The disciples
The disciples
Nobody knows for sure just how long Jesus' ministry, teaching and travelling throughout the Holy Land, lasted. Some say three years, others as little as one. That Christianity grew, after such a brief inception, into the world religion we know to today is testimony to the power of the message Jesus preached. But it is also due to a much simpler and often over-looked fact. He had more than a little help from his friends.
The twelve disciples were Jesus's companions ©
Jesus chose his closest followers very carefully. He needed people he could trust to send out his message and to continue the work when he was no longer around to lead the nascent Christian movement. They were Jesus' most familiar allies and companions, but what do we really know about the lives and personalities of the twelve disciples?
We know that Jesus recruited from the community he grew up in, an environment with a simple but mixed economy where jobs were specialised and survival was all-important. At least four of the disciples, James, brothers Peter and Andrew and John, were fisherman whose livelihood consisted of taking their boats out onto Lake Galilee to catch fish such as sardine and carp. It could be a hard existence at times. They may have had to take out loans to pay for equipment and had to hand over much of their catch in taxes to the Roman authorities who held considerable political and economic power over the entire region.
The paying of taxes may well have been a source of tension between the fishermen and the local individuals the Romans employed to perform the unenviable, but highly lucrative, job of collecting the taxes. By choosing one such tax collector, Matthew, as part of his close following, Jesus may have brought together a volatile combination of forces. Matthew's fellow disciples would have had to wrestle with difficult emotions when dealing with someone they would have been accustomed to treating with suspicion.
They may well have been other factors to upset the group dynamics of Jesus' team. The brothers James and John, also known as the 'sons of thunder', appear, according to the biblical account, to have had short, even violent, tempers. They also coveted the idea of being Jesus' deputies, which could have provoked disquiet amongst the other disciples.
Despite all the potential problems they faced somehow the Jesus movement managed to pull together in the same direction. They were sent off, probably in small groups, to preach and to perform, on a smaller scale, many of the miraculous things Jesus did. They healed people of physical and psychological illness, perhaps utilising the reputation of their remarkable leader to gain the acceptance and belief of converts.
They suffered great hardships and dangers in a region controlled by Roman authorities, who had a nasty habit of brutally snuffing out political rebellions and messianic movements. They would have left the comfort of their family homes to hit the road, often sleeping rough and relying on the hospitality of locals for food and shelter. Travelling from village to village in Galilee and beyond to Jerusalem they may have encountered bandits on solitary mountain tracks.
It was a difficult existence. There must have been arguments, jealousies and in-fighting along the way but the disciples were held together by the power of their charismatic and determined leader. They may not have always understood what his message was and their faith may have wavered at times but all of them, apart from the tragic case of Judas, stuck with him until his death.
After Jesus' crucifixion the disciples were left rudderless and disorientated but his appearance to them and the intensely motivating events of Pentecost rallied their spirits. From this point they found the strength to push forward with keeping Jesus' message alive carrying Christianity through the Near East and beyond. They may have started out as a modest group of everyday fisherman, local officials and artisans, but they went on to become the driving force, keeping alive a small religious movement which flowered into a world religion.