Apostles, in the New Testament, are the 12 men chosen by Jesus Christ to be His close companions. The term is also used to identify other early missionaries, such as Paul and Barnabas. The word is used once in the Bible to refer to Jesus Himself. The term apostle should be distinguished from disciple, a New Testament term for any follower of Jesus.
There are four lists of the 12 apostles in the New Testament. The lists agree on Peter (also called Simon Peter), Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon, and Judas Iscariot. The gospels of Matthew and Mark list Thaddeus, while the gospel of Luke and Acts of the Apostles list Judas the son of James (or the brother of James in some versions of the Bible). Judas Iscariot died after betraying Jesus, and Matthias was chosen to take his place among the 12. This story, told in Acts 1: 21-26, states that an apostle must have accompanied Jesus from the time of Jesus’ Baptism until His Ascension into heaven.
