It is generally known that Jesus chose twelve apostles when He was here on earth, even many unbelievers are aware of this. But if you were to stop random people on the street and ask them to name the twelve apostles my guess is that you would get only a very limited number of names. Peter would probably be named and I suspect that Judas Iscariot would be as well. Many people remember these two men because of the ways that they failed the Lord. Peter denied Jesus three times and Judas betrayed Him. You might get a couple of other names as well, perhaps Thomas and John (and some might mistakenly name Paul as part of the twelve). If you were to conduct the same survey in your church I expect that you would get more names. In a Christian crowd you would probably get the names of Peter, James, John, Matthew, Thomas, and Judas Iscariot. A quick count of the names in the previous sentence only accounts for half of the twelve apostles (the complete list can be found in Matthew 10:2-4; Mark 3:14-19 and Luke 6:12-16). Why is it so hard for us to remember the names of all of these men that Jesus chose to be with Him and to send out in ministry (Mark 3:14-19)? I think that part of the answer to this question is that the New Testament doesn’t tell us much about some of the apostles.

We know quite a bit about Peter. We know that he had a brother named Andrew and that the two of them were fisherman (Matt. 4:18), and we know that Peter was married (Matt. 8:14). We also know that he acknowledged Jesus as the Christ (Matt. 16:16), walked on water (Matt. 14: 28-31), and preached powerfully on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:14-41). In addition, we know that Peter went to Samaria with John (Acts 8:14) and preached in the home of Cornelius (Acts 10:34-43). We also know some significant things about John. He had a brother named James and their father’s name was Zebedee (Matt. 4:21), Jesus designated John as a Son of Thunder (Mark 3:17), and he was a fisherman (Luke 5:10-11). The New Testament also tells us that he was involved in the healing of the lame man at the Gate Beautiful (Acts 3:1-10). We also know some facts about Judas Iscariot, Andrew, and Thomas. We know that Judas Iscariot was the treasurer of the apostolic group and a thief (John 12:6), that the devil entered into him prior to his betrayal of Jesus (Luke 22:3), and that he killed himself (Matt. 27:5). Andrew was a fisherman (Matt. 4:18) from the town of Bethsaida (John 1:44). He also brought the boy who had the five loaves of bread and two fish to Jesus (John 6:8-9) The apostle Thomas spoke a number of times in the gospels (John 11:16; 14:5), and is best known for his doubts about the resurrection of Jesus (John 20:25). 

I will not take the time to discuss all of the twelve but what do we know about Bartholomew, Thaddeus, and Simon the Zealot? I have looked into it and we actually do not know much about them. Bartholomew is mentioned only four times in the New Testament, three times in the gospels and once in the book of Acts (Matt. 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:14; Acts 1:13). Each time his name is mentioned it is one name in a list of names. That’s it! The same is true of Thaddeus. His name appears twice in the New Testament, both references are in the gospels (Matt: 10:3; Mark 3:18). And in both cases his name appears in a list of people. The situation is the same with Simon the Zealot. He is mentioned three times and each time he is mentioned in a list of names (Matt. 10:4; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:16). So does this mean we know nothing about these men other than their names? No, that is not the case.

We know that they were all personally called by the Lord (Mark 3:13-19), that they were sent out on a ministry tour (Matt. 10:1-4), and that they all fled when Jesus was taken into custody (Mark 14:50). We also know that they were all in the prayer meeting in the upper room in Acts 1 (Acts 1:12-14), were all filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:4), that with great power they gave testimony to the resurrection of Jesus (Acts 4:33), and were used by the Lord to perform miracles (Acts 5:12). Most of these things are admirable but they are all given in very general terms. These men are known more for being part of the group than they are as individuals. None of us knows exactly what some of the apostles did. For example, we don’t know anything about the sermons Bartholomew preached. Neither do we know what specific miracles took place through the ministries of Thaddeus or Simon the Zealot. The specifics of their ministries are not preserved for us in the New Testament. 

So what does all of this have to do with us today? I think the experience of the lesser-known apostles has relevance to a great many who minister in the church today, both in America and in other nations around the world. While we may not be apostles what I am about to say is applicable to people in different types of ministry, whether they are pastors, teachers, or missionaries. People know that these individuals have been called into ministry, have been involved in the Lord’s work, but they are not well-known (the truth be told the Lord has a lot of servants who are largely unknown). In fact, unless people have been direct recipients of the ministries of these servants of God, they could not give you specific details about what these ministers have actually done. Like Bartholomew, Thaddeus, and Simon the Zealot, mentioned above the only remarks that they could make about the work of these ministers would be generalizations. Not much attention has been focused on them. They have served faithfully but are out of the spotlight. Like the lesser-known apostles they receive little, or no, notoriety or personal recognition. This can, at times, be difficult. Scripture tells us that “A person can receive only what is given them from heaven” (John 3:27 NIV). This is true. Every minister has not been given a high profile ministry; not everyone is a Peter or a Paul. However, all are making a contribution and all are making a difference. May we all flourish in what the Lord has called us to do, and may we take heart that our labors are not in vain (1 Cor. 15:58). While the crowds may not know what we have done, those we have touched do. And there is One who has seen it all.

John P. Lathrop is a graduate of Zion Bible Institute and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and is an ordained minister with the International Fellowship of Christian Assemblies. He has written articles and book reviews for a number of publications including: the Pneuma Review, the Africanus Journal of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Christian Trends Magazine, in India, and  Berita Mujizat and Jurnal Jaffray, both in Indonesia. He is also the author of four books.