Jesus’ twelve disciples figure prominently in the construction of an alternative Israel, one in which belonging is a function of allegiance to Jesus himself. They are the new patriarchs, sires of a new nation whose procreative dynamic is not physical but spiritual. The twelve-apostles-as-patriarchs-of-New-Israel scheme claims not to supplant the legacy of the age-old nation, but rather to fulfill its deepest promise and most-desired ambitions.
He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness. These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
The tradition rolls these names over on its tongue. It savors the memories associated with each man, from notorious and ever-prominent Simon Peter to the little-known Thaddeus. Curiously, little is known of each of them except that Jesus called him. It is Jesus’ selective principle and initiative that alone explain the new-patriarchal identity that each of the twelve assumes. Nothing is said of their fitness or capacities. We know almost nothing of their personalities or promise.
Although one must resume that each was precious to Jesus and that a hard-won camaraderie bent their hearts and hands in time to make common cause and to share the intimacy that alone emerges from shared and sacrificial service, they are to us almost a mere cipher.
About most of them, we know just two things: Jesus called them and each, in his way, said ‘yes’.
Canter Bridge 