The twelve apostles of Jesus were
special! Sometimes in Scripture, they
are simply called the Twelve, such as in Matthew 20:17. Yet there are numerous misconceptions about
the twelve apostles. First, some think
of the apostles as being Western. They
were not. They were twelve Jewish
followers of Jesus. Second, some think of
the apostles as the sole church rulers.
They were not. Apostle does not mean ruler, rather more of an emissary, a word G.A. Williamson
fittingly used. “Apostolos…is,
(literally), one sent forth….Apostle… a sending, a mission…”[1] Billy Graham has often been called an
ambassador for Christ, one appropriate title for him, which follows on this
line of being sent out to give a message.
Really all Christians are called to be ambassadors for Christ to various
degrees.
Now apostles did have church governmental
authority. Yet early on they were
working with elders and others in the church, as can be seen in places like
Acts 15. I propose early Christian
ministry was more of a team effort involving many disciples of Jesus. For example, early historians note the
intriguing fact that the first overseer, also called a bishop, of Jerusalem was
James, one of the natural children of Mary who came after the birth of Jesus. Also nicknamed James the just or James the
righteous, he was chosen instead of one of the apostles! Eusebius quotes Clement on this.[2] And from Scripture we learn the apostles were
humble rather than flaunting their positions. Look at the opening of 2 Peter; “Simon Peter,
a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ…” (2 Peter 1:1-2 NIV). Peter puts the title servant before
apostle. Consider the apostle John. He did not even include his name in his
“gospel.” He could have started out the
book by stating who he was and the fact that he was an apostle in order to give
authority to his book. Instead, he
starts out talking about the “Word,” and then near the conclusion he writes, “This
is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know
that his testimony is true" (John 21:24 NIV).
He simply calls himself a disciple instead of apostle, and he speaks in
the plural, an eastern thing to do, to show group participation and validation.
I also disagree with the concept of "apostolic succession," agreeing with Martin Luther on that subject. It is the view in some denominations that apostles laid hands on new church leaders, especially overseers, and then those "bishops" laid hands on ministers, and that has gone down the line. Jesus said nothing about this, and there are no specific records of who laid hands on who early on, the reason Eusebius had such a challenge in his mission to find successors of the apostles, and the reason he did not come out with a line of overseers following in an apostle's city except in Rome, which simply had strong documentation. And though Rome had strong documentation, Eusebius records overseers in various cities, such as Alexandria and Ephesus, treating them all equal.
I also disagree with the concept of "apostolic succession," agreeing with Martin Luther on that subject. It is the view in some denominations that apostles laid hands on new church leaders, especially overseers, and then those "bishops" laid hands on ministers, and that has gone down the line. Jesus said nothing about this, and there are no specific records of who laid hands on who early on, the reason Eusebius had such a challenge in his mission to find successors of the apostles, and the reason he did not come out with a line of overseers following in an apostle's city except in Rome, which simply had strong documentation. And though Rome had strong documentation, Eusebius records overseers in various cities, such as Alexandria and Ephesus, treating them all equal.
Now most know the calling of the apostles. Like all disciples of Jesus, they were called to preach, teach, and heal, though they were given a primary authority by Jesus to do so. Jesus sent them to preach: “He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach…” (Mark 3:14 NIV). Jesus sent them to teach: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer” (Acts 2:42 NIV). Jesus sent them to heal, and they did. All disciples today are supposed by be preaching, teaching, and healing, though the healing call today is spiritual I would claim. Again, the twelve apostles were special! My theological conviction is the apostles were given unprecedented gifts, not counting the gifts of God incarnate. These time period specific gifts for that beginning age of the “Church” included the ability to do physical miracles. For example, Peter brought a woman who was a follower of Jesus, Tabitha, back to life from physical death. So on one hand they were doing what the other disciples of Jesus were doing, yet on the other hand they had a primary authority, and special apostolic gifts!
And a key call of their apostolic authority was to produce Scripture. Regarding Scripture, I think an apostolic connection was a key for the canon, thus the Scripture of the New Testament is an apostolic witness. It is accurate to say the “church” is apostolic, since Jesus entrusted and enabled the witness of Him to apostles. Jesus never wrote any Scripture Himself! And regarding their ministry all over the place, one reason Christianity spread so fast was the apostles were not fighting among each other or with other disciples to gain power or prestige. And though even they had their disagreements, they continued working together with other disciples of Jesus to proclaim the Gospel. The Holy Spirit was the enabler! Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (NIV). Against all odds, the truth of the Messiah was told to Jewish people and to non-Jewish people in countries with extremely different cultures than Judea, and many people believed.
And a key call of their apostolic authority was to produce Scripture. Regarding Scripture, I think an apostolic connection was a key for the canon, thus the Scripture of the New Testament is an apostolic witness. It is accurate to say the “church” is apostolic, since Jesus entrusted and enabled the witness of Him to apostles. Jesus never wrote any Scripture Himself! And regarding their ministry all over the place, one reason Christianity spread so fast was the apostles were not fighting among each other or with other disciples to gain power or prestige. And though even they had their disagreements, they continued working together with other disciples of Jesus to proclaim the Gospel. The Holy Spirit was the enabler! Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (NIV). Against all odds, the truth of the Messiah was told to Jewish people and to non-Jewish people in countries with extremely different cultures than Judea, and many people believed.
A look
at the twelve apostles is a history which mirrors the ministry of the One they
followed. Discounting Judas Iscariot who
betrayed Jesus, and instead acknowledging Matthias who took his place, of the
twelve apostles, at least ten, and probably eleven of them were murdered for
their ministry work. John was probably the
only one of the twelve apostles to die a natural death, yet in his life, he
knew much persecution. Thus we have
tragedy with all, yet it was followed by triumph. Matthew 19:28 records the promise by Jesus
that the apostles will have thrones in heaven.
And the largest triumph is that the martyring of eleven apostles only
enhances the fact that these men who were willing to die for Jesus were likewise
willing to live for Him.
For the next 12 blog posts, I am going to
write a bit about all twelve apostles. One
of my great used Christian bookstore finds of all time was a paperback
entitled, The Search of the Twelve Apostles by Dr. William
McBirnie. That book is still in print
though it was first published in the 1973.
Considering the limited written information available about this team of
Jewish religious zealots who ended up scattered in multiple countries, the
travelling and research by Dr. McBirnie to gain information about the Twelve is
unprecedented. When it comes to theories
about countries where apostles ministered in, I have gotten most facts from the writings of early Christians or from Eusebius, a church historian, yet my starting point was the extensive research of Dr. McBirnie, a man I have
never met, yet whom I cannot wait to talk to, though I will probably have to wait until
heaven.
At this point I say: Enjoy!
Hunter Irvine
I like the group effort of this video, and it has a sweet finale. Do know that Man from Galilee was the Messiah, God incarnate:
I like the group effort of this video, and it has a sweet finale. Do know that Man from Galilee was the Messiah, God incarnate:
Bibliography for the common sources for the twelve posts on the Twelve Apostles
Eusebius.
Eusebius’ Ecclesiastical History.
Translated by C.F. Cruse.
Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson, 1998.
McBirnie,
William. The Search for the Twelve Apostles.
Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, 1973.
Roberts,
Alexander, and James Donaldson. eds. The Ante-Nicene
Fathers: The Writings of the Fathers Down to
A.D. 325. 1867.
Digital Reprint, Albany, Oregon: SAGE
Software, 1996.
[1] W.E. Vine, Vine’s
Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words: Comprehensive Dictionary of the
Original Greek Words with their Precise Meanings for English Readers
(McLean, Virginia: MacDonald Publishing Company, [no date]), 65.
[2] Eusebius, Ecclesiastical
History, trans. C.F. Cruse (Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson, 1998), 35.
