In this article, I want to point out that the apostles were people just like us; they weren’t perfect, they made mistakes and their mistakes had disastrous consequences for Christianity and the true Church of Jesus Christ.
People like us.
It is a fact that, although born again and Spirit-filled, disciples of Jesus Christ are not immune to making mistakes, sometimes catastrophic blunders. We all make mistakes; the apostles were no different.
The gospel writers honestly acknowledge the apostles’ flaws and mistakes both before and after Jesus’ death and resurrection, not to mention Christ’s exasperation with them;
“Have I been with you all this time and you still don’t know me, Philip?” (John 14.9)
For some reason, Christians raised the apostles to a position of infallibility. They were not infallible. In fact, the apostles were just as fallible as the spiritual giants of the Hebrew Bible; Moses, Joshua, Samuel and David to name a few.
We all make mistakes and we do well to keep this in mind.
Five Serious Mistakes.
While the apostles made numerous mistakes during the ‘apostolic period’, I have selected five serious mistakes to illustrate how these early mistakes arose, how one mistake led to another, and how each mistake compounded the problems.
I have grouped them as follows;
1. Two ‘setup mistakes’ to illustrate how basic mistakes gave rise to huge consequences.
- The apostles did not leave Jerusalem after Pentecost.
- The apostles did not seek the Holy Spirit’s guidance.
2. One ‘central mistake’ that has plagued the Church ever since.
- The apostles created a human organisation.
3. Two ‘consequential mistakes’ that illustrate the impact of the ‘central mistake’.
- The apostles misunderstood the role of the Holy Spirit in the Church.
- The apostles misunderstood what Christ achieved for women.
Below is a brief introduction to each of the five serious mistakes.
1. The apostles did not leave Jerusalem after Pentecost.
The Lord Jesus Christ gave the apostles very specific instructions about their mission; “Go and make disciples of all nations!”
After his resurrection, Jesus met with the apostles and gave them the Great Commission;
"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me, therefore go and make disciples in all nations; baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20)
And again, mere minutes before his ascension into heaven, Jesus instructed the apostles to wait in Jerusalem until they had been baptised with the Holy Spirit, after which they were supposed to leave Jerusalem and go ‘to the ends of the earth’;
“Wait for what the Father has promised. John baptised with water but, in a few days, you will be baptised with the Holy Spirit … You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1:4-8)
They didn't 'Go'!
After Pentecost, the apostles preached a few sermons and a few thousand people were baptised and “devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to breaking of bread and prayers” (Acts 2:42-43)
The apostles got caught up in the ‘busyness’ of leading a growing church and overawed by the awe that “came upon every soul as many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles”, that they forgot their real mission.
They forgot to 'Go!'
Apart from a few forays into Judea and Samaria, the apostles remained in Jerusalem. Even during the first round of persecution, when many disciples departed Jerusalem, the apostles remained firmly rooted in Jerusalem;
“they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles!” (Acts 8.1)
Clearly a serious mistake.
2. The apostles did not seek the Holy Spirit’s guidance.
Immediately after Christ’s ascension and before the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, Peter gets the bight idea to fill the spot vacated by Judas. After siting a few random verses from the scriptures, the disciples selected two men who met the criteria Peter sets forth and then cast lots to see which one to choose. (Acts 1.15-26)
Now, if Jesus had wanted to appoint someone to replace Judas as an apostle, he had ample time between his resurrection and ascension, to give the apostles the necessary instructions, or choose one himself. He did neither. As it is, we never hear of Matthias again and, a few years later, Jesus chooses Saul of Tarsus to “carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel.” (Acts 9.15)
Then again, after a complaint by the Hellenist Jews about the distribution of food to the Hellenist widows, the apostles decided to appoint seven men to attend to food distribution so that the apostles could devote themselves “to prayer and to the ministry of the word” (Acts 6.4)
Once again, we see no reference to the apostles referring to the Holy Spirit’s guidance in the matter. Instead, Peter stated the problem and proposed a solution that “pleased the whole gathering” (Acts 6.5).
Below are two Old Testament examples to illustrate the point I am making; Joshua and David.
First, Joshua’s mistake after the scouts returned from Ai and advised him not to send all the people to attack Ai; “but let about two or three thousand men attack Ai … for they are few.” (Joshua 7.3) The Israelites were routed and thirty-six men were killed.
Joshua had previously received detailed battle-plans from the Lord before the conquest of Jericho but failed to seek the Lord’s counsel before attacking Ai. What’s more, the Ai incident wasn’t the only time Joshua failed to seek the Lord’s counsel before making an important decision.
Joshua, one of the most important leaders in Israel's history, made mistakes. It's an observation worth remembering.
Next, consider two examples of how David sought the Lord’s guidance before each battle and how he received a different battle-plan each time.
David inquired of the LORD, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will you give them into my hand?” And the LORD said to David, “Go up, for I will certainly give the Philistines into your hand”. David came to Baal-perazim and defeated them. (2 Samuel 5:19-20)
And again ...
The Philistines came up again and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim. When David inquired of the LORD, he said, “Go around to their rear and come against them opposite the balsam trees. When you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then rouse yourself, for the LORD has gone out before you to strike down the army of the Philistines.” And David did as the LORD commanded him, and struck down the Philistines from Geba to Gezer. (2 Samuel 5:22-25)
That’s the way it is done. Seek the Holy Spirit’s guidance before acting.
By failing to seek the Holy Spirit’s guidance before appointing the seven, the apostles set the scene for the ‘central mistake’.
3. The Central Mistake: The apostles created a human organisation.
Almost immediately after Christ’s ascension, we see a human organisation emerging as new disciples flood into the Church.
The first indication of the apostles’ ‘organisational mentality’ occurs in the appointment of Matthias. The apostles mistook the role of an apostle, for a title; an apostle is simply ‘someone who is sent’, an emissary, but here we find the title of ‘apostle’ being conferred upon Matthias.
We next see the emerging human organisation when new disciples sold properties and laid the proceeds “at the apostles’ feet”; the apostles were hardly equipped to be financial managers!
There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. (Acts 4:34-35)
And finally, we see the organisational structure emerging with the appointment of the seven in response to a complaint by the Hellenists. (Acts 6)
Creating the human organisation I call “Twelve Apostles Ministries Inc.” was the apostles’ own doing; natural responses to challenges as the apostles were caught up in the busyness of a rapidly growing church. Understandable but not the right choice.
Had Jesus wanted to create a human organisation, he was perfectly able to do so; after all, we only have to read Exodus to Deuteronomy to grasp his ability to give detailed instructions.
But Jesus gave no instructions or training on ‘church administration’ and none of the apostles were equipped for such a role; least of all Peter, the impulsive fisherman.
The point here is that the apostles made decisions as the Church grew but, unlike David, there is no report of them “inquiring of the Lord” before embarking on any of the above courses action. They ended up creating a human organisation.
In their busyness, the apostles overlooked two key facts;
The real Church of Jesus Christ is a spiritual family, not a human organisation.
The real ‘Custodian’ of the Church is the Holy Spirit, not a professional priesthood.
By creating a human organisation, they set themselves up for a mountain of unnecessary trouble.
4. The apostles misunderstood the role of the Holy Spirit in the Church.
God promised a ‘New Covenant’ in which the Law would be written on our hearts;
“I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will anyone teach his neighbour and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD’ for they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.” (Jeremiah 31.33-34)
Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would be every disciple’s Helper, Teacher and Guide; that the Holy Spirit would empower disciples to be Christ’s witnesses ‘to the ends of the earth’. Under the New Covenant, every disciple “Knows the Lord, from the least to the greatest”, no professional priesthood required!
The apostles misunderstood that the role of an apostle, was to “make disciples in all nations”; to make disciples, baptise them and teach them to obey Christ’s commands ... and then get out of their way!
As every loving parent knows, the time must come when the parents’ work is done; the mature disciples must ‘leave’ to fulfil their part in the Great Commission; to ‘be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth’.
By creating a human organisation, the apostles created the framework for a two-tier organisational structure in which small cliques of professional ‘hirelings’ (John 10.11-12) ‘lord it over’ their congregations and sects, demanding compliance with their particular form of orthodoxy. It is a system that has plagued Christianity ever since.
The apostles should have left Jerusalem after Pentecost, trusting that the Holy Spirit would take care of Christ’s Church.
They should have left Jerusalem to ‘make disciples of ALL nations’. That was Christ’s instruction and that was Christ’s battle-plan for his Church.
“Making disciples in all nations” is still Christ’s battle-plan for his Church today.
5. The apostles misunderstood what Christ achieved for women.
Last but by no means least, by creating a human organisation, the apostles were forced to adopt a traditional role for women in the Church. As such, the apostles completely missed the essential role of women in Christ's Church.
Through his death and resurrection, Jesus Christ restored our spiritual status before God and each other. Men and women were set free from the spiritual curses in Genesis 3; in Christ, the man ‘bruised Satan's head’ and the woman was released from the curse of ‘her husband’s rulership’ (which, in traditional society, had morphed into male domination across the board).
In Christ, the born-again woman is, once again, an equal partner under Christ.
At the very least, born-again women, released from the curse of male domination, are free to rise to their full potential within the spiritual family of the true Church of Jesus Christ; the Church is a Family and the family is a church.
“Where two or three gather in my name, I am in their midst.” (Matthew 18.20)
Sounds like a family to me!
At the very least, in the home, the born-again woman is every born-again man’s equal. And the home is the church; not a human organisation ruled over by professional hirelings.
The home is where disciples grow to maturity and the Church of Jesus Christ connects with the world in the local community; the true local church exists in disciples’ homes, not purpose-built buildings.
And finally, how can the Church flourish when half of the family is forced to languish under the curse?
How can we expect to prevail against the “spiritual forces of evil” when at least fifty percent of the Church is fighting with their arms tied behind their backs?
Conclusion.
The true Church of Jesus Christ is a spiritual family, not a human organisation.
The multi-generational family is the God-ordained model for humanity to “be fruitful, to multiply and fill the earth and subdue it” (Genesis 1.28).
Eight billion people and counting, is evidence enough that the ‘family-model’ has proven its ability to fulfil its mission! Human beings have been fruitful; we have multiplied, we have filled the earth and we have subdued it.
Jesus did not need to create a new model for Church growth, a successful model already existed; the multi-generational family.
The multi-generational family-model served Israel perfectly well for the first few centuries of its existence as a nation.
When the Israelites wandered through the wilderness, they encamped by tribe, with each tribe having a specific position around the tent of meeting.
In the ‘promised land’, each tribe, with the exception of the Levites, was allocated a specific area in which to settle. Everyone lived in their allocated area by family, clan and tribe.
The family-model served Israel until they demanded a king, “like all the nations” (1 Samuel 8.5)
But God was clear that, in demanding a king, Israel was rejecting Him as their King.
And the LORD said to Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, they have rejected me from being king over them”. (1Samuel 8.7)
God was also clear that Israel would pay an extremely heavy price for demanding a king. The Christian Church has also paid an extremely heavy price for allowing professional hirelings to rule over it!
The God-ordained model for ‘the Church on earth’ is the Family; a multi-generational family of Spirit-filled disciples, men and women living as equals before God and each other, living as salt and light in the world.
In future articles and courses I will develop the Family-model in more detail.
