The Harmony Chronicle and Order of the New Testament, Part 1 · Section 27

The Harmony Chronicle and Order of the New Testament · Part 1 · Section 27

p. 24SECTION XXVII.

The twelve Apostles chosen.

LUKE and Mark do methodize and fix the time of the Sermon in the Mount; which Matthew hath laid very early in his Gospel, because he would first treat of Christs Doctrine, and then of his Miracles.

In a mount neer Capernaum, he ordaineth a Ministry for the Church of the Gospel, and delivereth the doctrine of the Gospel, as Moses at Sinai had done the like for the Law. The number of the present Ministers appointed, whom he calleth Apostles, was twelve, agreeable to the twelve Tribes of Israel: that as they were the beginning of the Church of the Jews, so are these of the Gentiles: and to both these numbers of twelve joyned together, the number of the four and twenty Elders, the representative of the whole Church, Rev. 4. & 5, &c. hath relation, Rev. 21.12, 14.

The text allotteth these ends of their appointment: 1. That they might be with Christ, to see his glory, Ioh. 1.14. and to be witnesses of all things that he did, Acts 10.39, 41. Luk. 24.48. 2. That he might send them forth to preach. 3. To heal diseases and cast out Devils.

Before they were completed in all their divine endowments, they grew on by degrees; They were auditors a good while, and learning the doctrine of the Gospel, that they were to preach, before they set upon that work: for though Christ chose them now, yet it is well towards a twelve monethmonth, before he send them abroad a preaching, as will appear in the processe of the story. So that besides the time that they had spent before this their choosing, they also spent that in hearing and learning from the mouth of their Master, what they were to teach when he should employ them: So that even the Apostles themselves at the first setting forth into the Ministry, did not preach by the Spirit, but what they had learned and gotten by hearing, study, conference and meditation.

As the Lord under the Law, and from the first founding of that Church, did set apart a peculiar order and function of men for the service of the Sanctuary, so did he under the Gospel, a peculiar order and function for the Ministry of the Gospel; and this no more to be usurped upon, then that: Now as under the Law there were severall sorts of men within that function, as High-Priests, Chief-Priests, ordinary Priests and Levites, but all paled in with that peculiarity that no other might meddle with their function: so likewise at the first rising of the Gospel, there were Apostles, Evangelists, Prophets, Pastors, Teachers, according to the necessity of those present times, but all hedged in with a distinctive ministeriall calling, that none other might nor may break in upon. All the Titles and Names that Ministers are called by throughout the new Testament, are such as denote peculiarity and distinctivenesse of order; as, Wise men and Scribes, Mat. 23.34. Now the Jews knew not, nor ever had heard of Wise men and Scribes, foreign, but the learned of their Nation distinguisht for others, by peculiarity of order and ordination: And if they understood not Christ in such a sense, namely men of a distinct order, they understood these Titles Wise men and Scribes, in a sense that they had never known nor heard of before: Ministers in the new Testament are called Elders, Bishops, Angels of the Churches, Pastors, Teachers: now all these were Synagogue termes, and every one of them denoted peculiarity of order, as might be shewed abundantly from their Synagogue p. 25antiquities: The Jews knew no Elders but men by their order and function distinguisht from other men. A Bishop translates the word foreign Chazan, An Angel of the Congregation translates the title foreign Sheliach tsibbor, A Pastor translates the word foreign Parnas, And a Teacher translates foreign the Divinity Reader: Now these termes had never been known by any to signifie otherwayes then men of a peculiar function and distinct order.