Were the twelve apostles poor and illiterate? I was leading a Bible Study tonight when one of the people involved made the statement that the Twelve Apostles were probably mostly poor and illiterate. After all, they were fishermen and salt of the earth, and many people did not know how to read or write back then. But, is this an accurate statement of the probable situation of the Twelve Apostles? Well, I had the people go to a certain passage in the Gospel of John:

And Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. Now that disciple was known to the high priest, and went with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest. But Peter stood at the door outside. Then the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to her who kept the door, and brought Peter in.

This passage is obviously right after Jesus’ arrest. Read it again. One of the disciples is so well known to the high priest and to the guards at his place that he is able to walk right in without being stopped. And then he shows how well-connected he is by going back and giving the guard permission to let Simon Peter in. Now let’s review a bit what has happened. The priests and the Sadducees are so worried about crowd reaction to the arrest of Jesus that they arrange to arrest him late at night and secretly so that there will be no riot. In this type of setting, security would have been very tight at the high priest’s house. In fact, the Scriptures comment on how the high priest’s courtyard was crowded with guards and servants. This is not a setting in which just anyone can walk in. In fact, Simon Peter was stopped and prevented from entering, showing the elevated security level.

So, who is this disciple who is so well connected that even on a night of elevated security he can walk right in? This is the Apostle John, the brother of the Apostle James, one of the sons of thunder, whose father was Zebedee. But, this means that John and James bar Zebedee were not simple poor fishermen from the Sea of Galilee. You may wish to reread some of the Gospels. Notice that a couple of times, when they are shown fishing, there is more than one boat mentioned. Given the connection with the high priest, it is quite likely that James and John were educated and obviously able to travel in high society circles. Notice that while Simon Peter’s accent is pointed out, nothing is ever said about John’s accent or about his being a follower of Jesus. That is, John is placed high enough that neither the guards nor the serving maids feel comfortable hassling him. They do feel quite comfortable hassling Peter, who goes on to deny Jesus three times.

Have I begun to help you reevaluate your opinion of at least some of the Apostles? Well, there are other apostles that might surprise you, but that is for another post.

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