to profess an attachment to His cause; and we may thus, perhaps, partially account for the paucity of His adherents in the Jewish metropolis. His converts were more numerous in Galilee; and it was, probably, in that district He appeared to the company of upwards of five hundred brethren who saw Him after His resurrection.* He had itinerated extensively as a missionary; and, from some statements incidentally occurring in the gospels, we may infer, that there were individuals who had imbibed His doctrines in the cities and villages of almost all parts of Palestine. But the most signal and decisive proof of the power of His ministry is presented in the fact that, during the three years of its duration, He enlisted and sent forth no less than eighty-two preachers. Part of these have since been known as "The Twelve," and the rest as "The Seventy."

The Twelve are frequently mentioned in the New Testament, and yet the information we possess respecting them is exceedingly scanty. Of some we know little more than their names. It has been supposed that a town called Kerioth, or Karioth, belonging to the tribe of Judah, was the birthplace of Judas, the traitor;§ but it is probable that all his colleagues were natives of Galilee. Some of them had various names; and the consequent diversity which the sacred catalogues present has frequently perplexed the reader of the evangelical narratives. Matthew was also called Levi;¶ Nathanael was designated Bartholomew;** and

* 1 Cor. xv. 6.

See Joshua xv. 25.

+ See Matt. xv. 31; John ii. 23, vii. 31, viii. 30.

§ Hence called Iscariot, that is, Ish Kerioth, or, a man of Kerioth. See Alford, Greek Test., Matt. x. 4.

| Acts ii. 7.

¶ Compare Matt. ix. 9, 10, and Mark ii. 14, 15. ** "As St John never mentions Bartholomew in the number of the apostles, so the other evangelists never take notice of Nathanael, probably because the same person under two several names; and as in John, Philip and Nathanael are joined together in their coming to Christ, so in the rest of the evangelists, Philip and Bartholomew are constantly put together without the least varia

Jude had the two other names of Lebbæus and Thaddeus.* Thomas was called Didymus,† or the twin, in reference, we may presume, to the circumstances of his birth; James the son of Alphæus was styled, perhaps by way of distinction, James "the Less"-in allusion, it would seem, to the inferiority of his stature; the other James and John were surnamed Boanerges, § or the sons of thunder-a title probably indicative of the peculiar solemnity and power of their ministrations; and Simon stands at the head of all the lists, and is expressly said to be "first" of the Twelve, || because, as we have reason to believe, whilst his advanced age might have warranted him to claim precedence, his superior energy and promptitude enabled him to occupy the most prominent position. The same individual was called Cephas, or Peter, or Stone, apparently on account of the firmness of his character. His namesake, the other Simon, was termed the Canaanite, and also Zelotes,** or the zealot a title expressive, in all likelihood, of the zeal and earnestness with which he was wont to carry out his principles. We are informed that our Lord sent forth the Twelve "by two and two,"++ but we cannot tell whether He

tion.”—Cave's Lives of the Apostles. Life of Bartholomew. Compare Matt. x. 3; Acts i. 13; and John i. 45, xxi. 2.

* Compare Matt. x. 3, and Acts i. 13.

+ John xi. 16, xxi. 2.

‡ Mark xv. 40. He was in some way related to our Lord, and hence called His brother (Gal. i. 19). But though Mary, the mother of our Saviour, had evidently several sons (see Matt. i. 20, 25, compared with Matt. xiii. 55; Mark vi. 3; Matt. xii. 46, 47), they were not disciples when the apostles were appointed, and none of them consequently could have been of the Twelve. (See John vii. 5). The other sons of Mary, who must all have been younger than Jesus, seem to have been converted about the time of the resurrection. Hence they are found among the disciples before the day of Pentecost (Acts i. 14). § Mark iii. 17. || Matt. x. 2. ¶ John i. 42. ** Matt. x. 4; Mark iii. 18; Luke vi. 15; Acts i. 13. Some think that Kananites is equivalent to Zelotes, whilst others contend that it is derived from a village called Canan. See Alford, Greek Test., Matt. x. 4; and Greswell's "Dissertations," vol. ii. p. 128. Some MSS. have Kavavaîos.

++ Mark vi. 7. "Although no two of these catalogues (of the Twelve) agree precisely in the order of the names, they may all be divided into three

observed any general rule in the arrangement of those who were to travel in company. The relationship of the parties to each other might, at least in three instances, have suggested a classification; as Peter and Andrew, James and John, James the Less and Jude, were, respectively, brothers. James the Less is described as "the Lord's brother,"* and Jude is called "the brother of James,"t so that these two disciples must have been in some way related to our Saviour; but the exact degree of affinity or consanguinity cannot now, perhaps, be positively ascertained. Some of the disciples, such as Andrew,§ and probably John, || had previously been disciples of the Baptist, but their separation from their former master and adherence to Jesus did not lead to any estrangement between our Lord and His pious forerunner. As the Baptist contemplated the more permanent and important character of the Messiah's mission, he could cheerfully say "He must increase, but I must decrease."¶

All the Twelve, when enlisted as disciples of Christ, appear to have moved in the humbler walks of life; and yet we are scarcely warranted in asserting that they were extremely indigent. Peter, the fisherman, pretty plainly indicates that, in regard to worldly circumstances, he had been, to some extent, a loser by obeying the call of Jesus.** Though James and John were likewise fishermen, the family had at least one little vessel of their own, and they could afford to quaternions, which are never interchanged, and the leading names of which are the same in all. Thus the first is always Peter, the fifth Philip, the ninth James the son of Alpheus, and the twelfth Judas Iscariot. Another difference is that Matthew and Luke's Gospel gives the names in pairs, or two and two, while Mark enumerates them singly, and the list before us (in the Acts) follows both these methods, one after the other."—Alexander on the Acts, vol. i. P. 19. Gal. i. 19. + Acts i. 13. See also Jude v. 1. Upon this subject see the conjectures of Greswell. "Dissertation," vol. ii. p. 120. § John i. 35, 40.

From the great minuteness of the statements in the passage, it has been conjectured that the evangelist himself was the second of the two disciples mentioned in John i. 35-37.

John iii. 30.

** Matt. xix. 27.

pay "hired servants" to assist them in their business.* Matthew acted, in a subordinate capacity, as a collector of imperial tribute; but though the Jews cordially hated a functionary who brought so painfully to their recollection their condition as a conquered people, it is pretty clear that the publican was engaged in a lucrative employment. Zacchæus, said to have been a "chief among the publicans," is represented as a rich man; ‡ and Matthew, though probably in an inferior station, was able to give an entertainment in his own house to a numerous company.§ Still, however, the Twelve, as a body, were qualified, neither by their education nor their habits, for acting as popular instructors; and had the gospel been a device of human wisdom, it could not have been promoted by their advocacy. Individuals who had hitherto been occupied in tilling the land, in fishing, and in mending nets, or in sitting at the receipt of custom, could not have been expected to make any great impression as ecclesiastical reformers. Their position in society gave them no influence; their natural talents were not particularly brilliant; and even their dialect betokened their connexion with a district from which nothing good or great was anticipated. But God exalted these men of low degree, and made them the spiritual illuminators of the world.

Though the New Testament enters very sparingly into the details of their personal history, it is plain that the Twelve presented a considerable variety of character. Thomas, though obstinate, was warm-hearted and manly. Once when, as he imagined, his Master was going forward to certain death, he chivalrously proposed to his brethren that they should all perish along with Him; and though at first he doggedly refused to credit the account of the resur

* Mark i. 20. § Mark ii. 15.

+ Luke xix. 2.

+ Luke xix. 2.

|| John vii. 52.

John xi. 16. See also v. 8.

rection,* yet, when his doubts were removed, he gave vent to his feelings in one of the most impressive testimoniest to the power and godhead of the Messiah to be found in the whole book of revelation. James, the son of Alphæus, was noted for his prudence and practical wisdom; and Nathanael was frank and candid-"an Israelite indeed, in whom was no guile."§ Our Lord bestowed on Peter and the two sons of Zebedee peculiar proofs of confidence and favour, for they alone were permitted to witness some of the most remarkable scenes in the history of the Man of Sorrows. || Though these three brethren displayed such a congeniality of disposition, it does not appear that they possessed minds of the same mould, but each had excellencies of his own which threw a charm around his character. Peter yielded to the impulse of the moment and acted with promptitude and vigour; James became the first of the apostolic martyrs, probably because by his ability and boldness, as a preacher, he had provoked the special enmity of Herod and the Jews; T whilst the benevolent John delighted to meditate on the 'deep things of God," and listened with profound emotion to his Master as He discoursed of the mystery of His Person, and of the peace of believers abiding in His love. It has been conjectured that there was some family relationship between the sons of Zebedee and Jesus; but of this there is no satisfactory evidence.** It was simply, perhaps, the marked attention of our Saviour to James and John which awakened the ambition of their mother, and induced

+ Some writers have asserted that he is a different person from James "the Lord's brother" mentioned Gal. i. 19, but the statement rests upon no solid foundation. Compare John vii. 5; 1 Cor. xv. 7; Acts i. 14, xv. 2, 13. See also note p. 38 of this chapter.

§ John i. 47.

|| Mark v. 37, ix. 2; Matt. xxvi. 37.

Acts xii. 2, 3. "It is remarkable that, so far as we know, one of these inseparable brothers (James and John) was the first, and one the last, that died of the apostles."-Alexander on the Acts, i. 443.

** See Greswell's "Dissertations," vol. ii. p. 115.