Sarkophag des Apostels Matthias in Trier - Apostle Saint Mattias - Απόστολος Ματθίας - ܡܬܝܐ ܫܠܝܚܐ - Апостол Матфий - Մատաթիա առաքյալ - მატათა მოციქული

... central elements from the 5th century dome mosaic in the Neonian Bapistery in Ravenna, Italy. As so often in Christian art and iconography, Apostle Saint Paul rather than Apostle Saint Matthias (Acts 1:16-26) is depicted as completing the Twelve after Jesus' Passion, Resurrection and Ascension.

From the Gospel According to Saint Matthew

Matthew 4:18-22

As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax office; and he said to him, "Follow me." And he rose and followed him.

In Basilica of Saint John Lateran, Rome

Matthew 9:9

(And note that this reference of Matthew to Matthew himself comes in Chapter 9, after the introduction of Peter, Andrew, John and James in Chapter 4, but before the introduction of the Twelve in Matthew Chapter 10.)

After many references to disciples, the introduction of Peter, Andrew, John and James in Chapter 4, and the introduction of Matthew in Chapter 9, we see first in Matthew Chapter 10 the introduction of the Twelve. The Twelve are introduced and named in Matthew 10:1-4, and from Matthew 10:5 through the end of this Chapter at Matthew 10:42 the evangelist records Christ's commission to the Twelve, the Words of Christ. This being the case all of Matthew Chapter 10 is reproduced here.

And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every infirmity. The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zeb'edee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. These twelve Jesus sent out, charging them, "Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And preach as you go, saying, `The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying, give without pay. Take no gold, nor silver, nor copper in your belts, no bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor a staff; for the laborer deserves his food. And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it, and stay with him until you depart. As you enter the house, salute it. And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. And if any one will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town. Truly, I say to you, it shall be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomor'rah than for that town. "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of men; for they will deliver you up to councils, and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear testimony before them and the Gentiles. When they deliver you up, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will deliver up brother to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death; and you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next; for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel, before the Son of man comes. "A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master; it is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Be-el'zebul, how much more will they malign those of his household. "So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the dark, utter in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim upon the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father's will. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. So every one who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven; but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven. "Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man's foes will be those of his own household. He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and he who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for my sake will find it. "He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives him who sent me. He who receives a prophet because he is a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward, and he who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward. And whoever gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he shall not lose his reward." (emphasis added)

And when Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in their cities.

Amidst many references to Christ's disciples, without specifying that only the Twelve are meant, we find:

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat there; and the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: "A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they had not much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched; and since they had no root they withered away. Other seeds fell upon thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear." Then the disciples came and said to him, "Why do you speak to them in parables?" And he answered them, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to him who has will more be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. With them indeed is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah which says: `You shall indeed hear but never understand, and you shall indeed see but never perceive. For this people's heart has grown dull, and their ears are heavy of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should perceive with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn for me to heal them.' But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. Truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it. "Hear then the parable of the sower. When any one hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in his heart; this is what was sown along the path. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is he who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the delight in riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. As for what was sown on good soil, this is he who hears the word and understands it; he indeed bears fruit, and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty."

Matthew 13:1-23

The Parable of the Seeds is also at Mark 4:1-20 and at Luke 8:4-18, but in Mark the evangelists make it more clear that not only the Twelve are meant, that Jesus gives special understanding to a larger group of disciples. This being the case Mark 4:1-20 is also reproduced at the Seventy.

And when they came to the crowd, a man came up to him and kneeling before him said, "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and he suffers terribly; for often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him." And Jesus answered, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me." And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was cured instantly. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not cast it out?" He said to them, "Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, `Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you."

Matthew 17:14-20

As at the One, so too on this webpage, these two ecclesiologically vital passages from Matthew's gospel narrative, the statement recorded in Luke 10 of Christ when he commissions seventy others, "the Seventy", and the passage from John Chapter 20 must be presented together and read together:

Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesare'a Philip'pi, he asked his disciples, "Who do men say that the Son of man is?" And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, others say Eli'jah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

...

At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them, and said, "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. ... "If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them." (emphasis added)

...

"He who hears you hears me, and he who rejects you rejects me, and he who rejects me rejects him who sent me."

...

On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you." And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."

Matthew 16:13-19 speaking to Peter

Matthew 18:1-3, 15-20 speaking to the Twelve

Luke 10:16 speaking to the Seventy (and note, it is seventy others, in addition to the Twelve)

John 20:19-23 (speaking to a group of disciples; ten of the Eleven almost certainly present; "Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came." John 20:24)

(Note that Mark 8:27-33 and Luke 9:18-27 also record Saint Peter's monumentous statement, but without the Lord's commission found only in Matthew 16.

Please note though with respect to Peter's statement, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God", we already see the Apostles confessing this central truth of the Christian faith earlier in Saint Matthew's narrative. In Matthew 14, recorded above on this webpage, after Jesus walks on water and calms the wind, the disciples "worshiped him, saying, 'Truly you are the Son of God.' " Does this circumstance undermine the argument that in Matthew 16:13-19 Jesus is establishing His Church on Peter's confession of faith only -- a confession earlier made by the group of Apostles -- and not on the person and office of Peter or on the person and office of Peter and the confession of faith? And note also in this connection that in John's Gospel narrative we see an Apostle confessing Jesus' Divine Sonship in an exchange which can be understood as having been made well before Peter's confession in Matthew 16. At John 1:49 we see Nathan'a-el/Bartholomew /Nathanael Bar-tholomew confessing to Jesus, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!", while John records Simon-Peter meeting Jesus at John 1:42)

And Jesus said to his disciples, "Truly, I say to you, it will be hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." When the disciples heard this they were greatly astonished, saying, "Who then can be saved?" But Jesus looked at them and said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." Then Peter said in reply, "Lo, we have left everything and followed you. What then shall we have?" Jesus said to them, "Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of man shall sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And every one who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. But many that are first will be last, and the last first. "

Matthew 19:23-30 and Mark 10:23-31 and Luke 18:24-30 (passage also at the One)

(And note, here we see Christ conflate the "disciples" with the twelve, that is the Twelve Apostles, even though they are often referred to as disciples -- which word might otherwise have been understood to include also other disciples than the Twelve and/or that some of the Twelve were not then present.)

And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death, and deliver him to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day." Then the mother of the sons of Zeb'edee came up to him, with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something. And he said to her, "What do you want?" She said to him, "Command that these two sons of mine may sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom." But Jesus answered, "You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?" They said to him, "We are able." He said to them, "You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father." And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers. But Jesus called them to him and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you; but whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave; even as the Son of man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (emphasis added)

Matthew 26:14-29

Matthew 26:30-35 (also at the One)

Matthew 26:36-46; Mark 14: 32-42 (This passage recounting the Agony in the Garden of Gethsem'ane is also reproduced on this website at the One and the Three; unlike in Matthew and in Mark, in Luke's account, at 22:39-46, the Three are not separated from the Twelve.)

(Note, while not relevant to the subject of this webpage, the above words, highlighted in black, speak to the difference between repetition and vain repetition. Protestant Christians, separated from for a time from the fullness of God's Orthodox-Catholic Church, may note in this example from God Himself that not all repetition of prayers is vain.)

Matthew 26:47-56

(note, Jesus speaks of more than twelve legions)

Matthew 27:1-5 Judas is no longer an Apostle at this point]

From the Gospel According to Saint Mark

detail from the Antiochian Orthodox Church in Buenos Aires — Iglesia Catedral Ortodoxa San Jorge, Buenos Aires
... beautiful, and the Church will be even better, more holy, more canonical, united under One Bishop in One Territory ...

Mark 1:14-21 (passage also at the Three and at the One)

Mark 2:14-15

(Notice that Mark introduces the reader to Levi the son of Alphaeus (that is to Matthew) before the rest of the Twelve are mentioned, but only after Peter.)

Mark 3:13-19

Mark 4:1-20, 34

The Parable of the Seeds is also at Matthew 13:1-23 and at Luke 8:4-18, but here in Mark the evangelists make it more clear that not only the Twelve are meant, that Jesus gives special understanding to a larger group of disciples. This being the case Mark 4:1-20 is also reproduced at the Seventy.

Mark 6:7-13, 30-52

(The Miracle of the Feeding of the 5000, recorded here at Mark 6:34-44, is also recorded in Matthew 14:13-21, Luke 9:10-17 and John 6:5-14. Notice also the twelve baskets, symbolizing fullness, as indeed there were seven baskets -- the other number in Christian iconographic numerology symbolizing fullness -- at the Miracle of the Feeding of the 4000, recorded at Matthew 15:29-39 and Mark 8-1-10)

(Note that, as in the Gospel According to Saint Matthew, there are many references in Mark to the disciples which may mean the Twelve alone, but when the Twelve are not explicitly referred to, most of these passages are omitted.)

Mark 9:14-29 (see also Matthew 17:14-20)

Mark 9:33-41 (passage also at the One and the Three)

Mark 10:32-45 (passage also at the One and the Three)

Mark 11:1-11

Mark 14:10-31

Icon in Skete of Saint Gregory Palamas - Γρηγόριος Παλαμάς (1296–1359), Mount Athos

Mark 14: 32-42; Matthew 26:36-46 (This passage recounting the Agony in the Garden of Gethsem'ane is also reproduced on this website at the One and the Twelve; unlike in Matthew and in Mark, in Luke's account, at 22:39-46, the Three are not separated from the Twelve.)

Mark 14:42-50

Mark 16:9-15

From the Gospel According to Saint Luke

Άγιος Ανδρέας, Πάτρα, from Basilica of Apostle Andrew in Patras, Greece

Luke 5:27-32

Luke 6:12-17

(This passage again makes clear that the Twelve Apostles were set apart from a greater number of other disciples; the number twelve is also mentioned by the evangelist, rather than only presenting a list of names which numbered twelve.)

Soon afterward he went on through cities and villages, preaching and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him, and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Mag'dalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joan'na, the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their means.

And when a great crowd came together and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable: "A sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell along the path, and was trodden under foot, and the birds of the air devoured it. And some fell on the rock; and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns grew with it and choked it. And some fell into good soil and grew, and yielded a hundredfold." As he said this, he called out, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, he said, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God; but for others they are in parables, so that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand. Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, that they may not believe and be saved. And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy; but these have no root, they believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. And as for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bring forth fruit with patience. "No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a vessel, or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, that those who enter may see the light. For nothing is hid that shall not be made manifest, nor anything secret that shall not be known and come to light. Take heed then how you hear; for to him who has will more be given, and from him who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away."

Luke 8:1-18

The Parable of the Seeds is also at Matthew 13:1-23 and Mark 4:1-20, but in Mark the evangelists make it more clear that not only the Twelve are meant, that Jesus gives special understanding to a larger group of disciples. This being the case Mark 4:1-20 is also reproduced at the Seventy.

Luke 9:1-6, 10-17

(The Miracle of the Feeding of the 5000, recorded here at Luke 9:10-17, is also recorded in Matthew 14:13-21, Mark 6:34-44 and John 6:5-14. Notice also the twelve baskets, symbolizing fullness, as indeed there were seven baskets -- the other number in Christian iconographic numerology symbolizing fullness -- at the Miracle of the Feeding of the 4000, recorded at Matthew 15:29-39 and Mark 8-1-10)

Luke 9:18-27 (passage also at the One)

Luke 9: 38-55 (passage also at the Three)

(A similar passage is at Mark 9:33-41. Here, as in Matthew 20:17-28 and Mark Chapter 10, we see the other two of the Three, that is, James and John Zebedee, singled out without Peter, but not in a particularly favorable light. Still, the prominence of the inner group finds additional emphasis in these passages)

Luke17:1-6

Luke 18:31-34

Luke 22:1-6

(Perhaps the lesson from this critical event in the Scriptures might incline the Church and the entire community of the Christian faithful to discard forever any remnants of the notion that any bishop presides over his part of the flock as an unassailable, infallible autocrat.)

Luke 22:14-62 is reproduced below and at the One.

And when the hour came, he sat at table, and the apostles with him. And he said to them, "I have earnestly desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer; for I tell you I shall not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God." And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, "Take this, and divide it among yourselves; for I tell you that from now on I shall not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes." And he took bread, and when he had given thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." And likewise the cup after supper, saying, "This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.

But behold the hand of him who betrays me is with me on the table. For the Son of man goes as it has been determined; but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed!" And they began to question one another, which of them it was that would do this.

A dispute also arose among them, which of them was to be regarded as the greatest. And he said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and those in authority over them are called benefactors. But not so with you; rather let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves. For which is the greater, one who sits at table, or one who serves? Is it not the one who sits at table? But I am among you as one who serves.

"You are those who have continued with me in my trials; and I assign to you, as my Father assigned to me, a kingdom, that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

"Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail; and when you have turned again, strengthen your brethren." And he said to him, "Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death." He said, "I tell you, Peter, the cock will not crow this day, until you three times deny that you know me."

And he said to them, "When I sent you out with no purse or bag or sandals, did you lack anything?" They said, "Nothing." He said to them, "But now, let him who has a purse take it, and likewise a bag. And let him who has no sword sell his mantle and buy one. For I tell you that this scripture must be fulfilled in me, `And he was reckoned with transgressors'; for what is written about me has its fulfilment." And they said, "Look, Lord, here are two swords." And he said to them, "It is enough."

And he came out, and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples followed him. And when he came to the place he said to them, "Pray that you may not enter into temptation." And he withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and knelt down and prayed, "Father, if thou art willing, remove this cup from me; nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done." And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down upon the ground. And when he rose from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow, and he said to them, "Why do you sleep? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation."

While he was still speaking, there came a crowd, and the man called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He drew near to Jesus to kiss him; but Jesus said to him, "Judas, would you betray the Son of man with a kiss?" And when those who were about him saw what would follow, they said, "Lord, shall we strike with the sword?" And one of them struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his right ear. But Jesus said, "No more of this!" And he touched his ear and healed him. Then Jesus said to the chief priests and officers of the temple and elders, who had come out against him, "Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs? When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness."

Then they seized him and led him away, bringing him into the high priest's house. Peter followed at a distance; and when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat among them. Then a maid, seeing him as he sat in the light and gazing at him, said, "This man also was with him." But he denied it, saying, "Woman, I do not know him." And a little later some one else saw him and said, "You also are one of them." But Peter said, "Man, I am not." And after an interval of about an hour still another insisted, saying, "Certainly this man also was with him; for he is a Galilean." But Peter said, "Man, I do not know what you are saying." And immediately, while he was still speaking, the cock crowed. And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said to him, "Before the cock crows today, you will deny me three times." And he went out and wept bitterly.

Luke 22:14-20

(The institution of the Eucharist.)

Luke 22:21-23

(Jesus tells the Twelve that, though He knows He must be betrayed "woe to that man by whom he is betrayed!")

Luke 22:24-27

(The Twelve have the audacity to stray again into a discussion of which among them is the greatest (see Luke 9:46, also reproduce on this page), and Jesus answers, the greatest is the "one who serves.")

Luke 22:28-30

Luke 22:31-34

(Knowing that Peter will deny Him, but before he does, Jesus commissions Peter: "when you have turned again, strengthen your brethren." What does the Lord intend by this? Did Jesus intend to resolve in favor of Peter, here as recorded at 22:32 by Luke, the dispute among the Twelve which Luke recorded only a few lines earlier at 22:24? And why did the dispute among the Apostles arise at all? Do groups of holy men spend their time arguing among each other which of them is the greatest, the more so when their shared Lord is standing steps away? Was Peter's role as chief spokesman for the Apostles not already clear enough to the other eleven here as Luke records the events near the end of Jesus' earthly ministry? And of course the fact of one Apostle appearing, again and again, as the chief spokesman among the Apostles while in the presence of the Lord, and thereby one might conclude with the Lord's approval, need not necessarily mean that the Lord commands that that same Apostle will be the leader among the Apostles after the Lord's Ascension, yet it does seem hard to dispute that, if the Apostles needed, and the Lord approved of, a single chief spokesman among the Apostles during the Lord's earthly ministry, and indeed in the presence of the Lord, the need for a single leader among the Apostles after the Lord's Ascension would not be less. In understanding how dense the Apostles appear to have been in this matter, perhaps we also need to consider the earlier occurrence of this same dispute as recorded by Luke at 9:46. While the Evangelists, Luke included, are not necessarily recording all events in the same order as those events occurred chronologically, Luke does record this dispute among the Apostles as to which of them is greatest, after he records the confession of faith of Peter at Luke 9:18-20 which is parallel to Matthew's 16:13-19)

Luke 22:35-38

Luke 22:39-46

(The Agony in the Garden of Gethsem'ane is also recounted in Matthew 26:36-46 and Mark 14: 32-42, but Luke's account the Three are not separated from the Twelve. In this passage we find the basis for the Dyothelitism-Miatheletism-Monotheletism controversy on the two-united wills of Christ ... as we also find the basis for the resolution of this controversy, but for the authoritative view one will have to look, not to this website, but to the discussion of H.E. Metropolitan Bishoy in the film.

Regarding the portion of this passage, "And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down upon the ground.", the note in the New American Bible translation reads: "These verses, though very ancient, were probably not part of the original text of Luke. They are absent from the oldest papyrus manuscripts of Luke and from manuscripts of wide geographical distribution." The writer of this webpage is not an authority, but it would seem strange to have God the Son being strengthened in a matter of the spirit or of the heart by one of His creatures.)

Luke 22:47-53

Luke 23:55-56 through 24:1-39

(We see here something of the relationship between the Twelve, now temporarily reduced to Eleven, the One, Peter, already the leader again -- Peter ran to the tomb, and the Eleven inform the other two that "The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!" -- and the other disciples (elsewhere, in Luke 10:1-24, we are told that Seventy were particularly singled out by Jesus). Here we see one of these other disciples identified by name as being Cle'opas, and by tradition the other one of these two is Saint Luke the author of this Gospel. These two had intimate knowledge of Jesus ministry and the expectations surrounding Him, perhaps approaching that of the Eleven. And after these two disciples realized that it was the resurrected Lord Himself who they had met, although it was evening at least and seven miles back by foot, they left immediately, "that same hour and returned to Jerusalem" to find and tell the story to the Eleven.)

From the Gospel According to Saint John

Note in Mark's Gospel, written before the Gospel accounts of Matthew, Luke and John, Apostle Saint Andrew is not the

First-Called – Πρωτόκλητος– Первозванний – Первозванный – Apostle.

In Mark, as in Matthew, the Lord apparantly sees Simon and Andrew together, and Simon is mentioned first.

In the first mention of an Apostle in Luke, at Luke 4:38, we are introduced first to Simon (and Simon's mother-in-law) in : "And he arose and left the synagogue, and entered Simon's house. Now Simon's mother-in-law was ill with a high fever, and they besought him for her."

Only in the Gospel According to Saint John is any Apostle mentioned before Simon-Peter, and here in John 1:37 we find two disciples hearing Jesus and following him. One of these two is shortly introduced as Andrew and the other, by tradition, is the Gospel's author himself, John. So, no where in the Bible is Andrew alone the "first called".

Was any kind of primacy of Andrew among the Apostles implied by the Lord in this passage, be it only a "primacy of honor" without leadership authority over the other apostles ?

See Apostle Saint Andrew and Apostle Saint Paul also menioned specially at John 6:3-14, recording the Miracle of the Feeding of the 5000, and at John 12:20-33.

icons from the Basilica of Apostle Saint Andrew in Patras, Greece – Άγιος Ανδρέας, Πάτρα

As with the other three Gospel accounts, the accounts of Matthew, Mark and Luke, the synoptic Gospels, so too with John's Gospel the evangelist makes repeated references to "the disciples", it not being made certain in each instance that only the Twelve are meant. "The disciples believed in Him" after Jesus turned water to wine at the marriage feast in Cana in Galilee (John 2:11). After Jesus drove the money changers out of the Temple, "[h]is disciples remembered that it was written, 'Zeal for thy house will consume me.' " (John 2:17) When He was raised from the dead "his disciples" remembered that He had earlier said, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." (John 2:18-22) For the most part these passages are not reproduced on these webpages dealing with Apostolicity -the One, -the Three, -the Twelve and -the Seventy, as these pages are focusing on the Biblical account of these specific groups of Apostles.

The Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes
Tintoretto (Jacopo Robusti) (1518-1594)

John 6:3-14

(The Miracle of the Feeding of the 5000, recorded here at John 6:3-14, is also recorded in Matthew 14:13-21, Mark 6:34-44 and Luke 9:10-17. But there is a difference between John's account and the account set forth in the other three Gospels. In the other three accounts a group of unnamed disciples answer Jesus. Here in John's account we see two named Apostles from the Twelve speaking with Jesus, Philip and Andrew. Philip and Andrew are again together greeting some Greeks who arrived for the feast of the Jewish Passover and then telling Jesus about their arrival, as part of a vital exchange, during which disciples and the crowd are told by Jesus of His impending crucifixion and during which the assembled group is addressed by God the Father, with some present comprehending and some not. See John 12:20-33, reproduced below. )

John 6:48-71

(The Lord Himself says, "the twelve".)

John 11:14-16

(Here in the eleventh chapter of John's Gospel we are introduced to another one of the Twelve, "Thomas, called the Twin", the seventh so introduced, the evangelist having previously introduced the reader to five of the Apostles in the first chapter of his Gospel -- Andrew and an unnamed Apostle who is John himself, Simon Peter, Philip and Nathan'a-el -- and to Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, at John 6:71.)

John 12:20-33

John 18:1-16

John 20:1-18 (passage also reproduced at the One, the Three, the Seventy and Christian Women Leaders)

John 20:19-31 (passage, with editor's note, also reproduced at the Seventy)

Colossal Statute of Saint Bartholomew
Basilica of Saint John Lateran, Rome

The Last Supper - Heilige Abendmahl
Freiburger Münster Unserer Lieben Frau