Walking by the sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers: Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew, his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. He said to them, "Come after [follow] me, and I will make you fishers for men." They immediately left their nets and followed him. Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them. They immediately left the boat and their father, and followed him." _{Mathew 4:18-22}

The other eight who were called: Mathew, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot. Most students of the Gospels will quickly come to the realization that the disciples never fully understood Jesus' mission let alone his personhood until after his death, resurrection and ascension. He was their Rabbi and the Messiah of a new Israelite Kingdom on earth in which they saw themselves holding important positions. Many of the miraculous signs he performed actually puzzled them greatly, as when he calmed the storm or fed a great multitude from a few loaves of bread.

Luke records that certain women were in the company of the disciples who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities. One of these was Mary Magdalene from whom seven demons had gone out. Luke also mentions a Joanna, the wife of Chuzas, steward to Herod Antipas, and a woman named Susanna.

All four Gospels mention Mary Magdalene and another woman named Mary, the mother of James and Joseph (the sons of Alphaeus). And Mark also mentions a woman named Salome which tradition holds was the wife of Zebedee and mother of the disciples James and John. These women and many others were witnesses of Jesus' crucifixion which occurred on what we now call Good Friday. And it was Mary Magdalene who was the first to see the risen Lord early the following Sunday morning. She, the other Mary and Salome had come to the tomb to anoint Jesus' body with spices they had brought. They were informed by an angel that "He is not here; he has risen." Astonished, they hurried away but Mary Magdalene was compelled to return and it was then that Jesus appeared to her as she wept outside the tomb.

Lastly, in the Gospel of John we learn of Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus, who lived in Bethany of Judea. It was this Mary who anointed Jesus' feet with an entire jar of expensive perfume. This event is recorded in all four Gospels and occurred when Jesus was at the home of a certain Pharisee by the name of Simon the Leper who also lived in Bethany. _{Mathew 26:6, Mark 14:1, Luke 7:36, John 11:1 and 12:1}

On his way to Jerusalem, Jesus passed through Jericho. Sitting by the roadside was a blind beggar, Bartimaeus by name, who heard the commotion and inquired what was going on? "Jesus of Nazareth is passing by", he was told. Whereupon he began shouting, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" Some told him to be quiet but that did not deter him. In the end he was brought before Jesus who asked him, "What will you have me do for you?", to which the man answered, "Rabbi, I want to see." "Go," said Jesus, "your faith has healed you." Immediately, his vision was restored, but instead of leaving he followed Jesus.
_{Mark 10:46-52}

There was another person in Jericho who wanted to meet Jesus. His name was Zacchaeus and he had a problem... Well, maybe more than one. He was rather short of stature and he was the chief tax collector and quite wealthy, so naturally this did not endear him to many people. His solution to the first problem was to climb up a tree so he could see Jesus passing by. To his amazement, when Jesus reached the spot he stopped, looked up, and said, "Zacchaeus, come down... I must stay at your house today." The heart of Zacchaeus was so moved that later he vowed to be as generous with his money as Jesus was with his acceptance of sinners._{Luke 19:1-10}

The first of these two men was Joseph of Arimathea. He was a prominent member of the Sanhedrin council. The Sanhedrin can perhaps best be described as the Jewish Supreme Court with authority in all civil and religious matters. Jesus, after his arrest, stood trial before this council which eventually charged him with blasphemy because he claimed to be the Son of God. The Sanhedrin did not have the authority to carry out capital punishment so they led him away to appear before Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea, whereupon they accused Jesus of a number of trumped up charges.

Now Joseph, by all accounts, was a disciple but secretly, according to John's Gospel, because he feared the Jewish leaders. And Luke adds that Joseph, at the trial, had not consented to their [the Sanhedrin's] decision and action. Joseph figures prominently because after the crucifixion he went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus' body. When Pilate consented, Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. According to John's gospel, Joseph was assisted by Nicodemus the other 'secret disciple'.
_{Mathew 27:57-60, Mark 15:42-46, Luke 23:50-53, John 19:38-42}

Now we come to the interesting story of Nicodemus. A quick word search on my favorite internet source for Biblical information, BibleGateway, produces five results. Three verses from John chapter 3 (verses 1, 4 and 9), chapter 7 verse 50, and chapter 19 verse 39. The third chapter of John begins this way: Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him." It is easy to see that Nicodemus, were he allowed to continue, had one or two important questions to pose, but Jesus abruptly interjected by saying, "Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again [anew]."

And so began a discussion about the meaning of being born again and why this is necessary in order to see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus' response was literal and not far sighted and we can forgive him for that. "How can someone be born when they are old?" At this question Jesus said something so profound that Nicodemus (and many people today) could not quickly comprehend it: "Flesh gives birth to flesh, but Spirit gives birth to spirit." Jesus helps Nicodemus to understand that there exists real power in faith and it is best summed up by the most beautiful verse in all of the scriptures: For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. _{John 3:16}