The Twelve Disciples: Characters Revealed

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Recommended: Critical analysis of judas iscariot

One disciple whose stands as proof that God will use any person, despite his background, is Simon. The Bible says nothing about his calling, but one will find that he was in the upper room with the rest of the disciples after Jesus' death. What does this say about his character? He desired to be with those who loved Jesus. When he is listed as one in the upper room, a very significant word is added to the end of his name. That important word is Zelotes, or Zealot. In Jesus' day, Zealots were fanatics who tried to take the law into their own hands. They could be considered as hired assassins and often killed to make a point. They strongly opposed the Roman government, to such an extent that they would not obey any of its laws. Those things being said, Simon the Zealot must have been a very strong-willed man and, perhaps, before Jesus worked on him, a violent man. Jesus would go to such a degree to have even the rebels of his day be used and changed by his Father's marvelous power and love. Simon's changing into an instrument of God is seen in the following passage: “Surnamed Zelotes, preached the Gospel in Mauritania, Africa, and even in Britain, in which latter country he was crucified, A.D. 74.”(Fox 5) Nothing more is known about Simon Zelotes, but one thing can be certain. He was a man whom God touched and he was used in a powerful way to spread the Gospel of his wonderful Savior.
The last of the original twelve disciples is Judas Iscariot, and his life is the only one that ends in misery and death. He did not allow God to touch and change his heart in the way that the others did. Judas is most well-known for his actions in betraying the Son of God. Matthew 26.46-49 thoroughly explains this event. “ Rise, let us be going: beh...

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...illiam Byron Forbush. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan
Pub. House, 1967. Print.
Henry, Matthew. Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible: Wherein Each Chapter Is
Summed up in Its Contents, Each Paragraph Reduced to Its Proper Heads, the Sense Given, and Largely Illustrated with Practical Remarks and Observations : Genesis to
Revelation. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1991. Print.
MacArthur, John. Twelve Ordinary Men: How the Master Shaped His Disciples for Greatness, and What He Wants to Do with You. Nashville, TN: W Pub. Group, 2002. Print.
Wayland, John Walter, and Walter B. Yount. The Twelve Apostles: Who They Were and What
They Did. Elgin, IL: Brethren Pub. House, 1907. Http://search.lib.virginia.edu. University of
Virginia Library. Web. 21 Nov. 2013. .

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