Philip
Philip was from the city of Bethsaida in northern Israel, and was the first disciple that Jesus called to follow Him - the first recorded in the Bible anyway. John 1:43 says that "Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, 'Follow Me'. It sounds as if Jesus intentionally went to Galilee that day to look for Philip in order to personally present the invitation to him.
Immediately after receiving Jesus's invitation, Philip went and found Nathaniel, saying to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph" - John 1:45. Philip was aware of what the scriptures say about the Messiah, and he was awaiting, expecting and looking for His arrival, indicating that he was of the remnant of Israel, which is likely one of the reasons Jesus called Philip to follow Him.
Philip is believed to have carried the gospel to the ancient inhabitants of France, called the Gauls. He is also believed to have planted the church in Hierapolis which was in ancient Turkey. It is not known for certain how Philip died, but it is believed he was crucified and stoned in Hierapolis about AD 80.
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Matthew (and probably Levi) the Tax Collector
Matthew was a tax collector who was invited by Jesus to follow Him. A Jewish teacher inviting a tax collector to be his disciple would have been shocking to religious Jews. Tax collectors during that time in Jerusalem were employed by Rome, who were the oppressor of the Jews. The Jews also believed that paying taxes to Rome was a sin. Tax collectors would often charge more taxes than what were owed in order to provide their own income. This was extortion, and it was typically committed against the poor, who were already struggling.
Also, the teachers of Judaism typically did not invite students to follow them. Typically, the student would ask the teacher if he would disciple him. So for Jesus to invite men to follow Him as His disciples would have been contrary to the religious system which would have been shocking. In addition, Matthew, nor any of the Twelve for that matter, were students studying to become teachers of Judaism. Furthermore, Matthew was a despised tax collector. All of it would have been shocking and cause for concern to the religious Jews.
Jesus knew something about Matthew that the religious Jews did not. The Bible doesn't provide any evidence of what Matthew believed regarding matters of faith before being called to follow Jesus, but the biography he wrote of Jesus's life while He was on earth, indicates that at some point in his life he came to believe that Jesus was the promised Messiah that the prophets had spoken of.
It is evident throughout the Gospels and the New Testament that many Jews rejected Jesus's claim that He was the Messiah, however belief that Jesus is the Messiah was a common characteristic of each of the twelve disciples whom Jesus called to follow Him. Matthew recognized Jesus as the Messiah and likely wrote the Gospel to a Jewish audience in order to persuade them that Jesus the Messiah had arrived.
Matthew's apostolic mission was to Ethiopia, Africa, where he was beheaded in in AD 60.
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James, the Son of Alphaeus
Other than his name being listed among the apostles in all three of the synoptic gospels, the Bible says nothing at all about James, the son of Alphaeus.
According to Foxes Voices of the Martyrs, church tradition holds that the apostles assigned themselves certain areas of the world to take the gospel to. Syria was appointed to James the son of Alphaeus, where it is believed he was stoned to death in AD 63 by Jews who rejected his message about Christ.
James's obedience to the Great Commission made Jesus's name known to ancient Iraq and even further east into India.
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