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12A Look @ theDisciplesWeek #1: What is a disciple? & The Unknown: James (son of Alphaeus), Thaddeus,and Simon the ZealotWeek #2:The Fishing Brothers: Andrew & Simon-Peter and James & JohnWeek #3: The Guys with Perspective:Philip & Bartholomew/NathanielWeek #4: The Unlikely: Matthew and ThomasWeek #5: Judas and the Next and Us

Week #1: What is a disciple? & The Unknown: James (son of Alphaeus), Thaddeus, and Simon the Zealot Here are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (alsocalled Peter), then Andrew (Peter’s brother), James (son ofZebedee), John (James’s brother), Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas,Matthew (the tax collector), James (son of Alphaeus),Thaddaeus, Simon (the zealot), Judas Iscariot (who laterbetrayed him).Matthew 10:2-4 (NLT)What is an apostle?What is a disciple?What’s the difference?How were disciples made in Jesus’ day?Birth to 5 years old:5 - 10 years old:13 years old:13 - 20 years old:

20 - 30 years old:30+ years old:The Request to Follow:If you were going to recruit a team to change the worldwho would you get?Who Jesus asks:

James (the son of Alphaeus)Nickname Who was Alphaeus?Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles.1 Corinthians 15:7 (NLT)Thaddeus 1. ______________________________________________________2. ______________________________________________________3. ______________________________________________________3 Possible Names

May you be covered by the ______________ of your Rabbi.How were disciples made in Jesus’ day?Simon the ZealotWhat is a Zealot?

Week #2: The Fishing Brothers: Andrew & Simon-Peter and James & John The following day John was again standing with two ofhis disciples. As Jesus walked by, John looked at himand declared, “Look! There is the Lamb of God!” WhenJohn’s two disciples heard this, they followed Jesus.Jesus looked around and saw them following. “What doyou want?” he asked them.They replied, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “whereare you staying?”“Come and see,” he said. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon when theywent with him to the place where he was staying, andthey remained with him the rest of the day.Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of these menwho heard what John said and then followed Jesus.Andrew went to find his brother, Simon, and told him,“We have found the Messiah” (which means “Christ”).Then Andrew brought Simon to meet Jesus. Lookingintently at Simon, Jesus said, “Your name is Simon, sonof John—but you will be called Cephas” (which means“Peter”).John 1:35-42 (NLT)AndrewOften Known As ____________________________________

Andrew wasn’t __________ about whom heintroduced to Jesus. SimonSimon becomes known as ___________________Now there were some Greeks among those who wentup to worship at the Feast. They came to Philip, whowas from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. ‘Sir,’they said, ‘we would like to see Jesus.’ Philip went totell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.”John 12:20-22 (NLT)AKA ___________________ translated ___________________or ___________________ translated ___________________What did Jesus call him and when?

Nickname ____________________________________________James & JohnJohn said to Jesus, “Master, we saw someone usingyour name to cast out demons, but we told him tostop because he isn’t in our group.” But Jesus said,“Don’t stop him! Anyone who is not against you is foryou.”Luke 9:49-50 (NLT)He sent messengers ahead to a Samaritan village toprepare for his arrival. But the people of the villagedid not welcome Jesus because he was on his way toJerusalem. When James and John saw this, they saidto Jesus, “Lord, should we call down fire from heavento burn them up?” But Jesus turned and rebukedthem. So they went on to another village.Luke 9:52-56 (NLT)or ____________________________________________________

Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, cameover and spoke to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we wantyou to do us a favor.”“What is your request?” he asked.They replied, “When you sit on your glorious throne,we want to sit in places of honor next to you, one onyour right and the other on your left.”But Jesus said to them, “You don’t know what you areasking! Are you able to drink from the bitter cup ofsuffering I am about to drink? Are you able to bebaptized with the baptism of suffering I must bebaptized with?”“Oh yes,” they replied, “we are able!”Then Jesus told them, “You will indeed drink from mybitter cup and be baptized with my baptism ofsuffering. But I have no right to say who will sit on myright or my left. God has prepared those places forthe ones he has chosen.”But Jesus said to them, “You don’t know what you areasking! Are you able to drink from the bitter cup ofsuffering I am about to drink? Are you able to bebaptized with the baptism of suffering I must bebaptized with?”Mark 10:35-40 (NLT)

Week #3: The Guy with Perspestive:Philip & Bartholomew/NathanielDo you see God in everything or do you seeeverything in God?After this, Jesus crossed over to the far side of theSea of Galilee, also known as the Sea of Tiberias. Ahuge crowd kept following him wherever he went,because they saw his miraculous signs as he healedthe sick. Then Jesus climbed a hill and sat down withhis disciples around him. (It was nearly time for theJewish Passover celebration.) Jesus soon saw a hugecrowd of people coming to look for him. Turning toPhilip, he asked, “Where can we buy bread to feed allthese people?” He was testing Philip, for he alreadyknew what he was going to do.Philip replied, “Even if we worked for months, wewouldn’t have enough money to feed them!”

SimonPhilip was a man of ___________________Then Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up.“There’s a young boy here with five barley loaves andtwo fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?”“Tell everyone to sit down,” Jesus said. So they all satdown on the grassy slopes. (The men alone numberedabout 5,000.) Then Jesus took the loaves, gavethanks to God, and distributed them to the people.Afterward he did the same with the fish. And they allate as much as they wanted. After everyone was full,Jesus told his disciples, “Now gather the leftovers, sothat nothing is wasted.” So they picked up the piecesand filled twelve baskets with scraps left by thepeople who had eaten from the five barley loaves.John 6:1-14 (NLT)Philip was a disciple who saw ____________ in ____________.Philip

Also Known As ____________________________________________BartholomewThe next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip,he said to him, “Follow me.”Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida.Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the oneMoses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophetsalso wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”“Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanaelasked.“Come and see,” said Philip.When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Heretruly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.”“How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig treebefore Philip called you.”Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; youare the king of Israel.”Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under thefig tree. You will see greater things than that.” He then added,“Very truly I tell you, you will see ‘heaven open, and the angelsof God ascending and descending on’ the Son of Man.”John 1:43-51 (NLT)2 Possibilities 1. ____________________________________________ 2. ____________________________________________Nathanael was a disciple who saw _________________ in _______________________.

Week #4: The Unlikely: Matthew and ThomasMatthewFamily business ____________________________________His “real” name __________________________________________His Job _____________________________________________The Tax Code_______________ Tax ____________________________________________________ Tax ____________________________________________________ Tax ____________________________________________________ Tax ____________________________________________________ Tax _____________________________________AlsoLater, as Jesus left the town, he saw a tax collectornamed Levi sitting at his tax collector’s booth.“Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. SoLevi got up, left everything, and followed him.Luke 5:27-28 (NLT)

Later, Levi held a banquet in his home with Jesus asthe guest of honor. Many of Levi’s fellow taxcollectors and other guests also ate with them. Butthe Pharisees and their teachers of religious lawcomplained bitterly to Jesus’ disciples, “Why do youeat and drink with such scum?”Jesus answered them, “Healthy people don’t need adoctor—sick people do. I have come to call not thosewho think they are righteous, but those who knowthey are sinners and need to repent.”Luke 5:29-32 (NLT)ThomasNow Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, wasnot with the disciples when Jesus came. John 20:24 (NIV)Another Name ___________________________________________Meaning ____________________________________________Also Known As ____________________________________________How can someone who has such a history be effective asa disciple?

Thomas, nicknamed the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let’sgo, too—and die with Jesus.”John 11:16 (NLT)Understanding DoubtDoubt is not ________________________________________Doubt is not ________________________________________

Week #5: Judas and the Next and UsJudas His name is connected to ________________________________Not only Judas but Judas ____________________ ____________________ verses in the NTHis name is a form of ___________________________________ and means ___________________________________Comes from two terms: 1. __________ meaning __________ 2. __________ meaning __________Why is this important?

Then Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked, “Are you also goingto leave?”Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have thewords that give eternal life. We believe, and we know you are theHoly One of God.”Then Jesus said, “I chose the twelve of you, but one is a devil.”He was speaking of Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, one of theTwelve, who would later betray him.John 6:67-71 (NLT)Jesus knew Judas would betray him.During my time here, I protected them by the power of the nameyou gave me. I guarded them so that not one was lost, except theone headed for destruction, as the Scriptures foretold.John 17:12 (NLT)Now Jesus was deeply troubled, and he exclaimed, “I tell you thetruth, one of you will betray me!”The disciples looked at each other, wondering whom he couldmean. The disciple Jesus loved was sitting next to Jesus at thetable. Simon Peter motioned to him to ask, “Who’s he talkingabout?” So that disciple leaned over to Jesus and asked, “Lord,who is it?”Jesus responded, “It is the one to whom I give the bread I dip inthe bowl.” And when he had dipped it, he gave it to Judas, son ofSimon Iscariot. When Judas had eaten the bread, Satan enteredinto him. Then Jesus told him, “Hurry and do what you’re goingto do.” None of the others at the table knew what Jesusmeant.Since Judas was their treasurer, some thought Jesus wastelling him to go and pay for the food or to give some money tothe poor. So Judas left at once, going out into the night.John 13:21-30 (NLT)

Six days before the Passover celebration began, Jesus arrived inBethany, the home of Lazarus—the man he had raised from thedead. A dinner was prepared in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, andLazarus was among those who ate with him.Then Mary took atwelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence ofnard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping his feet withher hair. The house was filled with the fragrance.But Judas Iscariot, the disciple who would soon betray him, said,“That perfume was worth a year’s wages. It should have beensold and the money given to the poor.” Not that he cared for thepoor—he was a thief, and since he was in charge of the disciples’money, he often stole some for himself.Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. She did this in preparation formy burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you willnot always have me.”...Jesus found a young donkey and rode on it, fulfilling theprophecy that said: “Don’t be afraid, people of Jerusalem. Look,your King is coming, riding on a donkey’s colt.”His disciples didn’t understand at the time that this was afulfillment of prophecy. But after Jesus entered into his glory,they remembered what had happened and realized that thesethings had been written about him...Jesus replied, “Now the time has come for the Son of Man toenter into his glory. I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheatis planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death willproduce many new kernels—a plentiful harvest of new lives.Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who carenothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity. Anyonewho wants to serve me must follow me, because my servantsmust be where I am. And the Father will honor anyone whoserves me.John 12:1-26(NLT)(selected verses)

The invitation of JesusOne day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea ofGalilee, he saw two brothers—Simon, also called Peter, andAndrew—throwing a net into the water, for they fished for aliving. Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I willshow you how to fish for people!” And they left their nets atonce and followed him.A little farther up the shore he saw two other brothers, Jamesand John, sitting in a boat with their father, Zebedee, repairingtheir nets. And he called them to come, too. They immediatelyfollowed him, leaving the boat and their father behind.Matthew 4:18-22 (NLT) “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!”Occupations of the 12Fishermen Tax Collector OtherTradesmen

Then the eleven disciples left for Galilee, going to the mountainwhere Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, theyworshiped him—but some of them doubted!Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given allauthority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and makedisciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of theFather and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these newdisciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sureof this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”Matthew 28:16-20 (NLT)Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: theapostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastorsand teachers.Ephesians 4:11 (NLT)What is God calling you to do as a disciple?APESTApostlesProphetsEvangelistsShepherdsTeachers

If you were going to recruit a team to change the worldwho would you get? Jesus began with 12 commonindividuals, men who would become Jesus’s very firstdisciples. Jesus picked 12 ordinary people with hopes anddreams of their own, but people who were willing to leavetheir lives behind to follow Jesus. People like you.This 5-week study looks at these normal guys and seeks tofigure out what they have to say to disciples of Jesus today.12A Look @ theDisciplesR e v . S t e p h e n B B o u t e l lp a s t o r s t e v e @ l e b a n o n f u m c . c o mw w w . l e b a n o n f u m c . c o m | © 2 0 2 4