The Commissioning of the Twelve

Today's Reflections 

      

The Commissioning of the Twelve

Mt 10:1-7

¹[Jesus] summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and to cure every disease and every illness. ²The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John; ³Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus; ⁴Simon the Cananean, and Judas Iscariot who betrayed him.

⁵Jesus sent out these twelve after instructing them thus, “Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town. ⁶Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. ⁷As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ ”

JESUS SENT OUT THESE TWELVE. When Jesus calls certain individuals to follow him, they become his talmidim or disciples. As their “rabbi,” he teaches them by word and example the mysteries of the kingdom of God. After some time, as in the Gospel, Jesus sends them as shalihim or ambassadors (apostoloi in Greek, from which we derive “apostles”). They are sent in his name and are given authority and power over what oppresses men and women, be these diseases or unclean spirits. Their number—twelve—recalls the twelve sons of Jacob who are the foundation of Israel, the people of God. Jesus is now establishing a new Israel, a new people of God, not just from the offspring of Abraham, but from all the nations of the earth. This new people, bound to each other not by blood but by faith in him as the Son of God, is now founded on the twelve apostles, or simply the Twelve.

From purely human considerations, the Twelve do not have outstanding qualities. They are a mixed group of ordinary people, mostly fishermen. But the source of their strength is Jesus, and after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension, they will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. That the Christian faith will soon conquer the Mediterranean world bespeaks the power at work in the men and women proclaiming and witnessing to the Gospel under the leadership of the Twelve.

We believe in one, holy, catholic

and apostolic Church.