Jesus calls the twelve disciples (Matt 10:2-4, Mark 3:13-19, Luke 6:12-16) - JSS2 Christian Religious Studies Lesson Note

Apart from the first four disciples, Jesus called Matthew or Levi, a tax collector to be his disciple and he did. The gospel of John also tells us of the call of Philip. Many other people also followed Jesus though he had not called called them. They realized that Jesus was the greatest bteacher of all and they followed him wherever he went, so that they might learn from him.

 When Jesus saw that there were many people who were prepared to sacrifice everything to follow him in order to learn from him, he decided to select twelve of them to be his disciples. He was alone and so the disciples would provide him company and companionship. He would concentrate on them and teach them all about his ministry, so that they could continue with his work before and after his death.

 The day before Jesus selected the twelve disciples, he left everybody and went to a quiet place. There he prayed all night to God to help him select the right men. Jesus wanted honest, faithful and loyal disciples who would devote all their lives to the service of God. God listened to Jesus’ prayers and in the morning he called all the people together and selected twelve disciples from among them.

These twelve are as follows:

1. Simon Peter
2. James
3. John
4. Simon the Canaanites
5. Andrew
6. Philip
7. Bartholomew
8. Thomas
9. Thaddeus
10. Matthew
11. James the son ofAlphaeus
12. Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him

They all willingly responded to the call of the master without excuse, the most important qualification Jesus sought for was willingness and self-denial. We learn a lesson here to be obedient to the call of God.

These twelve were to be his messengers, who will carry the message of Christ to all parts of the world and to all people. In the Acts of the Apostles, these disciples were referred to as apostles. After the death of Judas, following his betrayal of Jesus, Matthias was elected as the twelfth apostle.