Apostles

History

Calling

The apostles were all led by the Spirit to follow Him, and they all did so happily. Yet they still did not understand exactly who He was, and so even they marveled at His power.

Prohibitions Made in Jerusalem

It is clear, even from the ten commandments as they were given in Exodus chapter 20, that adultery to the Hebrews meant race-mixing [as well as the bloodline confusion which comes from sleeping with others wives and husbands]. In Matthew 5:27 the word for adultery comes from a Greek word, moicheuo. While it is indeed related to the verb mignumi, which means to mix, the Greeks did not use the word in the racial sense. Rather, they used it to describe any possible confusion of the bloodline which would possibly result in children belonging to men other than their fathers. Yet this was the word which Hebrews writing Greek chose to use for the commandment, “thou shalt not commit adultery”, from the days of the Septuagint. It reflected the literal meaning, but not the colloquial meaning. For that reason the apostles, in Acts chapter 15, decided that it was necessary to add an injunction prohibiting fornication, since the Greeks understood race-mixing to be a form of fornication, or illicit sexual relations

Mission

Matthew 9:37 Then He says to His students: “Great is the harvest, but the workers are few! 38 Therefore it is necessary for the lord of the harvest, that he send out workers into his harvest!”

Matthew records Christ as saying this shortly before sending out the apostles. Christ needed His apostles to share in the labor of spreading the Word of God, and He was about to send them out to do so.

Conduct

Prayer

Matthew 6:5 And when you pray, do not be as the hypocrites, because they love to pray in the assembly halls and standing at the corners of the streets, that they should be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward! 6 But when you would pray, go into your closet and closing your door you shall pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees shall yield to you in secret.

In 1 Samuel chapter 1, we see that Hannah's prayer was answered when her lips moved, but she spoke it not, having prayed in her heart. Likewise, the prophet Daniel prayed alone in his room, and it was not necessarily his intention that he be seen through his window by his enemies, as it is related in Daniel chapter 6. Daniel and Hannah, while seen by others, were both praying privately. The apostles often prayed together, but they prayed privately, and not to make a show in front of others.

Christians who insist on public prayer, or that others must pray with them, are simply looking for a crutch. They want others to see how “pious” they are, that they may justify themselves. Real Christians do not need crutches, nor do they need outward displays of piety, which are pretentious. We should have no need to be seen praying publicly or with others. We should seek our God with our hearts and display our love through good deeds for our brethren, and not merely in the pretense of exhibition.

Benjamites

Eleven of the twelve apostles were of the tribe of Benjamin. Saul of Tarsus, called much later, was also of Benjamin (Rom. 11:1). When the ancient Kingdom of Israel was divided after Solomon’s death, Benjamin was left with the Tribe of Judah for this very purpose (1 Kings 11:9-13, 36). The apostles of this tribe were fulfilling their duties as the light-bearers to Israel.

Judas Iscariot

Unlike the other apostles, Judas Iscariot was not a Benjamite, nor was he even an Israelite. It is evident that Judas Iscariot was an Edomite and through the words of Christ it is telling that his presence among the twelve as a son of destruction were for the purposes of prophetic fulfillment.