tHE aPOSTLES
Jesus
while here on this earth ordained twelve men to be His apostles: (Mark 3:14) “And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and
that he might send them forth to preach,” It is important that we note why Jesus
ordained these twelve men; He ordained them apostles so that they might go
“forth to preach.” In
Here is Webster’s definition of an apostle: “APOS'TLE, n. [L. apostalus; Gr. to send away, to sent.] A
person deputed to execute some important business; but appropriately, a
disciple of Christ commissioned to preach the gospel. Twelve persons were
selected by Christ for this purpose; and Judas, one of the number, proving an
apostate, his place was supplied by Matthias. [Acts 1]” I find it interesting
that Mr. Webster states that the apostles were men commissioned or selected by
Christ to preach the gospel; completely agreeing with what Jesus Himself
stated! In the Greek the word “apostle” means to send. Although Jesus did send
the apostles out on preaching missions while He was on this earth their real
work began after Jesus’ ascension. The title of “apostle” was given to the
twelve by Jesus Himself: (Luke 6:13) “And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also
he named apostles;”
The
twelve that Jesus chose may seem strange to some because they were not highly
educated men: (Acts 4:13)
“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John,
and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and
they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.” By any Jewish standard these men were
consider to be “unlearned and ignorant” men! This verse also indicates what a
difference being “with Jesus” can make. Jesus can and will change your life
also. Their occupation before Jesus chose them to be apostles might cause some
to question Jesus’ choice of His apostles: (Matt
4:18) “And Jesus, walking by
the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his
brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.” Some were just everyday common fishermen;
one was even a tax collector for the hated Roman government. Let us remember
that Jesus did not and does not look at the outside of a person; He knows what
is inside of us all.
Perhaps
some might not trust the preaching, teaching and writing of the apostles
considering just their background, however, Jesus did not send them to declare
the gospel without some assistance; He sent them help: (John 16:13) “Howbeit when he, the
Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not
speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come.” The Spirit of truth that Jesus refers to is of course
the Holy Spirit. Not only did the Holy Spirit “guide” them “into all truth” he
also reminded them of “all things” that Jesus spoke to them: (John
14:26) “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name,
he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance,
whatsoever I have said unto you.” Who do you trust? As for me I trust
Jesus and the choice that He made in choosing and sending His apostles.
There was one more
man that was suited to be an apostle of Jesus. He was chosen later; his name
was Saul [who came to be known as Paul]. He had been a forceful enemy of
Christianity. He was on the road to
-Bud