The Word
| 29 AD | 10 days after Yeshua HaMashiach Ascended the Church was born at Pentacost when Ruach HaKodesh indwelt the believers. |
| 29-95 AD | Disciples and Apostles spread the Gospel. |
| 95-300 AD | Early church grows and spreads over the known world |
| 300-1500 AD | State and church form to produce a political/religious system that gradually stifles the Gospel. However true believers still get the truth out despite this. Many die at the hands of the political church for defending the Gospel. |
Yeshua chose twelve men to be His disciples. In the Gospel of Matthew we find the disciples (Apostles) named for the first time.
Matthew 10:1-4 "He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness. 2 These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him."
The disciples were really a mixture of different personalities. Let's look at them, one at a time, to get a better idea of who Yeshua entrusted with the most important mission on the history of the Word, short of His own.
Peter was a fisherman and the brother of Andrew, more about him later. Peter was always ready to jump in and say something, but most of the time he said the wrong thing. He was from Galilee and spoke with the rough country accent of that region. Galileans were looked upon as simple country folks to the more sophisticated elite of Judea and Jerusalem. He was a Jew who kept the Law of Moses, as were all the apostles. Of course, by this time the Law had been codified into a system of do's and don'ts that sometimes caused the follower to disobey the true Law of G-d. Traditions had been developed to cover every conceivable area of life, especially on behavior during the Sabbath. Peter had been raised in this tradition.
What we fail to see in Peter is what the L-rd actually used, his weaknesses. Peter was one of the three who were closest to the L-rd Yeshua. The other two were James and John. He was present at the L-rd's transfiguration on the mountain and at his crucifixion. While Peter had the high point of identifying Yeshua as the Son of G-d, the Messiah, Peter denied that he even knew Yeshua when pressed by questions of those around him on the night Yeshua was betrayed. Later, after Yeshua' resurrection, Peter was again reinstated by the risen Mashiach.
No one would ever claim that Peter was an intellectual. However, he preached the first major sermon on Pentecost in which 3000 were saved. He also wrote the books 1 Peter and 2 Peter in the Brit Hadashah (New Testament). His writing, inspired Scripture, breathed by Ruach HaKodesh, spans the topics of personal spiritual growth to the great day of judgment of the world. What Peter couldn't have done in his own strength, he did in the strength and power of Ruach HaKodesh.
Acts 2:41 "Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day."
We know that Peter was one of the chief leaders in the Jerusalem Church. However, when the persecution of the believers came, Peter and most of the other believers left Jerusalem. He escaped from prison, through the help of an angel in AD 44. This story can be read in Acts 12:1-17.
We also know that Peter was married and traveled with his wife. There is evidence of this fact in Paul's writing (Cephas is Peter):
1 Corinthians 9:5 "Don't we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do the other apostles and the L-rd's brothers and Cephas ?"
We also know from Paul's writing that Peter spent some time in Antioch. By this time he may have been on the road taking the Gospel to the surrounding nations.
Peter, according to tradition, died by crucifixion in an upside down position. It is said that he requested to be crucified this way because he did not consider himself worthy to die in the same way Mashiach was crucified. He died around the year 68 AD under the hands of the Romans. Whether Peter was ever actually in Rome has not been proven. The story of his being the first bishop of Rome is not historically proven. Some scholars have suggested that his two books may have been written from Babylon. There is strong evidence of this if one studies the location of the readers to whom Peter writes. The locations suggest the point of origin of his message to be from Babylon, not Rome. However, this too is speculation and cannot be proven historically.
Andrew was the Apostle who was always bringing people to Yeshua. He was a follower of John the Baptist and brought Peter to Yeshua:
John 1:40-41 "Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Yeshua. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, "We have found the Messiah"
Later it was Andrew who brought a little boy to Yeshua when Yeshua fed the multitude with just a little boy's lunch:
John 6:8-9 "Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up, "Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?""
Tradition about Andrew says that he traveled and preached in various parts of Greece and Asia Minor. It also says that he was martyred, being crucified at Patrae in Achaiah. It is said that he was crucified on an x shaped cross. Thus the x shaped cross has come to be known as St. Andrews Cross.
James was one of the inner circle with his brother, John, and Simon Peter. He was a faithful minister of the L-rd and was present for all the major events of Yeshua' ministry. He was put to death in AD 44, shortly before Passover, by Herod Aggrippa I.
Acts 12:1-2 "It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword."
His martyrdom was the beginning of a great persecution of believers. It was following this time that believers began leaving Jerusalem in great numbers, spreading the Gospel.
John was very close to the L-rd Yeshua. He is the author of the Gospel of John, the epistles of I, II, III John, and the Book of the Revelation. He and his brother, James, were called the "Sons of Thunder" by Yeshua because of their impetuous nature. The mother of James and John, Salome, came to Yeshua and asked if her two sons could have thrones on either side of Yeshua when he came into the kingdom.
Matthew 20:20-23 "Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Yeshua with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him. "What is it you want?" he asked. She said, "Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom." "You don't know what you are asking," Yeshua said to them. "Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?" "We can," they answered. Yeshua said to them, "You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.""
Whether James and John put their mother up to this, we don't know. we know that John stayed near the L-rd Yeshua during the trial and crucifixion, that he was at the foot of the cross with Yeshua' mother, Mary. John remained in Jerusalem serving there in the local congregation long after the persecution had started. He was still in Jerusalem 15 years after the persecution brought about by Saul of Tarsus, who later became a believer in Yeshua and became Paul the Apostle. He left Jerusalem prior to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman General Titus in 70 AD, and probably resettled in Ephesus.
John was the only one of the apostles who was not martyred. Tradition has it that the Roman Emperor Domitian attempted to kill him by having him thrown into a vat of boiling oil. The oil, according to tradition, did not harm him. Later, he was exiled to the island of Patmos, where he received the prophetic vision from Mashiach and wrote the book of Revelation. The time of his death is not known for certain, but is reckoned to be somewhere between 90AD and 120AD.
The name Philip means 'Lover of Horses.' He came from the same town as Peter and Andrew. He is mentioned as being present in several verses. The call of Yeshua is recorded in the Gospel of John:
John 1:43-44 "The next day Yeshua decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, "Follow me." Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida."
Philip was responsible for bringing Bartholomew (Nathaneal) to Yeshua. He was present in Jerusalem after the ascension and on the day of Pentecost. Tradition has it that he preached in Phrygia. Tradition also says that he died in Hierapolis. Since John is the only Apostle who was not martyred, we must assume that Philip met a martyr's death.
Yeshua called Bartholomew an honest man. We know that he was from Cana of Galilee. The Gospel of John is the only one that talks about Nathanael. However, the others, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, all mention Bartholomew. So, it is assumed that they are talking about the same person. The name Nathanael means 'gift of G-d.' The name Bartholomew means 'son of Tolmai.' The prefix Bar means 'son of,' as is Simon Bar Jonah, Simon the son of Jonah. Various traditions say that he preached the Gospel in India, Arabia, and other places. The exact location of his ministry could be any or all of the places mentioned. The time of his death and place is uncertain.
Thomas doubted that Yeshua HaMashiach had risen from the dead. He was an inquisitive person, always the one to raise a question. When Yeshua declared that he was going away, Thomas questioned:
John 14:5 "Thomas said to him, "L-rd, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?""
After Yeshua had risen from the dead and appeared to the other disciples, Thomas said that he didn't believe it:
John 20:24-25 "Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Yeshua came. So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the L-rd!" But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.""
Yeshua made a special point of demonstrating the fact that he had risen to Thomas:
John 20:26-29 "A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Yeshua came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe." Thomas said to him, "My L-rd and my G-d!" Then Yeshua told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.""
Tradition says that Thomas ministered in India and perhaps Persia, his death was a martyr's death, he was killed with a spear in India or Persia.
Tax collectors were hated because they worked for the occupying force, the Romans. They were considered traitors to the nation Israel, which wanted a return to the kingdom under a Jewish king. The Romans ruled and had even placed a non-Jew, Herod, on the thrown as the ruler of Galilee. So for the Jews a tax collector was considered lower than low, much like the Nazi collaborators in France during the Second World War. Tax collectors were relegated to the rank of sinner, according to the Jews. Matthew was a Jew, his home was in Capernaum, and he was a man of wealth, not uncommon for a tax collector. Matthew also wrote the Gospel of Matthew.
Yeshua, however, collected his Apostles from places the Jews would have never suspected. When Yeshua made his call on Matthew it was for time and eternity:
Matthew 9:9 "As Yeshua went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector's booth. "Follow me," he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him."
Matthew remained in Jerusalem for about fifteen years after Mashiach had risen and ascended into heaven. He then went to Persia and beyond to carry the Gospel message. He died in Ethiopia as a martyr according to some accounts.
James was not called the less because he was less important, but because he was shorter than James, the son of Zebedee. He became one of the two key leaders in the Jerusalem Church. He is the author of the Epistle of James.
He was killed in Jerusalem by the Scribes and Pharisees by throwing him down from the temple. Following this they stoned him and beat out his brains with a club. As with most of the Apostles, he died in the service of the L-rd Yeshua HaMashiach.
Thaddaeus was one of the twelve. He also may have been referred to in some translations of the Bible as Lebbeus. There is little information on his life and ministry except that he may have ministered at Edessa, where he founded a church.
Even though little may have been written about many of the apostles, they are still the chief foundation stones the L-rd used to found the church in the world.
Simon was another of those who wouldn't have been selected by the religious elite of the day. The fact that he was a zealot would have been enough to send others away in fear. The zealots were sworn to fight for the liberation of Israel from the Romans. Some suggest that they were assassins who removed collaborators with the Romans by killing them. The dagger was the zealots main weapon. Obviously, this man became one of the eleven faithful apostles. Not much is mentioned about this Simon in tradition. The name Simon is a very common one in the Bible, both Old and New Testaments.
He may have been the most highly educated and capable man of all the disciples. However, as the Bible clearly indicates, he was known as the future betrayer of Yeshua from the beginning. Yeshua mentions him without naming him in several passages, the following is an example:
John 6:70-71 "Then Yeshua replied, "Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!" (He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, who, though one of the Twelve, was later to betray him.)"
In the Gospel of John, we are given some more information about the character of Judas:
John 12:3-7 "Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Yeshua' feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, "Why wasn't this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year's wages." He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. "Leave her alone," Yeshua replied. "It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial."
Judas betrayed Yeshua for 30 pieces of silver, later repented of what he had done, and committed suicide by hanging himself. A sad ending to a life that had it all and gave it away for a little money.
The disciples believed that it was necessary to find a replacement for Judas, since there were now only eleven apostles.
Acts 1:24-26 "Then they prayed, "L-rd, you know everyone's heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs." Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles."
Beyond this short account there is nothing else mentioned about Matthias. Tradition has it that he went to Ethiopia, where he preached the gospel. He suffered martyrdom in Ethiopia for his witness to Mashiach, also according to tradition.
Saul of Tarsus was a Pharisee who hated the church. It was his ambition to destroy the church and all believers of Yeshua HaMashiach wherever he found them. He was on his way from Jerusalem to Damascus when the L-rd Yeshua HaMashiach appeared to him, struck him blind, and gave him a new mission to build the church. Paul received his sight a few days after the Damascus road experience and became the greatest witness for Yeshua HaMashiach the world has ever known. The young Saul was present at the stoning of Stephen, the first Mashiachian Martyr.
Acts 7:58 "dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul."
If you think Paul was a weak kneed individual, think again:
Acts 8:3 "But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison."
Yeshua gave him the name Paul and commissioned him to take the gospel to the gentiles. He wrote approximately 2/3 of the New Testament and was a tireless worker. The majority of the Book of Acts is about Paul's missionary journeys. I recommend reading the Book of Acts to get an understanding of Paul and his ministry. Below is a small section of the text describing Paul's becoming a completed Jew:
Acts 9:3-9 "As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" 5 "Who are you, L-rd?" Saul asked. "I am Yeshua, whom you are persecuting," he replied. "Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do." The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. 8 Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything."
For the rest of Paul's life and ministry, you'll have to read most of the balance of Acts. Paul traveled extensively to the gentile nations and is responsible for the gospel going to Europe. He was arrested on a false charge in Jerusalem by the Jews and put in prison. He appealed to Caesar, Paul being a Roman citizen, and was sent to Rome for trial. Tradition has it that he was martyred there, being beheaded with a sword. His death occurred in approximately 66 AD.
Copyright (C) 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001 by James E. Ball