth, so he had never walked. ⁹ He was listening as Paul preached, and Paul noticed him and realized he had faith to be healed. ¹⁰ So Paul called to him in a loud voice, "Stand up!" And the man jumped to his feet and started walking. ¹¹ When the listening crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in their local dialect, "These men are gods in human bodies!" ¹² They decided that Barnabas was the Greek god Zeus and that Paul, because he was the chief speaker, was Hermes. ¹³ The temple of Zeus was located on the outskirts of the city. The priest of the temple and the crowd brought oxen and wreaths of flowers, and they prepared to sacrifice to the apostles at the city gates. ¹⁴ But when Barnabas and Paul heard what was happening, they tore their clothing in dismay and ran out among the people, shouting, ¹⁵ "Friends, why are you doing this? We are merely human beings like yourselves! We have come to bring you the Good News that you should turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them.
Heals by his shadow ^{Acts 5:15} As a result of the apostles’ work, sick people were brought out into the streets on beds and mats so that Peter’s shadow might fall across some of them as he went by. ¹⁶ Crowds came in from the villages around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those possessed by evil spirits, and they were all healed.	Heals people by his handkerchiefs or aprons ^{Acts 19:11} God gave Paul the power to do unusual miracles, ¹² so that even when handkerchiefs or cloths that had touched his skin were placed on sick people, they were healed of their diseases, and any evil spirits within them came out.
Success is a cause for Jewish jelousy ^{Acts 5:17} The high priest and his friends, who were Sadducees, reacted with violent jealousy. ¹⁸ They arrested the apostles and put them in the jail. ¹⁹ But an angel of the Lord came at night, opened the gates of the jail, and brought them out. Then he told them, ²⁰ "Go to the Temple and give the people this message of life!"	Success is a cause for Jewish jelousy ^{Acts 13:45} But when the Jewish leaders saw the crowds, they were jealous; so they slandered Paul and argued against whatever he said.
Confronts Simon, a sorcerer ^{Acts 8:9} A man named Simon had been a sorcerer there for many years, claiming to be someone great. ¹⁰ The Samaritan people, from the least to the greatest, often spoke of him as "the Great One—the Power of God." ¹¹ He was very influential because of the magic he performed. ¹² But now the people believed Philip’s message of Good News concerning the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ. As a result, many men and women were baptized. ¹³ Then Simon himself believed and was baptized. He began following Philip wherever he went, and he was amazed by the great miracles and signs Philip performed. ¹⁴ When the apostles back in Jerusalem heard that the people of Samaria had accepted God’s message, they sent Peter and John there. ¹⁵ As soon as they arrived, they prayed for these new Christians to receive the Holy Spirit. ¹⁶ The Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them, for they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. ¹⁷ Then Peter and John laid their hands upon these believers, and they received the Holy Spirit. ¹⁸ When Simon saw that the Holy Spirit was given when the apostles placed their hands upon people’s heads, he offered money to buy this power. ¹⁹ "Let me have this power, too," he exclaimed, "so that when I lay my hands on people, they will receive the Holy Spirit!" ²⁰ But Peter replied, "May your money perish with you for thinking God’s gift can be bought! ²¹ You can have no part in this, for your heart is not right before God. ²² Turn from your wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive your evil thoughts, ²³ for I can see that you are full of bitterness and held captive by sin." ²⁴ "Pray to the Lord for me," Simon exclaimed, "that these terrible things won’t happen to me!"	Confronts Bar-Jesus, a sorcerer ^{Acts 13:6} Afterward they preached from town to town across the entire island until finally they reached Paphos, where they met a Jewish sorcerer, a false prophet named Bar-Jesus. ⁷ He had attached himself to the governor, Sergius Paulus, a man of considerable insight and understanding. The governor invited Barnabas and Saul to visit him, for he wanted to hear the word of God. ⁸ But Elymas, the sorcerer (as his name means in Greek), interfered and urged the governor to pay no attention to what Saul and Barnabas said. He was trying to turn the governor away from the Christian faith. ⁹ Then Saul, also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked the sorcerer in the eye and said, ¹⁰ "You son of the Devil, full of every sort of trickery and villainy, enemy of all that is good, will you never stop perverting the true ways of the Lord? ¹¹ And now the Lord has laid his hand of punishment upon you, and you will be stricken awhile with blindness." Instantly mist and darkness fell upon him, and he began wandering around begging for someone to take his hand and lead him. ¹² When the governor saw what had happened, he believed and was astonished at what he learned about the Lord.
Raised Tabitha (Dorcas) back to life ^{Acts 9:36} There was a believer in Joppa named Tabitha (which in Greek is Dorcas). She was always doing kind things for others and helping the poor. ³⁷ About this time she became ill and died. Her friends prepared her for burial and laid her in an upstairs room. ³⁸ But they had heard that Peter was nearby at Lydda, so they sent two men to beg him, "Please come as soon as possible!" ³⁹ So Peter returned with them; and as soon as he arrived, they took him to the upstairs room. The room was filled with widows who were weeping and showing him the coats and other garments Dorcas had made for them. ⁴⁰ But Peter asked them all to leave the room; then he knelt and prayed. Turning to the body he said, "Get up, Tabitha." And she opened her eyes! When she saw Peter, she sat up! ⁴¹ He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then he called in the widows and all the believers, and he showed them that she was alive.	Raises Eutychus to life ^{Acts 20:9} As Paul spoke on and on, a young man named Eutychus, sitting on the windowsill, became very drowsy. Finally, he sank into a deep sleep and fell three stories to his death below. ¹⁰ Paul went down, bent over him, and took him into his arms. "Don’t worry," he said, "he’s alive!" ¹¹ Then they all went back upstairs and ate the Lord’s Supper together. And Paul continued talking to them until dawn; then he left. ¹² Meanwhile, the young man was taken home unhurt, and everyone was greatly relieved.
Is jailed and freed miraculously by God ^{Acts 12:3} When Herod saw how much this pleased the Jewish leaders, he arrested Peter during the Passover celebration ⁴ and imprisoned him, placing him under the guard of four squads of four soldiers each. Herod’s intention was to bring Peter out for public trial after the Passover. ⁵ But while Peter was in prison, the church prayed very earnestly for him. ⁶ The night before Peter was to be placed on trial, he was asleep, chained between two soldiers, with others standing guard at the prison gate. ⁷ Suddenly, there was a bright light in the cell, and an angel of the Lord stood before Peter. The angel tapped him on the side to awaken him and said, "Quick! Get up!" And the chains fell off his wrists. ⁸ Then the angel told him, "Get dressed and put on your sandals." And he did. "Now put on your coat and follow me," the angel ordered. ⁹ So Peter left the cell, following the angel. But all the time he thought it was a vision. He didn’t realize it was really happening. ¹⁰ They passed the first and second guard posts and came to the iron gate to the street, and this opened to them all by itself. So they passed through and started walking down the street, and then the angel suddenly left him. ¹¹ Peter finally realized what had happened. "It’s really true!" he said to himself. "The Lord has sent his angel and saved me from Herod and from what the Jews were hoping to do to me!" ¹² After a little thought, he went to the home of Mary, the mother of John Mark, where many were gathered for prayer. ¹³ He knocked at the door in the gate, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to open it. ¹⁴ When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed that, instead of opening the door, she ran back inside and told everyone, "Peter is standing at the door!" ¹⁵ "You’re out of your mind," they said. When she insisted, they decided, "It must be his angel." ¹⁶ Meanwhile, Peter continued knocking. When they finally went out and opened the door, they were amazed. ¹⁷ He motioned for them to quiet down and told them what had happened and how the Lord had led him out of jail. "Tell James and the other brothers what happened," he said. And then he went to another place. ¹⁸ At dawn, there was a great commotion among the soldiers about what had happened to Peter. ¹⁹ Herod Agrippa ordered a thorough search for him. When he couldn’t be found, Herod interrogated the guards and sentenced them to death. Afterward Herod left Judea to stay in Caesarea for a while.	Is jailed and freed miraculously by God ^{Acts 16:25} Around midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. ²⁶ Suddenly, there was a great earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off! ²⁷ The jailer woke up to see the prison doors wide open. He assumed the prisoners had escaped, so he drew his sword to kill himself. ²⁸ But Paul shouted to him, "Don’t do it! We are all here!" ^{29 Trembling with fear, the jailer called for lights and ran to the dungeon and fell down before Paul and Silas. ³⁰ He brought them out and asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" ^{31 They replied, "Believe on the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, along with your entire household." ³² Then they shared the word of the Lord with him and all who lived in his household. ³³ That same hour the jailer washed their wounds, and he and everyone in his household were immediately baptized. ³⁴ Then he brought them into his house and set a meal before them. He and his entire household rejoiced because they all believed in God. ^{35 The next morning the city officials sent the police to tell the jailer, "Let those men go!" ³⁶ So the jailer told Paul, "You and Silas are free to leave. Go in peace."}}}

St. Stephen, His death was occasioned by the faithful manner in which he preached the Gospel to the betrayers and murderers of Christ. To such a degree of madness were they excited, that they cast him out of the city and stoned him to death. " The time when he suffered is generally supposed to have been at the Passover which succeeded to that of our Lord’s crucifixion, and to the era of his ascension, in the following spring Upon this a great persecution was raised against all who professed their belief in Christ as the Messiah, or as a prophet. We are immediately told by St. Luke, that "there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem;" and that "they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles." About two thousand Christians, with Nicanor one of the seven deacons, suffered martyrdom during the "persecution that arose about Stephen"

The next martyr we meet with, according to St. Luke, in the History of the Apostles’ Acts, was James the son of Zebedee, the elder brother of John, and a relative of our Lord; for his mother Salome was cousin-German to the Virgin Mary. It was not until ten years after the death of Stephen that the second martyrdom took place; for no sooner had Herod Agrippa been appointed governor of Judea than, with a view to ingratiate himself with them, he raised a sharp persecution against the Christians, and determined to make an effectual blow, by striking at their leaders. The account given us by an eminent primitive writer, Clemens Alexandrinus, ought not to be overlooked; that, as James was led to the place of martyrdom, his accuser was brought to repent of his conduct by the apostle’s extraordinary courage, and fell down at his feet to request his pardon, professing himself a Christian, and resolving that James should not receive the crown of martyrdom alone. Hence they were both beheaded at the same time. Thus did the first apostolic martyr cheerfully and resolutely receive that cup, which he had told our Savior he was ready to drink. Timon and Parmenas suffered martyrdom about the same time; the one at Philippi, and the other at Macedonia. These events took place in AD 44.

Was born at Bethsaida, in Galilee and was first called by the name of "disciple." He labored diligently in Upper Asia, and suffered martyrdom at Heliopolis, in Phrygia. He was scourged, thrown into prison, and afterwards crucified, A. D. 54.

Whose occupation was that of a toll-gatherer, was born at Nazareth. He wrote his gospel in Hebrew, which was afterwards translated into Greek by James the Less. The scene of his labors was Parthia, and Ethiopia, in which latter country he suffered martyrdom, being slain with a. halberd in the city of Nadabah, AD 60.

Is supposed by some to have been the brother of our Lord, by a former wife of Joseph. This is very doubtful, and accords too much with the Catholic superstition, that Mary never had any other children except our Savior. He was elected to the oversight of the churches of Jerusalem; and was the author of the Epistle ascribed to James in the sacred canon. At the age of ninety-four he was beat and stoned by the Jews; and finally had his brains dashed out with a fuller’s club.

Of whom less is known than of most of the other disciples, was elected to fill the vacant place of Judas. He was stoned at Jerusalem and then beheaded.

Was the brother of Peter. He preached the gospel to many Asiatic nations; but on his arrival at Edessa he was taken and crucified on a cross, the two ends of which were fixed transversely in the ground. Hence the derivation of the term, St. Andrew’s Cross.

Was born of Jewish parents of the tribe of Levi. He is supposed to have been converted to Christianity by Peter, whom he served as an amanuensis, and under whose inspection he wrote his Gospel in the Greek language. Mark was dragged to pieces by the people of Alexandria, at the great solemnity of Serapis their idol, ending his life under their merciless hands.

Among many other saints, the blessed apostle Peter was condemned to death, and crucified, as some do write, at Rome; albeit some others, and not without cause, do doubt thereof. Hegesippus said that Nero sought matter against Peter to put him to death which, when the people perceived, they entreated Peter with much ado that he would fly the city. Peter, through their importunity at length persuaded, prepared himself to avoid. But, coming to the gate, he saw the Lord Christ come to meet him, to whom he, worshipping, said "Lord, whither dost Thou go?" To whom He answered and said, "I am come again to be crucified." By this, Peter, perceiving his suffering to be understood, returned into the city. Jerome said that he was crucified his head being down and his feet upward, himself so requiring, because he was (he said) unworthy to be crucified after the same form and manner as the Lord was.

Paul, the apostle, who before was called Saul, after his great travail and unspeakable labors in promoting the Gospel of Christ, suffered also in this first persecution under Nero. Abdias, declared that under his execution Nero sent two of his esquires, Ferega and Parthemius, to bring him word of his death. They, coming to Paul instructing the people, desired him to pray for them, that they might believe; who told them that shortly after they should believe and be baptized at His sepulcher. This done, the soldiers came and led him out of the city to the place of execution, where he, after his prayers made, gave his neck to the sword.

The brother of James, was commonly called Thaddeus. He was crucified at Edessa, AD 72.

Preached in several countries, and having translated the Gospel of Matthew into the language of India, he propagated it in that country. He was at length cruelly beaten and then crucified by the impatient idolaters.

Called Didymus, preached the Gospel in Parthia and India, which exciting the rage of the pagan priests, he was martyred by being thrust through with a spear.

The evangelist, was the author of the Gospel which goes under his name. He travelled with Paul through various countries, and supposed to have been hanged on an olive tree, by the idolatrous priests of Greece.

Surnamed Zelotes, preached the Gospel in Mauritania Africa, and even in Britain in which latter country he was crucified, AD 74.

The "beloved disciple," was brother to James the Great. The churches of Smyrna, Pergamos, Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodicea, and Thyatira, were founded by him. From Ephesus he was ordered to be sent to Rome, where it is affirmed he was cast into a cauldron of boiling oil. He escaped by miracle, without injury. Domitian after wards banished him to the Isle of Patmos, where he wrote the Book of Revelation. Nerva, the successor of Domitian, recalled him. He was the only apostle who escaped a violent death.

Was of Cyprus, but of Jewish descent, his death is supposed to have taken place about AD 73. And yet, notwithstanding all these continual persecutions and horrible punishments, the Church daily increased, deeply rooted in the doctrine of the apostles and of men apostolical, and watered plenteously with the blood of saints.

Early Religion: Hebrew and Pharisee (Phil. 3:5)Persecuted Christians (Acts 8:1-3; Phil. 3:6)

Salvation: Met the risen Christ on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1-8) Filled with the Holy Spirit and baptized on the street called Straight (Acts 9:17, 18; 22:12-16)

Called to Missions: Church at Antioch was instructed by the Holy Spirit to send out Paul to the work (Acts 13:1-3) Carried the gospel to the Gentiles (Gal. 2:7-10)

Events: Spoke up for the church at Antioch at the council of Jerusalem (Acts 15:1-4, 12) Opposed Peter (Gal. 2:11-21) Disputed with Barnabas about John Mark (Acts 15:36-41)

Achievements: Three extended missionary journeys (Acts 13-20) Founded numerous churches in Asia Minor, Greece and possibly Spain (Rom. 15:24, 28) Wrote letters to numerous churches and various individuals which now make up one-fourth of our New Testament

End of Life: Following arrest in Jerusalem, was sent to Rome (Acts 21:27; 28:16-31) According to Christian tradition, released from prison allowing further missionary work; rearrested, imprisoned again in Rome, and beheaded outside of the city.