Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;
Jesus had chosen twelve specific men to be his closest followers and representatives — people he called apostles, a word meaning 'sent ones.' This verse opens the official list of that group. Simon, nicknamed Peter (meaning 'rock'), is always listed first and was often the group's spokesperson. His brother Andrew was among the very first to follow Jesus. James and John, sons of a fisherman named Zebedee, became part of Jesus' innermost circle. These were not religious scholars or spiritual elites — most were working-class men from the Galilee region, ordinary people given an extraordinary assignment.
Jesus, you chose ordinary people by name, and you still do. Help me believe — really believe — that I am one of them. Where I have been waiting to feel more qualified or more ready, give me the courage to simply show up and be sent. Amen.
There is something quietly radical about a list. Names on a page. Simon. Andrew. James. John. No titles after their names. No impressive credentials. No record of theological training or spiritual achievement. Just brothers who fished, men who had calluses and smelled like work. This is who Jesus chose to carry his message to the world — not the most polished or most educated, not the ones any hiring committee would have selected. Just people he called by name. It is easy to assume that God's real work gets done by a different kind of person than you — someone more gifted, more spiritually mature, better at holding it together. But this list is a quiet argument against all of that. The Twelve were not chosen because they were ready. They were chosen because Jesus chose them. Your name could be on a list like this — not because you have earned it, but because Jesus has always had a habit of calling ordinary people and doing remarkable things through them, sometimes in spite of them. What would it mean to actually live like you believed that this week?
These twelve men were mostly working-class, not religious elites. What does Jesus' choice of these particular people tell you about his values and what kind of kingdom he was building?
What assumptions do you carry about the kind of person God uses for meaningful work — and where did those assumptions originally come from?
Peter is listed first and was clearly a leader among the Twelve, yet he later denied knowing Jesus three times at the most critical possible moment. Jesus knew this would happen and chose him anyway. What do you do with that?
The apostles were sent out in pairs and operated as a community, not as solo agents. Why do you think Jesus structured it that way, and what does that say about how God's work actually gets done?
If you genuinely believed your name was on a list like this — that you are called and sent right now — what would you do differently starting today?
And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.
Matthew 4:18
One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.
John 1:40
And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:
Matthew 5:1
And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.
John 1:42
And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Matthew 16:18
One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, saith unto him,
John 6:8
Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?
Matthew 26:53
Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:
2 Peter 1:1
Now these are the names of the twelve apostles (special messengers, personally chosen representatives): first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew, his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;
AMP
The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;
ESV
Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; and James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;
NASB
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;
NIV
Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;
NKJV
Here are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (also called Peter), then Andrew (Peter’s brother), James (son of Zebedee), John (James’s brother),
NLT
This is the list of the twelve he sent: Simon (they called him Peter, or "Rock"), Andrew, his brother, James, Zebedee's son, John, his brother,
MSG