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The apostles were not part of a human-engineered organization. All they had was a vision and orders from Christ, their Head. They became his Church, his Body, his Bride. Their vision, which they were working towards, was to reign with Christ in the Kingdom—they had the same vision a princess has with her husband, her prince.

Make Disciples

The orders the apostles received from their Lord outlined their fundamental strategy: to make disciples. How would they make disciples, exactly? By preaching the Good News of the Kingdom, calling people to repent from their sins, then baptizing those who believe in the message and seek forgiveness of their sins. The apostles were to follow up by teaching believers to obey everything the Lord Jesus commanded.

… go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you (Matthew 28:19-20).

Start Near, Go Far

Jesus laid out another simple strategy for the Church: start near and go far. The apostles were to start in Jerusalem, then to preach around Judea (the province in which Jerusalem was located), and then Samaria (the next province north), until they reached the furthest limits of the known World. Jesus’ commands were enough to guide their actions. Since he was their head, they didn’t need any “creative ideas” or human theologies to guide them.

… he [Jesus] gave them this command: ‘Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the Gift my Father promised… in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. … you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the Earth’ (Acts 1:4-5, 8).

Indeed, the Twelve Apostles were so serious about following Jesus’ orders that they stayed in Jerusalem even while persecution was strong against them there. They stayed in Jerusalem even while all other believers fled. As remarkable as it may sound, even when their very lives were at stake, the apostles still waited.

… a great persecution broke out against the Church in Jerusalem, and all except the Apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria (Acts 8:1).

Jerusalem was filled with enemies and murderous plots against the apostles, but they stayed put until Jesus told them to do otherwise. They remembered his words: ‘Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the Gift my Father promised."

Power in Weakness

The apostles’ power was not political, educational, financial, or even religious. They were nobodies in the religious hierarchy of their times. They had no money, no credentials, and no political influence. They had already renounced all of their wealth, including family fishing businesses, and careers as tax collectors, by the time Jesus named them apostles.

Uneducated and Untrained

The apostles were not men of great learning. With the exception of Paul, Barnabas, Luke, and Apollos, none of the apostles were intellectuals. Most of them had a basic synagogue education, which meant that they were literate and schooled in the Scriptures. However, none of the Twelve had any special academic training.

Judas Iscariot was from Kerioth, in the South, but the majority of the apostles donned from the rural region of Galilee. City folk like the Pharisees from Jerusalem looked down on Galileans because they seemed unsophisticated and uneducated.

… when they [the Jewish leaders] saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled (Acts 4:13).

The power of the apostles cannot be attributed to any human wisdom or social advantage. In fact, Jesus intentionally chose Galilean fishermen, men from a lower social class, in order to demonstrate God’s power in them. Jesus chose the apostles because of their weakness!

Power from God

Jesus left little doubt as to what his Church is about. It’s not about human genius. It’s not empowered by human wisdom. It does not rest on social standing, or require social advantage. The Church does not get its dignity from human credentials or political power. Its power is from God—and it’s the Spirit of God that makes the Church the force it is—a force to be reckoned with.

Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the Gift my Father promised… in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit… you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you (Acts 1:4-5, 8).