How Many Followers Did Jesus Have

How many followers did Jesus have when he was crucified?

The seventydisciples (or seventy-twodisciples, as they are called in Eastern Christian traditions) were early ambassadors ofJesus who were described in the Gospel of Luke as being seventy-two in number. If onlyJesus had access to social media. And, just look at the power He still wields today! He put a lot of effort into his 13 followers, and his message is still being spread today. In addition, do you know what the religion of Jesus and his initial followers was? Early Christianity arose as a result of Jesus’ eschatological mission on the earth.

So, who was the disciple that was there at the crucifixion?

What were the names of Jesus’ first three disciples?

The men were fishing in the lake, so they were tossing a net into it.

How many followers did Jesus have when he was alive?

The seventydisciples (or seventy-twodisciples, as they are called in Eastern Christian traditions) were early ambassadors ofJesus who were described in the Gospel of Luke as being seventy-two in number. In Christianity, a disciple is a believer who follows Christ and then gives his or her own imitation of Christ as an example for others to emulate (1 Corinthians 11:1). A disciple is first and foremost a believer who has demonstrated faith (Acts 2:38). Also, do you know who were the first Christians to follow Jesus Christ?

Early ChristianChurch rapidly moved apart from Judaism and JewishChristianity throughout the course of the first two centuries of the ChristianEra, owing to the acceptance of gentiles into the community.
Early Christianity arose as a result of Jesus’ eschatological mission on the earth.
Is it mentioned somewhere in the Bible when Jesus was born?
As recorded in Matthew 2:1, “Jesus was born at Bethlehem of Judaea during the reign of King Herod the Great.”

If Jesus Used Social Media, How Many Followers Would He Have?

Recently, my Reverend shared his thoughts on how when Jesus told Peter and Paul to “follow me,” he really meant “be my disciple.” How many followers would Jesus have if he had access to Twitter? Despite the fact that he only had 12 disciples, all of those who followed him are called his disciples, which is described as “one who embraces and participates in the propagation of another’s beliefs.” It’s common for people to become obsessed with the number of “likes” they can garner on social media, whether it’s how many followers they have on Twitter, connections they have on LinkedIn, or friends they have on Facebook.

However, Jesus only had 12 disciples (followers), and they did an excellent job of spreading his message.
“Anyone with a driver’s license,” would be the response from auto sellers.
Don’t make the mistake of conflating the two.
It is not about you; rather, it is about what you can do for others and the value you bring to the table.
Is it really necessary?
Let’s get back to Jesus.
The number of followers that “like, comment, or share” your post is one method to gauge their level of involvement.

When brands urge customers to communicate with them on social media platforms and then end up merely talking at them, they receive a terrible reputation.

You must react to both good and negative comments within 48 hours, regardless of whether it is positive or bad.

Leaders on social media are those who take the initiative.

New followers should be asked specific questions that indicate you have looked into their profile.

Offer a suggestion, be helpful, and demonstrate an interest.

As Jesus demonstrated, it is important to walk the talk.

For example, to quote another prominent leader, “You can please certain people all of the time, and you can satisfy everyone some of the time, but you can’t please everyone all of the time.” Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, in the town of Springfield, Illinois.

Following me on LinkedIn and Twitter @sellsocialmedia or emailing me at [email protected] if you “like” this post will allow you to discover more about how I can assist LinkedIn users like you.

Mothers Are Born Salespeople: Birthday Wishes on LinkedIn Lead to New Business Opportunities

Seventy disciples – Wikipedia

Known in Eastern Christian traditions as theseventy apostlesor theseventy-two apostles, the twelve disciples or the seventy-two disciples, as well as the twelve disciples or the seventy-two apostles, were early ambassadors ofJesus, as described in the Gospel of Luke. The right Greek phrase is evdomikonta (v) apostoli or evdomikonta mathetes, which stands for evdomikonta mathetes. Jesus selected them and sent them forth in pairs on a specific mission that is recorded in the Gospel of Luke, which is the only gospel in which they are mentioned by name.

As disciples in Western Christianity, they are referred to as apostles in Eastern Christianity; yet, in both traditions, they are referred to as the same thing.
As a result of these events, the Lord designated an additional seventy-two people, and he dispatched them two by two into every city and area where he was to appear.
As a result, pray to the Lord of the harvest that he would send workers into his harvest.
Carry no purse, no scrip, no shoes, and don’t even bother to salute anybody along the route.
And if the son of peace is present, your peace will rest upon him; if he is not present, your peace will be returned to you.
Take care not to relocate from one residence to another.
And treat the sick who are present, and tell them that the kingdom of God has drawn near to them.

However, keep in mind that the kingdom of God is near at hand.

Corozain, and Bethsaida, may you suffer the consequences of your actions.

Tyre and Sidon, on the other hand, will be able to bear the consequences of the judgment more easily than you.

And he who listens to you hears me; and he who rejects you rejects me; and he who despiseth me, despiseth the one who dispatched me.

And he told them, “I saw Satan as if he were a bolt of lightning falling from heaven.” For behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions and all of the enemy’s power, and nothing will be able to harm you.

In the same hour, he exulted in the presence of the Holy Spirit and declared: “I confess to thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hidden these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them to children.” Yea, Father, because it has appeared good to thee in thy sight.’ This is the only time the group is mentioned in the Bible.

It could be derived from the seventy-two translators of the Septuagint mentioned in the Letter of Aristeas, or it could be derived from the seventy-two nations of Genesis 10 or any of the numerous other occurrences of the number seventy in the Bible.

Luke 10:4 refers to what has been said to the seventy (two) in passing, and Luke 22:35 refers to what has been said to the Twelve: Hippolytus of Rome was a disciple of Irenaeus, who in turn was taught by Polycarp, who in turn was taught by the Apostle John.

The Refutation of All Heresieswas readily accepted (once the false attribution to Origen was resolved), but his two small works, On the Twelve Apostles of ChristandOn the Seventy Apostles of Christ, are still regarded as dubious, and are included in the appendix of his works in the voluminous collection of writings by early Christian fathers.

How many disciples followed Jesus at the peak of his ministry? – Evidence for Christianity

How many disciples were there when Jesus was at the height of His popularity? Or, to put it another way, how many people were there at the time of John 6:66? A large number of his disciples turned back and no longer walked behind him after hearing this.

Answer:

The answer will be determined by your definition of “disciple” and by your definition of “following Jesus.” According to the gospels of Matthew and Mark, tens of thousands of people followed Jesus during the height of his public ministry. Five thousand men accompanied Jesus all the way around to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, where he died. If we include both ladies and men, the total number of people in this gathering exceeded 10 thousand. This is the setting for the remark in John 6, which takes place in the aftermath of the feeding of the 5000 people.

At the height of Jesus’ career, several tens of thousands of people heard him and followed him about.
Which of Jesus’ followers would have remained with him when he stated in Luke 14:23-33 that only those who are willing to give up everything may be disciples of Jesus?
In the tens of thousands of people that followed Jesus around, we should presume that only a tiny number had been converted and were actual disciples of Jesus.
We don’t know what to say.
However, it seems likely that the company in the upper room did not include everyone who had made a commitment to Jesus up to that point.
It’s likely that the majority of these people were actual disciples.
In light of the reaction on the Day of Pentecost recorded in Acts 2, we may estimate that the total number of genuine followers of Jesus at the time of his death was in the thousands, rather than the dozens or even hundreds, as some have speculated in the past.
Please accept my apologies for the ambiguous response.

Who were the 70 (or 72) disciples in Luke 10?

Answer Luke 10 is the only place in the Bible where we may find the story of Jesus sending a precise number of disciples (70 or 72) to pave the way for Him. Most of the inconsistencies in the number (either 70 or 72) are due to variances identified in around half of the ancient scrolls that were utilized in translation. The scriptures are roughly evenly divided between the two figures, and experts are divided on whether the number should be 70 or 72, despite the fact that this is a small matter that should not be a source of contention.

It doesn’t matter if Jesus sent out 70 or 72 disciples; the number is immaterial.
As soon as Jesus had appointed the 70 (or 72) disciples, he spoke about the critical necessity for evangelism (Luke 10:1–2).
This is really essential.
2) Exercise caution (Luke 10:3).
3) Have trust in what you’re doing (Luke 10:4).
They were carrying the message of Jesus and didn’t need to be weighed down by earthly possessions.
In order to avoid being distracted from their more essential goal of evangelism, the 70 were instructed to say hello to no one they met along the way and to keep their eyes on the road.

“Peace to this house,” the usual greeting of the day, was to be used to bless the 70 people who were to be housed there.

The 70 were instructed not to seek better accommodations and instead to remain in the home that had first welcomed them.

According to 1 Timothy 5:17–18, the employee is deserving of his pay.

8) Be willing to change (Luke 10:7–8).

9) Heal those who are sick (Luke 10:9).

It was as if the Great Physician had 70 interns on the road making home visits at the same time.

10) Proclaim the kingdom’s arrival (Luke 10:9).

After that, Jesus warned the 70 (or 72) disciples that they might encounter opposition in some villages (Luke 10:10), and He instructed them on how to respond: publicly wipe the dust of that town from their feet (Luke 10:11; see also 9:5), proclaim the kingdom one more time, and warn them of impending judgment (Luke 10:12).

When the Lord sent Jesus’ twelve apostles forth to cure sicknesses and cast out demons (Matthew 10:1–42; Luke 9:1–6), it was reminiscent of a similar commissioning that had occurred with the disciples.
According to Scripture, no one knows who the seventy disciples were or what they looked like.
It appears that their mission was focused only on paving Jesus’ road to the city of Jerusalem.
Because they were selected by the apostles as prospective substitutes for Judas (Acts 1:15–18), it is conceivable that two of them were Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias (Acts 1:23; see also Acts 1:24).
“For one of these must be a witness alongside us of his resurrection,” says the apostle Paul in Acts 1:21–22.
Given that God did not deem it vital for us to know the names of the 70 (or 72) disciples He entrusted with the critical mission of paving the way for Jesus, we do not need to consider it important for ourselves.
Additionally, while we may be enthralled by physical miracles and manifestations of supernatural power, the greatest wonder of all is the truth that worthless sinners may be transformed into righteous children of God through faith in Jesus Christ (Romans 5:8; 2 Corinthians 5:21; John 1:12).
In light of the fact that their names are irrelevant, it serves as a nice reminder that ours are, as well.

It is only the name of Jesus Christ that is worthy of all praise and honor (1 Corinthians 1:28–29; Philippians 2:9–11), and he alone deserves it. It is sufficient for our names to be recorded in the Lamb’s book of life to be remembered.

These 12 Men Shaped Christianity—But Were They Real?

A total of 12 apostles are named by Jesus Christ in the Bible, and their missionary zeal is credited with the quick growth of the early Christian church. However, there is little proof of the existence of the Twelve outside of the New Testament for the majority of them. When authorTom Bissell goes out to determine if the Twelve Apostles were real historical persons or just characters in a literary narrative, he writes about his journey inApostle: Travels Among the Tombs of the Twelve. During his journey, he walked for 500 miles along theCamino de Santiago pilgrim route in northern Spain, visited the location where Judas Iscariot is said to have hanged himself, and searched fruitlessly for a mysterious monastery in Kyrgyzstan, where the bones of the Apostle Matthew are believed to be buried.

If there had been aNew York Timesbest-seller list in the first century A.D., which column should the New Testament have appeared in? Fiction or nonfiction?

If you look at it from the perspective of the first century, I’m not sure that difference would have made a lot of sense. There was no difference made between evangelical propaganda and what the authors really thought to be true in their writing. From a modern perspective, it’s difficult to regard the Gospels as unadorned, true depictions of the life of Jesus. Back then, there was no such thing as a journalistic instinct. Their ideas that magic and divine were at work in the world won out over the facts and evidence.

You grew up a Catholic, but then had a crisis of faith. Wind the clock back and explain how that inspired you to write this book.

In fact, I did not suffer a crisis of faith so much as I just read a few books that made me think, “Wow, none of this stuff is probably true in the manner that I had previously believed it to be.” In spite of this, I remained captivated by these stories from both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament. My biggest inspiration for this book, however, came from the film Life of Brian, specifically the scene where Brian is fleeing from the Romans and jumps out of a tower into a marketplace full of gabbling prophets who are all saying nonsense, and so he just starts reciting random stuff to attract an audience and becomes famous.

You say that, “Christianity’s special appeal is largely furnished by its claims of historical legitimacy….yet the existence of the faith’s most crucial eyewitnesses is uncertain.”

One or two of the names reported in the New Testament are most likely those of real persons. There was almost certainly a Peter and a John, almost certainly a James (Jesus’ brother), and almost certainly a Thomas. Apart from the gospels themselves, there isn’t anything historical that can be used to establish their historical existence. As a result, I believe they are a combination of reality and fiction. In the early history of Christianity, one of the great mysteries is that we know a decent little about Paul and that James the brother of Jesus was a genuine person.

In other words, you have these 12 individuals who were the earliest disciples of Jesus, yet there is nothing written about them in any secular source. However, both Peter and John are mentioned in Paul’s writings, which shows that they were historical individuals rather than simply names.

You begin your search in Jerusalem for the final resting place of Judas Iscariot, whom you call the “electromagnet of wickedness.” Tell us about that journey—and whether you believe Judas was a real historical character.

That is a really difficult question to answer. In accordance with legend, however Scripture is unclear on this point, Judas hung himself in the Hinnom Valley, which is a stony, desert-like valley located in the southern section of Jerusalem and known as Hakeldamain the Hinnom Valley. You get the distinct impression that the location is cursed when you visit. That is the significance of these stories. You can sense the years of anger and contempt that have been directed at this individual who betrayed Jesus.

The question of whether or not his given name was Judas is a considerably more difficult one to answer.

There are several additional Jesus stories where the gospel authors appear to be singing from the same song sheet.

This seems to me that he was more of a literary figure than a real-life individual.

In 2006, a team of translators and scholars working for National Geographic published the so-called lost “Gospel of Judas.” Did this shed any further light on the subject?

The Gospel of Judas was an item of Sethian Christianity, a very confrontational style of non-mainstream Christianity that flourished in the first and second centuries, respectively. Their Judas, they imagined, took a little different route than the more traditional Judas. Judas is both a source of censure and a source of illumination for them at the same time. This group of people believed in a deity who was radically distinct from the proto-orthodox Christians of their day. The Sethian Christians despised the apostolic authority paradigm that was followed by the majority of Christians.

And some of them were just bizarre.
You, on the other hand, traveled there in search of Matthew’s grave.
Despite the fact that central Asia does not appear to be the most Christian-friendly region of the globe today, there was a significant Christian population in the region until the Middle Ages.
They were Christians from the Middle East who had been traveling eastward for centuries.
A Russian archaeologist claimed to have discovered it in 2006, which prompted me to go on a hunt for it.

However, it was one of my favorite excursions because it was so difficult to locate and because it was one of the most fascinating places I have ever been, despite the fact that my quest to locate St Matthew’s relics came to an unsatisfying finish.

You call the Apostle James a “particularly elusive character.” In 2002, anossuarysurfaced in Israel, which appeared to confirm his identity. Is there any truth to it?

We know for a fact that James, Jesus’ brother, was a genuine person. In the first century, a Jewish historian named Flavius Josephus makes reference to him. The ossuary, according to some, is genuine; however, the inscription on the wall, which reads “James, the Brother of Jesus” in Aramaic, is not. Although no trace of his remains has been discovered, he was certainly a well-known character in the first century, as evidenced by the fact that he appears in a great deal of early Christian material.

My lack of experience with archaeology and my lack of training in the field lead me to assume that James may have had a hidden tomb complete with an ossuary, but I’m ready to accept that possibility.
The difficulty with James, on the other hand, is that he contradicts everything that orthodox Christians believe regarding the virgin birth.
I believe that James existed, that there is a high possibility that he was Jesus’ older brother, and that he was the most influential figure in first-century Christianity after Jesus.
Generally speaking, the acknowledged rules of the cosmos do not cease to operate.

Did your journey end up convincing you of the historical veracity of the Apostles? Or just make you even more confused?

It didn’t move me at all, to be honest. Some people hold the belief that just believing in something is beneficial. This is one of my pet peeves. That is something I have a difficult time embracing because what if you believe in something monstrous? The ideas that emerge from the monotheistic Abrahamic religions are rather disturbing from a modern point of view, and this is especially true for the Jewish religion. These practices, including the way they treat women, the way they regard children, and the way they perceive authority, have little or no place in today’s secular society.

Anyone who appreciates opera, cinema, or literature isn’t likely to be compelled to put into question the meaning that religion provides.
Among the many ways in which the Western culture opted to educate itself what is meant by community and storytelling, as well as by truth, friendship, and loyalty, the Twelve Apostles’ stories constitute a significant part of the process.
In order to be in a better position, we should endeavor to reach a consensus on the relevance of meaning that may be obtained from literature or works of imagination.
This is not meant to imply that everything is a hoax; rather, it is meant to imply that we may take comfort from another person’s endeavor to bring order to the cosmos.

Perhaps the fact that it is only a fiction is the finest thing that can be said about it. The length and clarity of this interview have been adjusted for readability. Book Talk is curated by Simon Worrall. Subscribe to his blog atsimonworrallauthor.com or follow him on Twitter.

Jesus’s Twelve Disciples: How Many Disciples Did Jesus Have?

We’re all aware that Jesus had a total of twelve disciples, aren’t we? This is a number that appears in all four gospels several times. And the first three of them are a list of their names. Unfortunately, the lists are not in sync with one another. Simon Peter, Andrew, James (son of Zebedee), John, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, James (son of Alphaeus), Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot are among those named in Matthew and Mark as being there. Ten of these names are mentioned by Luke, but he adds Judas (the son of James) and leaves out Thaddaeus.

John and James (also known as “the sons of Zebedee”) are mentioned in passing.

As a result, the total number of disciples has increased to 14.

Here are a few hypotheses that might be considered:

Nicknames Were Used Some of the Twelve Disciples

Taking the supposition that Thaddaeus was also known as Judas (the son of James) as well as Nathanael, we can explain everything, but this is a significant leap of faith.

Some Lists Are Wrong

The lists of Matthew and Mark are totally consistent, indicating that their lists must be correct, but the listings of Luke and John must be incorrect.

The Group Was Dynamic

As disciples came and left during the course of Jesus’ three-year career, the number of disciples fluctuated, despite the fact that he only had twelve.

Twelve Is Not an Absolute Number

We live in a culture that places a high value on accuracy. Whenever we say twelve, we mean exactly twelve, neither more nor fewer. We’re not talking about twelve or twelve plus or minus a few of points; we’re talking about twelve. I reject the first explanation because it is too fantastical, and I reject the second explanation because it is too convenient to be true. While it’s possible that Jesus’ disciples varied throughout time, it’s more probable that the term “The Twelve” was used as a general reference than than a quantitative number.

Andrew, Bartholomew, James (son of Alphaeus), James (son of Zebedee), John, Judas Iscariot, Judas (son of James), Matthew, Nathanial, Philip, Simon Peter, Simon the Zealot, Thaddaeus, and Thomas are some of the people that have been mentioned.

The Bible Journey

Acts 1:12–26 (KJV) Following Jesus’ death and resurrection, his disciples remain in Jerusalem until they are infused with the power of the Holy Spirit on the Feast of the Transfiguration on the Day of Pentecost. They gather in the upstairs room (the guest room) “where they were staying” to discuss their plans (Acts 1:12). The remaining eleven disciples, as well as several female followers and members of Jesus’ immediate family, gather to pray. Matthias is chosen to take the place of Judas as one of the twelve apostles (who represent the twelve tribes of Israel) (see Acts 1:21-26).

At the beginning of his teaching ministry, Jesus had relocated to Capernaum, which was the principal fishing port on the Sea of Galilee (seeMap 15,Matthew 4:12-13Mark 1:212:1).
When Jesus came to Capernaum, it is possible that he utilized his carpentry abilities to make and repair the several huge wooden fishing boats that were located in the city.
Fishermen from Capernaum included Simon (Peter), Andrew, James, and John, as well as Thomas (Didymus), Nathaniel, and at least two additional disciples (see John 21:2-3).
Nathaniel (Bartholomew) traveled all the way from CanaanGalilee (see John 21:2 andMap 15).
He made a joke about Jesus originating from a little Galilean hamlet in the middle of nowhere: “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” he wondered.
Simon’s wife and mother-in-law resided at the family house in Capernaum with their children and grandchildren (see Mark 1:29-30).
They were given the appellation ‘Boanerges’ (‘Sons of Thunder’) by Jesus (see Mark 3:17) Philip was originally from Bethsaida.

Tax collector Levi (Matthew), the son of Alphaeus, resided in Capernaum and worked as a publican (Latin for “publicanus” or “publican,” which means “public servant”) (see Mark 2:13-17).

Levi (Matthew) resided in Capernaum, which is where the story begins (Mark 2:15) JudasIscariotwas not a member of the Galilean community.

He dealt for the money of the disciples, purchasing food and distributing presents to the destitute (see John 13:29).

In addition to being a fisherman and a valiant disciple (see John 11:16), Thomas (nicknamed “Didymus”) was a skeptic who took a long time to accept the fact that Jesus had been raised from the dead (see John 20:24-28).

“Zealots” were Jewish nationalists who were “zealous” in their opposition to the Romans, who had assumed direct control of Judaea in 6AD and were attempting to retake it (see the feature onJewish Nationalistsin Section 21).

A number of affluent women who were healed by Jesus went on to become disciples, and they contributed to Jesus’ financial support by using their own resources (see Luke 8:1-3).

She had traveled from Magdala, which was located on the western coast of the Sea of Galilee, just north of Herod Antipas’s city of Tiberias, to see him (seeMap 15and the feature onThe Jesus Boat at Magdalain Section 4).

She may have been a member of Herod Antipas’ court because her circle of acquaintances included Joanna, the wife of Chuza, the superintendent of Herod’s household who resided in Tiberias, and other members of the royal family.

It was in Tiberius that Joanna resided (Luke 8:3).

(see Luke 10:38-42, John 11:1-2Map 15).

When Mary poured expensive scented oil on Jesus’s feet (it was customary for the oil to be poured on someone’s head), she broke with tradition by wiping his feet with her long hair, despite the fact that it was against the rules for respectable women to loosen their hair in public (see John 12:1-8).

Joseph, a distinguished member of the Sanhedrin – the Jewish council – was originally from the city of Arimathea in the land of Judaea (seeMap 15).
He went to Pilate and requested for Jesus’ body, which he then placed in his own new tomb (see Luke 23:50-54).
When the members of the Jewish council (the Sanhedrin) sought to condemn Jesus, he issued a stern warning to them (see John 7:50).
Nicodemus was a Jew who lived in Jerusalem (John 3:1) JohnMark lived with his mother Mary in a huge family house in Jerusalem, where they raised their children (see Acts 12:12).
They were a well-to-do Jewish family with several servants, one of which was Rhoda.
Mark might very possibly be the ‘young man’ who sneaked away after Jesus was arrested, as described in Mark’s own story (see Mark 14:51).
(see Colossians 4:101 Peter 5:13).

St Mark’s Church, which can be visited in the Armenian Quarterof the old city of Jerusalem, was built in the 12thcentury on the foundations of an earlier Byzantine church believed to have stood on the site of the home of John Mark and his family.JosephBarsabbas (also In the role of the twelth apostle, Matthias was chosen to take the position of Judas Iscariot (see Acts 1:21-26).

Fig.6 Jesus’ followers go on their journeys. Continue to the next page

r/AcademicBiblical – About how many followers would Jesus have been surrounded by when he made his triumphal entry into Jerusalem?

In the case of a handful other messianic claims, we have some figures (although it is not advisable to use them to try to figure out how many followers Jesus had at his zenith). Given the fact that Josephus (Jewish Antiquities20.8.6) indicates that the Egyptian had 600 disciples who were either murdered or taken by the Romans, we may estimate that he had roughly 1,000 active followers in total. Although Josephus reports that the Egyptian had 30,000 disciples elsewhere, this is hardly realistic, especially in light of the Antiquities’ estimate of 20,000.

However, there are a number of reasons that should cause us to be cautious about relying on these statistics to estimate the size of Jesus’ congregation.

Numbers were rounded down and cited for rhetorical effect, which explains the vast disparity between Josephus’ claims of the Egyptians’ following and the contemporary testimonies.

It does not appear that Jesus attempted to lead an armed uprising against the Romans.

If we extrapolate the numbers in Josephus and Acts to account for Jesus’s female and kid followers, we will almost likely arrive at an erroneous estimate, because households in first-century Judea were structured differently than they are now.) Women married while they were young and married males when they were older.

Occasionally, males married more than one lady, however this was unusual because a man had to be wealthy in order to finance more than one dowry.

Apostle

Home PhilosophyReligion Beliefs in a Higher Power Any of the 12disciples selected by Jesus Christ is referred to as an apostle (from the Greek apostolos, “one sent”). The word is also occasionally used to refer to others, including Paul, who was converted to Christianity a few years after Jesus’ death and is known as the Apostle Paul. Earlier in the Gospel of Luke, it is claimed that Jesus picked 12 of his followers “whom he dubbed apostles.” Later in the Gospel of Mark, the Twelve are referred to as Apostles when it is mentioned that they had returned from the mission of teaching and healing that Jesus had sent them on.

The Twelve were granted the benefits of being in constant attendance on their master as well as being the receivers of his unique teaching and training.
Jesus’ inner circle consisted of three men: Peter, James, and John.
(Mark 14:33; Matthew 26:37).
In response to the betrayal and death of the traitor Judas Iscariot, urgent efforts were made to fill the void created by the election of Matthias to the Roman Senate (Acts 1).
It is believed that Paul himself claimed the title of Apostle on the grounds that he had personally witnessed the Lord and had received a direct mandate from him.
Certain early Christian writers, on the other hand, claim that some individuals were referred to as “apostles” after the time period covered by the New Testament.

Additionally, the term has been used to indicate a high-ranking administrative orecclesiastical official. Those in charge of editing the Encyclopaedia Britannica Melissa Petruzzello was the author of the most recent revision and update to this article.

Why did Jesus Choose 12 Disciples

Jesus climbed up a mountainside and called out to those that he desired, and they came running to meet him. He chose twelve people to be with him and to be sent out to preach so that he might be more effective. Mark 3:13-14 (KJV) There were a variety of religious, intellectual, and political leaders in the first-century Roman civilization, each of whom had a dedicated group of followers. In Judaism, devoted apprentices were required to follow a rabbi. A special teacher-student connection was developed between Jesus of Nazareth and twelve specific persons from among the multitudes who followed Him.

Instead of approaching a rabbi and asking to be instructed by him, Jesus chose the men He wanted and called them to follow Him.
And the group He picked was a broad mix of individuals who were not affiliated with the Jewish religious establishment.
Because they were fishermen, Jesus came across Peter and his brother Andrew, who were tossing nets into the water.
In response to Jesus’ summons, the four fishermen immediately abandoned their nets and joined the ranks of the Hismathetai, the Histalmidim.

Rather, under the guidance of Jesus, they would develop into men who would “fish for people” (Matthew 4:18–22), a phrase that means “fish for people.” 1 One of the most astonishing things we learn from the Gospel stories is that when Jesus called these men, they immediately abandoned whatever they were doing and followed Him.

The 12 Disciples

The apostles were chosen by Jesus after a night of prayer on a mountaintop. He gathered His supporters together and publicly selected twelve of them to serve as apostles: After waking up in the morning, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them to be apostles: Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew (whom he named James), James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, Judas son of James (also known as Thaddaeus, the name that is used in Matthew and Mark), and Judas Iscariot, who later became a traitor.

(See Luke 6:13–16.) There are other stories of the disciples’ summoning in Mark 1:16–20, Luke 5:2–11, and John 1:40–42, as well as the Gospel of John.
The Israelites, God’s chosen people, were split into twelve tribes, each with its own language and culture.
Although it is apparent that the force of God was at work in calling these individuals, it is dubious that they realized the full depth of what they were getting themselves into when they first became followers of Jesus.
However, it wasn’t until Jesus was nearing the conclusion of His earthly life that He was able to reveal to them the true cost of discipleship.
It was He who stated it in such severe words when He declared that anybody who want to follow Him must deny himself and take up his cross (Luke 9:23) in order to do so.
As a result of their commitment to Christ, several people were murdered.
Before ascending into heaven, Jesus “graduated” His followers, as was the custom of the rabbi at the time of His death.

He also promised that they would be able to go and spread the good news of the kingdom.

They spoke courageously about Jesus’ death and resurrection, hailed the entrance of a new way of life, and performed amazing miracles to substantiate their claims.

They carried the message to the furthest reaches of the globe, as instructed.

Because, as Jesus made very plain throughout the Gospels and as His apostles made abundantly evident throughout their New Testament writings, not everyone who names Jesus “Savior” may be considered a disciple of Christ.

In order to be a disciple, one must dedicate one’s entire life to following the Lord, training as His student, and studying His Word.

Eventually, the student will be able to perform all of the tasks that his Master has assigned to him (Philippians 4:13). Also in Matthew 28:19–20, Jesus pledges to remain with His disciples “until the end of the age,” implying that He would be with them “until the end of the era.”

For Personal Reflection

What steps can you take to commit your entire life to serving the Lord more fully? The following article was adapted from study materials in the New International Version Storyline Bible. The New International Version (NIV) Storyline Bible From Genesis to Revelation, take a journey through the intricately intertwined tale of the gospel. The NIV Storyline Bible has over 200 articles that explain the linked nature of God’s Word as well as the whole story that spans both the Old and New Testaments.

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Many Disciples Leave Jesus

As soon as Jesus returned to the city of Bethsaida, which was close to Capernaum, He did not have much free time on his hands. Some of the throngs of people He had miraculously fed with five loaves and two fishes had finally tracked Him down and found Him. The discussion that ensued between them and Jesus was entirely focused on the consumption of bread. What an appropriate topic – bread! Because they had eaten bread, Jesus brought up the subject of bread. When the Israelites were in the wilderness on their way out of Egypt, manna had fallen from heaven to sustain them.

It was nutritious enough to keep one’s bodily existence going.
But Jesus’ bread was a unique creation.
He was the genuine loaf of bread (John 6:32-35).
He was not like that old, rotting manna, yet he was.
John 6:47 promises that those who “eat” Him will live eternally!
You don’t require anything else.
I have faith that you will discover Him to fulfill all of your deepest aspirations – all that you long for.
The Living Water and the Bread of Life are both identified as Jesus Christ.

Disturbing Statement

Jesus concluded His teaching session by stating that one must likewise eat His flesh and drink His blood in order to be saved. The phrase was intended to be metaphorical, alluding to His impending death. Here is what Jesus had to say: If you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, I honestly believe, I believe that you have no life in yourselves. Eat my flesh and drink my blood, and I will raise him up on the final day if he believes in Me and follows My teachings. 6:53-54 (John 6:53-54).

In order to be forgiven of one’s sins, one must embrace His physical death as well as His resurrection from the dead. If this is not the case, one will not be able to dwell forever with God (John 6:53). This was a revolutionary thought for everyone who was paying attention.

Difficult Statement

When the followers of Jesus heard this, they were concerned. So, when His followers heard this, several of them expressed their dissatisfaction by saying, “This is a tough statement; who can listen to it?” When we look back at John 6:60 (NASB), we can see why it was difficult for those who were standing there and listening to hear what was being spoken. What would you think if a guy told you that you could eat His flesh and drink His blood, that He was the Bread of Life, and that He would give you eternal life?

People were thinking when Jesus used such examples, and the people were thinking because Jesus used such illustrations to persuade them to think.
“What if you see the Son of Man ascending to the place where He was before?” you might wonder.
How did He find out, and what would they do in response?
He refers to himself as “the Son of Man.” His humanness – his fleshly body – and His return to heaven are both highlighted in this passage.
Those who had difficulty comprehending Jesus’ words were unable to comprehend the heavenly message.
However, there are those of you who do not believe in what I am saying.
Those who grappled with Jesus’ statements were those who did not believe Him, according to John 6:63-64 (NASB).
At times now, it seems as though all people need is a fantastic book that refutes evolution and supports creation, a book that defends biblical truth or a CD or DVD that displays some archaeological finding related to the Christian faith is all they want.
They will never comprehend if you don’t explain it to them.
The words of the scriptures strike the heart and soul of all who read them (Hebrews 4:12).
His statements were spiritual in nature, according to Jesus.

Paradoxical Statement

Many of the people who did not comprehend Jesus did not believe, and many of those who did not believe did not believe because God the Father had not selected them to believe. That is the next remark made by Jesus. He reiterated His prior message in John 6:37 and 44, although from a different point of view than the previous message. In response, He said, “For this reason, I have stated to you that no one can come to Me unless he or she has received permission from the Father.” 6:65 (John 6:65) (NASB) The point that Jesus is making is that they did not believe Him because God the Father had not given them permission to respond to what He was teaching them.

The only way someone may “come to,” that is, come to believe in Jesus, is if God the Father gives them permission to do so.
We found in our last study that no one will come to Jesus unless God the Father had 1) granted them permission to do so and 2) prepared them to do so (John 6:65).
Please see the previous study “Bread of Life, part 2” as well as the study titled “Predestination and Free Will” for a thorough explanation of the meaning of this passage.
Both facts are taught in Scripture, and thus both are true.
The outcome was that many of His disciples left Him and did not continue to walk with Him after that point.
Many preachers, teachers, churches, and para-church groups would suffer as a result of this in today’s society.
That would be a complete and utter rejection.

Some modern-day church officials would begin to be concerned about the church’s financial situation.

It is possible that some individuals may question whether they should have avoided preaching or teaching certain things because some teachings irritate others and lead some to quit.

He said the truth, and he was well aware that some people would react badly.

For every church leader and member, this is a powerful lesson to learn from.

What matters to us is that God uses us to help individuals believe in Jesus and grow spiritually, rather than how many people come to our events.

Those are strong words, full with feeling.

I’m curious as to how Jesus felt. “Are you planning to depart as well?” We truly only require five things on this planet: food, sunlight, work, recreation and someone to whom we can turn when we need anything. When someone leave for the wrong reasons, it may be extremely tough on an emotional level.

Mixed Emotions

Afterwards, Peter encouraged Jesus with the words, Simon says. Peter asked Him, “Lord, to whom should we go? You have the words of eternal life in your possession. We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.” John 6:68-69 (NASB)“To whom should we go, Lord?” As far as Peter was concerned, there was no one else. We have believed! The Greek word for “believed” comes from the verb PISTEUO. It is in the perfect tense. This implies that the disciples had already believed and were still believing.

One who sincerely believes will never cease believing.
1 John 2:19 (NASB)Oh, they might stumble here or there, but a true follower believes, continues to believe, and does what God commands.
They believed He was the “Righteous One” – the promised Messiah.
There was one among them who did not believe.
Jesus answered them, “Did I Myself not choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is a devil?” Now He meant Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray Him.
His problem was that he never, ever believed.
Not that they are traitors, but they are among us and do not really believe.

Conclusion

On this particular occasion, Jesus spoke to four different groups of individuals. The first group consisted of religious leaders from the Jewish faith. As early as the beginning of Jesus’ career, they made it apparent that they did not accept Him when they stated that He exorcised demons by employing demonic abilities. They had chastised Him for curing individuals who were in need, and they had questioned His teachings as a result of this. They made several attempts to discredit Jesus in front of the multitude in whatever way they could think of.

People now reject Jesus for a variety of reasons, according to the prevailing opinion.
Because if you reject the notion of a god, or even if you reject the concept of the God of the Bible, you will never be able to look for or locate God in the cosmos.
They were drawn to Jesus because He was exhilarating.
The opportunity for them to leave their houses and listen and see Him must have been fantastic — what wonderful entertainment!
Others must have begun to believe that He was divine or something – perhaps even God – after a while.
Jesus could have had a large ministry with tens of thousands of people if he had the opportunity.
Jesus, on the other hand, did not act in this manner.

He was a celestial being.

Who would have thought such things were possible?

They left Him alone with a far smaller number of people.

The twelve disciples had been summoned one by one by Jesus.

They witnessed His miracles and listened to Him lecture.

The twelve were the only ones who were familiar with Jesus.

They would eventually die as a result of their devotion to Him, preaching and teaching for Him, and assisting others in their search for Jesus as their Messiah.

He gave the impression of being one of them, but he wasn’t.

Once in a while, when things become tough or if something “better” comes along, they will sneak away.

Which group do you assert that you are a member of?

According to William Barclay, Being a follower of Jesus without being a disciple is conceivable; being a camp follower without being a soldier of the kingdom is possible; and being a hanger-on in any great effort without contributing one’s share is feasible.

“So and so has informed me that he was one of your students,” he explained.

If you are not a member of Jesus’ church yet, you can become one if you so choose.

Take a moment to pray to God.

As long as you are honest, He will grant you eternal life and ensure that you have a seat in paradise at some point in the future.

If this is the case, Peter and the other disciples serve as models for what God expects of you.

They were prepared to live for Him in this life as well as to die for Him in the next.

Living for Jesus, living a life that is true, striving to please Him in whatever I do; yielding allegiance, joyful hearted, and free; this is the route that leads to blessing for me.

I have no other master but You, and my heart will be Your palace forever.

I devote my life to You, O Christ, and I will continue to live solely for You. — Thomas Obediah Chisholm, abolitionist Please see “Predestination and Free Will” for a discussion of man’s and God’s choices in the matter of salvation.

References:

1. William Barclay’s The Gospel of Luke, published in 1895, page 595. Do you have any comments or questions? Do you want to be alerted when new research are published?