The Apostles

Before that time, I served as an elder for 29 years. Before that happened seven years ago, when I was thrust into the role of being pastor. Perhaps that word is an understatement, but it is an anniversary and a very special day for me in many respects. And today I'd like to talk about a group of people who made it possible for us to be here today. Their sacrifice, their commitment, their love of the Word of God, their eyewitness testimony made it possible for me to be here, for you to be here, for the gospel to be preached. They are literally called the foundation of the Church of God. And I'd like to talk about them today. They were an inspiring and foundational group of individuals in the New Testament known as the Apostles.

And that's what I'd like to talk about. Turn with me to 1 Corinthians 12 and verse 28 and see a statement that Paul makes about the Apostles. 1 Corinthians 12 beginning in verse 28. He says, and God has appointed these in the Church. First, Apostles. Second, prophets. Third, teachers. After that are miracles, the gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues. And then he begins to ask a question because not everyone can fill these rules.

We all have different gifts. We all have different reasons that we are serving in the Church of God in different ways. So he begins to ask these questions. Are all Apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? And of course, the answer to that question is no. Only certain individuals, according to either their natural talent or an expanded talent given to them through God's Holy Spirit as a gift. We all have different rules, and that included those who are mentioned here first, called the Apostles. Paul is saying that God has appointed special roles in the Church to serve the body of Jesus Christ and to be part of its literal foundation. The first he mentions here are the Apostles. Today I want to focus on the Apostles as a group, not so much them as individuals, but as a group. It's very important for us to appreciate the powerful example, their faith and their commitment, and what they did for all of us. As Paul mentioned in Ephesians 2, verse 19, he said, Now therefore you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone. Again, that was Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 19. And so, the Apostles and the Prophets are the foundation of the Church of God. In the New Testament, the Prophet's role was to be God's spokesman in the Church. The Apostles' role was to be God's envoy to a dying world. So they had two distinct, separate roles within the New Testament Church of God. So let's begin to see what experiences they had that, frankly, you and I never had and couldn't have. Let's see what experiences they had that set them apart. I'm going to start today by examining the calling of the original 12 disciples who became known as the 12 Apostles, because in time they were transformed from being just mere learners, which is what the disciple means, to being ones who would be sent out, which is what the word Apostle means. So let's go to Matthew 4 and verse 18. We'll see the calling of four of the original 12 disciples who became Apostles here in the book of Matthew, again chapter 4 and verse 18. It says, So I want you to notice there's no hesitation. This is one of the things that set apart those 12 foundational followers of Jesus Christ. When they were called, they responded immediately. They didn't hesitate. They didn't say, give me a couple of weeks to think about it. Give me a lifetime to think about it. And then I'll let you know. No, they responded immediately. They left their nets and they followed Him. Let's see the other example beginning in verse 21. Going down from there, He saw two brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and John his brother. In that boat, with Zebedee, their father, mending their nets, He called them and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed Him. Now, they were human. That could not have been easy. They're basically leaving an elderly father shackled with running his own business without two of probably his best-hired help were his two grown sons. And they're leaving. They're following Jesus Christ to become his disciples. But I want you to notice again that they did it immediately. It says here in verse 23, Jesus went about all Galilee teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. So, in the process of time, the Savior gathered twelve original disciples to His personal ministry. And these foundational followers became His apostles because they were personally trained by Him. They were witnesses of His entire ministry. And we'll see why that's so important in just a little bit. They came from various occupations. Some of them were fishermen.

One was a tax collector. Some of them were tradesmen, much like Jesus Christ was before He began His ministry. And one, I don't know if we could call it a profession, was a political zealot who was an instigator and wanted the Romans to be overthrown immediately. And he was zealous for the faith of the Jews and wanted to rid Israel of the domination of the Roman Empire. But not only did Jesus call Him, He spent a lot of time training them for a very special mission He would give them in Acts 1. And before we get to Acts 1, and He makes a proclamation to them about being His witnesses, He doesn't say that in a vacuum. He says that to them after spending a lot of time training them for what their future careers would be. Let's take a look at an example of this in Mark 6 and 7. That again, that is Mark 6 and 7. What He's going to do here, He doesn't ask any of the other followers, anyone else who may be with Him at this time, or following Him, or listening to Him, or observing Him, He only asks the twelve to do what He's about to say. Their role was different than our role. What they are asked to do is not what we are asked to do. They were part of a unique generation and part of a unique calling. Mark 6 and 7. And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out two by two, and give them power over unclean spirits. He commanded them to take nothing for the journey, except a staff, no bag, no bread, no copper, in their money belts, but to wear sandals, and not put on two tunics. So He tells them, don't take anything with you, no change in your pocket, nothing to prepare you on complete faith that your needs will be taken care of. That someone will respond to seeing you, that someone will come up and say, you can stay at my house, you can have dinner with my family tonight. So He tells them to ask them to do this. Beginning in verse 10, And He said to them, in whatever place you enter, how stay there until you depart from that place. And whoever will not receive you, nor hear you, you shall depart from there, shake off the dust from under your feet as a testimony against them. Assuredly I say unto you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, and for that city. So they went out, and they preached that people should repent. That's the core of the gospel message, isn't it? It all begins with repentance, leading to baptism, leading to receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit, leading to a lifetime of growth and change, becoming a new creature in Jesus Christ. Verse 13, And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them. Can you imagine how exciting this would have been for these 12 individuals? Jesus is training them even before they receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

They are able to do these things. This training is only for the apostles. Remember, verse 7 said, he called the 12 to himself, and it is a small taste of what their career would be like after his death and resurrection. He's saying to them, be prepared, get used to it, because I'm going to send you out to the world. You're going to have no visible means of support. You're going to have to depend on the kindness of others or God's intervention for even your most basic needs.

Food, shelter, to replace your clothing. All of these things you're going to have to depend, through faith, on God to supply you. What they were asked to do is not easy, and it required a lot of faith for, again, for even their basic needs to be met. So they were sent out in six teams of two each to prepare them for what their new career would be like after Jesus Christ was resurrected.

So what was the kind of training preparing them for? It was preparing them to be transformed from disciples, from just learners, students, into being ones who would be envoys and delicates of Jesus Christ to the world. That's what they were being prepared for. Other accounts of this or similar training are found also in Matthew chapter 10 verses 5 through 42, and Luke chapter 9 verses 1 through 6. So it's an event that is either duplicated or, again, they may be just similar events in different times of his ministry. But the point is, is they were being trained. They were being trained for something very special that only they could fulfill.

Now let's go to Acts chapter 1 and take a look at the context of the message that they are being given because of their training and because of who and what they were. Acts chapter 1 beginning in verse 1. If you'll turn there. Acts chapter 1 beginning in verse 1. The former account I made, of course this is Luke writing, this is like part 2. Part 1 was the book of Luke itself. O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day he was taken up, and he through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom he has chosen. So what we're going to see here in the next verses is something he does not give to others. He could have waited later and said this to the 120, who are just a few verses away that Peter will address. He doesn't do that. What he's about to say are commandments to the apostles. Continuing here in verse 3, to whom he also presented himself alive after his suffering by many infallible truths, being seen by them during 40 days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God, and being assembled together with them, that is the apostles, he commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem but to wait for the promise of the Father, which he said, you have heard from me. For John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. Verse 6. Therefore, when they had come together, they asked him, saying, Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom of Israel? And he said to them, it is not for you to know the times or seasons which the Father has put in his own authority, but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth.

So this is very important here because they were looking for a quick fix. Is it the day after tomorrow you're coming back and restoring the kingdom? We just want to know this. They have no idea of what the rest of their lives are going to be, being apostles, traveling in the strange cities, depending on God's grace and mercy and intervention year after year until the majority of them died as martyrs. Until you die. You work hard, you preach the gospel, you live a very unstable life in that you're constantly on the move proclaiming a very powerful message, and then at the end of it all, the odds are you're going to die. So I guess, as I said earlier, this is not easy, and they were given a commandment to do this to the end of the earth. Now, in context, what Jesus meant in their generation was to the known parts of the Roman Empire. That's what he meant in context by the end of the earth. Now, the greater commission beyond that is ours, and it is literally to the ends of the earth. The word in verse 2 here for apostles is from the Greek word which means one who is sent away. And again, that's different than being a learner. It's being one who is asked, instructed, commanded to be a delegate and an envoy, and who is sent away in order to preach a message, to proclaim a message. Their mission would be different than any others because they would be constantly traveling throughout the then known world preaching about the kingdom of God, and that, of course, included the resurrection of Jesus Christ. So this is a discussion Jesus Christ has for his apostles, what we're about to read. He was giving these 11 remaining apostles a special mission that they had been prepared for. We read about that in just a few minutes ago.

Being an apostle is not an office, it's a function, and this was a role that they were all about to play, beginning in verse 9. Now when he had spoken these things while they watched, he was taken up, and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly towards heaven, as he went up, behold two men stood by them in white apparel. They apparently were angels, they called them men here, who also said, men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven will so come in like a manner as you saw him go into heaven. Of course, we know that he will return, and his feet will again be on the Mount Olivet, on the Mount of Olives, and he will return in the same way. He will come out of heaven in a reverse of what he does here, and he will return to earth to establish the kingdom of God. Verse 12. Then they returned to Jerusalem from the Mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, the Sabbath day journey. And when they had entered, they went up into the upper room. This is the 11 apostles, and they're going to be listed here where they were staying. And here they are, Peter, James, not to be confused by the way of James, the half-brother of Jesus. He was called after the resurrection of Christ, common confusion, because the names are the same. John and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James, the son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas, the son of James. These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers. And in those days, Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, totally different Greek word here. This Greek word is Mephetes, which means, again, a learner, a pupil. He stood up in the midst of the disciples. All together, the number of the names was about 120, and said, Men and brethren, this scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke before by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus, for he was numbered with us and obtained part of this ministry, part of the Apostle ship, part of being one of the original 12, verse 18. Now this man purchased a field with the wages of iniquity, and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle of, and all of his entrails gushed out, verse 19, and it became known to all those dwelling in Jerusalem. So that field is called, in their own language, a caldama, which is the field of blood. For it is written in the book of Psalms, let his dwelling place be desolate, and let no one live in it, and let another take his office. All right, getting back to what Peter's saying here. Now therefore, of these men who have accompanied us, all the time that the Lord Jesus went out in and among us, beginning from the baptism of John to the day that he was taken out from us, one must become a witness with us of his resurrection. So when Jesus had told them they were going to be witnesses, he said, you're going to be, and here's the criteria, you were going to be eyewitnesses, someone who saw me in my physical ministry, someone who heard and was around the crucifixion, and someone who literally saw me after I had come out of the tomb.

That is the requirement to be one of these original 12. So your witness to me will be an eyewitness. Verse 23, and they proposed to Joseph Bar-Sabbas, who was named Justice and Matthew, and they prayed and said, you, O Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which of these two you have chosen to take part in this ministry, and apostleship from which Judas the transgression fell, that he might go to his own place. And they cast their lots, and a lot fell on Matthew, and he was numbered with the 11 apostles. So now they're full 12 again. By the way, the day of Pentecost hasn't occurred yet. They're still casting lots, like they used to do in the Old Covenant. In the New Covenant, God says, I give you a help. I give you my Holy Spirit, use it, and figure it out. So God isn't using lots to convey information to his church anymore. He's saying, instead of using physical things like lots, use the power of the Holy Spirit that I put within your very being. I want you to notice that the apostles have a different commission than the 120 disciples. The apostles were to be eyewitnesses of the entire ministry of Jesus Christ from his baptism to his physical ministry, human ministry, his crucifixion, and his resurrection. This is the real context of what it means when they were instructed to be witnesses. And we must be careful that we don't take that out of context. They were to go to the world to proclaim as eyewitnesses that they were personally there during these events. A witness is one who gives testimony, offers evidence of actual events, and evidence based on his or her personal knowledge.

So again, to recap, an apostle is one who is sent out to deliver an eyewitness account of the life of Jesus Christ and his teachings to others. The word apostle can have two meanings in the New Testament. The first meaning is the one that we're discussing. It's the function of the 12 people directly linked to Jesus Christ. Another is the meaning of being sent out as a personal delegate or envoy of Jesus Christ. And we'll see Paul and Timothy and others fell into that category later on. We can say that all apostles were disciples. We're all learners. We're all students. We're all trying to learn more about God's way of life. All apostles are disciples, but not all disciples are apostles.

So it's a different role. Let's see if the apostle John emphasized the message of being an eyewitness to what he saw regarding Jesus Christ in his lifetime. That's what Jesus told them they needed to do. They needed to be eyewitnesses. So let's see if John lived up to his part in 1 John, chapter 1, beginning in verse 1. Again, 1 John, chapter 1, beginning in verse 1.

Here's what John says.

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard. He's talking about his experience with Jesus Christ. He says, don't tell me how much you know. I heard him speak, which we have seen with our eyes. Don't tell me what kind of testimony or knowledge you have. I saw him with my own eyes. He lives. He is God, which we have looked upon and have handled concerning the word of life.

Don't tell me what you think about the word of God. He says, I touched him with my own hands. The life was manifested, and we have seen and bear witness. What are they bearing witness of? They're bearing witness of the fact that he personally saw Jesus Christ in his physical ministry, knows that he was crucified and dead, and saw him again after he was resurrected as the Son of God fully once again in spirit form. And bear witness and declare to you that eternal life, which was with the Father and was also manifested to us, that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us, and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. Verse 4, and these things we write to you that your joy may be full. This is the message which we have heard from him, him capitalized H. We heard this directly from Jesus Christ and declare to you that God is light and in him is no darkness at all.

What John is saying here is I'm an eyewitness to the life of Jesus Christ. I was there. I heard his voice. I saw him with my own eyes. I touched him with my own hands. When Jesus told the apostles in Acts chapter 2 and verse 7 that they would be witnesses, he didn't mean they would simply tell other people about Jesus. This isn't what this is about at all in context. It said that they would be eyewitnesses of his life and say I personally know him. I observed him healing others. I saw him feed thousands with a few fish and loaves of bread. I was there. I saw him heal. I witnessed him passing through a solid door to speak to us. I touched his scars. He is God. That is what their witness was.

The individuals that we've read about here were the original primary apostles. They were composed of men who personally witnessed the ministry of Jesus Christ. Again, they knew him when he was a alive in his physical ministry, when he was crucified, and they saw him and knew him when he was literally resurrected from the dead. They indeed were the ones who were sent away by Jesus Christ to preach the gospel to the then known world. And here's the key. It was this fact that they were eyewitnesses that gave them credibility. They preached the gospel powerfully and passionately beyond faith because faith is the evidence not seen. They didn't just have to rely on faith, like you and I do. There is a God that there was a Jesus Christ who walked on the earth, that the Bible is the Word of God. They, their senses, knew that there is a God and there was Jesus Christ. That is what gave them credibility. You cannot preach a message to be received unless you start with credibility. Otherwise, people don't care. So again, it was this fact that they were eyewitnesses that gave them credibility. And because of that credibility, their message was believable. It was credible, and thousands were convicted. And historically, this event is commonly known as the dispersion of the apostles, as a historical term for the event that occurred here.

Now, aside from the original 12 apostles, there's another group that can be called, we'll call them the secondary apostles. They were also sent out. Some of them saw Jesus Christ after his resurrection, like Paul. Some of them may not have. But the key connection that they all had together is they were all traveling individuals who were sent out as delegates and envoys of Jesus Christ, whose careers were totally changed from what they were doing before to a new message, a new meaning, in order to live their lives and preach the gospel and to fulfill their job as an envoy. So let's talk about who some of these were. These were prominent figures in the New Testament. Most notably Paul. We're certainly familiar with him. And even though their ministry or mission came after the life of Jesus, according to the original Greek, these individuals were also called apostles.

They, too, were ones who were sent away, and they lived lives, again, of frequent travel, preaching, and raising up congregations in cities where the gospel was proclaimed. And people responded because they had credibility, because they could say, they could look people in the eye and say, this isn't my opinion. This isn't what I believe. I know this, because I was there.

And I saw him and heard him and touched him. He's alive, and he is the Son of God.

So let's take a look at who some of these were. First of all, there's Jesus Christ himself. It's called an apostle in Hebrews chapter 1 and verse 3. He's called the apostle and high priest of our profession, and certainly he was one who was sent out. And there's Barnabas is referred to as an apostle in Acts chapter 14 and verse 4. Of course, Paul, a lot of scriptures, and we'll take a look at Paul a little more closely since there's a lot of information about him in Acts chapter 14 and verse 14. Apollos is referred to as an apostle in Corinthians chapter 4 verses 6 through 9.

Timothy and Silvanus are called apostles, mentioned in 1 Thessalonians chapter 1 and verse 1 and chapter 2 and verse 6. Ephephrodites in Philippians chapter 2 and verse 25, even though the King James version refers and uses the word messenger, it's actually the original Greek word, is apostellum, which means actually an apostle referring to him. There are two unnamed apostles in 2 Corinthians chapter 8 and verse 23 by the wording that Paul uses. We don't know who they are.

Then we get into some who are a little more controversial. The scholars like the debate. For example, there's James, the half-brother of Jesus and the leader of the Jerusalem church. Now, in Galatians chapter 1 verses 18 and 19, some scholars will read that and say Paul was alluding to the fact that James was an apostle. Others will say no. He doesn't say that at all. He says that he saw Peter, but none of the other apostles. And, oh, by the way, I did see James while I was there. So there's debate going on, depending on how you read the Greek, whether James, the half-brother of Jesus, was considered an apostle or not. I'll let them duke it out. I have no dog in a fight, and it has nothing to do with our salvation, so we won't linger there. I will say that he indeed appears to take more of a pastoral role in Jerusalem than someone who literally was sent out to the far reaches of the world. But again, I will let them duke it out. And then there's a controversial verse. Again, I'm not going to touch this with a 5,000-foot pole. Two individuals mentioned Adronicus and Junia. Junia may have been a female in Romans 16, verse 7, and it says, Salute Adronius and Juna, my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners, who are of note among the apostles, and who also were in Christ before me. Some scholars say that this says they were apostles. Other scholars say, oh, no, not at all. This basically says they were recognized and of note. They were appreciated and acknowledged by the apostles that they were exemplary believers. So, again, I'm not going to touch that one. I just thought I would mention it for the fact that it is controversial. There may have been many more, because hundreds of individuals witness to the ministry of Jesus Christ. Remember, in Acts 1, along with the original 12, there were 120 disciples that Peter spoke to. Some of them may have become secondary apostles. We don't know much about these individuals. There's only one that we really do know much about, as far as the secondary apostle, and that is the apostle Paul, of course. So, let's go to 1 Corinthians chapter 15 and see a few things that he says here. He's talking about a visit that he made to Jerusalem. 1 Corinthians chapter 15 beginning in verse 3, For I delivered to you, first of all, that which I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day. What's Paul doing here? He's being an eyewitness to the ministry, the death, the resurrection of Jesus Christ. According to Scriptures, verse 5, And that he was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve, and after that he was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remained to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that he was seen by James, and then by all the apostles. Then last of all, he was seen by me also as one born out of due time, for I am the least of the apostles, Paul says. He wasn't one of the original twelve.

This is also something else that my understanding of Paul is a guilt that he struggled with. He says, I'm not worthy to be called an apostle because I persecuted the church of God. So that was another reason that he felt he was inferior to the other apostles. But by the grace of God, I am what I am. In other words, that's the past. I can't change it. And his grace towards me was not in vain, but I labored more abundantly than they all. Yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. So he says, I traveled farther, I worked harder, I did everything I could, not because I did, not because it's me, he says, because the grace of God gave me the strength to work harder, to start more congregations, to found more churches than anyone else. Verse 11, therefore, whether it is I or they, so we preach and so you believe. So Paul too was an apostle, but not part of the original group. He came later after the Holy Spirit was given to the original 12 and others on the day of Pentecost. He also had to live with the fact, again, that he persecuted the Church of God in its earliest days. And because he did that, sometimes his apostleship was even questioned. The Corinthian congregation sometimes challenged him and made him feel like they said, well, you're not a real apostle. You're not an authentic apostle. So much so that he had to say in 1 Corinthians 9 and verse 1, am I not an apostle? So he sometimes had to defend his apostolic authority because he wasn't one of the original 12 and because his early history was one who persecuted the Church of God. I want you to notice closely verse 8. He's speaking, he says, regarding Jesus, he says, seen by me also. What did he mean by this? Well, first of all, I don't know if you've ever thought about it, but he may have actually witnessed the physical ministry of Jesus Christ before Jesus Christ was crucified. First of all, it says he was taught by Gamaliel, who was a tutor who resided in Jerusalem. Paul says that in Acts chapter 22 and verse 3. It would have been the younger part of his life, but he obviously was in Jerusalem part of his life. He would have been in Jerusalem most likely traveling there for the Holy Days from Tarsus or wherever he was, even after he was called in in his ministry. He often stopped his ministerial missionary work to go to Jerusalem to observe one of the Holy Days. We read that in the book of Acts.

During the Passover, he would have been in close proximity to Jesus Christ. He had a nephew who resided in Jerusalem, that nephew is mentioned in Acts chapter 23 and verse 16. So he also happened to have family who lived in Jerusalem. And as a Pharisee, Paul would have been keenly interested in the teachings of the popular yet unconventional Jesus Christ when he was in his ministry. So it's very possible that Paul witnessed the physical ministry of the Savior. But that's not what he means here when he says regarding going back to verse 8, and it was seen by me also.

Let's go to Acts chapter 9 and verse 1 and see where Paul, and this is what he used as proof that he was an apostle because he personally saw and heard the resurrected Jesus Christ. This was what he used as a validation for him being an apostle. This is, of course, the famous road to Damascus, his conversion. Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus.

So if he found any who were of the way, that's God's way of life following the Savior Jesus Christ, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. That is the majesty, the glory of Jesus Christ himself. What he is seeing is the full spiritual impact. Jesus chose not to manifest himself into a fleshly form like he did immediately after his resurrection.

Here you're seeing the spiritual characteristics of Jesus Christ shining like a blinding bright light. Then he fell to the ground and he heard a voice. So he not only saw Jesus Christ in the resurrected form, he also heard him. He heard a voice saying to him, Saul, why are you persecuting me? And he said, who are you, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. That kind of nails it, doesn't it? And who this is? Talking to Paul. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.

You know, a goad was a sharpened stick in which you would prod an animal to get an animal moving. And Jesus Christ is saying it's a little painful kicking a pointed object, isn't it? You're hurting yourself by doing this. It's like kicking a knife, the edge of a knife blade.

You're just causing pain for yourself. This isn't working too well, is it, Paul? So he, trembling and astonished, said, Lord, what do you want me to do? And the Lord said to him, arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do. And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, carrying a voice but seeing no one. Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one, but they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus.

So again, on the road of Damascus, Paul saw and heard the risen Jesus Christ, just like the original 12 had experienced. Paul stated in Romans 11, he said, I speak to the Gentiles, inasmuch as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry. So he said very boldly, I am an apostle to the Gentiles. Later, when he was recalling this event, we just read in Acts 9, here's what he said in Acts 26. Again, this is later him recalling his conversion event, Acts 26, verse 16. He said this, that Christ said, But rise and stand on your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness, both of the things which you have seen, and of the things of which I will yet reveal to you.

You are an eyewitness because of what you experienced. Now, let's go to Galatians chapter 2 and verse 6. Here Paul traveled to Jerusalem approximately 14 years after his conversion, the fellowship, and to receive mutual approval from the other apostles who were there. It was time for them to make sure they were making a connection, that they were all on the same page, that there was mutual respect for the work that each one was doing.

And Paul talks about that here in Galatians chapter 2, and we'll pick it up in verse 6. But from those who seemed to be something, whatever they were, it makes no difference to me, for God shows no personal favoritism to no man. For those who seemed to be something added nothing to me. But on the contrary, when they saw that the gospel for the uncircumcised had been committed to me, as the gospel for the circumcised was to Peter, for he who worked effectively in Peter, for the apostleship to the circumcised also worked effectively in me towards the Gentiles. So again, he's implying very strongly here, Peter's apostleship was to the circumcised, my apostleship is to the Gentiles.

Verse 9, and when James and Cephas and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that had been given to me, they gave me and Barnabas the right hand, the fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised, that it desired only, that we should remember the poor.

Or the very thing which I also was eager to do. So here we see a few things. Paul worked with the apostles in Jerusalem with mutual respect and different missions. Paul did not acknowledge James or anyone else as his boss. Paul was out there independently preaching the good news of the kingdom of God. There was no ATM that he could stop in to get a little bit of cash. He was working with his hands, oftentimes making tents, doing things with leathers in order to provide a living for himself in some of his own writings.

Some of the congregations wouldn't take care of him, and he resorted to making tents in order to support himself. He was out there all alone, actually much fulfilling the training that Jesus had given the original 12, and that I'm sending you out there with nothing. You're going to have to learn to survive and preach the good news as my delegate and have faith that things will be provided that you need.

So here we see again that Paul worked with the apostles in Jerusalem with mutual respect of the different missions that they had. Paul acknowledged the apostleship that they had, specifically Peter's, and they acknowledged his apostleship to the Gentiles. Let's go back just one more chapter, chapter 1 and verse 1, and see how he begins here with the Book of Galatians if you just turn backward. One chapter for me.

He says, Paul, an apostle, not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead. Paul is saying, my apostleship isn't from Jerusalem, isn't from any man who resides in Jerusalem or anywhere else in this planet. My apostleship is because I saw the resurrected Jesus Christ, and he personally told me that I am his delegate, his envoy, to the Gentiles of this world.

So that was the role of that generation. Any volunteers? Not me! So did they do it? Did they fulfill the mission they had been given? You know the word of Scripture tells us. The Gospel of Mark, the very last verse of the Gospel of Mark, tells us whether they did what they were told to do. Let's go to Mark 16, and we'll begin a little earlier, verse 9, to get the context here. But let's find out if those original apostles, the 12, and then the secondary apostles, in that first century, fulfilled the commission in the job that Jesus Christ gave their generation.

Mark 6 and verse 9, speaking of Christ, now, when he arose in the first day of the week, he, again referring to Jesus, appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven demons. She went and told those who had been with her, and they mourned and wept. And when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe. He appeared in another form to two of them as they walked and went into the country.

Verse 13, and they went and they told it to the rest, but they did not believe him either. Later he appeared to the 11, as they sat at the table, and he rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen him after he had risen. Verse 15, and he said to them, this was their commission, and this is our commission in a deeper, more profound way in our generation, because we're called to go far beyond the known world of the Roman Empire.

It's our job to reach all of the continents and the rest of human life, the rest of the people on this planet. Okay, let's pick it up here in verse 15. And he said to them, go into all the world, preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved, but he who does not believe will be condemned. And it doesn't mean again, instantly condemned. It means you need a savior. And as long as you don't have a savior, you are under condemnation. You have violated the law of God, and you are condemned.

That's what it means here. Verse 17, and these signs will surely follow those who believe. In my name they will cast out demons, they will speak in new tongues, they will take up serpents, and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them, they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover. So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, he was received up to heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.

So to these original ones, he's telling them things that we wouldn't confront today. I've never had to play with a deadly snake. I visited some of you. You've come to Sabbath services now for seven years. I've never encountered a deadly snake. They did, because when you were a traveling preacher, going just throughout the world, walking through rural roads, walking through paths, you didn't know what you might run into.

Sometimes you were going to run into a deadly snake. Verse 20, beautiful scripture, and they went out and preached everywhere. Again, that's the then known world, the original commission they had been given. They went out and preached everywhere. The Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen. So during the first century AD, the apostles established churches throughout the territories of the Roman Empire.

Now, there isn't much history, but according to tradition, they established churches in the Middle East, in Africa, in India, and obviously throughout Asia Minor, in the parts of the world that Paul preached in and that we're aware of. After that generation, there was no effort to replace these apostles with others to succeed the originals when they died off.

There was no effort by the church to replace them. They were a unique group of individuals called for a special generation because they were eyewitnesses of the entire life, physical ministry, the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Of these twelve apostles, they hold the title, After Matthew's Selection, Christian Tradition Has It Passed Down, that except for John, every one of them died as martyrs. Again, do we have historical proof of that? No. Historical record is very sketchy. Only the death of James, the son of Zebedee, is actually described in the New Testament how the others died.

We really don't know. We have to go to secular history, or we have to go to church tradition in order to surmise how the other disciples died.

So these were the apostles, and that was their unique commission for their generation. So what about us, brethren? Is the 21st century church of God ready to fulfill the unique commission that God has given us?

Has there ever been another generation in human history that had the tools and the technologies that we have to preach the Word of God? No. We're the only one. So what about us? Are we ready to fulfill our unique generational commitment in these last days? Again, with tools and technology available, are we ready to fulfill what God has planned for us in this, in our own generation?

Well, let's all pray that God's Spirit leads us to do the right tasks, to do the effective tasks, to do the powerful tasks of preaching the good news of the kingdom of God, not to just the then-known part of the Roman Empire, but indeed to fulfill that ultimate commission to the ends of the earth. May God give us the courage and the wisdom to follow this lead of His Holy Spirit and to do His will. Have a wonderful Sabbath day.