The Lives and Legends of the Disciples
12 Who
Changed
the World
Morris Inch
THOMAS NELSON PUBLISHERS, INC.Nashville, Tennessee
Copyright © 2003 Morris Inch
All rights reserved. Written permission must be secured from the publisher to use or reproduce any part of this book, except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles.
Published in Nashville, Tennessee by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Preface
Aristides, writing early in the 2nd century, observed: “These twelve disciples (apostles) went forth throughout parts of the world and continued to show His greatness with all modesty and uprightness.” To appropriate an expression from Winston Churchill, “Seldom have so many been indebted to so few.”
Who were these persons? What motivated them in their service? How are they remembered? These and related questions solicit our attention as we consider twelve who changed the world.
Critical to our understanding of the apostles is that they were called by Jesus to speak and act on His behalf. So it was that the early believers “continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship” (Acts 2:42). It was a spiritual legacy they would pass down to succeeding generations.
For all practical purposes, the apostolic teaching encompasses the New Testament. The entries appear to have been written by the apostles or those associated with them. Consequently, it is proper to embrace them as normative for Christian faith and practice.
In another sense, the person is the message. We are encouraged to use our imagination to walk with the apostles along the dusty roads of antiquity. There we strain, along with them, to catch a glimpse of Jesus, and listen to His exciting words.
This book has been a cooperative task. Many thanks go to my editor, Angela Seres. Following much correspondence, we found clarification and a common understanding. I also thank her staff—Ramona Richards and Dan DePriest, and John Adams and Jennifer Zimmerman at ProtoType—who shaped it into its present form.
No doubt, we could have done better. I seldom review a text without wishing I had done something differently. Then, too, it was not always easy to distinguish between a credible tradition and one lacking merit. After that, we labored over how to keep the discussion relatively simple, and not encumbered with uncertainties.
The book cover was, in itself, an artistic achievement. Thank you to Bill Chiaravalle and Barbara West for their efforts. Interestingly, the cover art, Rembrandt’s Storm on the Sea of Galilee, was stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston on St. Patrick’s Day 1990. It was cut from the frame and rolled, leaving paint chips on the floor of the museum. Sadly, it was damaged. To date, this masterpiece has not been recovered.
Finally, may the apostles be with you in spirit. May they grace your life with the message conveyed, and in some measure embodied. As Paul earnestly wrote two millennia ago, “Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity” (Ephesians 6:24).
Table of Contents
Chapter One The Shaliach
Chapter Two Simon Peter
Chapter Three James of Zebedee
Chapter Four John of Zebedee
Chapter Five Andrew
Chapter Six Philip
Chapter Seven Bartholomew
Chapter Eight Matthew
Chapter Nine Thomas
Chapter Ten James, Son of Alphaeus
Chapter Eleven Jude Thaddaeus
Chapter Twelve Simon the Zealot
Chapter Thirteen Judas Iscariot
Beyond the Twelve Matthias and Paul
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