The next on the list of the Apostles, are "James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother." Both of these have been already mentioned: the Scripture tells us, that St. James the elder, the brother of St. John, was killed with the sword by Herod Agrippa.

St. John, as we have heard, survived the destruction of Jerusalem; was banished for some years to the island of Patmos; and finally died a natural death at Ephesus.

"Philip and Bartholomew" are the next upon our list; and throughout their lives they seem to have been intimately connected with each other. Philip's name is mentioned two or three times in Scripture. He was no sooner called to be a follower of Jesus, than, as we are told, "he findeth Nathanael (or Bartholomew), and saith unto him, We have found Him of whom Moses in the law and the prophets did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." Or, in other words, that they had found out, that Jesus of Nazareth the reputed son of Joseph, was, in truth, The Messiah, of whom Moses and the prophets had written.

After the Lord's Ascension, Philip is supposed to have preached the Gospel in some parts of Asia, and then to have suffered martyrdom in Phrygia. It is said, that coming to a place where the inhabitants were the grossest idolaters, Philip, greatly distressed at their condition, prayed constantly for them; at the same time labouring to convince them of the folly of their present worship, and telling them of the true God, and of His Son Jesus Christ. The Lord so blessed Philip's efforts, that many of his hearers turned from idolatry and became Christians. This success, stirred up the opposition and persecution of the heathen magistrates, who accordingly seized the Apostle, put him in prison, caused him to be unmercifully scourged, and afterwards crucified. It is said, moreover, that whilst hanging on the cross, he was stoned to death; and that then, such a violent earthquake took place, as greatly alarmed all the people; and that many, in consequence, repented of their idolatry and wickedness, and turned to God.

Bartholomew, or Nathanael, could not at first believe that Jesus of Nazareth was the promised Messiah, but after acting according to Philip's advice, of "Come and see," he cordially acknowledged Jesus Christ to be the "Son of God, the King of Israel." After our Lord's Ascension, this Apostle is said to have laboured amongst the savage tribes of Abyssinia, then called Ethiopia; and we are told, that 100 years afterwards, a missionary who went to preach the Gospel in those parts, found a copy of St. Matthew's Gospel, which was said to have been left there by Bartholomew. Bartholomew was in Phrygia with Philip, when the latter was put to death: and it is said that he was also fastened to a cross, but that the heathens were so alarmed by the earthquake, that they took him down, and set him at liberty. After this, he is said to have preached in various parts of Asia Minor, ending with Armenia, where he was seized by the idolatrous governor, and treated with the greatest cruelty; he was beaten to the ground with staves; crucified head downwards; then taken from the cross, flayed, and finally beheaded.

Thomas, the next on the list of Apostles, is well known to us for his doubts as to the reality of the Resurrection—doubts mercifully removed by the Lord Himself. After the Ascension, Thomas is said to have laboured in JudÆa, Parthia, Medea, Persia, and other countries, until he reached India. Here he was at first afraid of venturing amongst the dark-coloured and cruel heathens, who inhabited the country; but being encouraged by a vision, he fearlessly journeyed on into the country, and was most successful in bringing the people out of the darkness of Paganism into the light of the Gospel. The Brahmins or priests, however, were much opposed to him: at a certain town he began to build a place of worship for the Christians, and Segamo, the prince of the country, persuaded probably by the Brahmins, forbade him to go on with it. Thomas, however, by the help of God, performed several miracles, which so convinced Segamo of the truth of all his doctrines, that he himself became a Christian, and allowed the building to be continued. The idolatrous priests now saw that their religion was in great danger, and therefore, watching for a convenient opportunity, they came upon Thomas in a quiet spot, to which he had gone to pray, and shot him with their arrows. Having thus disabled the Apostle, the Brahmins stoned him, and finally ran a lance through his body. The dead body of Thomas was carried by his disciples to the church which he had just completed, and there buried. About 1,500 years afterwards, when the Portuguese first made their way to India, they found upon the Malabar coast many Christian families, who called themselves "St. Thomas's Christians"; being descendants of those, who had been converted from Paganism to Christianity, by this Apostle.

Matthew's name stands next on the list of the Apostles; he has already been spoken of, as far as the Scriptures make mention of him; and also as the writer of the first of the four accounts of our Saviour's life and death. We neither know what this Apostle did after our Lord's Ascension, nor how he died; but there is a tradition that he was murdered in Ethiopia, where by his teaching, and the miracles he was enabled to perform, he had been the means of converting multitudes from Heathenism to Christianity.

"James the son of AlphÆus, and LebbÆus, whose surname was ThaddÆus," now come under consideration. They were brothers; two of the sons of Mary, sister to the Virgin Mary, and of Cleophas one of the disciples to whom, after His resurrection, the Lord appeared on the way to Emmaus. This James, distinguished as "the Less," has already been spoken of as Bishop of Jerusalem, and his death has also been mentioned (p. 351).

LebbÆus, also called Judas and Jude, was, as has been said, the writer of an Epistle. No ancient writer gives any account either of his labours after the Lord's Ascension, or of the manner of his death.

Of "Simon the Canaanite," whose name stands next on our list, Scripture tells us nothing, except that he was also called "Simon Zelotes." "Zelotes" means full of zeal and eagerness; and the name was probably given to this Apostle, on account of his great zeal and earnestness in the service of his Master. The term "Canaanite" seems to be derived from a Hebrew word, which also means zeal. After the Ascension, Simon is said to have preached the Gospel amongst some of the barbarous nations in Africa; and then to have gone westward, finally reaching Britain, where he was crucified, probably by the Romans.

The last on the list of Apostles is Judas Iscariot, whose surname, it is thought, is merely derived from the place of his birth. Of him it is unnecessary to speak now. The mention of Judas Iscariot naturally reminds us of him who was afterwards chosen to fill the place, "from which by transgression he fell."

Matthias, chosen after the Ascension to complete the original number of Apostles, was one of those disciples "which had companied with the Apostles, all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among them." Beyond this, Scripture says nothing about him; nor do any ancient writers tell us how long he laboured in the holy office to which he was appointed; but it is said, that he was finally put to death by some amongst whom he was preaching.

No sketch of our Lord's Apostles would be complete without some notice of Paul and Barnabas; who, though not called to be Apostles until after the Ascension, laboured zealously in that sacred ministry. St. Paul has already been spoken of most fully, and frequent mention has been made of St. Barnabas, up to the time of his separation from St. Paul, after which the Book of Acts contains no account of him: but in one of his Epistles, St. Paul writes of him in such a manner, as shows that though for the moment "the contention between them was so sharp as to part them asunder," it had not caused any real coolness or estrangement. Another proof of this, is found in the fact, that St. Mark afterwards became a devoted attendant upon St. Paul, by whom he was highly valued. St. Mark was with the Apostle whilst he was a prisoner in Rome.

Of the labours of St. Barnabas after his separation from St. Paul, we have no certain account anywhere: in the end he is said to have been stoned.

Before closing this chapter, it seems well to take notice of St. Luke and St. Mark, who, though not Apostles, are, as writers of the Gospel, entitled to the respect and gratitude of all who value the holy Scriptures.

There is, however, little to add to what has been already said of them.

Luke, by birth a Jew, and probably a native of Antioch in Syria, was a physician, who became a convert to the religion of Jesus. He is said to have been one of the seventy disciples, sent out on one occasion, "two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come." This is very probable, although, as he is not once named in any of the Gospels, we cannot be sure.

From St. Luke's own account in the Book of Acts, we find that he went with St. Paul on his first voyage to Macedon. At Philippi, he seems to have left the Apostle; why we know not, but perhaps St. Paul sent him on some mission. It is not unlikely that he remained in that country; but during St. Paul's second journey, he rejoined him, and sailed with him from Philippi. For the next five years, St. Luke continued with St. Paul: this brings us to the release of the Apostle from his confinement in Rome. Here ends any certain account of St. Luke. It is said that he then went into Achaia, and afterwards preached the Gospel in Africa. As no ancient writers mention his having suffered martyrdom, it is probable that he died a natural death.

If the Evangelist St. Mark was, as there is every reason to believe, the same "Mark whose surname was John," he was nephew to Barnabas. We first hear of him in Scripture, as going from Antioch to Jerusalem with Barnabas and Saul; and then accompanying them on a journey, but leaving them unaccountably at Perga; in consequence of which, St. Paul afterwards refused to take him with them on another journey, thus causing the contention already mentioned. "Barnabas, taking Mark, sailed to Cyprus." It is said that St. Mark was with St. Barnabas at the time of the latter's death, and received his dying commands to go without delay to St. Paul, by whom, as has been already said, he was well received. What his ultimate fate was, we know not.

It may not be amiss to mention, before we take leave of the immediate followers of our Lord, that in pictures, the four Evangelists are distinguished by certain signs or symbols. St. Matthew is simply a man with a pen in his hand; St. Mark is accompanied by a Lion; St. Luke by an Ox; and St. John by an Eagle.

PART III.