realised that death which his Divine Master had taught him to expect,1 and which he himself had for some time anticipated.2

2. James, surnamed the Greater, the son of Zebedee and Salome, and brother of John the evangelist and divine, was a native of Bethsaida in Galilee, and a fisherman. After the ascension, unlike most of the other apostles, he appears to have remained in Palestine, and to have laboured in and about Jerusalem. His zeal in the propagation of the new religion evidently excited in no small degree the jealousy of the Jewish rulers. He was accordingly brought under the notice of Herod Agrippa I., who, in order to please the Jews, caused him to be put to death, A.D. 44.4

3. John, surnamed the evangelist and divine, was the son of Zebedee and Salome, and brother of James the Great. He was a native of Bethsaida in Galilee, and a fisherman. Shortly after the ascension he was imprisoned; first, with Peter only,5 and afterwards with all the apostles,6 for preaching in the name of Jesus. After the death of Mary, the mother of our Lord,7

Salmasius, Spanheim, Bower, and Semlar, have either doubted or denied that Peter was at Rome.' (Bishop Tomline.)

1 John xxi. 18, 19. Verily, verily, I say unto thee, when thou wast young thou girdedst thyself and walkedst whither thou wouldest, but when thou shalt be old thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God.'

22 Pet. i. 14. Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath showed me.' Ambrose says that St. Peter desired to be crucified with his head downward, from a sense of humility, as not thinking himself worthy to die in the same manner as his Divine Master.' (Bishop Tomline.)

6

Roman Catholic writers insert various passages of the traditionary life of St. Peter-his journey from Antioch through Asia Minor to Rome -his meeting with Simon Magus, &c., and the other apostles-their general separation to preach the gospel to the Gentiles in all parts of the world the formation of the Apostles' Creed, &c. They also affirm that Peter held the see of Antioch for seven years before that of Rome.' (Conybeare and Howson.)

3 This will be accounted for by his early death. He was the first of the apostles who suffered martydom.

4 Acts xii. 2. And he (Herod Agrippa) killed James the brother of John, with the sword.'

5 Acts iv. 3.

6 Acts v. 18.

The Virgin Mary had been specially recommended to the care of 'the beloved disciple' by Jesus himself while on the cross (John xix. 26, 27). 'And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.' 'Eusebius tells us that after this she lived about fifteen years.' (H. E., lib. ii. c. 42.)

E

1

he is supposed to have visited Asia Minor, and there to have founded several churches.2 In the reign of Domitian he was banished to Patmos,3 an island in the Ægean Sea; but on the accession of Nerva, A.D. 96, he was set at liberty. He then appears to have returned to Ephesus, where he is said to have died a natural death at a very advanced age, A.D., 100, which corresponds with the third year of the Emperor Trajan.

6

4

4. Andrew, the brother of Peter, was a native of Bethsaida, in Galilee, and a fisherman. He was at first a disciple of John the Baptist, but on being shown the Lamb of God,' he instantly sought his brother Peter to inform him that he had found the Messias.5 A brief period elapsed and both were called to the apostleship. After the ascension his history appears to resolve itself into a question of uncertainty. The most generally received opinion seems to be, that he now passed into Scythia. But his latter days were probably

1 It is not known at what time John went into Asia Minor. Lardner thought it was about A.D. 66.'

2 At Smyrna, Pergamos, &c. Rev. i. 9. 'I John mony of Jesus Christ.'

Rev. i. 11.

was in the isle of Patmos for the testi

The banishment of St. John to the isle of Patmos is mentioned by many of the earlier ecclesiastical writers, and they all agree in attributing it to Domitian, except Epiphanius in the fourth century, who says that John was banished by command of Claudius; but he deserves the less credit, because there was no persecution of the Christians in the time of that emperor, and his edicts against the Jews did not extend to the provinces.'

'Sir Isaac Newton was of opinion that John was banished to Patmos in the time of Nero; but I own that the authority of even this great man will not weigh with me against the unanimous voice of antiquity. Dr. Lardner (vol. vi.) has examined and answered his arguments with equal candour and learning.' (Bishop Tomline.)

It is certain that he lived in Asia Minor the latter part of his life, and principally at Ephesus.'

"

Note. An opinion has prevailed that (before his banishment to Patmos) he was, by order of Domitian, thrown into a cauldron of boiling oil at Rome, before the gate called Porta Latina, and that he came out unhurt; but on examining into the foundation of this account, we find that it rests almost entirely on the authority of Tertullian, and since it is not mentioned by Irenæus, Origen, and others, who have related the sufferings of the apostles, it seems to deserve but little credit.' (Bishop Tomline.)

5 John i. 41.

6 Matt. iv. 18, 19.

7 The modern Greeks name him as the founder of the church of Byzantium or Constantinople.

spent in Achaia, for we are informed that the proconsul of that country caused him to be imprisoned, scourged, and crucified at a town named Patræ, for refusing to comply with the idolatrous practices there observed.1

5. Philip was a native of Bethsaida in Galilee, and was the first apostle who was directly called by Jesus to follow Him.2 After the ascension he appears to have passed over into Asia Minor, where, in consequence of his earnestness and zeal in the propagation of the gospel, he is said to have been imprisoned, scourged, and put to death; some say by crucifixion, and others by being hung up against a pillar,' at a town named Hierapolis3 in Phrygia.

6. Thomas, surnamed Didymus, was the apostle who so emphatically expressed his unwillingness to accept the testimony of his fellow-disciples, respecting our Lord's appearance after his resurrection.4 The sacred volume supplies but few particulars of his history. It is believed that he ended his days in India.

1

7. Bartholomew (or Nathanael 5?) was a native of Cana in

'His naked body was scourged by seven lictors, one after another, and afterwards tied to the cross with cords to make his death the more lingering, where he hung two days, still exhorting the people to stand fast in the faith. Being dead, his body was embalmed and decently buried, by order of the proconsul's wife Maximilla. This event occurred under the persecution of Domitian. In the year 357 his body was removed by Constantine the Great to Constantinople, and buried in the church which he had built in honour of the apostles, remaining so incorruptible, that in Justinian's time (some hundred years after) his body was found in a wooden coffin among the rubbish, and with great care deposited in the former place, as we read in a book called the Acts of St. Andrew's Passion, said to have been written by the presbyters and deacons of Achaia who were present at his execution.' (Brown.) 2 John i. 43.

This city was situated near Laodicea and Colosse in the south-west of Phrygia, and on the river Lycus. It was formerly celebrated for its warm springs and stately edifices; at present, for its magnificent ruins. 4 John xx. 25. Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.'

5

This opinion is founded on the circumstance that as the evangelist John never mentions Bartholomew in the number of the apostles, so the other evangelists never mention Nathanael. And as in John i. 45, Philip and Nathanael are mentioned together as coming to Jesus, so in the other evangelists Philip and Bartholomew are constantly associated together. The supposition also acquires additional probability from considering that Nathanael is particularly mentioned among the apostles

Galilee,' and probably a fisherman. It is an early tradition, that after the ascension he propagated the faith as far as India, and also in the more northern and western parts of Asia, and that he finally suffered martyrdom at Albanopolis in the region of the Caucasus.'

8. Matthew, the publican, was the son of Alpheus 2 ('but not, says Lardner, of the Alpheus who was the father of James, as affirmed by Doddridge'). He appears to have resided at Capernaum in Galilee, and while there engaged at the receipt of custom, was called to be an apostle. After the ascension, he continued for some time with the other apostles in Judea, 'but as there is no further account of him in any writer of the first four centuries, we must consider it as uncertain into what country he afterwards went, and likewise in what manner, and at what time, he died.' 4

9. James, surnamed the Less, was the son of Alpheus or Cleophas, and probably a cousin of our Lord.5 'He is said to have been a priest, and to have observed the laws of the

to whom Christ appeared at the sea of Tiberias after his resurrection. (Simon Peter, Thomas, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, James and John, with two others, probably Andrew and Philip (John xxi. 2), Besides, Bartholomew can scarcely be considered as a proper name, but rather like Bar-jona and other similar words, simply descriptive of his relative or paternal capacity, as being the son of Tolmai, which was a name not uncommon among the Jews.'

If, as we suppose, Bartholomew = Nathanael (John xxi. 2). 2 Mark ii. 14. 3 Matt. ix. 9.

It seems, however, probable that he died a natural death, since Heracleon, a learned Valentinian of the second century, as cited by Clement of Alexandria (Strom. lib. iv.), reckons Matthew among those apostles who did not suffer martyrdom, and he is not contradicted by Clement. Chrysostom also, who is very full in his commendation of Matthew, says nothing of his martyrdom (Hom. 48 and 49). On the contrary, Socrates, a writer of the fifth century (H. E. lib. i. c. 19), says that Matthew preached the gospel in Ethiopia, and died a martyr at Nedabber, a city of that country; but he is contradicted by other authors, who say that Matthew died in Persia.' (Bishop Tomline.) Mary married Joseph Mary married Alpheus

5

That Mary the wife of Joseph, and Mary the wife of Alpheus, were sisters, see John xix. 25. It sometimes happened that brothers and sisters among the Jews had the same names, but it was not a common thing.'

Nazarites from his birth.' After the ascension he was appointed bishop of Jerusalem, and as such he sat in the capacity of judge at the first general council, which was held in that city A.D. 50.1 From the brief allusions made to him in the Acts of the Apostles, &c., we may reasonably conclude that he was universally esteemed. In consequence of his upright conduct, he was surnamed the Just. His earnestness in his Master's cause brought upon him the enmity of the Jewish rulers, and while addressing a multitude of people from the battlements of the temple he was cast down headlong, then stoned, and beaten to death A.D. 62.3

10. Simon Zelotes was probably a native of Cana in Galilee, and is supposed by some to have been a brother of James the Less, and of Judas.

11. Judas was the son of Alpheus or Cleophas and of Mary, and brother of James the Less, probably also of Simon the Canaanite. There is not a single circumstance recorded of him in any ancient author upon which we can depend. He is generally reckoned among the apostles who did not suffer martyrdom.5

12. Judas Iscariot was so surnamed, probably from the town to which he belonged (Karioth or Cerioth). After betraying his Lord and Master for thirty pieces of silver, he

1 Acts xv. 13.

2 Vide Acts xii. 17; xv.; xxi. 18, and Gal. ii. 9. This event occurred during a tumult raised by the unbelieving Jews, when there was no Roman governor in Judea; Festus being dead, and his successor Albinus not yet arrived.'-Vide Eus. H. E. lib. ii. c. 23; Lardner, vol. vii. p. 129. (Bishop Tomline.) Vide note 4, p. 33. Hegesippus (a converted Jew, who lived in the second century) tells us that this apostle led a life of great sanctity; and other traditions further picture him as an old and venerable man, with a bald head and unshorn beard, with his feet bare, and wearing a linen ephod, yet so greatly esteemed that the people vied with each other to touch even the hem of his garment.' (Biblical Cyclopædia and Stanley's Sermons on the Apostolic Age, p. 295. Footsteps of St. Paul.)

4 See Matt. xiii. 55. Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren James and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? and his sisters, are they not all with us?' (See also Mark vi. 3.)

5 'Paulinus says he preached in Libya; Jerome in Edessa; and others in Judea, Samaria, Idumea, Syria, Armenia, and Persia, in which last country he is thought to have died a martyr, but this requires confirmation. The Syrians consider him as their apostle, and, on the authority of Hegesippus, he must have been a married man' (Eus. E. H. iii, 19, 20), Dr. Pinnock, &c.