CIM Briefing Papers

C.I.M. Outline #29

           THE APOSTLES: THE FOUNDATION OF THE CHURCH

I.   Introduction

     A.   They are the foundation of the Church.  Eph. 2:19,20.

     B.   According to Acts 1: 21ff., there seems to have been
          three qualifications to be one of The Twelve: 

          1.   To have been with Jesus during his whole time of
               ministry.

          2.   To have been baptized by John.

          3.   A witness of the resurrection.

     C.   They were chosen only after Jesus spent the entire
          night in prayer.  Lk. 6:12,13.  

     D.   They spent three years in training with Jesus.

     E.   Four lists of The Twelve are given in the NT.  They are
          found in Matt.  10:2ff., Mark 3:16ff., Luke 6:14ff.,
          and Acts 1:13ff.  The Twelve are arranged in three
          groups of 4 each.

II.  The Twelve

     A.   PETER:  He is the most prominent of the 12.  He is
          always listed first in the lists.  We also know more
          about Peter than the other 12.  His Aramaic name was
          Simeon (Acts 15:14 and in IIPet. 1:1 this is what he
          calls himself.  Simon is the gentile form).  Jesus
          later gave him the name "Peter" (the Greek form) or
          "Cephas" (the Aramaic) meaning "Rock".  Peter was
          brought to Christ by his brother, Andrew, who also
          became one of the 12.  His father was John (Jn. 1:42.)
          The family was in the fish business.  Tradition says
          they marketed sun-dried fish in Jerusalem.  Peter was
          from Bethsaida but also lived in Capernaum.  He was
          married and took his wife with him on missionary
          journeys (ICor. 9:5).  He wrote the two Epistles which
          bare his name, and may have had much input into Mark's
          gospel, as he was a close friend to John Mark.  (Note: 
          If his name means "Rock" and his father's name was
          "John" then in English, Peter's full name was "Rock
          Johnson"!!).

          Ministry:  He was the spokesman for the 12, and one of
          the inner circle.  Peter is the first Apostle to
          associate with the gentile mission, though he was
          largely an apostle to his own people.  He was
          imprisoned for his faith, and upon his release he
          traveled outside of Palestine.  Where exactly is
          difficult to determine.  According to the epistle of I
          Clement, Peter died in Rome with Paul during the
          Neronian persecution.  A second century source says he
          was crucified upside down.

     B.   ANDREW:  His name is Greek.  We are unaware of any
          Hebrew name.  He is Peter's brother, and by trade a
          fisherman from Galilee.  From Mark (2:29), we learn
          that he lived with Peter.  According to John's account,
          he was the first to follow Jesus (Jn. 1:35ff.).

          Ministry:  With only one or two exceptions, every time
          Andrew is mentioned in Scripture he is bringing someone
          to Jesus.  On one occasion he brought some Greeks to
          Jesus (Jn. 12) (I must not fail to mention that there
          is a strong tradition that these were Armenians who
          were emissaries of their King [Abgar]who was ill and
          wished to be healed by Jesus.  It was not uncommon to
          call gentiles "greeks") .  According to tradition he
          preached to the Scythians, who inhabited the land north
          of the Black Sea.  To the ancients, the Scythians were
          the most barbarous people on the face of the earth! 
          That land today is modern Russian.  Needless to say,
          Andrew is the patron saint of the Russian orthodox
          church.  Tradition also says Andrew preached in Achaia
          where he was arrested and crucified on an x-shaped
          cross.

     C.   JAMES:  He is possibly the older brother of John since
          in three of the lists he is mentioned first.  He was
          the son of Zebedee and Salome.  His Hebrew name is
          Jacob (I'm not sure where the english "James" comes
          from).  He was by trade a fisherman from Galilee, and
          from an apparently prosperous family since they had
          servants (Mk. 1:19,20).  There is a compelling
          tradition that Zebedee had a branch office in Jerusalem
          as he supplied, among others, the high priest and his
          family with fish.  As one of The Twelve, James was one
          of the "inner circle" along with his brother John and
          Peter.  Jesus gave he and his brother the nickname
          "Boanerges" (Mk. 3:17) which means in Aramaic "Sons of
          Thunder".  This may have to do with them being high-
          spirited Galileans.  One occasion they requested to be
          able call fire down on the Samaritans who refused
          hospitality to Jesus and his disciples (Lk. 9:51-56). 
          According to Luke, James and John were business
          partners with Peter (Lk. 5:10).  It is also a
          possibility that Jesus was related (first cousins) to
          James and John through his mother Mary.  At the cross
          John mentions that Mary's sister was with her.  The
          other gospels identify her as Salome.  Salome may have
          been the first "Yuppie" as she appeals to Jesus that
          her sons have a prominent place when he inaugurates His
          kingdom (Matt. 20:20ff.)!  She may have made this
          appeal based on their blood-relationship and the fact
          that she provided financial support (Mk.15:41).

          Ministry:  James is the first of The Twelve to be
          martyred (about A.D.44).  Luke says he was killed by
          Herod's sword (Acts 12:2).  Jesus apparently alluded to
          his future martyrdom (Mk.10:38).

     D.   JOHN:  He was the "Son of Thunder" who became known as
          the "Apostle of love".  It was to this disciple that
          Jesus entrusted the care of his mother (Jn.19:26,27). 
          He was the first disciple to visit the tomb on Easter
          morning.    According to Eusebius, John was of the
          priestly family.  This could possibly identify John
          with the unknown disciple accompanying Peter during the
          trials who knew the high priest (Jn. 18:15).  Anyone
          who reads John's Apocalypse must conclude that he had
          more than the usual knowledge of temple ritual.  For
          other information about John's family, see above.

          Ministry:  In Acts, he is closely associated with
          Peter, and for some time was a leader in the church in
          Jerusalem.  Later, he and Peter laid hands on the
          Samaritans (whom he wanted to destroy as a disciple!). 
          When John left Jerusalem is unknown, but he probably
          did not leave until Mary's death.  There are many
          legends and traditions about John.  Most of these put
          him in Asia Minor ministering at Ephesus where he died
          of old age.  He wrote the sublime gospel which bears
          his name as well as 3 epistles.  He wrote the book of
          Revelation while banished to the Isle of Patmos.  In
          our opinion, he wrote all five of these books before
          A.D. 70!

     E.   PHILIP:  His name is Greek and means "lover of horses". 
          He was from Bethsaida of Galilee, the village of Peter
          and Andrew.  Since the primary industry of this village
          was fishing it is likely Philip was also a fisherman. 
          He is reputed to be of the tribe of Zebulon.

          Ministry:  He is only mentioned in John's gospel.  He
          was the one who wondered how the 5000 could be fed,
          whether or not to bring the Greeks to Jesus, and what
          was the nature of the Father ("He who has seen me has
          seen the Father.")  It was also Philip who brought
          Nathanael to Jesus.  The earliest tradition has him
          preaching the gospel and being martyred in Hieropolis
          of Phrygia.  Tradition has it that he had four
          daughters who also ministered with him.  He is not to
          be confused with the deacon Philip in the book of Acts.

     F.   BARTOLOMEW:  Bartholomew means "son of Tolmai".  It is
          therefore, not his name.  Most scholars believe
          Nathanael is to be identified as Bartholomew.  Jerome
          believes he was of royal lineage descended from the
          line of David.  His evidence is the name which is a
          family name in David's line.  If he is Nathanael, he
          was from Cana of Galilee.  When he was told that Jesus
          was from Nazareth he replied: "Can any good thing come
          out of Nazareth?"

          Ministry:  Except for his appearance in the lists, he
          is never mentioned in the gospels or Acts.  If is he is
          to be identified as Nathanael, he was brought to Jesus
          by Philip (Jn. 1:45-51).  He is said to have preached
          in India, Armenia, and with Philip, preached in
          Phrygia.  He is said to have been martyred in Albana in
          modern Azerbaijan.

     G.   THOMAS:  His name is Aramaic meaning "twin".  John uses
          the Greek rendering "Didymus"  which means the same
          thing.  Because of his name it is assumed that he had a
          twin brother or sister.  For all of time at least, he
          is known as "Doubting Thomas" because of the incident
          in the upper room.  

          Ministry:  Tradition says he preached to the Parthians,
          Medes, Persians, Carmanians, Hyrcanians, Bactrians,
          Magians, and finally in India where he died.  I went to
          seminary with a fellow from the church Martoma which
          claimed Thomas as its founder.  The tradition is very
          old.  We know that there were christians in India in
          the 4th century.

     H.   MATTHEW:  Luke gives his name as Levi.  The name
          Matthew (Matthias) means "gift of God" and may be the
          name given him by the Lord as he did other disciples. 
          He was the son of Alphaeus.  The name Levi could mean
          he was of the tribe of Levi.  By profession he worked
          for the Romans as a tax-collector.  This of course
          means he was hated by the people.  His home was
          Capernaum on the Sea of Galilee.

          Ministry:  Matthew's first act after conversion was to
          invite Jesus to a feast at his house with his only
          friends, other tax-collectors and sinners (Matt. 9:10). 
          The traditions about Matthew seem fanciful.  It does
          seem that he ministered somewhere in Asia, i.e. Persia. 
          He is author of the first Gospel.  Jerome (4th and 5th
          Cent.) says it was originally written in Aramaic then
          translated into Greek.  He says the Aramaic version
          still existed in his day.

     I.   JAMES:  He is known as the Son of Alphaeus and James,
          the Less (Mk. 15:40).   He may have been called "the
          Less" (Grk. "mikros) because he was small or because he
          was young.  He is the Apostle we know the least about. 
          If James the son of Alphaeus is to be identified with
          James the Less from the Mark passage, we then know his
          mother was Mary and that he had a brother named Joses
          (Joseph).  If his father, Alphaeus, was the same as the
          man who is the father of Levi (Matthew) them it is
          possible that James and Matthew are brothers.  He too,
          was from Capernaum and a Galilean.  Barclay presents an
          interesting thesis about James.  Since the last four
          Apostles are lumped together they must have had
          something in common.  He believes they were all members
          of the Zealot Party, a group wanting to establish
          autonomy from Rome.  This presents an interesting
          scenario.  Here we have Matthew, a tax-collector,
          working for the Romans and his brother, James, a
          Zealot!  The only way this could happen is by the
          reconciliation provided by the Lord!

          Ministry:  The best tradition has it that he preached
          in Syria.

     J.   THADDEUS:  He is called Thaddeus by Matthew and Mark. 
          Luke calls him Judas, son of James.  In late
          manuscripts, (see KJV) in Matthew's account, he is
          called "Lebbaeus, who is surnamed Thaddeus".  We are
          not sure of the identity of the James said to be his
          father.  Some early historians identify Thaddeus as the
          son of James the elder, the son of Zebedee.  So, they
          are saying there was a father-son combination among The
          Twelve.  This however, is only conjecture.  The only
          time he is mentioned is at the Last Supper when he asks
          Jesus a question.  He is referred to as "Judas, not
          Iscariot".  One latin manuscript calls him a Zealot. 
          Eusebius says he was one of the seventy (Lk.10:1ff.,
          due to a textual problem it is unclear whether or not
          the number is 70 or 72.).

          Ministry:  According to legend he preached in Northern
          Mesopotamia and Armenia, where he was finally killed
          with arrows at the foot of Ararat!  Seriously!

     K.   SIMON:  He is called "Simon the Zealot" and "Simon the
          Cananean".  "Cananean" is the Aramaic rendering of
          "Zealot".  From Josephus and archaeology we now know of
          a political party known as the Zealots.  It was this
          radical group that ultimately caused the invasion of
          the Roman armies in A.D. 70.  He may have joined Jesus'
          group because he saw Jesus as a possible political
          leader who would lead in a revolt against Rome.  It is
          significant to note that Simon was still with The
          Twelve after the resurrection.

          Ministry:  Not much is known.  He was supposed to have
          gone to Egypt, Africa and Britain.  

     L.   JUDAS:  "The Betrayer", "The Traitor", "The Son of
          Perdition".  Jesus said of him that "it would have been
          better if he had never been born".  He may have been
          named for a well-known Jewish hero at that time--Judas
          Maccabeus.  He was probably from the tribe of Judah and
          the only disciple from Judea.  His father was Simon
          from the village of Kerioth.  One of the most important
          things to note about Judas is that no one ever
          suspected that he was a phony.  In fact, they trusted
          him so much he was the treasurer of the Twelve.  At the
          last passover, he had the position of honor at the
          "table".

     M.   MATTHIAS:  He was chosen to take the place of Judas by
          the OT method of drawing lots.  Earlier tradition says
          he was one of the 70 (72).

          Ministry:  One tradition has him ministering to
          cannibals.  Another says he was martyred in Judea.


 
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