been ordained or set apart to their sacred
office.

The three Gospel-writers who make record of the organization of the
Twelve place Simon Peter first and Judas Iscariot last in the category;
they agree also in the relative position of some but not of all the
others. Following the order given by Mark, and this may be the most
convenient since he names as the first three those who later became most
prominent, we have the following list: Simon Peter, James (son of
Zebedee), John (brother of the last-named), Andrew (brother of Simon
Peter), Philip, Bartholomew (or Nathanael), Matthew, Thomas, James (son
of Alpheus), Judas (also known as Lebbeus or Thaddeus), Simon
(distinguished by his surname Zelotes, also known as the Canaanite), and
Judas Iscariot.

TWELVE CONSIDERED INDIVIDUALLY.

_Simon_, named as the first apostle, is more commonly known as
_Peter_--the appellation given him by the Lord on the occasion of their
first meeting, and afterward confirmed.[460] He was the son of Jona, or
Jonas, and by vocation was a fisherman. He and his brother Andrew were
partners with James and John, the sons of Zebedee; and apparently the
fishing business was a prosperous one with them, for they owned their
boats and gave employment to other men.[461] Peter's early home had been
at the little fishery town of Bethsaida,[462] on the west shore of the
Sea of Galilee; but about the time of his first association with Jesus,
or soon thereafter, he, with others of his family, removed to Capernaum,
where he appears to have become an independent householder.[463] Simon
Peter was a married man before his call to the ministry. He was well to
do in a material way; and when he once spoke of having left all to
follow Jesus, the Lord did not deny that Peter's sacrifice of temporal
possessions was as great as had been implied. We are not justified in
regarding him as unlettered or ignorant. True, both he and John were
designated by the council of rulers as "unlearned and ignorant
men,"[464] but this was spoken of them as indicating their lack of
training in the schools of the rabbis; and it is worthy of note, that
the members of that same council were amazed at the wisdom and power
manifested by the two apostles, whom they professed to despize.

In temperament Peter was impulsive and stern, and, until trained by
severe experience, was lacking in firmness. He had many human
weaknesses, yet in spite of them all he eventually overcame the
temptati