The Twelve

In Luke it says Jesus had many disciples (And he came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples, Luke 6:17) yet others are selected to be apostles, a higher calling.

In Matthew 10:2-4, Mark 3:16-19, Luke 6:13-16 there are 12 disciples named and listed. They were selected by Jesus from his larger group of disciples: And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles (Luke 6:13).

• Simon Peter
• Andrew (brother to Peter)
• James (the son of Zebedee)
• John (brother to Peter)
• Philip
• Bartholomew
• Thomas
• Matthew (tax collector)
• James (son of Alphaeus)
• Thaddaeus (or Judas son of James)
• Simon the Zealot
• Judas Iscariot

Were the The Seventy Two Apostles?

We see Jesus send out the twelve:

• Selects them Himself: Matthew 10:1, Mark 6:7, Luke 6:13, Luke 10:1
• Giving them power and authority over demons: Matthew 10:1, Mark 6:7, Luke 9:1
• Power to heal diseases: Matthew 10:1, Luke 9:2
• Proclaim the kingdom of God: Mathew 10:7, Mark 6:12, Luke 9:2
• Sent two by two: Mark 6:7
• They are sent as sheep in the midst of wolves: Matthew 10:16

He also instructed them:

• Heal the sick: Matthew 10:8, Mark 6:13
• Raise the dead: Matthew 10:8
• Cleanse the lepers: Matthew 10:8
• Cast out demons: Matthew 10:8, Mark 6:13
• Don’t take any money, or bag or staff: Matthew 10:9, Luke 9:3, Mark 6:8,
• Stay with people in the town you visit: Matthew 10:11, Luke 9:4, Mark 6:10,
• Do not travel from house to house: Matthew 10:11, Mark 6:10
• Declare peace upon their house: Matthew 10:13
• If you are not received by the town, shake that dust off your feet: Matthew 10:14, Mark 6:11, Luke 9:5
• Those that do not receive them will be judged: Matthew 10:15

In Luke 10 we see Jesus send out a group of 72 others with an almost identical charge:

• Giving them power and authority over demons: Luke 10:19
• Power to heal diseases: Luke 10:9
• Proclaim the kingdom of God: Luke 10:9
• Sent two by two: Luke 10:1
• They are sent as sheep in the midst of wolves: Luke 10:3
• Heal the sick: Luke 10:9
• Raise the dead
• Cleanse the lepers
• Cast out demons: Luke 10:19
• Don’t take any money, or bag or staff: Luke 10:4
• Stay with people in the town you visit: Luke 10:7
• Do not travel from house to house: Luke 10:7
• Declare peace upon their house: Luke 10:5
• If you are not received by the town, shake that dust off your feet: Luke 10:11
• Those that do not receive them will be judged: Luke 10:12

The 72 are not explicitly named as apostles, or given the “office” of apostle, but they are given a near identical level of responsibility and calling. Where Mark calls the apostles the “twelve” (Mark 6:7) as does Luke (Luke 9:1) and Luke refers to the others as the “seventy-two” (Luke 10:1, Luke 10:17).

Mathias

After Judas’ death, Mathias was selected by the 11 apostles to replace Judas in ministry and apostleship (Acts 1:25-26).

Barnabas

Barnabas is introduced in Acts 4, originally named Joseph, when he sells a field and gives the money to the apostles (Acts 4:36-37). He is later named an apostle when he is on a journey with Paul: But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it … (Acts 14:14).

Paul

Paul refers to himself as an apostle multiple times in his letters:

Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle … Romans 1:1
Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus … 1 Corinthians 1:1
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God … 2 Corinthians 2:1

James

In Paul’s letter to the Galatians he calls James an apostle: But I saw none of the other apostles except James the Lord’s brother. Galatians 1:19

Jesus

Jesus is called an apostle in the book of Hebrews: Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession … Hebrews 3:1