During Jesus' three year ministry, thousands of Jews accepted Jesus as the Messiah, the promised Son of King David. It was only the Jewish religious leaders who opposed Jesus and raised the rabble against Him in order to get the Roman authorities to crucify Him. It should be noted that when Jesus was captured for trial, the 12 Disciples fled like everyone else because they were afraid of the Roman authorities - for their authority of punishment and the religious leaders' power of exclusion from society. It was evident that many - if not most - returned at the Resurrection and after Pentecost... Not for nothing...