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gentile had not yet been converted.
All were familiar with Hebrew
scríptures. All learned both wbat
Jesus said and did.
But the autborities, botb reli–
gious and secular, wanted this mes–
sage of the kingdom of God
stopped. Notice what the apostles
said in response to their demands.
"For we cannot but speak the
things which we have
seen and
heard"
(Acts 4:20). Wbat things?
Why, the things Jesus both
spoke and did! The tbings that
became the basis for the written
again the third day ... and that He
was seen by Cepbas [Peter], then
by the twelve. After that He was
seen by over five hundred brethren
at once, of whom the greater part
remain to tbe present [more than
20 years after Jesus' resurrection],
but sorne have fallen asleep [have
died]" (I Cor. 15:3-6, excerpts).
Paul calls these 500 "brethren.' '
At the time the resurrected Christ
appeared to them they were not
converted and could not truly be
called spirituaJ brethren. This can
only mean tbat they became con-
sion, the common property of the
early Christian Churches, and was
not limited to the 'recollections' of
a few individuaJs.... The signifi–
cance of this view is obvious. The
memories of a few individual s
might be mistaken- since human
recollection is notoriously faJlible–
but the testimony of a group, even
if anonymous, is more likely to
have been verified, criticized, sup–
ported, culled and selected during
the course of the first generation of
early Church evangelism. The pos–
sibility of fabrication by one or two
records of Jesus' life and
teachings in the New
Testament.
But did the apostles
forget the gospel in part
as some modern critics
surmise? Consider two
things. First, the apostles
both discussed it among
themselves and taught it
to others,
daily.
Second,
they were promised su–
pernatural help in re–
membering correctly.
Notice what J esus had
said to the disciples: " But
the Comforter , which is
the Holy [Spirit), wbom
the Father will send in
my name, he shaJI teach
you all things, and bring
all things to your remem–
brance, whatsoever
1
have
said unto you" (John
14:26,
AV).
Seven Who
Shaped
Destiny
T
he New Testament is
basically made up of the
testimony of seven persons.
Who were these individuals?
about one quarter of the
New Testament.
was close to both Peter and
Paul. Mark assisted these
two pillar apostles in their
work.
James: Jesus' hall
Peter: The chief apostle
and the one mainty
responsible for getting the
gospel to the Jewish people.
He wrote his two general
epistles and had a great
influence on Mark's gospel.
(Jude wrote a short
one-chapter letter, bu! much
of its content is strikingly
similar to 11 Peter.)
brother and later !he
presiding pastor of the
Jerusalem church. He had a
reputation for rock-solid
loyalty. He wrote the general
epistle bearing his name.
Matthew: A tax-collector
trained to record information
accurately. His gospel was
directed to the Hebrew
people. His business gave
him a particular knowledge
of human nature.
Luke: A learned physic1an
who wrote the third gospel
account. Luke accompanied
the apostle Paul on severa!
of his journeys. He wrote
the New Testament's only
formal history-the book ol
Acts.
John: The apostle closest
to Jesus Christ as a human
being. In addition to writing
the fourth gospel and three
general letters. he
completed the apostolic
testimony with the book ol
Revelation.
Paul: The apostle lo !he
gentiles who wrote
14
epistles. Only the book of
Hebrews does not bear his
name. He is responsible for
Mark: John Mark was one
of the gospel writers. His
lamily was influential in the
early Jerusalem church. He
Not the Apostles Only
Notice what Peter said about the
other nearly 11O disciples: "There–
fore, of these meo wbo have accom–
panied us [the 11 remaining apos–
tles] all the time that the Lord Jesus
went in and out among us, beginning
from the baptism of John to that day
when He was taken up from us, one
of these must become a witness with
us of His resurrection" (Acts
1
:21-
22). That is, an additionaJ apostle to
replace the betrayer and thief, Judas
l scariot.
In his firs t letter to the Corin–
thian church, Paul reviews the
events surrounding tbe resurrection
of Jesus in briefest summary form:
"For
1
delivered to you first of aJI
that which I also received : that
Christ d ied for our sins ... and that
He was bu ried, and that He rose
26
ver ted either on or shortly after the
day of Pentecost, A.D. 31. Tbey
discussed what they had seen for
themselves, learned what they did
not yet know from the apostles, and
continued to spread this spiritual
knowledge to new converts brought
into the Jerusalem church.
The gospel record- the message
of Jesus Christ- was at first an
accurate
oral
record preserved
I N
MANY MINOS.
Many
would know
the trutb accurately. Many would
repeatedly discuss the life and
teachings of Jesus Christ not only
among themselves, bu t also wi th
new converts as they were added to
the churcb. Jesus' message was not
a secret message!
Here is the sage conclusion
d rawn by theologian F.C. Grant:
"The t radition was a social posses-
individua ls is completely ruled
out. ... Bas ic trustworthiness is
beyond doubt; for it [the tradition]
rests, not upon one man's recollec–
tions- say Peter's--or those of two
or three persons but upon the
whole group of the earliest disci–
ples"
(The Gospels,
page 1).
Tbe apostles continued their pub–
líe work at Jerusalem for a decade.
The immediate focus of the gospel
was the message God sent by Jesus
of Nazareth and the crucifixion and
the resurrection. Peter said, "This
Jesus God has raised up, ofwhich
we
are al/ witnesses"
(Acts 2:32; cf.
3:15). The apostles spoke with
temerity. " They spoke tbe word of
God with boldness" (Acts 4:31).
"And with great power the apostles
gave witness to the resurrection of
tbe Lord J esus" (Acts 4:33). As
Thfi
PLAIN TRUTH