Iesus Sendeth Forth The Twelve and their Fellows
1. AND Iesus went up into a mountain to pray. And when he had called unto him (his twelve disciples) he gave them power against unclean spirits to cast them out and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease. Now the names (of the twelve apostles[1]) are these who stood for the twelve tribes of Israel:
2. Peter (called Cephas) for the tribe of Reuben
James, for the tribe of Naphtali;
Thomas (called Dydimus) for the tribe of Zabulon;
Matthew (called Levi) for the tribe of Gad;
John, for the tribe of Ephraim
Simon, for the tribe of Issachar.
3. Andrew, for the tribe of Ioseph;
Nathanael, for the tribe of Simeon;
Thaddeus, for the tribe of Zabulon;
Jacob, for the tribe of Benjamin;
Jude, for the tribe of Dan;
Philip, for the tribe of Asher.
And Judas Iscariot, a Levite (who betrayed him) was also among them (but he was not of them). And
Matthia and Barsabbas were also present with them.
4. Then he called in like manner twelve others to be Prophets (men of light) to be with the Apostle and shew unto them the hidden things of God. And their names were: Hermes,
Aristobulus,
Selenius,
Nereus,
Apollos, and
Barsabbas;
Andronicus,
Lucius,
Apelles,
Zachaeus,
Urbanus, and
Clementos.
And then he called twelve who should be Evangelists[2], and twelve who should be Pastors[3]. A fourfold twelve did he call that he might send them forth to the twelve tribes of Israel, unto each, four.
5. And they stood around the Master (clad in white linen raiment) called to be a holy priesthood unto God for the service of the twelve tribes whereunto they should be sent.
6. These fourfold Twelve Iesus sent forth and charged them, saying,
I will that ye be my Twelve Apostle (with your companions[4]) for a testimony into Israel. Go ye into the cities of Israel and to the lost sheep of the House of Israel. And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. As I have baptized you in water, so baptize ye them who believe.
7. Anoint and heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils, freely ye have received, freely give. Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses. Nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves; for the workman is worthy of his food; and eat that which is set before you, but of that which is gotten by taking (of life) touch not, for it is not lawful to you.
8. And into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, enquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go thence. And when ye come into an house, salute it. And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you.
9. Be ye wise [as] serpents and harmless [as] doves. Be ye innocent and undefiled. The Son (of Man) is: not come to destroy but to save, neither to take life, but to give life, to body and soul.
10. And fear not them which kill the body but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna[5].
11. Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? And one of them shall not fall on the ground without permission of the All Holy. Yea, the very hairs (of your head) are all numbered. Fear yet not therefore, if God careth for the sparrow, shall he not care for you!
12. It is enough for disciples that they be [as] their master, and the servants [as] their lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household? Fear them not therefore, for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; or hid, that shall not be known.
13. What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light when the time cometh: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops. Whosoever therefore shall confess the truth before men, them will I confess also before my Parent Who is in Heaven. But whosoever shall deny the truth before men, them will I also deny before my Parent Who is in Heaven.
14. Verily I am come to send peace upon earth, but when I speak, behold a sword followeth. I am come to unite, but, behold, a man shall be at variance with his father, and the daughter with her mother, and the daughter-in-law with her mother-in-law. And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household. For the unjust cannot mate with them that are just.
15. They who take not their cross and follow after me are not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it; and he that loseth his life (for my sake) shall find it.
LECTION 17. 3. -Iudas Iscariot is here called a Levite. It may be symbolical of the fact, that the older priesthood was the bitter enemy of Iesus, the Prophets and the Priest of the newer Christian Dispensation.
v. 2-5. -Here we have a flood of light thrown on an obscure passage in Ephesians iv. 11, referring to an event of which there is no record whatever in the A. V. or in any other version of the Gospels which has come down to us. Plain enough is the passage in Ephesians as it stands, but obscure in its reference; and the only body of Christians who have in later times restored this ancient fourfold ministry is the "Catholic Apostolic Church," but with this difference, that what Iesus intended to be a permanent order, they have made only a lifetime institution, dying with the men that fill the office, at present the one left being removed by death. Under Iesus, the High Priest, or chief Shepherd and Bishop of the Universal Church, while the two and seventy afterward sent forth were the deacons in the higher ministry, altogether making the full number a hundred and twenty.
v. 6-9. -These words leave no doubt that the organization which Iesus first established was based on the older organization of the Yessenes (similar to that of the Buddhists), and from which have come the monasteries, friaries, and sisterhoods of the Christian Church, which have always been popular with the poor, and befriended them in times of trouble, and set them an example of Godly living; the corruptions and abuses, which set in now and then, being no argument against the use. They were a continual protest against the ways of the world, its vices and luxury and evil pursuits. "Leave all and follow me," was the continual call of the master, to those who could receive it.
Definition:. a person sent out on a special mission
Definition: an occasional preacher, sometimes itinerant and often preaching at meetings in the open air
Definition: a person, as a priest or minister, in spiritual and jurisdictional charge of a parish, church, congregation, or community
Definition: A companion is someone who you spend time with or who you are traveling with.
Definition: the valley of Hinnom, near Jerusalem, where propitiatory sacrifices were made to Moloch. II Kings 23:10