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Christianity Christian Biblical Trinity
Christianity Apostles and Ascension
In the Gospel of Mark
1:13-21, Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee after his forty days in the
wilderness and upon seeing Simon and Andrew casting nets upon the water told
them to follow him. Then he said the same to James and John who were mending their fishing nets nearby. They then all
travelled together to Capernaum...and so on began the lengthy process of
disciple selection.
The book of Acts written by Luke in the late first century ACE offers a narrative sequel to the Gospels where he attempts to address some real and potential social and theological problems relative to the burgeoning church's relationship with its Jewish Biblical heritage and citizenship in the Roman Empire.
In the Gospel of Luke 6:14-16, there is a mirroring of the apostles listed in the Gospels of Mark 3:13-19a and Matthew 10:1-4, yet, in Acts 1:13-14, Luke does not set delimiters on the number of Apostles, or call them the Twelve. Instead, he simply states the names of the known Apostles followed by a remark that they were all constantly engaged in devotional prayer along with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as, his brothers.
Perhaps the disciples were transformed from a large and diverse group of males and females who were the devoted followers of Christ to a special group of Twelve Apostles in the Gospel of Matthew because twelve was a scared number which corresponded to the restoration of the tribes of Israel.
In this new millenial world of media spin masters, it
is not too hard to imagine that the facts of which disciples Christ chose to be
his apostles were spun to meet the agendas of the writers of the Gospels. The
word apostle derives from the Greek word "apostellein", meaning to send, and in
this case referred to sending disciples forth as missionaries, teachers, healers, and preachers.
Book of Revelation Visions of Apostle John on Patmos
Illustration Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry in Musée Condé
Some now believe that Mary Magdalene was never a prostitute and was actually one of the Apostles, perhaps even the "The Beloved" Apostle and the wife of Jesus. Mary Magdalene also wrote a Gospel which has now been published and interests those who wonder whatever happened to the Divine Feminine, the Mother God, the Goddess.
During the Last Supper, Christ broke bread with his disciplines and told them to do this in remembrance of me. Rather then go to the temple and offer bloody animal sacrifices to appease an often wrathful deity, he urged them to share bread and wine (as a substitute for the body and blood of an animal) with one another in the setting of a communal family style celebratory meal. That was as ritualistic as Christ got.
How the last supper and Christ's charge of remembrance to his disciples morphed into a Church setting with unmarried males priests doing a ritual with communion wafers and wine before a congregation on Sundays is a perplexity to be sure.
It seems that perhaps Thanksgiving dinner harkens closer to the true intent of Christ when he asked both his male and female disciples to share bread and wine and a communal celebratory meal at home in remembrance of him.
Forty days after his Resurrection, in the presence of his disciples, Christ used his own
power of presence to ascend into Heaven...
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Apostles and Ascension,
Archangels Heavenly Powers,
Biblical Origins and Original Sin,
Blessed Mary Immaculate Conception,
Christian Spiritual Beliefs,
Divine Love Trinity,
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Gospels and Beatitudes,
Life Story Jesus of Nazareth,
Parables and Epistles,
Prayerful Christians Ministering Angels
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Christianity Christian Biblical Trinity Copyright © 2002-2008 Maureen Grace Burns, Blessings Cornucopia. All Rights Reserved.
Public Domain Image Book of Revelation Visions of Apostle John on Patmos,
Illustration from Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry in Musée Condé, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Saint_John
_on_Patmos.jpg]. Accessed December 2, 2006.
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