Section 219
The Twelve as a Nucleus of a Renewed Remnant for Israel
Jesus’ choice of twelve disciples identifies him as leader of a renewal movement for Israel, again suggesting at the least his prophetic interests (and possibly more). Although Jesus had many disciples, he selected a core group of twelve (e.g., Mk 3:14; 1 Cor 15:5) to communicate a symbolic point. Jesus presumably selected this number to function as representatives108 for the righteous remnant of the eschatological people of God.109 This is probable because it appears analogous to twelve select leaders in Qumran texts,110 as is widely noted.111
Twelve naturally was frequently understood to symbolize the twelve tribes of Israel, and many contemporary interpreters understood other references to “twelve” in this manner.112 Jewish people sometimes opined that ten of the twelve tribes were lost and would be restored only in the end time;113 many thus believe that Jesus’ choice of “twelve” apostles signified the imminence of the end-time regathering of God’s scattered people.114 The twelve apostles may be viewed as akin to the twelve patriarchs (cf. Rev 21:12, 14), or to the princes of the tribes (cf. Num 2:3-29; 7:11, 18-78; 17:6), who would rule over the tribes at the time of their eschatological restoration (Matt 19:28//Lk 22:30).115
The designation “the Twelve” undoubtedly is authentic Jesus tradition. Later Gentile Christians would not have invented “Q” material like the twelve’s rule over Israel (Matt 19:28//Lk 22:30, which does not suit typical Gentile Christians’ theology).116 The designation “twelve” was established tradition well before the writing of the Gospels (1 Cor 15:5), despite the likelihood that those who passed on the tradition knew that one of Jesus’ own disciples betrayed him.117 The criterion of embarrassment makes it highly unlikely that the later church invented a disciple betraying Jesus, and the historical tradition of the betrayal by someone in Jesus’ inner circle makes unlikely any invention of that circle. The variations in the lists among New Testament documents are slight, but the variations may also testify to the idea of a group of “Twelve” more widely known than a standardized list of names.118 Thus Luke both in Acts 1:13 and in Lk 6:16 has “Judas son of James” rather than Mark’s “Thaddeus” (Mk 3:18).119
The existence of the “twelve” suggests a role for Jesus beyond that of prophet, however. That Jesus expects the twelve to rule, but is himself their leader, suggests that he claimed to be more than an average prophet (Matt 19:28//Lk 22:30). (In the next chapter, we shall explore other evidence supporting this suggestion.)