Paul the apostle – who was Saul the persecutor of Christians before he was converted through an encounter with Jesus Christ – was a brilliant fellow.
He was one of the zealous, principled young Jewish leaders of the Pharisee sect. And he was no fan of this new movement preaching a dead, but resurrected, Messiah figure named Jesus.
The Jews, after all, were the chosen people – God’s favored nation. The gentiles on the outside were viewed – there’s no delicate way to say this – as dogs. Un-believers, un-chosen, unclean, and inferior.
Then there were those half-breed Samaritans in the north, rife with idolatry and definitely on the outs from the presence of a holy God.
And, of course, any heretical sect from within the nation of Israel – like these Jesus-followers – needed to be extinguished.
Paul was very much into being RIGHT, being BETTER; until God showed him how wrong he was. How he was, in fact, no better than any of these other people groups. How he was, in reality, no better than the lowest, despised, apostate sinner.
After having his eyes opened by the Savior-Messiah, Jesus, Paul wrote this devastating passage in the New Testament book of Romans:
“Now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested…the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:21-24)
There could hardly be a more radical declaration in all of religious history than this one.
- God is giving a righteousness (a right standing before Him, with all guilt removed) to people totally apart from their performance of any law.
- This gift is received by faith only – not by any obedience, any conformity, any external religious acts. We can’t earn a drop of righteousness before God.
- This righteousness is equally given to any and all persons equally (there is no distinction) – not matter if they are Jews, Gentiles, Samaritans, Asians, Africans, men, women, old, young, priests, prostitutes, actors, IRS employees, Republicans, Democrats, cultural Christians, murderers, Cowboy fans…even Canadians. God’s favored people are no longer a physical nation with a physical descendancy from Abraham. God’s people are simply any and all who believe. Everywhere. In any circumstance.
- This leveling gospel of the gift of righteousness is true because all people are equally sinful (all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God). No matter how good or how bad you think you’ve been, the testimony of God is that we are all impure – from the most outwardly religious, to the most aggressive atheist, to the most devoted mother, to the most indifferent pseudo-christian. From Billy Graham to Christopher Hitchens – and every single person in between, from every tribe and tongue and nation and creed – we all have the same affliction: a rebellious, unbelieving, and impure heart.
You and I, whomever you are, and whatever you’ve done or not done – we are on the same level. We have the same need – being made right with God because of sin. And God has provided the one Savior who has made the gift of righteousness available to all who believe – Jesus Christ.
Next time you or I are tempted to feel superior to anyone on this planet, it is only because of the delusion of sin, whispering in our ear that somehow we have attained a righteousness of our own. Trust me – you got nothing. Neither do I.
An imparted righteousness that comes from God Himself makes us all level, where we belong. In need of a Savior.
Not sure about the Cowboy fans.
According to Jesus of the Gospels, is the first and greatest, most important commandment found in Deuteronomy 6:4-5, or in Leviticus 19:18 ?
Not Paul’s logic – the words of Jesus Christ quoting the Law.
“What is an Apostle?”
Here is the answer based on the original sources:
The words and actions of Jesus and the Original Apostles in the text of the New Testament.
.1) Gospel of Mark – time lag between being appointed and being sent
“Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. He appointed twelve – designating them apostles – that they might be with him…” [Mark 3:13-14]
Three chapters later,
“Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village. Calling the Twelve to him, he sent them out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits.” [Mark 6:6-7]
.2) Gospel of Luke – time lag between being appointed and being sent
“One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles: Simon…..” [Luke 6:12-14]
Again three chapters later,
“When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.” [Luke 9:1-2]
.3) Gospel of Matthew – which is organized by theme, not necessarily in chronological order.
“He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal disease and sickness. These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon…” [Matthew 10:1]
Without any clear time reference, continuing on the theme of the Apostles, Matthew does record “These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions…” [Matthew 10:5] Matthew never said that the Apostles were “sent out” immediately after being appointed. If we didn’t also have the clear records in Mark and Luke, it would be a fairly logical assumption that Jesus sent them out right away, but it would still be just an assumption. In this case, that assumption would clearly be wrong. The Twelve Apostles were absolutely NOT sent out right away after being appointed Apostles, according to Mark chapters 3 through 6, and Luke chapters 6 through 9.
So being an Apostle of Jesus involves being sent by Jesus, yes. But that isn’t the only meaning, or even the first and primary meaning. The first thing was “that they might be with Him” personally, together, for His entire earthly ministry, from the time of John the Baptist until Jesus rose to heaven. Jesus poured his life into the 12 Apostles for 3 ½ years very personally training them to be the leaders of the church, and Jesus chose Peter as first among equals.
The NIV translation inserts the heading “Matthias Chosen to Replace Judas” for the passage Luke wrote in Acts 1:12-26]. The NIV headings were not part of the original text, and sometimes they can be misleading, but in this case I believe the heading is right on.
Jesus and the Original Apostles knew what an Apostle is better than anyone else in the world. Why is this a strange idea? Why do so many people frequently attack and tear down and dismiss the Original Apostles, particularly Peter, as if they were all incompetent, stupid, and wrong in so many ways, and they didn’t even know what an “Apostle” was? The answer to that question is, they have been listening to the voice of Paul, rather than the voices of Jesus and the Original Apostles.
As we consider the question “what is an Apostle”, we should carefully listen to the words of the leader that Jesus personally appointed as first among the Apostles, and trained personally for 3 ½ years, Peter.
“It is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.” [Acts 1:21-22]
Neither Paul, nor James, nor Luke were with Jesus and the Apostles the whole time, so they were not qualified to be a “witness with the Apostles of Jesus’ resurrection”, which is what it means to be an Apostle. Matthias was qualified, appointed, and later recognized as part of The Twelve. No one except Judas ever lost his apostleship.
Responding to a question from Peter,
“Jesus said to them:
…you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” [Matthew 19:28]
We cannot prove that Judas was present at that time, and we cannot prove that Matthias was absent at that time when Jesus spoke those words. Even if Judas was physically present, as we all realize now, he was not a true follower of Jesus. And even if Matthias was physically absent at that particular occasion, Jesus is still establishing the basic qualification for having one of the twelve thrones as being “you who have followed me,” not someone who will follow Jesus in the future, like Paul, James, Luke or anyone else in the world.
At the Last Supper, Jesus said to His Apostles:
“You are those who have stood by me in my trials. And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred on one on me, so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” [Luke 22:28-30]
Was Judas present when Jesus spoke those words? Even if someone wants to be argumentative and say we can’t prove that Judas wasn’t there at the time, we certainly can’t prove that Judas WAS there. Judas obviously didn’t stand by Jesus in his trial, as the whole world knows. But that was the requirement Jesus gave to “sit on thrones:” “You are those who have stood by me in my trials.” “You”, speaking to His 11 Apostles who had been walking with Him faithfully for 3 ½ years. Not others in the future who will follow the risen Jesus Christ. Notice that at the Last Supper, when Judas lost his throne and Matthias was definitely absent, Jesus chose to speak of “thrones” rather than “twelve thrones” as he had previously.
The Apostle John recorded about the New Jerusalem,
“The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.” [Revelation 21:14]
The Apostles are 12 faithful eyewitnesses who walked with Jesus during His entire earthly ministry, and Matthias is the 12th. That’s the short version of my definition of “what is an Apostle.”