The Apostles: A Character Study

By Jim Taylor

Of all the men who have grace the pages of history, very few men have influenced the world as the men that were personally trained by the Lord Jesus himself. These men left a mark. Few men or women ever have the opportunity to change the world as they did.

            By their first appearances, who would have ever thought that their mission could ever succeed. They had never gone to seminary or any other theological school. In fact, they were not really academic in any way at all.

            They had no real social standing to speak of. A few of them had money - James, John, Peter, and Andrew had a fishing business; Matthew was a tax collector - but the rest were just common people. On top of all this, their leader was a man who was born in poverty, lived most of his time in obscurity, and died in almost complete rejection.

            We often think of the apostles as being older men - perhaps in their 40s or 50s. But the truth is, they were most likely fairly young. If we can trust church tradition or the writings of the first century believers, most of the apostles lived well into the last half of the first century. In fact, John, the last living apostle, is known to have lived into the second century. They were young but they changed the world.

            How many of us have ever imagined what it must have been like to walk with these men, to see what they saw, to feel as they felt, and share in their experiences? These men were partakers of a blessed privilege that they alone would experience. The rest of the world would have to read the Bible and learn second-hand of their time with the Saviour.

            And this is one reason why it is so interesting to study the character and lives of these special men. It truly is the only way we can really grasp what they must have experienced. And as we look at their lives, their experiences, their interactions with the Lord, no doubt, we will get a glimpse of ourselves. And as we see ourselves, we will also learn more about how we should interrelate with Christ.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jim Taylor
• Release date: Feb 13, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393810544

Jim Taylor

Jim Taylor is Vice Chairman of Harrison Group and one of the country’s leading experts on marketing, branding, and wealthy consumers. Doug Harrison founded Harrison Group in 1996 and develops branding strategies for some of the world’s most successful companies. Stephen Kraus has a Ph.D. in social psychology from Harvard University and leads Harrison Group’s training and wealth consultancies.

Book preview

1 - INTRODUCTION TO THE APOSTLES

Matthew 10:1-4   And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.   2   Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;   3   Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus;   4   Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.

Of all the men who have grace the pages of history, very few men have influenced the world as the men that were personally trained by the Lord Jesus himself. These men left a mark. Few men or women ever have the opportunity to change the world as they did.

By their first appearances, who would have ever thought that their mission could ever succeed. They had never gone to seminary or any other theological school. In fact, they were not really academic in any way at all.

They had no real social standing to speak of. A few of them had money - James, John, Peter, and Andrew had a fishing business; Matthew was a tax collector - but the rest we just common people. On top of all this, their leader was a man who was born in poverty, lived most of his time in obscurity, and died in almost complete rejection.

We often think of the apostles as being older men - perhaps in their 40s or 50s. But the truth is, they were most likely fairly young. If we can trust church tradition or the writings of the first century believers, most of the apostles lived well into the last half of the first century. In fact, John, the last living apostle, is known to have lived into the second century. They were young but they changed the world.

How many of us have ever imagined what it must have been like to walk with these men, to see what they saw, to feel as they felt, and share in their experiences? These men were partakers of a blessed privilege that they alone would experience. The rest of the world would have to read the Bible and learn second-hand of their time with the Saviour.

And this is one reason why it is so interesting to study the character and lives of these special men. It truly is the only way we can really grasp what they must have experienced. And as we look at their lives, their experiences, their interactions with the Lord, no doubt, we will get a glimpse of ourselves. And as we see ourselves, we will also learn more about how we should interrelate with Christ.

Selection - The Choosing of the Apostles

Looking at the kind of men that the apostles were, you might wonder why Jesus would ever call them to be his special men. But Jesus called the apostles, not for what they were but for what he would make of them.

Matthew 4:19  And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.

And that’s the whole point. We look at men and wonder what good could ever be done through them because they don’t quite meet our standards. But Jesus chose these men, not because of what they were, but, in spite of what they were.

They were rough material to work with. Yet, by the time that Christ was finished with them, they had become mighty workmen for Jesus.

Ephesians 2:19-22  Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;  20  And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;  21  In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:  22  In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

The Lord used these men to get the church moving forward. Jesus would use these same men to guide and teach His people after his ascension. They would become the foundation of this new and wonderful thing called a church!

And knowing how important a good foundation would be, Jesus chose them because of what he could make of them. These men were to walk with Christ so that they could learn His teachings and experience His life, death, and resurrection.

John 15:27  And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.

2 Peter 1:16  For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.

1 John 1:1-3  That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;  2  (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)  3  That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.

So, knowing what kind of men the apostles were, and knowing that Jesus chose them anyway, how can we apply this to ourselves today? The application for our hearts is that Christ does not choose us based upon what we are but on what we can be by his grace.

There are no self-made Christians – I will make you fishers of men - if Christ does not accomplish the work in us, it will not be done.

The choice of the apostles was in accordance to God’s sovereign will and plan. There were many who followed Jesus but only twelve chosen to be apostles.

Mark 3:13  And he goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom he would: and they came unto him.

Jesus did not consult anyone but the Father about this choice. He did not seek their resumes. He wasn’t looking for earthly ability. He sought the Father’s will and chose accordingly.

Luke 6:12-13  And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.  13  And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles;

Those that he chose were given to him of the Father. In other words, they were exactly what God wanted.

John 17:6  I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.

John 17:9  I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.

John 17:11-12  And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.  12  While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.

You may be tempted to ask, What about Judas Iscariot? Was he given of the Father too? Yes, he was. The choice of Judas was not an oversight or error, but a divine part of God’s plan.

Zechariah 11:12-13  And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver.  13  And the LORD said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the LORD.

For the better part of Christ’s earthly ministry, He focused on training these twelve men. There was actually quite a number of followers but often Jesus gave these men special attention so that He could teach and mold them to produce fruit.

John 15:16-19  Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.  17  These things I command you, that ye love one another.  18  If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.  19  If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.

In fact, much of the instruction that we read in the four gospels came by way of private instruction between Christ and His chosen twelve.

We should also take note that the choice was limited to twelve. Now, I’m not big into studying numbers in the Bible but there are some numbers that obviously have a special meaning. 3 is the number of the Trinity, 7 is the number of perfection or completion, and 12 is  the number of governmental perfection.

Matthew 19:28  And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

Whether this be true or not, it is still clear that they are so special that even their eternal position is elevated above that which is normal. They were apostles. None else would ever be able to stake that claim.

We may wonder why God would prefer these twelve men above any other because in many ways, there is very little of earthly merit to many of their lives. But the reality is that God had, in His foreknowledge, specially chosen these men from eternity past, based upon what He knew they would become. As such, God looked across all of time and eternity to choose these men because they were special.

At the same time, Jesus’ choice reveals twelve typical men. The Lord's call was obviously not based on practical reasons or He would not have chosen Judas the Zealot and Matthew the tax collector to share in the same group.

Jesus chose twelve men that above all else, stood as typical representatives of the character and personality of the average person. That’s why we can see glimpses of our own selves in their character.

They were chosen then, not only based upon their character, but also based upon their varying personalities. They were chosen with regard to their degrees of differences, that Christ might reveal his glory through them.  Note these representative differences:

•  Peter was man of action, outspoken, and impulsive. But John was quiet, contemplative, and loving.

•  Matthew was tax collector and cooperative with the Romans. But Simon the Zealot was rebellious toward Roman rule.

•  Thomas was skeptical and slow to accept opinion. But Andrew always seems to have a simple trust in Jesus that He would take care of everything.

•  Judas Iscariot was from Judea, the cultured one, the scheming one.  But the rest of the disciples were Galileans and typically honest and open about their motives.

Ah, the Galileans. What an interesting sub-culture!

Acts 1:11  Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

As a province, Galileans were considered to be old-fashioned, unpolished, commoners. In fact, they were not considered to be very educated people.

Acts 2:7  And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans?

They even had a particular way of speaking that was noticeably different from the Jews in the southern part of Israel.

Mark 14:70  And he denied it again. And a little after, they that stood by said again to Peter, Surely thou art one of them: for thou art a Galilaean, and thy speech agreeth thereto.

Most of the apostles came from the area around the city of Capernaum, which was also known as Galilee of the Gentiles. But Capernaum seemed to have a better reputation among the Jews. It was the diamond in the rough.

Matthew 11:23  And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.

When Jesus chose these twelve men, he made them apostles. The Greek word is the word apostolos which is formed by adding apo to stellein. Apo is a word which means away from and stellien means to send. So an apostle is one who is sent out.

By the way, the word apostle was not just a word used by followers of Jesus. The Jews were already using the word in the Talmud. The Talmud states: the apostle of anyone is even as the man himself by whom he is deputed. So it was generally recognized that an apostle spoke as a representative of the one from which he had been sent.  With that thought in mind, take note of the wording of John 17:18. 

John 17:18  As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.

The word sent is the verb form of the same Greek word. An apostle is one who is sent out. It was always in the plans of the Lord to send these men out. He wasn’t just trying to build up His own little group of followers. Jesus was going to use these men to reach the world. And so He did.

The choice of apostleship was personally made by the Lord himself. They were not appointed by men, nor did they make the choice themselves. An apostle had to be chosen by the Lord and trained by the Lord.

The fact that they had to be personally trained by Christ was made very clear in the selection of Matthias as Judas Iscariot’s replacement:

Acts 1:15-26  And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said, (the number of names together were about an hundred and twenty,)  16  Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus.  17  For he was numbered with us, and had obtained part of this ministry.  18  Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out.  19  And it was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem; insomuch as that field is called in their proper tongue, Aceldama, that is to say, The field of blood.  20  For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein: and his bishoprick let another take.  21  Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,  22  Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to