So far in this series I have been looking at how Jesus applied the term ‘apostle’ to his disciples. It is not a term he is reported to have used widely and yet there is enough detail in the three synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) to say something about how he saw things.

The four key things drawn from the previous posts have been i) they are appointed by Jesus; ii) they are to preach the Kingdom; iii) they have authority to both cast out demons; and iv) heal the sick – the last two being manifestations of the Kingdom breaking through into the world. We are told that he sent them out two by two to carry out this work and that they return full of excitement having completed their task.

There is one other passage in the gospels that needs some attention – Luke 10:1-20 – the story about Jesus sending out the 70 (or 72 – depending on which manuscript is read). Though Jesus does not refer to them as apostles the instructions he gives them and the authority they carry is very similar to that of the 12 in Matthew 10. They too are to preach, to heal the sick and when they return they report that they had cast out demons. The title does not seem to matter so much compared to the work that is to be done. Interestingly, the 70 were to go ahead of Jesus to each city he was going to – making them forerunners of Jesus himself.

In contrast to the passages about the 12 (where we know for a fact that all 12 were male) there is no reference here to gender. Some of them, most of them, even all of them, could have been female – we’re just not told, suggesting to me that it wasn’t an issue whether they were male or female.

One issue that is clearer in Luke 10 than any of the other apostolic passages in the Gospels is where they are being sent to: they are to go to ‘every city and place’ – that is, they are being sent to a geographic place where there will be people. This is an important point about the apostolic – the role territory has in their ministry. Some commentators suggest that the 70 (or 72 in some versions) is referring to the 70 nations found in the Greek version of Genesis 10 (the LXX). Whether this is a correct interpretation or not, the fact that they are sent to cities does suggest that territory is a part of their apostolic mandate.

So it would seem that Luke 10 has added two important matters to our understanding of the apostolic: the issues of gender and of geography. The sent ones can be either male or female and they are sent to specific areas to minister in the authority they have received.

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