Twelve Important Guys, Part 1

Twelve Important Guys, Part 1

Bible Blast: Read Matthew 10:2-4

He said to his disciples, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few.” Matthew 9:37

Jesus had twelve guys who followed him all over the place, learning from his teaching and helping him with his ministry of teaching and healing. These guys were called the “disciples.” Jesus trained them to take over sharing the gospel after he was gone from the earth. The Bible Blast today lists the names of the disciples. Today and tomorrow you’ll learn who they were and what they did.

Simon Peter was a fisherman. He’s usually just called Peter in the Bible. Peter’s name means “rock,” which was perfect for him. He was strong and really pumped about following Jesus, but sometimes that caused him to do dumb things, like cutting off a soldier’s ear when they were arresting Jesus. Peter was very bold about preaching the truth of Jesus.

Andrew was Peter’s brother; he was a fisherman too. When Jesus called Peter and Andrew, they were fishing. Jesus called to them, “Follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” (Matthew 4:19). They dropped their nets and followed him.

James and his brother John were sons of a man named Zebedee. (There was another disciple named James, but we’ll talk about him later.) Jesus called James and John the “Sons of Thunder.” They were fishermen, too, and were sitting in a boat repairing their nets with their dad when Jesus called them to follow him. Peter, James, and John were three of the disciples who were close friends of Jesus.

Philip was a fisherman too! Now when I say fisherman, I mean fishing was their job. It’s what they did to make money. Philip asked a lot of questions.

Bartholomew may have also been called Nathanael. If that’s true, then he was someone Philip brought to Jesus. He didn’t like Jesus at first because Jesus came from the town of Nazareth, and Nathanael had some prejudice against people from that town. It didn’t take long for him to realize that Jesus really was the Son of God.

Girl Gab: Which of today’s disciples have you heard of? Tell your mom if there’s anything else you know about these disciples. Would you leave everything to follow Jesus as these men did?