| This essay brings together themes that were researched in the course of preparing the Choosing the Twelve, Apostle and Sender, and Blessedness of the Twelve segments of the Life of Yeshua: A Suggested Reconstruction commentary. |
Justin Martyr, an early Christian apologist of the second century C.E., was adamant that Jesus was an apostle:
And he [i.e., Jesus—JNT] is called both messenger and apostle [ἀπόστολος], for he declares whatever we ought to know, and he is sent forth to declare what is revealed; as our Lord himself says, “The one who listens to me, listens to the one who sent me.” (1 Apology 63:5)[8]
Today we usually think of Jesus as the one who appointed apostles, and to hear of Jesus himself being referred to as an apostle can sound jarring. But while referring to Jesus as an apostle might seem strange to Christians in the twenty-first century, this designation for Jesus would not have sounded strange to early believers.
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Conclusion
Understanding the ancient Jewish institution of the shāliaḥ, or apostle, gives us a unique glimpse into Jesus’ self-perception. Jesus regarded himself as the apostle of God, which is to say, God’s official representative on earth, a divinely authorized agent commissioned to carry out God’s redemptive mission for Israel, humankind, and all creation. Such a job description is practically identical to the ancient Jewish concept of the Messiah.
Early Christian depiction of Jesus and his disciples in the catacombs of Domitilla in Rome. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
- [1] See F. J. Foakes Jackson and Kirsopp Lake, eds., The Beginnings of Christianity, Part I: The Acts of the Apostles (5 vols.; London: Macmillan, 1920-33), 5:46; Rengstorf, “ἀπόστολος,” in Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (ed. Gerhard Kittel and Gerhard Friedrich; trans. Geoffrey W. Bromiley; 10 vols.; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1964-1976) 1:407-408. ↩
- [2] See Peter J. Tomson, ‘If this be from Heaven…’ Jesus and the New Testament Authors in their Relationship to Judaism (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2001), 132; Huub van de Sandt and David Flusser, The Didache: Its Jewish Sources and its Place in Early Judaism and Christianity (CRINT III.5; Minneapolis: Fortress, 2002), 353-355, esp. 354 n. 76. ↩
- [3] To learn more about the ancient Jewish shāliaḥ institution, see Choosing the Twelve, Comment to L10-11. ↩
- [4] The notion of God having an apostle was not foreign to ancient Judaism. The concept of God’s apostle is entertained in rabbinic sources such as Mechilta de-Rabbi Ishmael, Pisḥa chpt. 7 (ed. Lauterbach, 1:38), chpt. 13 (ed. Lauterbach, 1:67); Sifre Deut. §325 (ed. Finkelstein, 376). ↩
- [5] This quotation represents a dynamic translation of the reconstruction of Jesus’ Apostle and Sender saying by David N. Bivin and Joshua N. Tilton. For a full discussion of this saying, go to Apostle and Sender. ↩
- [6] NT examples of pairing “apostle” with “prophet” include Luke 11:49; 1 Cor. 12:28; Eph. 2:20; 3:5; 2 Pet. 3:2; Rev. 18:20. ↩
- [7] On various synonyms for "prophet" in ancient Jewish sources, see Blessedness of the Twelve, Comment to L12. ↩
- [8] Translation adapted from The Ante-Nicene Fathers (10 vols.; ed. Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, Allan Menzies; repr. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980-1986), 1:184. ↩
