Journal: Westminster Theological Journal
Volume: WTJ 45:1 (Spring 1983)
Article: The Origin of the New Testament Apostolate
Author: Robert W. Herron, Jr.

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WTJ 45:1 (Spr 1983) p. 101

The Origin of the New Testament Apostolate

Robert W. Herron, Jr.

Over a century ago J. B. Lightfoot published a commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians in which he included an excursus entitled “The Name and Office of an Apostle.”1 It demonstrated that Lightfoot was probably the first scholar to fully appreciate the historical and theological difficulties connected with the NT apostolate. Lightfoot’s exposition also became the initial statement in a scholarly debate which has continued into our day. It is this wide diversity of opinion which justifies a survey and evaluation of current scholarship.

This essay has two objectives. The first is to categorize the secondary sources according to the positions taken regarding the origin of the apostolate. This criterion yields three categories: (1) the apostolate originates from an appointment by the historical Jesus; (2) the apostolate is a post-Easter development within the early church; (3) the apostolate reflects in a significant way the theological creativity of Paul.2

The second objective is to interact critically with the various hypotheses in order to determine the weight of probability and plausibility. Hopefully the thrust of one or another hypothesis will have fresh appeal in light of a sober assessment of over a century of scholarly research.

I. Survey of Current Scholarship

1. The Apostolate as an Appointment by Jesus

In the preface to his scholarly work, The Office of Apostle in the Early Church, Walter Schmithals notes that J. B. Lightfoot’s

WTJ 45:1 (Spr 1983) p. 102

“research provided the foundation—which, though considerably enlarged, has hardly needed serious correction—for the great number of later works on the figure of the apostle and on the concept of the apostolic.”3 His single most important contribution was his explication of the use of the term in Judaism. Lightfoot identified the figure of the šaliaḥ as the Jewish prototype and equivalent of the Christian apostolos.4 In the Septuagint (1 Kgs 14:6) apostolos appears as a translation of šaliaḥ, “where it has the general sense of a messenger, though with reference to a commission from God.”5 The most common use, however, was as a title given to those who were dispatched from Jerusalem on some special missi...

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