“Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” (James 5:16 ESV)
αποστολοι
»Apostles: a delegate; especially, an ambassador of the Gospel; officially a commissioner of Christ
»There is a difference between an Apostle and a disciple:
»We are all called to be disciples- the called out followers of Christ- but becoming an Apostle was a special designation for a distinct number of men who were picked by Christ to follow him, learn from him first-hand, and then go on to start the Church.
»There are still disciples to this day, but there can no longer be Apostles
»There is a difference between an Apostle and a disciple:
»We are all called to be disciples- the called out followers of Christ- but becoming an Apostle was a special designation for a distinct number of men who were picked by Christ to follow him, learn from him first-hand, and then go on to start the Church.
»There are still disciples to this day, but there can no longer be Apostles
Matthew 10:2-4; Mark 3:14-19; Luke 6:13-16
The Twelve
»In these three passages we have lists of the Apostles. Each list contains three groups of four men
»Group one is always Simon Peter, his brother Andrew, James, and his brother John (the writer of the Gospel of John) the sons of Zebedee. These four are the fishermen brothers we learned about in a past lesson.
»Group two lists Philip, Bartholomew (In John he is called Nathanael), Matthew, and Thomas
»Group three has James the son of Alpheus, Simon the Zealot, Thaddeus (Luke calls him Judas the son of James), and Judas Iscariot always is listed last.
»Group one is always Simon Peter, his brother Andrew, James, and his brother John (the writer of the Gospel of John) the sons of Zebedee. These four are the fishermen brothers we learned about in a past lesson.
»Group two lists Philip, Bartholomew (In John he is called Nathanael), Matthew, and Thomas
»Group three has James the son of Alpheus, Simon the Zealot, Thaddeus (Luke calls him Judas the son of James), and Judas Iscariot always is listed last.
Initial Commission
»We get an overview of what Jesus calls the Apostles to do in Matthew 10:1, right before the list is given: “And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction.” (ESV)
»After the Apostle list is given in Matthew, Jesus gives the Apostles some instructions: “ And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay. 9 Acquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts, 10 no bag for your journey, or two tunics or sandals or a staff, for the laborer deserves his food. 11 And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart.
»12 As you enter the house, greet it.13 And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. 14 And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town.15 Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.” (Matthew 10:7-15 ESV)
»The Apostles are sent to proclaim the Kingdom and perform miracles to the Jews. Notice that they took no money with them and couldn’t accept any either. They were also instructed to stay in friendly houses.
»After the Apostle list is given in Matthew, Jesus gives the Apostles some instructions: “ And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay. 9 Acquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts, 10 no bag for your journey, or two tunics or sandals or a staff, for the laborer deserves his food. 11 And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart.
»12 As you enter the house, greet it.13 And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. 14 And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town.15 Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.” (Matthew 10:7-15 ESV)
»The Apostles are sent to proclaim the Kingdom and perform miracles to the Jews. Notice that they took no money with them and couldn’t accept any either. They were also instructed to stay in friendly houses.
Luke 10:1-12
»Does all that stuff about proclaiming the Kingdom, healing the sick, and casting out demons apply to me? In short, yes. The ancient does apply to the modern.
»Later on in the Gospels we have a record of Jesus sending out a group of 72 disciples. We read about it in *Luke 10:1-12*.
»Notice the similarity between sending out the Apostles and then later on a group of disciples? This was not by mistake- the mission is a singular one- a mission of Christ and it still applies today. If you’re one of his disciples than he gives you the ability to complete the mission.
»Later on in the Gospels we have a record of Jesus sending out a group of 72 disciples. We read about it in *Luke 10:1-12*.
»Notice the similarity between sending out the Apostles and then later on a group of disciples? This was not by mistake- the mission is a singular one- a mission of Christ and it still applies today. If you’re one of his disciples than he gives you the ability to complete the mission.
Matthew 16:13-20
»This truly is not a passage about St. Peter getting the keys to the gates of Heaven (I’m totally serious so clear this thought from your mind).
»The word for Peter in Greek is petros. It is actually the word for a small piece of rock (or a pebble if you will). When Christ says “on this rock I will build my church” the word he uses for rock is not petros, it is petra which means a large rock (perhaps a boulder). Christ built his church on a boulder (himself) not on a pebble (Peter).
»You may possibly remember a past lesson where we spoke about keys and kingdoms- but in this verse Christ mentions a specific key that he is giving to his church.
»The word for Peter in Greek is petros. It is actually the word for a small piece of rock (or a pebble if you will). When Christ says “on this rock I will build my church” the word he uses for rock is not petros, it is petra which means a large rock (perhaps a boulder). Christ built his church on a boulder (himself) not on a pebble (Peter).
»You may possibly remember a past lesson where we spoke about keys and kingdoms- but in this verse Christ mentions a specific key that he is giving to his church.
Kingdom keys
»This key has to do with hell or death (fighting against the kingdom of Satan) and the key to fighting against hell, death, and Satan is the authority to bind and loose.
»Jesus is speaking to his church (YOU) when he gives this key of binding and loosing. For example, if someone is bound by sin you can “loose” them by giving them Jesus. If someone is possessed by a demon (or depression or hunger or etc.) you can “bind” what is bothering them.
»This is a major privilege that should not be taken lightly by you, the disciple.
»Jesus is speaking to his church (YOU) when he gives this key of binding and loosing. For example, if someone is bound by sin you can “loose” them by giving them Jesus. If someone is possessed by a demon (or depression or hunger or etc.) you can “bind” what is bothering them.
»This is a major privilege that should not be taken lightly by you, the disciple.