The Apostles had nothing but a story
An eternal story of God seeking to personally engage mankind
By Steve Hall
Matthew described Jesus’ final instructions as including teaching and baptizing. Mark said the command was to “preach the good news to the whole of creation.” Luke’s account focused on the truth only an eyewitness can offer. In the final analysis, we must conclude that Paul’s words, “I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received,” encompassed the whole of what each one of the Apostles had to share. It was a story.
Feast of Saints Philip and James, Apostles
1Corinthians 15:1-8
John 14:6-14
“I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received.” (1 Corinthians 15:3)
Although these words were from Paul (self-described as the least of the Apostles), they could easily have been spoken by any of the Twelve. What more did they have? They didn’t go out with a book of guidelines to be memorized. Neither were they interested in reaching Nirvana. They had no self-help program to share, and their lives were hardly an example of prosperity. Their instructions had been simple enough. Matthew described Jesus’ final instructions as including teaching and baptizing. Mark said the command was to “preach the good news to the whole of creation.” Luke’s account focused on the truth only an eyewitness can offer.
In the final analysis, we must conclude that Paul’s words, “I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received,” encompassed the whole of what each one of the Apostles had to share. It was a story.
The story was about a man, born in ancient Bethlehem, who had lived briefly with the people of this Middle East crossroads called Israel. It was the beautiful story of his words, the wonders he had performed, and his encounters with other people. It was the discouraging story of his rejection and acceptance by a people long prepared for his coming. It was a sorrowful story of betrayal, suffering, and death. It was the incredible story of his Resurrection and corresponding triumph over death.
We tend to think of that story as one encompassing a brief thirty-three years, but that is a narrow view to say the least. While the story carried to the world by the Apostles was brief, it was also incessant and perpetual. It was but the most recent chapter in the persistent, eternal story of God seeking to personally engage mankind.
The story was and is more than entertainment, more than a historical anomaly, more than a curiosity. It is a simple story, not at all complicated. If the story includes philosophy, dogma, and moral teaching, these subjects are there because they are always there in any human story; and none of these is primary to the story itself.
This story cannot easily be returned to the library shelf. It is a story which, by its very nature, demands involvement or rejection from the one who hears it.
The Apostles had nothing ... Nothing but a story ... A story about the presence of God, the demise of death, and the salvation of the world. Such a story requires more than passive acceptance.