Jesus' Apostles

James (James, son of Alphaeus)

James son of Alphaeus is only mentioned in the four lists of apostles. Little else is said about him. Questions do surround James son of Alphaeus, with some assuming he is the same person as one or two of the other Jameses in the New Testament.

While he is obviously not the same person as James son of Zebedee (also known as James the Greater), there are two other Jameses mentioned in the New Testament: James the Less ; James, brother of Jesus .

The early church assumed both of these Jameses were all the same person as James son of Alphaeus.

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Jude (Thaddeus or Lebbaeus)

Jude the apostle is also known as Jude of James, Thaddeus, Judas Thaddeus, and Lebbaeus. Some believe him to be Jesus’ brother Jude, the traditional author of the Epistle of Jude, but the Bible doesn’t tell us. This may be unlikely, given that scripture says that Jesus' brothers didn;t believe in his mission, even after he had chosen his disciples. ( John 7:3-5)

In two of the lists of apostles, Jude appears to be referred to as Thaddeus. Since these two names appear in about the same place in the lists, and the other names are consistent, most modern scholars have assumed Thaddeus was a nickname for Jude of James.

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Followers

Jesus had a large group of followers during his ministry, at one time dispatching 70 of them, two-by-two, into the countryside to preach.

However, his most trusted and tight-knit group of followers were just twelve in number, and were dubbed by him, "apostles."

What we know about most of these men comes exclusively from the gospels, (and in may cases, that is scant). For several of them, though, there is information available from the writings of early Christians and non-biblical scholars. These writings serve as the basis for a variety of traditions about these men, what they did, and sometimes how their lives may have ended.

How They May Have Died