13th Apostle
13th Apostle
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Traditionally, the Twelve Apostles include Peter (whom some denominations consider the "Prince of the Apostles"); Andrew, James the Greater, James the Lesser, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, Thaddeus, Simon, and Judas Iscariot. Judas had been one of the Twelve, but he betrayed Jesus and killed himself. With Judas gone, Matthias became one of the Twelve.[Ac 1:15-26] In the Synoptic Gospels, Mark names the Twelve, Matthew follows Mark, and Luke substitutes Jude for Mark's Thaddeus. John refers to the Twelve without naming them all, adds the name Nathanael, and uses the term "beloved disciple" (presumably for John). Jesus' inner circle of twelve disciples probably corresponds to the twelve tribes of Israel.[Mt. 19:28][Lu. 22:28-30] In the Synoptics, Jesus selects Peter, James, and John to witness his divine Transfiguration and to be with him when he prays at Gethsemane. In Mark, the Twelve are obtuse, failing to understand the importance of Jesus' miracles and parables. The book of Acts recounts the deeds of the apostles in the years after Jesus' crucifixion.
Paul of Tarsus claimed the title of Apostle to the Gentiles, even though other apostles actively recruited Gentiles and Peter's role was never restricted to just Apostle to the Jews (see also Circumcision controversy in early Christianity, Incident at Antioch, and Primacy of Simon Peter), indeed traditionally the first gentile convert is considered to be Cornelius the Centurion, who was recruited by Peter. Paul claimed a special commission from the risen Jesus, separate from the Great Commission given to the Twelve. Paul's mentor Barnabas is also termed an apostle. Paul did not restrict the term apostle to the Twelve, either because he didn't know it or resisted it. This restricted usage appears in Revelation. In modern usage, major missionaries are sometimes termed apostles, as in Saint Patrick, Apostle of Ireland.
The period of Early Christianity during the lifetimes of the apostles is called the Apostolic Age. In the second century, association with the apostles was esteemed as evidence of authority and orthodoxy. Paul's epistles were accepted as scripture (see Development of the New Testament canon), and two of the four gospels were associated with apostles, as were other New Testament works. Various Christian texts, such as the Didache and the Apostolic Constitutions, were attributed to the Twelve Apostles. Bishops traced their lines of succession back to individual apostles, who were said to have established churches across great territories. Christian bishops have traditionally claimed authority deriving, by apostolic succession, from the Twelve. Early church fathers came to be associated with apostles, such as Pope Clement I with Peter the Apostle (see apostolic fathers). The Apostles' Creed, popular in the West, was said to have been composed by the apostles themselves.
The word "apostle" has two meanings, the broader meaning of a messenger and the narrow meaning of an early apostle directly linked to Jesus Christ. The more general meaning of the word is translated into Latin as 'missio', and from this word we get 'missionary.'
The word apostle comes from the Greek word ἀπόστολος (apostolos). According to the Bauer lexicon, Walter Bauer's Greek-English Lexicon of the NT: "…Judaism had an office known as apostle (שליח)". See also Proselytes. The Friberg Greek Lexicon gives a broad definition as one who is sent on a mission, a commissioned representative of a congregation, a messenger for God, a person who has the special task of founding and establishing churches. The UBS Greek Dictionary also describes an apostle broadly as a messenger. The Louw-Nida Lexicon gives a very narrow definition of a special messenger, generally restricted to the immediate followers of Jesus, or extended to some others like Paul or other early Christians active in proclaiming the gospel.
The Apostles are portrayed in the New Testament as having been Galilean Jews. The names of the majority of them are Hebrew names, although some had Greek names. That the Twelve Apostles were all Jews is supported in several ways. Jesus’ statements that his mission is directed only to those of the house of Israel,[Mt 10:1-6] [15:22-24] [Lk 22:30] imply that the Twelve Apostles were all Judean Hebrews. For Christians who view the Hebrew prophets as speaking of Jesus and Christianity, support for the Jewishness of the Apostles is found, on the one hand, in the prophetic assertions that it was the Jews whom God had chosen to bring all the nations (the "Gentiles") to faith in him, and that, on the other hand, Jesus appointed the Twelve Apostles kingship and told them that they will sit on thrones, administering, the affairs of the twelve tribes of Israel.[Lk 22:29-30] Even the "supernumerary Apostle", the "Apostle to the Gentiles", Saul of Tarsus, who said that Jesus revealed himself to him only after his ascension and appointed him to his mission,[Acts 9:1-19] [Gal 1:11-12] was a Jew by birth and always proud of it,[1:14] although since his conversion to Jesus he adopted the Roman surname Paulus as his first name, rendered in English as Paul.[Acts 13:9]
The Gospel of Mark[Mk 6:7-13] states that Jesus initially sent out these twelve in pairs,[cf. Mt. 10:5-42] [Lk 9:1-6] to towns in Galilee. Literal readings of the text state that their initial instructions were to heal the sick and drive out demons, and in the Gospel of Matthew to raise the dead, but some scholars read this more metaphorically as instructions to heal the spiritually sick and thus to drive away wicked behaviour. They are also instructed to "take nothing for their journey, except a staff only: no bread, no wallet, no money in their purse, but to wear sandals, and not put on two tunics", and that if any town rejects them they ought to shake the dust off their feet as they leave, a gesture which some scholars think was meant as a contemptuous threat (Miller 26). Their carrying of just a staff (Matthew and Luke say not even a staff) is sometimes given as the reason for the use by Christian Bishops of a staff of office, in those denominations that believe they maintain an apostolic succession.
There is also evidence that follows those marked Apostle. Paul made his case to the Corinthian Church that he was an apostle by the evidence of God's power working through him. Paul states, "The things that mark an apostle—signs, wonders and miracles—were done among you with great perseverance."[2 Co. 12:12] (NIV)
Later in the Gospel narratives the Twelve Apostles are described as having been commissioned to preach the Gospel to "all the nations,"[Mt 28:19] [Mk 13:10][16:15] regardless of whether Jew or Gentile.
The four Gospels give varying names of the twelve (see also the Gospel according to the Hebrews). According to the list occurring in each of the three Synoptic Gospels, [Mk 3:13-19] [Mt 10:1-4] [Lk 6:12-16] the Twelve some of whom chose to follow Jesus , and some who were called by Jesus, near the beginning of his ministry, those "whom he also named apostles", were, according to the Gospels of Mark and Matthew:
Paul of Tarsus claimed the title of Apostle to the Gentiles, even though other apostles actively recruited Gentiles and Peter's role was never restricted to just Apostle to the Jews (see also Circumcision controversy in early Christianity, Incident at Antioch, and Primacy of Simon Peter), indeed traditionally the first gentile convert is considered to be Cornelius the Centurion, who was recruited by Peter. Paul claimed a special commission from the risen Jesus, separate from the Great Commission given to the Twelve. Paul's mentor Barnabas is also termed an apostle. Paul did not restrict the term apostle to the Twelve, either because he didn't know it or resisted it. This restricted usage appears in Revelation. In modern usage, major missionaries are sometimes termed apostles, as in Saint Patrick, Apostle of Ireland.
The period of Early Christianity during the lifetimes of the apostles is called the Apostolic Age. In the second century, association with the apostles was esteemed as evidence of authority and orthodoxy. Paul's epistles were accepted as scripture (see Development of the New Testament canon), and two of the four gospels were associated with apostles, as were other New Testament works. Various Christian texts, such as the Didache and the Apostolic Constitutions, were attributed to the Twelve Apostles. Bishops traced their lines of succession back to individual apostles, who were said to have established churches across great territories. Christian bishops have traditionally claimed authority deriving, by apostolic succession, from the Twelve. Early church fathers came to be associated with apostles, such as Pope Clement I with Peter the Apostle (see apostolic fathers). The Apostles' Creed, popular in the West, was said to have been composed by the apostles themselves.
The word "apostle" has two meanings, the broader meaning of a messenger and the narrow meaning of an early apostle directly linked to Jesus Christ. The more general meaning of the word is translated into Latin as 'missio', and from this word we get 'missionary.'
The word apostle comes from the Greek word ἀπόστολος (apostolos). According to the Bauer lexicon, Walter Bauer's Greek-English Lexicon of the NT: "…Judaism had an office known as apostle (שליח)". See also Proselytes. The Friberg Greek Lexicon gives a broad definition as one who is sent on a mission, a commissioned representative of a congregation, a messenger for God, a person who has the special task of founding and establishing churches. The UBS Greek Dictionary also describes an apostle broadly as a messenger. The Louw-Nida Lexicon gives a very narrow definition of a special messenger, generally restricted to the immediate followers of Jesus, or extended to some others like Paul or other early Christians active in proclaiming the gospel.
The Apostles are portrayed in the New Testament as having been Galilean Jews. The names of the majority of them are Hebrew names, although some had Greek names. That the Twelve Apostles were all Jews is supported in several ways. Jesus’ statements that his mission is directed only to those of the house of Israel,[Mt 10:1-6] [15:22-24] [Lk 22:30] imply that the Twelve Apostles were all Judean Hebrews. For Christians who view the Hebrew prophets as speaking of Jesus and Christianity, support for the Jewishness of the Apostles is found, on the one hand, in the prophetic assertions that it was the Jews whom God had chosen to bring all the nations (the "Gentiles") to faith in him, and that, on the other hand, Jesus appointed the Twelve Apostles kingship and told them that they will sit on thrones, administering, the affairs of the twelve tribes of Israel.[Lk 22:29-30] Even the "supernumerary Apostle", the "Apostle to the Gentiles", Saul of Tarsus, who said that Jesus revealed himself to him only after his ascension and appointed him to his mission,[Acts 9:1-19] [Gal 1:11-12] was a Jew by birth and always proud of it,[1:14] although since his conversion to Jesus he adopted the Roman surname Paulus as his first name, rendered in English as Paul.[Acts 13:9]
The Gospel of Mark[Mk 6:7-13] states that Jesus initially sent out these twelve in pairs,[cf. Mt. 10:5-42] [Lk 9:1-6] to towns in Galilee. Literal readings of the text state that their initial instructions were to heal the sick and drive out demons, and in the Gospel of Matthew to raise the dead, but some scholars read this more metaphorically as instructions to heal the spiritually sick and thus to drive away wicked behaviour. They are also instructed to "take nothing for their journey, except a staff only: no bread, no wallet, no money in their purse, but to wear sandals, and not put on two tunics", and that if any town rejects them they ought to shake the dust off their feet as they leave, a gesture which some scholars think was meant as a contemptuous threat (Miller 26). Their carrying of just a staff (Matthew and Luke say not even a staff) is sometimes given as the reason for the use by Christian Bishops of a staff of office, in those denominations that believe they maintain an apostolic succession.
There is also evidence that follows those marked Apostle. Paul made his case to the Corinthian Church that he was an apostle by the evidence of God's power working through him. Paul states, "The things that mark an apostle—signs, wonders and miracles—were done among you with great perseverance."[2 Co. 12:12] (NIV)
Later in the Gospel narratives the Twelve Apostles are described as having been commissioned to preach the Gospel to "all the nations,"[Mt 28:19] [Mk 13:10][16:15] regardless of whether Jew or Gentile.
The four Gospels give varying names of the twelve (see also the Gospel according to the Hebrews). According to the list occurring in each of the three Synoptic Gospels, [Mk 3:13-19] [Mt 10:1-4] [Lk 6:12-16] the Twelve some of whom chose to follow Jesus , and some who were called by Jesus, near the beginning of his ministry, those "whom he also named apostles", were, according to the Gospels of Mark and Matthew:
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