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Between Ascension and Pentecost, the surviving eleven apostles changed Judas and appointed the thirteenth apostle. This is the story …
Between Ascension and Pentecost
The phrase Pentecost comes from the Greek for ‘fiftieth’ and refers to Feast of Pentecost which occurred 50 days after Passover.
One piece of necessary apostolic enterprise occurred between these two occasions. The story is instructed within the first chapter of Acts, that after the Ascension the surviving apostles walked from the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem (Acts 1:12). They went to the higher room of a home in Jerusalem the place they joined by ‘the ladies’ which included Mary the mom of Jesus and his half-brothers. (Acts 1:13). It says that there they joined collectively continually in prayer (Acts 1:14), while they waited for the Feast of Pentecost.
Some of them would have been getting ready for the Jewish feast of Pentecost, which was one of many three nice feats of Judaism. These three nice feasts have been the Festival of Unleavened Bread (Passover), Festival of Harvest (Pentecost) and Festival of Ingathering (Tabernacles), throughout which every grownup male was required to be current in Jerusalem (Exodus 23:14-17). Knowing this explains why all of them stayed in Jerusalem, and didn’t instantly return to Galilee.
Replacing Judas
On one in all nowadays between the Ascension and Pentecost – it isn’t clear which one – St Peter stood up among the many believers, which numbered about 120, to offer a speech. He instructed the story of how Judas, who had betrayed Jesus, had dedicated suicide (Acts 1:15-20). He proposed that they elect one other one in all their quantity to exchange Judas as apostle. The criterion was that the candidate needed to be somebody who had been with Jesus by his ministry since John’s baptism, was a witness to the resurrection, and was nonetheless amongst them. (Acts 1:21-22)
It appears possible that the lads chosen have been from among the many 70 (or 72 relying on the manuscript) disciples talked about in Luke 10:1-24. Jesus mentioned, “God in his knowledge mentioned: ‘I’ll ship them prophets and apostles, a few of whom they’ll kill and others they’ll persecute'” (Luke 11:49, NIV). It might have been from this wider group of seventy disciples that Jesus chosen his closest twelve apostles (Luke 6:13).
Two males have been proposed. One was referred to as Joseph Barsabbas, who was also called Justus, and one other referred to as Matthias (Acts 1:23). It will not be clear if these two have been the one ones who fulfilled the standards, or whether or not they have been the 2 best suited candidates from amongst those that certified, or in the event that they have been merely the one two keen to take the position. The disciples then prayed.
It appears it was not apparent which of the 2 ought to be chosen, so that they prayed and forged heaps. Casting heaps could seem to us like an odd technique to discern the Lord’s will to us, but it surely had biblical priority. In the Old Testament, Joshua and Samuel are each recorded as casting heaps to make selections, and there’s a Proverb, ‘The lot is forged into the lap, however the determination is the LORD’s alone’ (Proverbs 16:33).
The thirteenth apostle
It was Matthias who was chosen to exchange Judas. Matthias was the thirteenth apostle to be appointed, however numbered among the many apostles, and his appointment restored the variety of apostles to 12.
Who was Barsabbas?
Joseph Barsabbas was also called Justus. Many of the Jews had a Hebrew title and a Greek or Roman title. We see this with Saul, which was his Hebrew title, also called Paul which was his Roman title, and Simon who was also called Peter. Likewise Justus is probably going his Roman title. Other than this, he’s not talked about within the New Testament. The silence of Scripture is usually stuffed in by custom, and the Christian custom, is that this Justus went on to develop into the primary bishop of Eleutheropolis, which lies on the street between Jerusalem and Gaza, the place he died a martyr. He is taken into account a saint within the Orthodox custom and often known as Saint Justus of Eleutheropolis, with a feast day on 20 July.
Who was Matthias?
Matthias was appointed by the surviving eleven apostles to exchange Judas Iscariot. Matthias can be a little bit of a thriller. He was with Jesus all by his ministry however doesn’t seem named in any of the 4 Gospel accounts. There are completely different traditions about him. In one custom he was martyred in Jerusalem, and in one other that he went to Cappadocia and died in Georgia. Saint Matthias is taken into account a saint within the Orthodox and Catholic traditions. He is remembered within the Catholic and Anglican calendars on 14 May. In the Orthodox custom he’s recalled on 9 August.
The Twelve
Matthias, the thirteenth apostle, restored the variety of apostles to 12. The concept of twelve apostles might be symbolic of the twelve tribes of Israel. In Acts 6:2 the apostles are as soon as once more known as ‘The Twelve’, which included Matthias. The story is then instructed that they appointed the seven deacons Stephen, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus.
Other apostles
By Acts 14:14, Paul and Barnabas are referred to as apostles. Paul regarded himself as Apostle to the Gentiles (Romans 11:13) and wrote that he was ‘the least of the apostles, unworthy to be referred to as an apostle, as a result of I persecuted the church of God’ (1 Corinthians 15:8-9).
James, half-brother of Jesus, is named an apostle by St Paul in Galatians 1:19, and probably in in 1 Corinthians 15:7.
Paul wrote to the church at Ephesus that the Church was ‘constructed on the muse of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself because the chief cornerstone’ (Ephesians 2:20) and went onto clarify that that some have been referred to as to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists and a few to be pastors and academics (Ephesians 4:11). This appears to recommend that being an apostle was a calling and apostles will likely be a part of Church life.
There is an intriguing verse on the finish of Romans 16:7 the place St Paul writes, ‘Greet Andronicus and Junia, my kin who have been in jail with me; they’re distinguished among the many apostles, and so they have been in Christ earlier than I used to be.’ Andronicus and Junia are possible a married couple, like Priscilla and Aquila talked about in Romans 16:3. The verse is ambiguous. Some folks learn it to imply that they have been well-known and distinguished folks to the apostles, however others learn it to imply that they themselves have been distinguished apostles, and if that is so, it signifies that Junia is the one named feminine apostle within the New Testament. Those who help feminine ministry soar on this risk, and those that don’t help feminine ministry spotlight the ambiguous nature of the textual content.
It will not be clear if the thought of needing precisely twelve apostles was dropped because the Church developed, or alternatively if the method of sustaining twelve apostles was continued and these folks changed different apostles who died or have been martyred to take care of the quantity at twelve. However, some self-proclaimed apostles weren’t recognised as such, and there are warnings towards false apostles in 2 Corinthians 11:13 and Revelation 2:2. This maybe solely is smart if the apostles weren’t restricted to 12. The appointment of the seven deacons talked about in Acts 6:2 can also recommend that Jesus didn’t depart a hard and fast blueprint for the construction of the Church, and so they developed the mannequin because the Church grew.
The time period apostle as utilized in Church historical past
Throughout the historical past of the Church the time period apostle has been utilized to individuals who introduced the Gospel to new areas. Sometimes Mary Magdalene is named the Apostle to the Apostles as a result of she was on the empty tomb and proclaimed the excellent news of the resurrection to the surviving eleven apostles.
Apostles by historical past
The fourth century St Frumentius is usually often known as the Apostle to Ethiopia. The fifth century St Patrick is taken into account the Apostle to Ireland. The sixth century St Augustine of Canterbury is usually thought-about the apostle to the English. The eighth century Saint Boniface is named the Apostle to the Germans. The ninth century Saints Cyril and Methodius are generally often known as the Apostles to the Slavs. In more moderen historical past the English Primitive Methodist evangelists John Ride (1790-1862) and Thomas Russell (1806-1889) are generally often known as the Apostles to Berkshire. The Welsh John Griffith (1831-1912) was often known as the Apostle to Central China.
Ascensiontide
In the Christian calendar Ascension Day falls 40 days after Easter, and Pentecost is 10 days after that, which means Pentecost Sunday is seven weeks after Easter Sunday. The Sunday between Ascension and Pentecost is named the seventh Sunday of Easter, or the Sunday of Ascensiontide. In church buildings which observe the lectionary, the story of Matthias is usually recalled on that Sunday between Ascension and Pentecost, which in 2024 is 12 May.
