Jesus Sends Out the Twelve
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| Jesus Sends Out the Twelve |
Late in the year AD 28, after Jesus had appointed twelve of his disciples as his emissaries, he sent them out into the field to act as "fishers of men." He charged them to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, and cast out demons--four types of miracles. They were to do this while preaching, "The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!" (Matthew 10:7-8).
What happened? We know they went out, for the Bible tells us that they returned and gave their testimony to Jesus of all that they had done and taught (Mark 6:30, Luke 9:10). But what was their testimony? The Bible is muted. We know that they taught, and can assume they had at least some successes at performing the four miracles. What did they say about themselves? We do not know.
Late in the year AD 29 Jesus sent out an additional 72 disciples, under much of the same charge, as an advance team preparing the way for his own planned itinerary (Luke 10:1-24). Only Luke reports this in his meticulous research project which we now know as the Gospel of Luke. Luke follows up with the story of the enthusiasm and great joy that the 72 reported: "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!"
Surely, if Luke had found a similar testimony for the return of the Twelve, he would have reported it in his Gospel. Luke does report that they went preaching and "healing everywhere," without mentioning other activities. But someone has evidently stolen their personal testimony!
Who Were the Twelve?
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| Matthew was also a son of Alphaeus. Nathanael was known as Son of Tholmai (Bartholomew) |
A motley crew of mostly Galileans, the Twelve included at least five fishermen from the Sea of Galilee. The Twelve consisted of Peter and Andrew, sons of Jonah; James and John, sons of Zebedee; Philip their fisherman friend; "Levi" Matthew and "Little" James, the sons of Alphaeus; Judas Thaddeus, probably the son of "Little" James; "Twin" Thomas, who averred that he would go along with Jesus to his death; Nathanael, the son of Tholmai (Bartholomew); "Zealot" Simon; and Judas the man of the town of Kerioth.
The youngest of them has always been identified as John, assuredly still in his teens when he met Jesus. The richest of them was clearly Matthew (nicknamed Levi the Tax Collector), who would have amassed at the least a comfortable house, a wife, and a family. He and his brother "Little" James Alphaeus may have been the only disciples older than Jesus. Peter was probably around Jesus' age.
What Happened With the Twelve?
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| A Disparate Group: Mostly Galileans |
I have been blogging about the history of Jesus' ministry, dealing with issues that came up as I was writing the history-based fictional tale of what it would be like to be John son of Zebedee. I started my story in the winter of AD 27 see (http://rolinbruno.com). As of my blog post on demons, I have come to the summer of AD 27. But as I write these blog posts I am also writing my third book, which begins during Hannukah on January 5, AD 29.
This is about the time that the Twelve would have returned to Jesus and reported all that they and done and taught. So what else is going on in their world that might give me a clue about what happened to the memory of their testimony?
One climactic event stands above everything else that is happening at the time: John the Baptist is beheaded by King Herod Antipas, who was tricked into doing that by his wife Herodias, a tale noticed outside the Bible by the contemporary historian Josephus.
This is about the time that the Twelve would have returned to Jesus and reported all that they and done and taught. So what else is going on in their world that might give me a clue about what happened to the memory of their testimony?
One climactic event stands above everything else that is happening at the time: John the Baptist is beheaded by King Herod Antipas, who was tricked into doing that by his wife Herodias, a tale noticed outside the Bible by the contemporary historian Josephus.
Execution of John the Baptist
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| John the Baptist was Beheaded by King Herod Antipas |
The Bible tale of the relationship between the Baptist's execution and the Twelve's mission is muddled, but it is likely that the Baptist was alive when they set out two by two on their six missions, and was killed before they returned to Jesus. Luke's Gospel, for instance, inserts a paragraph which mentions the Baptist just after the Twelve were sent out and just before they returned (Luke 9:7-9).
Were the Twelve on the trail when they heard about the Baptist and aborted their mission to flee to Jesus? Jesus had been known as a disciple of the Baptist because he accepted John's baptism; was his life in danger? The same for John and Andrew, who were disciples of the Baptist when they met Jesus. Philip, Nathanael, and even "Big" James may also have been followers of the Baptist. Would King Herod seek them out to kill them?
There is another isolated odd datum: some un-named Pharisees warned Jesus, "Go away! Leave from here, for Herod wants to kill you." This is placed by Luke in late winter of AD 29, after Hanukkah on December 21.
This is odd because there is no other indication in the New Testament that Herod Antipas wanted to kill Jesus. Herod was fascinated and disturbed by Jesus , saying that Jesus had risen up to haunt him for killing the Baptist. Either this threat was a lie concocted by the Pharisees, or--more likely--a rumor which had arisen after the death of the Baptist. I suspect that Antipas would have been careful not to allow himself to be tricked into killing a second prophet, after regretting the killing of the first one: John the Baptist.
Jesus reacted to the warning with disdain: "You go tell that fox that.... [the time for the appointed end of my ministry here has not yet come]." The Pharisees were reporting old news which by that time Jesus had already dealt with.
As to what happened when the Twelve returned, Luke reports that Jesus withdrew to Bethsaida--outside the territory of Herod Antipas--and took the Twelve with him. So the testimony of the Ministry of the Twelve became intermingled with the reaction to the death of the Baptist, and got dropped from the repertory of the tales told about the ministry of Jesus.
Due to their disarray, it is possible that the six pairs of disciples returned to Jesus at separate times depending on when each team learned of the death of the Baptist and the purported threat against Jesus. This also would have fragmented the collection of their testimony. In contrast, the 72 appear to have returned to Jesus at the appointed time, and gave their testimony as a group. Thus their testimony survived while the Twelve's faded from the memory of the followers of Jesus.
The triumph is that although the Twelve were in disarray, Jesus was always in command, and knew exactly what to do to re-energize and re-encourage his disciples. And so it is with us: we can always be encouraged by Jesus, who knows what to do for us next when we don't know what to do for ourselves.
Were the Twelve on the trail when they heard about the Baptist and aborted their mission to flee to Jesus? Jesus had been known as a disciple of the Baptist because he accepted John's baptism; was his life in danger? The same for John and Andrew, who were disciples of the Baptist when they met Jesus. Philip, Nathanael, and even "Big" James may also have been followers of the Baptist. Would King Herod seek them out to kill them?
There is another isolated odd datum: some un-named Pharisees warned Jesus, "Go away! Leave from here, for Herod wants to kill you." This is placed by Luke in late winter of AD 29, after Hanukkah on December 21.
This is odd because there is no other indication in the New Testament that Herod Antipas wanted to kill Jesus. Herod was fascinated and disturbed by Jesus , saying that Jesus had risen up to haunt him for killing the Baptist. Either this threat was a lie concocted by the Pharisees, or--more likely--a rumor which had arisen after the death of the Baptist. I suspect that Antipas would have been careful not to allow himself to be tricked into killing a second prophet, after regretting the killing of the first one: John the Baptist.
Jesus reacted to the warning with disdain: "You go tell that fox that.... [the time for the appointed end of my ministry here has not yet come]." The Pharisees were reporting old news which by that time Jesus had already dealt with.
As to what happened when the Twelve returned, Luke reports that Jesus withdrew to Bethsaida--outside the territory of Herod Antipas--and took the Twelve with him. So the testimony of the Ministry of the Twelve became intermingled with the reaction to the death of the Baptist, and got dropped from the repertory of the tales told about the ministry of Jesus.
Due to their disarray, it is possible that the six pairs of disciples returned to Jesus at separate times depending on when each team learned of the death of the Baptist and the purported threat against Jesus. This also would have fragmented the collection of their testimony. In contrast, the 72 appear to have returned to Jesus at the appointed time, and gave their testimony as a group. Thus their testimony survived while the Twelve's faded from the memory of the followers of Jesus.
The triumph is that although the Twelve were in disarray, Jesus was always in command, and knew exactly what to do to re-energize and re-encourage his disciples. And so it is with us: we can always be encouraged by Jesus, who knows what to do for us next when we don't know what to do for ourselves.
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