New Testament blog post #3 - Apostles

I was asked to review some scriptures and find the names of the Twelve Apostles

Names of the Apostles:

Simon (surnamed Peter)

Andrew

James the son of Zebedee (surnamed Boanerges)

John the son of Zebedee (surnamed Boanerges)

Philip

Bartholemew

Thomas

Matthew

James (son of Alphæus)

Lebbæus Thaddæus

Simon the Canaanite

Judas Iscariot

I was then supposed to choose three of the Apostles, look up their entries in the Bible Dictionary, and write a sentence about each of them. I decided to pick Apostles I was least familiar with. The problem with a few of them however, is that we don’t have very much information about them. Still, that is informative in its own way.

Bartholemew – All that we know about him is that he was one of the Twelve Apostles and that he was associated, for some reason, with one of Jesus’ disciples, named Nathanael.

Lebbæus Thaddæus – Again, all that we know about him is that he was an Apostle.

Simon the Canaanite – A member of the Twelve, he was also known as “Simon Zelotes,” or “The Zealot.” According to the Bible Dictionary, “Zealots were a party among the Jews who were determined to resist Roman or any foreign authority in Palestine.”

Since I chose Apostles on which the information we have is very limited, I feel like I should compensate somehow in the assignment by writing some insights. It is interesting to me that only some of the Apostles, like Simon Peter and John the Beloved and even Judas Iscariot, get a large amount of recognition. It makes me wonder whether the other Apostles, the ones I chose for this assignment just displayed obedience to the Savior or never spoke much or never did anything out of turn. Some of the attention that goes to specific Apostles (in fact, much of it) seems to go to them when they do something wrong. Thomas doubts that the Savior appeared to the other Apostles; Peter denies Christ three times, cuts off someone’s ear, and prompts Christ to say “get thee behind me, Satan”; some of the Apostles argue about which one of them is most favored; and Judas Iscariot is highlighted because of his betrayal. The only instances I can think of in which a specific Apostle is cast in a positive light is when Peter answers one of Jesus’s questions with “Thou art the Christ, the son of the living God,” because he is called blessed after that point, and when he walks on water to greet the Savior—and even then, Jesus asks him why he doubted when he begins to sink. It makes me wonder whether the Apostles who are less recognized never did anything wrong or just never really did anything out of the ordinary.
Anyway, moving on.

Write the definition of an Apostle, according to the Bible Dictionary, D&C 107:23, and Acts 4:33:

The Twelve Apostles gave witness of the resurrection of Christ, and the past and current Apostles are special witnesses of the name of Christ in all the world. The word “Apostle” means “one sent forth,” according to the Bible Dictionary. Christ chose and ordained certain men to be his closest disciples during his ministry, and they were given the title of Apostle.
The Twelve Apostles constitute an administrative council in the work of ministering the gospel. The title of apostle was also given to people who, though they were not members of the twelve, were called as special witnesses of the Lord by the Lord.
Jesus is also referred to as an apostle, and in that case, the title means He is the personal and select representative of the Father.

Describe in writing how the Savior’s teachings to his Apostles in Matthew 10:5-42 prepared them to go and proclaim the gospel.

If I could boil down in one phrase what I see as the most important part of the Savior’s teaching and preparation of his Apostles in these verses, it would be “Give all.” Give all to others, and give all in the doing of the work. I think that is the most important thing to remember when we are preaching the gospel and spreading the word. I think that too often we come to preach and we only ask things of people. We tell them the things they have to give up and the things they can no longer do and give them new responsibilities that they must fulfill in order to be worthy of heaven. But Jesus taught his disciples to heal the sick and the afflicted, and he didn’t give a caveat to that commandment. I think one of the best ways to do missionary work is just to be kind to people and help them, and so that was, I think, one of the best ways to prepare the Apostles for their ministry. Some of the other things Christ tells them is that they should be “wise as serpents and harmless as doves,” because he sends them “as sheep in the midst of wolves.” I think a good servant of God is trusting and kind, and like a child in many ways, but not naïve‑there are many instances in which the Apostles, as Christ, confound those who try to catch them in their words. Christ also tells his Apostles not to worry about worldly things, but to worry only about the work. These were, to me, the most significant things I found in these verses when it comes to preparing the Apostles for the work.

Read Luke 5:1-11. Explain in writing what you learn from the responses made by Peter, James, and John to the Savior’s call. How could you apply their actions and examples in your own life?

First, they recognize a miracle when they see it and attribute its success to the Lord. This is a quality that I think can be difficult in our day. We have so much knowledge and expertise at our disposal that what might have been considered a miracle in a previous time, like causing the deaf to hear, can be accomplished with technology now. But I think there is still room for miracles, large and small, in each of our lives. I feel I experienced a small one just this week. The second admirable way they responded is to “straightway leave their nets” and follow Christ. Sometimes we hum and haw, unsure of whether we should follow the Savior, but we know what the right thing is to do. What’s left is to pluck up the courage to do it.