The Company of Witnesses
The doors were locked for fear. Then the risen Jesus stood among them and sent them. At Pentecost the room became a witness stand, and the command reached beyond Jerusalem to every nation.
They were sent as sheep among wolves, and they rejoiced when counted worthy to suffer for the Name.
14 named witnesses in this gallery
the rock
He stood at Pentecost and preached the crucified Jesus as Lord and Christ.
Sent to
Rome is the received western tradition.
Traditional emblem
Keys and inverted cross
What it cost
The church remembered Peter following his Lord all the way to a cross in Rome, still bearing witness to the name he had preached at Pentecost.
the beloved disciple
He bore witness that the Word became flesh and later wrote from exile on Patmos.
Sent to
Ephesus is the received church tradition.
Traditional emblem
Chalice and eagle
What it cost
Scripture places John on Patmos because of God's word and the testimony of Jesus, an old witness still suffering for what he had seen.
His peaceful death at Ephesus is church tradition.
a son of thunder
One of the sons of Zebedee, he drank the cup of suffering early.
Sent to
Spain belongs to later pilgrimage tradition.
Traditional emblem
Scallop and sword
What it cost
He was the first of the Twelve to die for the name, cut down by Herod's sword while the church was still young.
who brought his brother
Andrew brought his brother Simon to Jesus and is remembered as a quiet gatherer.
Sent to
Achaia and Scythia belong to church tradition.
Traditional emblem
Saltire cross
What it cost
The church remembered Andrew's quiet gathering ending at a saltire cross, where he is said to have held fast to the Lord he had first followed.
"we have found him"
Philip answered the call, then told Nathanael that the promised one had been found.
Sent to
Phrygia and Hierapolis belong to church tradition.
Traditional emblem
Cross and loaves
What it cost
The church remembered him carrying the gospel far from the Galilee where the call first found him, and laying his life down there.
Philip the apostle is distinct from Philip the evangelist.
"my Lord and my God"
Thomas answered the risen Jesus with the confession, My Lord and my God.
Sent to
India is the ancient church tradition.
Traditional emblem
Spear and builder's square
What it cost
The church remembered Thomas carrying the confession, My Lord and my God, as far as India, where he is said to have given his life by the spear.
in whom there was no deceit
The apostolic lists name him among the Twelve after Philip.
Sent to
Armenia and India are named in different church traditions.
Traditional emblem
Flaying knife
What it cost
What the church remembered of his end was severe enough to become the emblem they kept for him; he is said to have held to Christ to the last.
His identification with Nathanael is a traditional harmonization.
traditional harmonization: Bartholomew is traditionally harmonized with Nathanael from John 1.
who rose from the tax booth
The tax collector left the booth and followed Jesus.
Sent to
Ethiopia and Persia belong to later church tradition.
Traditional emblem
Money bag
What it cost
The church remembered the tax collector who rose to follow Jesus as a witness whose obedience finally cost him his life.
the younger
Scripture names him in the apostolic company as James son of Alphaeus.
Sent to
Jerusalem and Egypt appear in church tradition.
Traditional emblem
Club
What it cost
The church remembered James son of Alphaeus not merely as a name in the list, but as a witness whose faithfulness cost him his life.
the zealot
The lists remember him as the Zealot, or Cananaean.
Sent to
Persia and other regions are named in church tradition.
Traditional emblem
Saw
What it cost
The church remembered Simon's zeal remade by Christ, and the saw became the emblem of a witness said to have held firm through death.
Cananaean and Zealot are traditionally harmonized.
Matthew and Mark say Cananaean; Luke and Acts say Zealot.
traditional harmonization: Simon the Cananaean is traditionally harmonized with Simon the Zealot.
who asked to see the Lord revealed
Luke and Acts call him Judas son of James, while Matthew and Mark preserve Thaddaeus.
Sent to
Syria, Mesopotamia, and Persia belong to church tradition.
Traditional emblem
Ship and club
What it cost
The church remembered Judas son of James as a witness who did not turn back, his life finally given for the name he bore.
Thaddaeus, Judas son of James, and Jude are a traditional harmonization.
Matthew and Mark list Thaddaeus; Luke and Acts list Judas son of James.
traditional harmonization: Thaddaeus, Judas son of James, and Jude are often traditionally harmonized.
chosen to complete the Twelve
Matthias was numbered with the Eleven after prayer and the casting of lots.
Sent to
Cappadocia, Ethiopia, and Judea appear in different church traditions.
Traditional emblem
Axe
What it cost
The church remembered Matthias, chosen to fill the empty place among the Twelve, as bearing that calling to the edge of the axe.
Matthias is chosen after the Acts 1 roster to replace Judas Iscariot.
who betrayed him with a kiss
He was counted among the Twelve, betrayed Jesus, and was replaced.
Sent to
No mission field is given after his betrayal.
Traditional emblem
Broken rope
What it cost
Scripture records the terrible end of the betrayer: Judas returned the silver, went out, and died, and another was chosen for his place.
Judas is included in the Gospel rosters but is absent from Acts 1:13 and replaced by Matthias.
as one untimely born
Paul
The persecutor became a witness to the risen Christ before Jews, Gentiles, kings, and prisoners.
Scriptural catalog of suffering
In prisons more abundantly, in stripes above measure, in deaths often.
Sent through
The Acts narrative carries Paul through the eastern Mediterranean and onward toward Rome.
Traditional emblem
Sword and scroll
Death
Scripture records prisons, beatings, danger, and a final Roman captivity; the church remembered that his road ended at Rome beneath the sword.
Conversion
Paul's conversion begins on the road to Damascus and is narrated in Acts 9.
