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No.11.
The Apostles.
pp. 45 - 49
The relationship of the twelve apostles of the circumcision to Israel, was much the
same as that of the O.T. prophets. They were the "sent ones", and they proclaimed a
message of restoration upon the grounds of repentance; a message intended to prepare
the people to fulfil their calling of God. The parallel is further extended in the treatment
that each received at the hands of their countrymen:
"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees . . . . . ye say, if we had been in the days of our
fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets . . . . .
Fill ye up the measure of your fathers . . . . . behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise
men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some . . . . . scourge in
your synagogues, and persecute from city to city" (Matt. 23: 29-34).
The message of hope which the Apostles carried, was borne witness to by signs and
wonders. The miracles of healing they performed were a foretaste of the coming age of
restoration (Heb. 6: 5), and the judgment they effected on such as Ananias and Sapphira
(Acts 5:), a reminder of that future day when "every one shall die for his own iniquity"
(Jer. 31: 29 30).
Authority to "forgive sins".
Something of the authority given to the Apostles may be seen from John 20: 21-23:
"Jesus . . . . . said to them again, Peace be unto you: as the Father hath sent Me, even
so send I you. And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and saith unto them,
Receive ye holy spirit (margin): Whose soever sins ye forgive, they are forgiven unto
them; whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained" (R.V.).
This authority, which was never transferred by any so called "Apostolic succession",
must not be minimized because it may present difficulties. The `as' and `so' of verse 21
relate the Apostles' ministry directly to that of the Lord. He demonstrated His authority
to forgive sins from His ability to heal (Luke 5: 24), and it seems reasonable to suppose
that the Apostles exercised something of that same authority, for they also could heal.
But the connection between forgiveness of sins and healing at this time, was not
apparently limited to the sphere of action of the Apostles.
"Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray
over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: and the prayer of faith shall
save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall
be forgiven him" (James 5: 14, 15).
Such a connection was also prophesied of the inhabitants of Jerusalem:
"And the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick: the people that dwell therein shall be
forgiven their iniquity" (Isa. 33: 24).