When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles: Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. Luke 6:13-16

            While we know a lot about Peter and John, and a fair amount about Andrew, James, Matthew, Thomas, Philip and Judas the traitor, we know very little about Bartholomew (aka Nathanael), James son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot and Judas son of James.  They had some reason to be in this group and were handpicked by Jesus.  While the Bible could not contain all the stories about all of them, they were witnesses to the same events as Peter and John.  In their own circles, these obscure (to us) apostles were well known and must have made an impact.  In any group, certain individuals rise to the top of leadership.