The Lord Jesus Christ and His Apostles

The Lord left his apostles with instructions and with great gifts. The instructions are listed in several distinct places, but the the gifts are more scattered, both in the four gospels and in the book of Acts later, being given as the apostles needed them.

First, about the apostles... just to clarify, here I'm referring to "the disciples" as including anyone who has followed along to hear the Lord, and "the apostles" to mean the twelve men that the Lord recruited specifically, as listed in Matthew 10, Mark 3, and Luke 6.

Who were the apostles? From the lists in Matthew and Mark, which are the same, we have: Simon (Peter), James and John the sons of Zebedee, Andrew (Peter’s brother), Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew (the publican), Thomas, James the son of Alpheus, (as is Matthew, so they are brothers, too), Thaddeus, (also known as Libbeus), Simon the Canaanite (also called Simon the Zealot), and Judas Iscariot. Bartholomew is almost undoubtedly another name for Nathaniel, see John 1. The list in Luke includes another Judas, "Judas the brother of James" and doesn’t have Thaddeus.

The stories of how they were individually chosen differ, especially in the gospel of John, but that these twelve were appointed by the Lord is clear. A point of interest is that - other than Simon the Canaanite and Judas Iscariot they are all from towns around the sea of Galilee - and perhaps those two are as well. These twelve have their names inscribed on the twelve foundations of the walls of the holy city New Jerusalem, in Revelation 21:14 in which there are also the twelve gates. These men were chosen to represent all the different states of the natural human being that can be receptive of the Lord. They are from Galilee because Galilee represents that natural state of the human mind. The number twelve in the Word represents all possible states of mankind.

What is indicated here is that all people, everywhere, can be saved or regenerated if they repent and turn to the Lord in their lives. No one is "outside" of His reach. We are born natural, everyone is, but we are so formed that our minds can be raised to what is higher, called spiritual for our conceptions of Divine truth, or Celestial for our perceptions of Divine good. But we all start in a natural state and can only move upward by listening to the Lord’s teachings in His Word, and following Him as those Apostles did.

Not all of our natural states are states of good; they can be selfish, domineering, and cruel. But the Lord said that He came "not to save the just but to call sinners to repentance". Perhaps this is why Simon the Canaanite and Judas were two that He called. Simon is little known, but in some places in the Word, "Canaan signifies an external worship without a true internal worship". (See Arcana Coelestia 1060). Can the Lord work with that - with external worship that's internally barren? Yes, as a starting point. And, even Judas, who betrayed the Lord so terribly, we are told, repented of his betrayal of the Lord. (Matthew 27:3-5)

The Lord's Instructions to the Apostles

The two most comprehensive sets of instructions are in Luke 10:1-17 where seventy Disciples are sent out two by two, apparently to a specified list of cities that Jesus intends to visit, and then in Matthew 20:1-19 where the chosen twelve Apostles are sent out to all Israel. Later, as recorded in different epistles, the Apostles go out further, through a wide region.

The basic instructions were to preach that the kingdom of heaven is near, that all should be led to repent of their sins, and that all who wish should be baptized in the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit. The Apostles should not take any money or extra clothing along, and they were to depend entirely on the Lord’s providence with no doubt that they shall be welcomed, fed, and sheltered. If they were welcomed, they should stay and preach the good news about the risen Lord and His teachings, and if they were not, they should shake from their feet the dust of that place and go on to a place where they were welcome. See Matthew 10, 28, Mark 13, 16, Luke 9, 10:24.

There are several assurances for the twelve. The Lord has told them to stay in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit is sent to strengthen them, and in John 20 where the ten are gathered it is said that He breathed on them and said, "Receive ye the Holy Spirit". Also, in his long talk with them in John 14, 15, 16) He assures them that his crucifixion and death are necessary to his mission and they should even rejoice that it is coming. He shows them from scripture that it has all been prophesied from long ago, (see Mark 4:34) and that what seems to them a tragedy, is truly His glorification and the end of the work He came to do. They, His twelve, are in the same steam of providence and will be protected. "Don’t be anxious," He tells them, "I will put into your mouths what you are to say, I will bring into your memories the incidents to tell to the people".

Here is a listing of the chapters and verses in John where such things are said: John 14:1-3, 10, 16-18, 26-28, 15:11, 16, 26-27, 16:7, 13-15, 22, 26-27, 33. Or simply read the three chapters and pick out your favorites.

A marvelous gift is mentioned in Matthew 10:13, "But blessed are your eyes for they see and blessed are your ears, for they hear…".

In the book of Acts, the Lord vividly shows the apostles that when they speak in their Galileen dialect every listener will hear their words as his own language in his ears; not gibberish, but Arabic to the Arabs, Greek to the Greeks, and Latin to the Romans.

When Peter starts to preach to a gathering of sympathetic Jews he speaks clearly and unafraid, saying that Jesus of Nazareth was the Son of God and that people should worship Him openly and repent of how they might have felt earlier. Peter’s talk in Acts 3 and 4 is a bold and powerful one. No more hiding behind locked doors.

The early history of the Christian church shows just how well all this worked out. You know what? The Apostles preached to the peoples in the Near East 2000 years ago, and their preaching is just as relevant today as it was then: "Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Being at hand has nothing to do with the date or the state of political history in the world, it has to do with the inside of your mind. The Lord is just as close to you now as He was then, and He never turns away, though we might turn away from him. Remember that He said "behold I stand at the door and knock and if anyone hears and opens the door He will come right in." This hasn’t changed nor will it ever change, but He leaves us in freedom to ignore His knocking, if that is what we want. We have to make the choice, but He is always ready if we choose to open the door.

937. That Moses signifies the Word of the Old Testament, is evident from certain passages in the Word where he is mentioned. In some places, however, by Moses is meant the law in its strictest sense, which is the law published from Mount Sinai. In some, the law in a broader sense, which is the historical Word, is meant by him. But in the present case the Word of the Old Testament is meant, both historical and prophetical. The reason why Moses signifies the Word is, that the Ten Precepts, and afterwards the Five Books, which were the first [portion] of the Word, were not from himself but from the Lord through him.

That Moses is mentioned instead of the law and the Word is plain from the following passages. In Luke:

"Abraham said unto him, They have Moses and the prophets, let them hear them: if they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead" (16:29, 31).

Here by Moses and the Prophets is meant the same as elsewhere by the Law and the Prophets, namely, the historical and prophetical Word.

In the same:

Jesus, "beginning from Moses and all the prophets, interpreted in all the scriptures the things concerning himself" (24:27).

In the same:

"All things must be fulfilled which are written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the Psalms, concerning me" (24:44).

In John:

Philip said, "We have found him, of whom Moses hath written in the law" (1:45).

In the same:

"In the law Moses commanded us" (8:5).

In Daniel:

"The curse hath poured down upon us; and the oath, which is written in the law of Moses, the servant of God; because we have sinned against him. As it is written in the law of Moses, every evil cometh upon us" (9:11, 13).

In Joshua:

Joshua wrote upon the stone of the altar "a copy of the law of Moses" (8:32).

In John:

"Moses gave to you the law, Moses gave to you circumcision. If a man receive circumcision on the Sabbath, thus that the law of Moses might not be broken" (7:19, 22, 23).

In Mark:

"Moses hath said, Honour thy father and thy mother" (7:10).

[2] Because on account of the representation, that is attributed to Moses which was done by the Lord through him, therefore the law of Moses and the law of the Lord are both mentioned in Luke:

"When the days of their purification were fulfilled according to the law of Moses, they brought him to Jerusalem (even as it is written in the law of the Lord, that every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord) to offer the sacrifice, according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtle doves, and two young pigeons" (2:22-24, 29).

[3] Because Moses represented the law, it was allowed him to enter in to the Lord upon Mount Sinai, and not only to receive there the Tables of the Law, but also to hear the statutes and judgments of the Law; and to command them to the people. And it is also said, that they might thence believe in Moses for ever:

"Jehovah said unto Moses, Behold I will come to thee in the mist of a cloud, that the people may hear, when I shall speak unto thee; and also may believe in thee for ever" (Exodus 19:9).

[4] It is said, in the mist of a cloud, because by a cloud is signified the Word in the letter. Hence also when Moses entered in to the Lord on Mount Sinai,

He entered into a cloud (Exodus 20:21; 24:2, 18; 35:2-4).

That a cloud signifies the sense of the letter of the Word may be seen (n. 36, 594, 905, 906).

Because Moses represented the Lord as to the law or the Word, therefore,

"When he came down from Mount Sinai, the skin of his face shone; therefore when he spake with the people, he put a veil upon his face" (Exodus 34:28 to end).

The radiation of the face signified the internal of the law; for this is in the light of heaven. The reason of his veiling his face when he spake with the people was, became the internal of the Word was covered, and so obscured to that people, that they could not sustain anything of the light thence.

[5] Since Moses represented the Lord as to the historical Word, and Elias the Lord as to the prophetical Word, therefore, when the Lord was transfigured, Moses and Elias were seen talking with Him (Matthew 17:3). Nor could any others speak with the Lord when His Divine appeared in the world, but those who signified the Word; for all discourse with the Lord is by means of the Word. That Elias represented the Lord as to the Word may be seen above (n. 624).

And because both Moses and Elias, together, represented the Word, therefore, where Elias being sent before the Lord is treated of, both are mentioned in Malachi:

"Remember ye the law of Moses, my servant, which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel, the statutes and the judgments. Lo, I send to you Elias the prophet, before the great and terrible day of Jehovah cometh" (Malachi 4:4-6).

By Elias the prophet is meant John the Baptist, because by him, as by Elias, the Word was represented; see above (n. 624, 724).