Which Disciple Am I?
Twelve men, twelve completely different temperaments — the one who jumped out of the boat, the one who wanted proof before he would say a word, the one who stayed to the very end, the tax collector who kept every receipt. Twelve ordinary questions about how you actually behave: in a room of strangers, in a plan that is falling apart, on a day you turn out to be wrong. Answer honestly rather than impressively, and get a real read on which of them you most resemble.
Common Questions About the Twelve Disciples
Who were the twelve disciples?
The twelve were the small group of men who travelled with Jesus for roughly three years, and the lists we have of them appear in Matthew, Mark, Luke and Acts. They are Simon Peter and his brother Andrew, both fishermen; James and John, also brothers and also fishermen; Philip; Bartholomew, usually identified with Nathanael; Thomas; Matthew, a tax collector, called Levi in two of the accounts; James the son of Alphaeus; Thaddaeus, who appears in Luke as Judas the son of James; Simon, described as the Zealot or the Canaanite; and Judas Iscariot. The lists do not match perfectly, which is why the same man can turn up under two names. What stands out reading them together is how little they have in common. A tax collector worked for the occupying power; a zealot wanted it overthrown. They were in the same group of twelve.
What is the difference between a disciple and an apostle?
The two words describe the same people at different moments. Disciple comes from a Greek word meaning learner or student, and it is used broadly: Jesus had far more than twelve disciples, and the Gospels mention crowds of them, including women who travelled with the group and funded it. Apostle comes from a different Greek word meaning one who is sent out, and it is the word used once the twelve are commissioned and given a job to do away from Jesus. So a disciple is someone learning, and an apostle is someone dispatched. The practical difference is direction of travel. It is also why people today still describe themselves as disciples of a teacher or a trade: you are a disciple as long as you are still being taught, which in most honest accounts is permanently.
Which disciple was closest to Jesus?
Three of the twelve — Peter, James and John — are repeatedly taken along when the others are left behind, and John’s own account refers five times to an unnamed figure called the disciple whom Jesus loved, which readers have understood since the earliest centuries to be John writing about himself. He is described leaning next to Jesus at the last supper and standing at the cross when most of the group had scattered. Peter is arguably the most prominent, since he speaks more than anyone else and is given the most responsibility, but prominence and closeness are not the same thing. It is worth noticing that the texts never present this as a ranking. Different men are described doing different things: one speaks, one stays, one brings people, one asks the hard question. That spread of temperament is the reason a quiz like this works at all.
Why is Thomas called Doubting Thomas?
Because of one scene, and the nickname is not actually in the Bible. After the resurrection Thomas is absent when the others say they have seen Jesus, and he answers that he will not believe it until he can see the wounds himself. A week later he gets exactly that, specifically and physically. The phrase Doubting Thomas entered English centuries afterwards and now means anyone who refuses to take a claim on trust. What usually gets lost is the rest of his appearances in the same gospel. Earlier, when the others are listing the dangers of returning to Judea, Thomas is the one who says let us go too and die with him; later he is the one who admits out loud that he does not know where Jesus is going. Taken together he reads less like a cynic and more like a man who will not say he is sure when he is not.
Which disciple am I most like?
Most people are a blend of two, and the useful way to find out is to look at behaviour rather than belief. The twelve are not twelve variations on one personality; the accounts give them distinct, almost stubbornly consistent habits. One moves before thinking and apologises later. One wants to see it himself. One stays physically present when there is nothing useful to say. One keeps bringing other people in. One remembers every detail, and one wants the budget before anyone makes a decision. Those are recognisable patterns in any office, family or friendship group today, which is why the comparison is worth making at all. A twelve-question quiz is not a verdict on your character and it is certainly not theology — it is a mirror held at a slight angle. If you want an honest read on which of them you most resemble, and which one sits just behind it, take the free quiz above.