Who Were The Real Twelve Disciples Of Christ? | The Twelve Apostles Full Series | All Out History

this channel is part of the history hit Network [Applause] Rome under the watchful eye of Saint Peter more than a hundred thousand people gathered to celebrate Mass led by Peter's direct spiritual descendant the Pope foreign the figures of The Twelve men who along with at least one woman were the key players in the story that became Christianity and have stood at its heart ever since the apostles [Music] foreign [Music] years ago a revolutionary message was heard here in the Desert of Judea the teacher was Jesus of Nazareth around him he gathered a dedicated group of followers who to take his message Way Beyond these lands this series of ten programs follows the lives and legends of The Twelve Apostles without whom Christianity would not have come into existence foreign footsteps across time and geography [Music] in Greece [Music] and Spain [Music] in Anatolia and in Edinburgh [Music] in England India and the USA wherever their presence molded history [Music] the Holy Land the biblical historian father Jerry Murphy O'Connor will help tell the stories it's written in the gospels beginning with that of the man who became their leader and on whom a church was founded Simon Peter Peter's story is that of perhaps the middle aged middle class fishermen with a solid Financial background who was somehow attracted first of all to the message of John the Baptist he wasn't purely a materialist the message of John the Baptist was very straightforward he was just a prophet summoning his people to repentance that Peter should have followed Jesus becomes much more difficult to explain because Jesus wasn't sure what he was at the beginning foreign Peter had a lot to lose a family a thriving business supplying fish to the markets of Galilee and perhaps Jerusalem the Enterprise he gave it up for would be difficult dangerous and hard to understand [Music] to abolish the law and the prophets I I you have heard that it was said You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy but I say to you love your enemies and pray for them if Jesus in the early days didn't fully understand his mission and his divinity his listeners had great difficulty understanding his message Faith would be the key and Peter embodies the very human struggle to find it but when Peter saw the wind he was afraid and beginning to sink he cried out Lord Save Me Jesus immediately reached out his hand and called him saying to him o man of little faith why did you doubt but if Peter represents failure of faith and understanding he also represents success in the gospel story Peter and the others accompanied Jesus around Galilee for 18 months as he teaches heals and performs miracles [Music] always he's nudging the apostles towards a realization of who he really is it's Peter who sees the shattering truth [Music] you are the Christ the son of the Living God it was here at caesarea Philippi that Peter confessed that Jesus was the Messiah the Son of the Living God and so Jesus then rewarded him with the promise that he would be the Rock Petra or Petros on which the church would be established and this was the moment when his name Simon was changed to Peter or kefa did it happen of course the gospel story isn't documentary it's history seen Through The Eyes of faith so as with the other Apostles it's impossible to disentangle Peter the man from Peter the symbol [Music] as the story progresses he presents shifting identities now a real man caught up in real events now a symbolic player in an unfolding religious drama along with James and John Peter forms an inner core who are present at the key events in Jesus's life the Transfiguration when Jesus Divinity is revealed [Music] and the agony when as a man he recoils from the prospect of torture and the death ahead they seem to have been an inner cabinet if you wish who were closer to him personally and who he hoped would be the the fundamental disseminators of his message and in terms of passing on the tradition were needed really authoritative voices to say yes this is what he said or this is what he did or no he would never have said that and I think that was the main function of these three a turning point in the gospel story is when Jesus realizes that his mission is to die in Jerusalem when he tells Peter he responds as a devoted lieutenant God forbid Lord this shall never happen to you but Jesus turned and said to Peter get behind me Satan you're a hindrance to me for you're not on the side of God but of men humanity is thrown back in his face reverting to form he's failed to see The Grand Design and it's as an imperfect man that he'll face the terrible events to come be on the hill in Jerusalem [Music] today the Dome of the rockstands where the Jewish temple once stood across the kedron valley olive trees Mark out the Garden of Gethsemane as they did two thousand years ago when Jesus was arrested here betrayed by judas's KISS Peter's first reaction is to protect Jesus to attack his captors when Jesus is Led away Peter's morale his faith collapses Peter was sitting outside in the and are made come to him and said you also were with Jesus the Galilean but he denied it before them all saying I do not know what you mean and when he went out to the porch another maid saw him and said to the bystanders this man was with Jesus of Nazareth and again he denied it with an oath I do not know the man after a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter certainly you are one of them because your accent betrays you then he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear I do not know the man and immediately the crowed and Peter remembered the saying of Jesus before the crows you will deny me three times and he went out and wept bitterly I think there was a moment of panic he had been chosen to be the Rock and at the moment of truth he failed I think that the gospel writers with their knowledge of human nature that they felt that everyone should be shown an example of failure because it was followed by an example of success [Music] but not immediately Peter's Messiah was executed like a common Criminal though the gospel writers describe him witnessing Jesus's empty tomb and being in the room where they'd chaired the Last Supper when the Risen Jesus appears it's not until he returns to Galilee that Peter seems to experience fully The Wonder of the Resurrection at the very end of Saint John's gospel Jesus after the resurrection appears in the most unexpected way by the Sea of Galilee the fishermen have been out all night they have caught nothing and all of a sudden they see this figure on the shore who summons them to a meal of fish it's an intimate and affectionate reunion Jesus said to Simon Peter Simon son of John do you love me more than these Peter said to him yes Lord you know that I love you he said to him feed my Lambs he says to him three times feed my Lambs feed my sheep and this is the Pastoral Ministry of a man who had failed Jesus he is chosen again given a new power and hopefully new courage [Music] it's the turning point for Peter and the others and the supreme religious experience follows [Music] Pentecost is 50 days after Passover when Jesus was crucified and it was then that they received the gift of the spirit it's presented in a very dramatic way flames of fire fluttering down they speak languages I think the whole point is that there was a tremendous change which the disciples could only attribute to the power of God through the spirit the primary effect of Pentecost as far as the apostles was concerned was that they began to preach very very actively and not in private rooms or back streets they went straight to the temple we're standing on the steps leading into one of the big Southern Gates of the Temple in the heartland of the temple establishment the apostles preached Jews who are visiting from all parts of the Roman Empire listened and according to the New Testament understood in their own language then Peter took charge came to the fore and spoke men of Israel hear these words Jesus of Nazareth a man attested to you by God with Mighty works this is symbolically at the beginning of Acts Peter now preaches in the name of Jesus to the whole world Lawless man but God raised him up having loosed the pangs of death because it was not possible for him to be held by it repent and be baptized in Jerusalem Peter became what he was meant to be as a man he found faith and Mission spearhead the project to spread the word that belief in the resurrection of Jesus offered salvation to Jew and Gentile alike The Waiting world [Music] the Splendor of Saint Peters the history and very existence of the Roman Catholic Church are built on the tomb of Peter the site where many believe the apostle was buried after his eventual martyrdom in Rome though archaeologists have found traces of a first century tomb beneath the foundations there's no scientific evidence that this is where Peter was buried this casket contains ceremonial robes [Music] indeed there's no high historical evidence that Peter ever came to Rome at all this is built on tradition belief and it's an embodiment of the influence the apostles continued to exert after the events described in the gospels during the remainders of their lives and Beyond [Music] one main reason why the infant Christianity didn't just seep into the Sands like so many other Messianic Cults was that the twelve spent the rest of their lives carrying the word to the far ends of the Earth so at least tradition has it for there's little about their later lives in the New Testament it's very difficult to write a full biography of any of the Apostles using just the New Testament canonical material for one thing the deaths of the Apostles are not mentioned in the New Testament and we have to turn to the apocryphal tradition to as it were complete the apostles lies these unofficial accounts written to satisfy a growing interest in the doings of the Apostles have them embarking on missions to the Far Corners of the ancient world Peter after helping establish the church in Jerusalem and famously converting a Roman Centurion travels to the hub of the empire to Rome Peter came to Rome presumably because he realized that the missionary effort the evangelization could be directed best from Rome he would have been preaching don't forget Peter is someone who knew our blessed Lord personally and because of that his eyewitness testimony to the Divinity of Christ to the gospel of Christ was of supreme importance also in Rome technically under arrest but apparently preaching freely was poor not one of the twelve but certainly the intellectual architect of early Christianity and there was an audience to preach to by the middle of the first century there was a growing community of Christians in Rome enough to catch the eye of a notoriously unstable emperor [Music] thank you Nero status is one of History's monsters is being revised but his capacity for savagery and opportunism is a matter of record [Music] when in 64 A.D 11 of Rome's 14 districts went up in Flames Nero's scapegoated the Christians who'd begun to create some resentment by their activities thank you in the ensuing persecution many believe both Paul and Peter perished [Music] Peter smarter than permeates Rome this church commemorates one famous story about it written in the second century that became the basis of a famous book and a Hollywood film it stands near the ancient section of the Via apia by which Peter would have entered Rome in the story Peter warned of the impending danger is fleeing the city [Music] on his way out of Rome he meets the image of Jesus vision of Jesus and he asks Jesus where are you going to oh Lord is Dominic and Jesus says he's going to be crucified again which makes Peter very humbled and ashamed so far from running away from Rome he turns back and faces his own crucifixion in Rome Peter unworthy to die in the same manner as Jesus asks to be crucified upside down no one would claim that quavardis is anything else than a story but the conviction that the Apostle Peter did preach and die in Rome is the Cornerstone of its Christian Catholic identity Rome is Peter and Peter is Rome the importance of this symbol and of this ideology is fundamental for the Catholic church because it gives the Catholic Church their legitimacy to rule a flock of over 1 billion of people it gives the legitimacy to the pope to be the Supreme chief of this church to appoint the Bishops all over the world and also to control all the Catholic organizations all over the world Catholic succession the way they see it is that Jesus Christ appointed Peter as chief of the young community of Christian disciples and that from this little Community all the organization all the institutions developed [Music] in the church of Saint Paul outside the walls in Rome the succession is laid out an unbroken line of pontiffs down through the centers to the present day Guardians as they said of the faith basically the papacy exists from one thing one thing only to guarantee to defend the communion between all the local churches all that communion that comes from Oneness in faith Oneness in discipline and roam right from the start have been the the guarantor of that sort of Orthodoxy in the church but in this process of protection and preservation has the spirit of Peter's early church survived the Church of today and especially the Vatican with all its Ministries with all its bureaucracy with all its staff and organization has practically nothing to do with the little movement which began in Galileo two thousand years ago has nothing to do with the little Community to which Peter came here in Rome but it is the development of History it began there but now it's very different and what if Peter himself a flawed Apostle who found faith and upon whom a church was built what would he make of it if he looked out over Saint Peter's Square and saw all the hundreds of thousands of people who fill the square and then heard the very same message that he'd been trying to get across I think you'd get great comfort out of that and feel that in fact all the effort and even his his martyrdom had not been in vain I think if Peter saw one of these great papal ceremonies in Rome that he would be rather unhappy I think he would imagine that this is the temple in the high priest all over again we're back to Major institutionalized religion which is tremendously mixed up with politics he was a shrewd man he was a a strong businessman and so he had a sense of what was realistic and what could be done and what couldn't be done but all this Pomp and ceremony I think he would find it tragic [Music] Jesus said to the apostles but who do you say that I am Simon Peter replied you are the Christ the son she's to the bystanders this man was with Jesus of Nazareth and again he denied it Jesus said to Simon Peter Simon son of John do you love me more than these he said yes Lord you know that I love you Jesus said to him feed my Lambs it's a long journey in space and time from first century Galilee to 21st century Rome the Apostle Peter and what he represented played a major role in shaping those 2000 years and the lives of millions his is an important story but the stories of the other Apostles all have mystery and drama too next week Peter's brother Andrew the Epic adventurer who traveled the world became patron saint of Russia and Scotland and perhaps of political correctness [Music] he's the patron saint of Scotland and Russia [Music] for many Christians he's the first Apostle and you can pay your respects to his head in Greece foreign [Music] he was an epic Christian adventurer who ranged From Galilee through the Aegean to the North Sea he was an early networker and champion of a woman's right to say no he's Peter's brother Andrew [Music] foreign [Music] ER is often overshadowed by his more famous brother but in this program we'll be telling his story in part two we'll be tracing Andrew's adventures and investigating how he's helped shape churches individuals and whole countries throughout history we'll be exploring new archaeological evidence which challenges traditional views of the fisherman apostles we begin in the first century on the banks of the Jordan where John's account about Andrew a follower of John the Baptist first encounters Jesus the next day John was standing with two of his disciples and he looked at Jesus as he walked and said Behold the Lamb of God one of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew Simon Peter's brother first found his brother Simon and said to him we have found the Messiah the account of the calling of the disciples in John is really very much the disciples finding Jesus and being accepted by Jesus whereas in the other gospels Jesus walks around by the lake and clicks his fingers and everybody jumps that strikes me as a little implausible in John's gospel Andrew is the first called setting off a chain reaction that brings in other disciples he and Peter were already among a band of followers of John the Baptist who'd been preaching about the coming of a messiah and had now recognized him in Jesus Andrew and his brother were men with a spiritual hunger they had been touched by the Messianic hope they were prepared to accept the message of John the Baptist by reforming themselves with the view hopefully to extending that Reformation to their people the Jewish people [Music] were in a receptive mood across a Palestine held fast in the grip of the Romans and their placemen many were looking for a savior to usher in the end of days in a New Order the religious center of the land was the temple in Jerusalem but now that Jesus had come on the scene and was about to start his great project the Epic spiritual transformation would begin here in the North run the shores of Galilee here we're at the North End of the lake where the Jordan River enters the Sea of Galilee and on my right is betsaida which was the home of Peter and Andrew and then they moved later to cafernam which is on the on the coast behind me and these four elements would be there that features that are Central to the gospel story in Galilee these are real places we can visit them but what if the apostles themselves the men who are about to embark on this Great Adventure what can we know of these first century men [Music] with Andrew and Peter there's more to go than with most of the Apostles to begin with there's a location and an occupation Andrew and Peter were fishermen on Lake Galilee today archaeological excavations of fishing communities around the lake are uncovering evidence of how extensive and developed the industry was [Music] this is Messiah according to the gospels Andrew and Peter's birthplace according to archeology a flourishing fishing Village 2000 years ago we discovered a plenty of fishing implements at the site particularly on the Hellenistic and Roman levels of the site we found there are fish hooks and we discovered all kind of fish hooks so there were some fish hooks that were ready to go in there was some fish hooks that were prepared for fishing which means that it was an industry of fishing here the other things that we found were lead net weights which means that people would fish here not only in hooks but they were also fishing in Nets which means that this is a little bit more of them for your own private consumption it means that you do it also for uh for selling in the market for some biblical historians this evidence flies in the face of conventional images of Andrew and Peter as little more than waterborne Libras the traditional understanding of Simon and Andrew is really established by Luke who calls the mignon common men I don't think that's true Simon is a is a Greek form Simeon is the Semitic Andrew is purely Greek so there must have been a bilingual family one of the houses excavated in bedside there is certainly the house of fishermen and that house is bigger than average so I would think very clearly that they were you know upper middle class in terms of the population of the lake foreign probably not ignorant other fines reinforce connections between both cider and advanced Greek civilization throughout this conclusion from the pottery they have we when we look at the pottery they have fairly large amount of pottery that was purchased abroad or purchased from far away distance and brought into this community here we see all kind of small finds that are indicated they had some knowledge about Hellenistic Society for instance uh we can see what type of of wine they purchased and they had Fairly large amount of wine purchased from abroad particularly from the island of Rhodes and the other Greek Islands so Andrew and Peter May well have been Greek speaking middle class Lakeside businessman before giving it all up to follow first John the Baptist and then Jesus [Music] [Music] apparently they'd been shrewd enough to move the family business four kilometers across the Jordan to kafanam or Capernaum in order to pay less tax the fact that they moved for a tax break shows very clearly the sort of men that Simon and Andrew were they were hard-headed businessmen they were not Ruthless People searching for something that would give them importance they were important people in their own right they were making a sacrifice to follow Jesus and they did it intelligently because they saw something there they probably couldn't tell us what they saw but they saw something today in Cavern I'm a modern shirts squats over the remains of the house that many believe Andrew shared with Peter James and John may also have lived nearby kafanan became Jesus's base as he prepared for the campaign ahead I would have thought that Catherine arm was a place where of development that Jesus certainly would have been in a position to develop his relationship with Simon and with Andrew and if they were partners with James and John then this is where he would have gotten to know them better [Music] it would have been a place of contemplation as far as Jesus was concerned but he had to find an audience so he would have moved from one Village to another up in the hills or around the lake seeking for someone to hear his message [Music] when Jesus's Ministry gets underway it's Peter rather than his brother who takes Center Stage where Andrew does feature by name is as an enabler and bring her in one of his disciples Andrew Simon Peter's brother said to him there is a lad here who has five barley Loaves and two fish but what are they among so many Jesus said make the people sit down now there was much grass in the defeating of the five thousand traditionally located here it's Andrew who finds a boy with the fishes [Music] when some Greeks want to meet Jesus it's Greek speaking Andrew who acts as a go-between after these events Andrew Fades as an individual culture in the Gospels we may assume he goes with Jesus and the others to Jerusalem and is caught up in the events there that he experiences the resurrection which renews and emboldens the apostles but his actions and reactions aren't recorded it's after the events described in the New Testament that he'll come into his own as a missionary and a Christian hero at that time we apostles were all in Jerusalem and we portioned out the regions of the world in order that each of us might go into the region that fell to him by lot and to the nation to which the Lord had sent him after the Resurrection The Apostles set out to spread the word second century acts of Andrew as if to make up for his quietness in the gospels describe him having Many Adventures like a Christian Odysseus he voyages across the Mediterranean and the Aegean Seas [Music] as your minor he battles with Wizards and demons and rescues fellow missionaries from cannibals traditionally he comes to rest here at patras in Southwest Greece it is known that the Apostle Andrew arrived in patras at an advanced age obviously he came to preach the Christian faith the truth of Christ since he was the first to be called by the Lord to the apostolic mission is here in patras once he started preaching and teaching the new religion he predictably faced difficulties Temptations and reactions this church celebrates Andrew's life and the events which led up to his martyrdom by the seashore he preaches and makes miraculous cures [Music] he heals the sermon of stratically he's brother of the Roman consulatees stratocles is converted and lays down his arms Andrew turns his attention to the consul's wife Maxi Miller he cures her of some mysterious ailment she converts and encouraged by Andrew imposes a sex ban on her Pagan husband aguiates he already incensed by his brother's conversion has Andrew arrested and crucified tied spread eagle to a tree Andrew takes three days to die preaching the whole while [Music] the church in patras was built on this Legend on the site of his martyrdom this is his tomb this father Nicholas will tell you he sent Andrew's actual skull returned by the Pope in a gesture of Goodwill in 1964. for these Orthodox Christians Andrew's relics have vital adjuncts of Faith physical embodiments of an apostle friend who lives on in their daily lives I believe in nagus Andreas and I believe that I guess Andres will help me to my life with his blessed years many times when I asked him to help me to show me what exactly should I do at a difficult moment I find that after a prayer to the holy skull my mind opens martyrdom didn't prevent Andrew from traveling [Music] in the early church Apostles and their remains were very much in demand in the early 4th Century the first Christian emperor Constantine turned his back on Rome to build a new city and Church in the east he needed an apostle to give it credibility so he had Andrew's bones removed from patras and brought here to Constantinople today's Istanbul when centuries later Constantinople fell to the Crusaders Andrew's relics were brought here to Amalfi Don Andrea will show you his version of Andrew's head but according to another tradition other fragments of Andrew had already been on the move from east to west and had made a landfall here on the east coast of Scotland [Music] the legend is that there was a Priestly figure who was called regulars who came either from patras or from Constantinople bringing some bones supposed to be Saint Andrew's bones he'd been instructed by an Angel to secrete or rather to steal these bones and to take them to the far Corner a far corner of the world and he fetched up on the rocky Headland here which is called Conrad was called in those days can rhyme and it would become Saint Andrews the regular story was probably made up in future years to account for relics would it actually been brought from the south The Cult of Andrew grew attracted patrons and eventually a great cathedral was built and dedicated to Andrew in 1318. [Music] a university was founded Saint Andrews became an international Focus for pilgrims [Music] Saint Andrew is Riding High and then [Music] the Reformation we know that John Knox preached here we know that churches here were dispoiled we know that the cathedral was disboiled we suspect that the relics were probably just thrown into the sea foreign this may have been the end of Andrew as a major religious figure in Scotland but by now he was influencing people's lives in another way he'd been recruited into Scotland's struggle for nationhood as its patron saint the medieval Scots like most other medievals were feudal Warlords many of them and so what they try to do is Andrew was to use him as a patron saint of War just like Saint George was likewise used and I would say abused by the time of Robert De Bruce's victory over the English at Bannockburn in 1314 Saint Andrew's protection was regularly invoked Bruce's soldiers prayed to him wore the emblem of his cross and roared his name as a Battle Cry more diplomatically it was sent Andrew's early conversion of the Scots people that was used in evidence in the Declaration of our broth which in 1320 made the case to the pope for Scotland's right to exist but it wasn't to be Scotland merged with its more powerful neighbor and history rolled on today's nandra is acknowledged once a year and his name lives on in societies and in the capital's Financial squares temples to worthy fiscal prudence we tended to take Andrew and name streets after him which is like an adult post-reformation thing to do you know which is that the Scottish and Suits the mood and what do today's Scots know about their patron saint not enough strong points you know the foggy's clue not very helpful right now I'm having complete blank oh I'm Scottish Scottish history I was terrible I mean I actually live in Saint Andrews as well I think it was crucified upside down but other than that I really couldn't tell you very much about them Andrew's most visible Legacy is his diagonal cross [Music] it became the basis of Scotland's national flag the saltire [Music] since Devolution it's everywhere [Music] however do the Scots have embraced it so enthusiastically have any inkling of its association with the first century apostle the soul tile is is still primarily a flag flown at football matches if you were to explain to the average score the reason why the sole tire is that shape is because Saint Andrew was crucified on across that ship they would probably be quite surprised as work proceeds on Scotland's new Parliament building many are also considering what sort of nation it should be representing some looked at history for Clues to Scotland's identity is Andrew being recalled to duty it is a very very great um movement on at the moment to um to incorporate Andrew into our alleged new sense of identity this is a very silly thing to do given the fact that very few Scots know who he was historically but for others the Andrew who converted warlike pagans and championed Chastity back in 1st century patras is a very suitable role model for the New Scotland today we look again at the Scottish nation and we ask what kind of values can we embody and that's where I think sent Andrew's pacifism and his feminism are profoundly important in pointing the way forward because basically what's in Andrew represents and the reason why he was martyred is that he stood up for a woman's right to say no if we applaud that caring part of the mind then perhaps in the words of the author Thomas More he may indeed lead us to the Holy Land he'd be more than happy to do it in his life he was a networker a bringer in and after his death he played a substantial role in molding the lives of churches individuals and countries perhaps it's his inclusiveness that should be remembered and emulated next week the Apostle John whose name is associated with two of the most powerful books in the New Testament which proclaim the world's beginning and its end in the beginning was the word and the Word was with God and the Word was God he was in the beginning with God his name is associated with some of the most beautiful and profound passages in the New Testament and the most harrowing [Music] [Applause] worships the apps that shall be tormented with fire and brimstone and the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever and they have no rest day in the gospels he's traditionally taken to be the Beloved disciple who had an especially close relationship with Jesus he's the Apostle John [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] is known variously as the Apostle the Evangelist and the Divine in the gospels he's one of Jesus's Inner Circle for many Christians he's a favorite because of the mystical tone and qualities of the Gospel at verse his name we'll be exploring whether he wrote it we'll be visiting the Greek island of Patmos where many believe John received the vision of Apocalypse that still haunts the world We Begin 2000 years ago on the shore of Lake Galilee where Jesus has just called Simon Peter and Andrew and going on from there he saw two other brothers James the son of Zebedee and John his brother in the boat with Zebedee their father mending their Nets and he called them immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him we know very little about what John was thinking when he followed Jesus I suspect that he may have been influenced by the behavior of his Partners Peter and Andrew they had known Jesus much longer and they had left everything to follow him John may have been younger and so admired the older men and felt that if they considered Jesus someone to be worth respect and honor and total commitment then he was prepared to try it traditionally John whose emblem is the eagle is portrayed as fresh-faced and beardless often with long hair he's the baby of the group and always close to Jesus it's hard to know whether John had a special relationship if John is the author of The the most fundamental level of Saint John's gospel than I think he had and he had a very strong sense of history of place and so the Jesus that is depicted in those early stories in John is a Jesus who was known intimately and who was very strongly localized in Galilee by the lake in Jerusalem and he to me exhibits the the historicity of a figure that can only have come from intimacy early in the gospels John and his brother are characterized as noisy and hot-headed they're given a nickname Vern urges sons of thunder [Music] they're ambitious too while traveling between Galilee and Jerusalem they get their mother to Lobby Jesus on their behalf for high positions in their new order here are my two sons grant that in your kingdom one may take his place on your right and the other on your left when you are glorified I think one can surmise historically that seeing this closeness to Jesus in this life that she would anticipate but of course she would like to make sure that they had the same high places in the world to come I mean that strikes me as very plausible given the type of mothers that you find in this part of the world but in the course of the gospel story John's Brash worldly character changes to be replaced by something more mystical more spiritual and after six days Jesus Took with him Peter and James and John his brother and led them up a high mountain apart and he was transfigured before them and his face Shone like the sun and his garments became White as light John is always present at the special transcendental moment such as the Transfiguration when Jesus's human nature is revealed to be also divine a voice from the cloud said this is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased listen to him Peter and James are there too but for many Christians it's John who has the real understanding of occasions like this the length of the Divine he gets a spiritual meaning of Jesus still more precisely than the other one or with less surprised with less shock he's more open a mind to accept anything and to see in anything a Divine meaning this relationship between two close human beings but one was the the Divine the Son of God incarnate and the other one was the son of Fallen man tending towards his resurrection his Redemption [Music] the gospels don't say much about John's role in the Galilean Ministry [Music] he'll play a larger part in events in Jerusalem foreign [Music] Jesus knows he's about to die the apostles are jittery and Confused they'll share one last Passover meal together Leonardo's picture of it is one of Humanity's great iconic images [Music] in many representations of the Last Supper one figure reclines with his head on Jesus breast John's gospel calls this figure the disciple Jesus loved and many Christians take it to be John himself and the image to be a record of a moment in a special friendship the fact that John is depicted with his head on Jesus breast at the Last Supper May imply a close relationship it could also be of course simply that he was the closest person to Jesus and that's in a moment of affection Jesus had announced that this is the last time we will meet together at a festive meal that that there should be a gesture I think makes sense it humanizes the moment peace I leave with you my peace I give to you not as the world gives do I give to you let not your hearts be troubled it's the last time they'll all be together in Jesus's lifetime John is at the heart of subsequent events the gospels vary in their telling of the crucifixion in some accounts it's the women who attend in John's gospel it's Jesus mother and the disciple whom Jesus loved into whose care Jesus commands his mother after the crucifixion this disciple whom Jesus loved outruns Peter to witness the empty tomb when the Risen Jesus appears to the apostles at Galilee it's the Beloved disciple traditionally John with his special sensitivity who recognizes him Saint John whispersed to Saint Peter it's the Lord he had recognized him there again I think it's a it's a proof of the Resurrection because it's the intuitive part of the human creature in John well like like a like a not very respectful comparison like a a Hound has a flare to feel the presence of the animal and there was something of that time between human the human nature of John and the human nature of Christ this is the disciple who is bearing witness to these things and who has written these things and we know that his testimony is true only the author of John's gospel claims to have been there was the author John the Apostle I have very little difficulty in believing that the oldest level the most primitive level of John's gospel was written by a disciple an apostle called John subsequently of course the story was built upon in order to bring out the meaning of the events of which John had been an eyewitness certainly John's gospel reads like an eyewitness report full of details about festivals people's names and about places and buildings in Jerusalem now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep gate a pool in Hebrew called bath Safa which has five porticos in these lay a multitude of invalids blind lame paralyzed one man was there who had been ill well perhaps the most Vivid example of the detail that you get in John's gospel is the the story in chapter 5 which is located near the Sheep gaze that is the gate by which animals were brought into the temple and then outside it we're told there was a pool with five particles this is what is being excavated behind me they're not very grandiose but they're a whole series of little ritual bars into which the sick people were brought for healing Jesus said to him rise take up your palate and walk and at once the man was healed and he took up his palate and walked [Music] John the Apostle whose youth has been preserved in religious art for centuries would Age into John the theologian John the Divine [Music] he was the only Apostle whose life wouldn't end in martyrdom according to tradition it was to be a very eventful one [Music] after the dispersal of the Jesus movement in Jerusalem the Apostle John came here to Ephesus in Asia Minor accompanied by his scribe and lieutenant procharus Ephesus was part of the Roman Empire and robustly pagan [Music] [Applause] the presiding day or two was the many bosomed Artemis who embodied fertility in Ephesus John preached against Artemis and so the story goes a temple one of the Seven Wonders of the World disintegrated news of the disruptive Apostles activities spread when the emperor domitian heard of Jon's anti-pagan campaign he had him transported back to Rome and attempted to do away with him by boiling him in oil unexpectedly instead of coming out scorched and dead he came out with the well just the lady comes out of a shop from Elizabeth Arden with a marvelous convection a complexion and as healthy as ever so that having failed he was given a poison in a cup of stone the cup still exists one lifted that heavy cup to his lips and before it reached his lips it split into two and that very very special poison was wasted and fell on his toes and didn't know harm whatever so it was considered a bad case and was sent into Exile in the island of Patmos which was a concentration camp foreign island of Patmos 40 miles off the Turkish Coast is a tourist Island part of the circuit in 95 A.D when John is supposed to have arrived here it may have been less hospitable according to tradition this is where John first set up base he began teaching and baptizing his activities chronicled by the faithful procharus he says in this written text that Saint John was accustomed to staying in the harbor area in Scala as the harbor area is called by the locals nowadays in Scala We Know by profus text that Saint John was accustomed to preaching and he was also accustomed to baptizing the Islanders he found here at those times and we know this detail of his life because in the harbor area at one place of the main road of the port still there are the ruins of that particular place he used to baptize it's some rocks surrounded by a metal fence nowadays [Music] and John kept up his campaign against paganism this boy in the harbor marks the spot where he turned a local wizard to Stone the same event is depicted in a mural in the Monstrous and John the theologian built in the 11th century also over a temple of Artemis the monastery is home study center and church for an Abbott and twenty Brothers it dominates the bay and the whole island just down the hill stands the monastery of the Apocalypse beneath that is the Cave of the Apocalypse the site is believed of perhaps the most extraordinary and far-reaching communication between God and man in the whole new testament [Music] Alpha and Omega says the law Lord God who is and was and who is to come the Almighty I John your brother was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus I was in the spirit on the Lord's Day there was an earthquake thunder and lightning the day was Sunday as we're told in the text of the apocalypse and then as we're told by tradition and as we can see in this cave The Rock started splitting from over there ending over here in three cracks from here he listened to God write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches to Ephesus and to return to see the voice that was speaking to me and on turning I saw seven golden lamp stands and in the in the midst of the lamp stands one like a son of man clothed with a long robe and with a golden girdle round his breast [Music] John's Revelation is made up of 22 chapters and a series of Visions he sees Seven Seals opened revealing the shape of things to come Warfare torment judgment the imagery is complex coded but behind Christians believe lies a definite purpose The Book of Revelation is just what its title says we call it an apocalypse or a revelation so we should think of it as to reveal to unfold to pull back that curtain of history and look behind the scenes and see the workings of God in history and it takes you right to the end with the Judgment scene and the creation of a new Heavens A New Earth so it's essentially the a Chronicle of the events that are to come about at the end of time biblical scholars believe that on one level the prophecies in Revelations refer to a particular historical period the Reigns of nearer and emission but for Christians they have a Timeless relevance [Music] [Applause] Revelations with its Central motif of judgment has haunted the world its prophecies fueled the sense of Apocalypse that gripped Christendom at the end of the 10th century in the Middle Ages the consequences for the wicked after the last judgment were a horrific Prospect which the church didn't fail to keep before the eyes of Ordinary People [Music] today for some it's still real well I'm a Christian and I believe the Bible to be the you know the true word of God and so the things contained in the prophecies I believe will occur in some way shape or form to me it's real it's just as real as me and you standing here these American Christians are attending a book signing for the latest installment in the Left Behind series and would you put the fissures f-i-s-h-e the Left Behind books which we tell the story of Revelations in a contemporary setting are a publishing phenomenon to date over 30 million copies have been sold and the books regularly top the most respectable and bestseller lists prologue from the indwelling the announcer said ladies and gentlemen of the global Community your Supreme potentate his Excellency Nikolai Carpathia the premise is that the world's Believers have been taken up to heaven as per Revelations leaving the rest of humanity to battle with the Antichrist and Achieve salvation this may be all good fundamental fun but a literal belief in Prophecy can lead to Dark Places on a winter Sunday in 1993 agents of the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms tried to execute a search and arrest warrant against David korash and members of the Branch Davidian cult at Waco Texas four ATF agents and six members of The Cult were killed many were injured the FBI were called in the FBI found itself face to face with not just a political group expressing some sort of dissonance but a group that was opening the Book of Revelation and saying our situation here is being prophesied in the book of fire the way he sees seven eyes really burned man David korresh believed the prophecies in Revelations are about to be fulfilled he'd gathered around him a group of over a hundred who shared his views now they were besieged I got involved in that situation personally because the FBI brought me in is the oddest thing to read the book of Revelation listen to the tapes of his teachings and here you're advising a government group of really military group on how to deal with an apocalyptic group that thinks they're living in the end time and of course what you don't want to do is create an apocalyptic situation because that's what the group's expecting but that's what happened after 50 days M60 tanks were used to punch holes in the building and inject CS gas around noon smoke was seen soon the compound was engulfed in flames at the end of the day 74 cult members were listed as dead including 21 children The Siege at Waco in Texas is over earlier today agents of the FBI and other forces it's tradition that connects John the Apostle with John the author of Revelations few if any biblical scholars in the west believe they're one in the same as brothers of the monastery of Saint John 2 but they revealed the figure of John the Apostle most for his recognition of God in the person of Jesus the man [Music] this is the message For All Mankind that sent John the Theologian gives us this knowledge of the Divine and human face of Jesus Christ and John tells us that this knowledge can be experienced by all of us through love this is Saint John's Everlasting message [Music] let not your hearts be troubled believe in God believe also in me father's house rules people have affection for the Apostle John because I think it's his symbol is the eagle that he got closer to the mystery of God as revealed in Jesus than any of the other evangelists [Music] next week we tell the story of James the great John's brother and the inspiration of the great pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela [Music] amid the Baroque Fairgrounds Splendor of Santiago cathedral in Northwest Spain mass is being held special service for the city's police force but among the congregation as always here there are pilgrims who've walked or cycled thousands of miles from all corners of the world presiding over things the figure of Santiago himself who's brought these people here sent James who was the Apostle James [Music] [Music] James the great is one of Jesus's Inner Circle and after Peter one of the most visible in the world today we'll be looking at the part he played in Jesus's life and Ministry and how he passed into Legend thereafter on the road to Santiago de compastella we'll explore how he became a political as well as a religious figure and why the idea of pilgrimage has been and still is so important for Christians [Music] this is Leon in the province of castilia ileon it's the starting point to the last leg of the pilgrimage route to Santiago to Compostela which is nearly 200 miles to the West daily pilgrims arrive here from the feeder routes through France [Music] in the cathedral many have their pilgrims passports stamped to register they've achieved another stage [Music] thank you this couple have been on the road for nine days from the French border it's their third pilgrimage by the doorway the apostles stand guard among them James how did this first century fisherman come to be here a Cornerstone of European Christianity It's a Long Way From Galilee and he called them immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him James and his brother John are the first to be called after Simon Peter and Andrew early in the gospels they're given a special nickname they are called boy energies and which is conventionally translated as sons of thunder nobody really knows what it means it's a Greek transcription of a Hebrew name meaning son of it's applied to one but then given to both and whether it means that they spoke particularly loudly or whether they were rather bombastic and forceful courageous all of this might be implied while John goes on to establish a strong identity in the gospels as an intimate of Jesus James is more shadowy certainly the gospel suggests his present at Key moments Jesus Transfiguration is agony is Ascension into heaven but James is credited with no individual speeches or significant actions in the Acts of the Apostles however James does take Center Stage when he's arrested while preaching in Jerusalem James was arrested by Herod Agrippa sometime around the year 14. he was arrested in Jerusalem one doesn't really know why the king took this little group seriously they certainly had made some converts whether they had made the three thousand that is mentioned in Acts I would doubt very much but they were not making a real impact and they were certainly not disturbing the peace and why he was arrested maybe a gesture to the more political elements and then he was executed The Armenian cathedral in Jerusalem claims the spot where James was beheaded his hand they say is buried here but as with many of the Apostles other lands claim him too a panel in Santiago Cathedral showing James preaching and his execution portrays events which may be historical foreign [Music] it also shows James beginning to pass into another European tradition as he's transported far from first century Palestine how the translation of this Apostle occurred is declared from the mouths of many faithful people who say that after he was killed by Herod his whole body was carried across the sea with an angel of the Lord accompanying it in a boat from Jerusalem to galithia with his disciples as Sailors and with various Miracles experienced along the way according to this 12th century account of first century events James magic boat of stone sailed Inland to iraflavia now padron the caretaker of the local church will show you the stone pillar to which tradition says James's Stone vessel was made fast [Music] but according to tradition the apostles body didn't rest here James's body was carried further Inland where for a time it passed from you [Music] then early in the 9th century the Apostle or at least his remains reappeared The Hermit peleo praying in the Galician Hills saw strange lights when he investigated he discovered human bones he summoned a local Bishop teodamir who identified them as those of the apostle on this site Santiago de compastella Saint James of the field of stars would arise you asked me whether it is important the tradition that we possess the body of Saint James it is our reason of being of Santiago de Compostela in other places a cathedral is built in the middle of a city here the first thing was a tomb the tomb of Santiago around the church on the cathedral a whole town was born with the name of Santiago there isn't a town in the world that can be so identified with a particular Saint as occurs here in Santiago de Compostela a succession of churches was built over James's supposed tomb culminating in the Magnificent Cathedral began in the 12th century early in that Century a book The Liber sancti Jacobi was compiled to enshrine and promote the legend of James it contains hymns and songs honoring James to be used in the Liturgy descriptions of his miracles and how his body came to Spain it also contains a guide for pilgrims whom the ambitious Bishop of Santiago is Keen to attract to the city and the pilgrims came encouraged by Christian and secular authorities who foresaw the economic benefits they flocked to Santiago from four starting points in France they Converge on osterbat and Puente Lorena before making the Final Approach across Northern Spain by the Early Middle Ages Santiago was stopped only by Rome and Jerusalem as a pilgrimage destination [Music] the route had a name the Camino and the pilgrims or peregrinos an iconography the staff the scallop shell probably derived from the habit of early pilgrims of collecting them on the Atlantic Shore what made them go on this pilgrimage in the Middle Ages people had this notion of and they were investing their body in this experience and by investing their body in this experience they were freed they were mentally freed they were spiritually freed they experienced this Freedom that I think that today modern pilgrims experienced the same thing on the outskirts of Leon a local couple enjoyed their wedding under the eye of a contempressant James [Music] thank you and another group of peregrinos set out for their daily stint [Music] this year more than 60 000 people from 19 different countries will walk the Camino they'll be guided on their way by a new system of signs provided by a sympathetic and commercially astute Spanish government that's some hard walking ahead [Music] from Leon the Camino passes through the flat and featureless maseta some peregrinos Walk Alone others in groups [Music] many friendships are made along the way 20 miles from Leon today's pilgrims pass over the orbigo bridge as pilgrims have done for centuries but reasons to these 21st century Pilgrims from all around the world have for embarking on the Kamina Brazilians like all other pilgrims are looking for peace tranquility meditation this is a very mythical and religious route in Brazil there's a very famous writer Paulo coilio who wrote a book called The Pilgrimage after he wrote it many Brazilians came to do the kamino for me one of the main things is just to to have a break and to uh to clear my head and to reflect on things you know I decided to do it's interesting to see some Spain some culture meet different people physical challenge I believe the Camino is a mixture of both tourism and religion you can even sometimes see people going on the pilgrimage from here to Santiago people who don't have any connection with this tradition of going on a religious pilgrimage I have seen Japanese tourists who were taking part in the Camino is Santiago in Europe is an extraordinary channel of civilization [Music] pilgrims walk up to about 20 miles a day Journeys end each day the prospect of rest and recuperation beckons [Music] along the Route rayful heos or refuges offer shelter [Music] they're provided by sympathetic councils religious orders or individuals this rifle here at rabanal was rebuilt by the london-based confraternity of Saint James its volunteers most of whom have completed the Camino see their role as helping others to reach James resting place for them we help them with their blisters and their tendonitis and all the problems that they have physically and I really um I'm amazed at some of the pilgrims the distances that they walk some of the people you know they're not used to walking at all and they come with heavy packs and they walk hundreds of kilometers these are people who are not used to hiking at home and things and a lot of them come quite unprepared and the way they support one another is really something very very special a robin Isle the spirit of the Apostle James is never far away difficult [Music] Benedictine monks held services in the church opposite the rifle here the aim is to restore an old connection between a church founded on the apostles and the pilgrims and the Camino was born a with a monasteries the Benedictine monasteries in the Middle East and we are trying to to help to the pilgrims to discover in the in the Camino their way not only not only a geographical job in the north of Spain but a symbol of our walking to God that is all our life from rabanal the Camino leads up into the hills of fonte badon [Music] over the years rituals have built up like adding a stone to the can at Cross de Ferro conditions can be bad here and by this stage many peregrinas are beginning to feel the strain for the last two days I guess what she had traveled we stopped at the hospital at Leon we had to stop for two days there because of her feet were swollen and so on but she wanted to continue she didn't and no no I think what she has is a continent and she suffers on the Camino there have been many stories of how pilgrims and extremists have received assistance from unusual even Supernatural sources sometimes from the Apostle himself I find when I do have a problem I speak to Saint James and find that and James has really helped me in my difficulties along the way this is an unofficial rifle hero perched in the most unforgiving part of the route the sound of its welcoming Bell has guided many pilgrims to safety collapsed here at the door and Thomas took me inside and put me on his bed and I slept there with his dog on the bed but I was so sick and I was coughing all night and every time I coughed the geese went quack quack quack thank you so much thank you yeah since Tomas said of his Refuge 12 years ago more than 12 000 pilgrims have found shelter here after 40 years in Madrid Tomas a former businessman arrived at this spot on route for Santiago he never left I felt I should be at a difficult Point like this on the road because there are many weather difficulties here and problems for those traveling alone Thomas sees himself as a contemporary Knight a descendant of those medieval knights who dedicated themselves to protecting pilgrims on their way to Santiago this is the hostel de San Marcos now a luxurious parador Hotel it used to house the medieval order of Santiago established by the Spanish King on the urging of Pope Borgia [Music] Spain was under attack by the Moors and the orders Knights were charged with the protection of ordinary Christians and pilgrims [Music] this facade shows how James is roped in and given a new martial role as Matamoros the mursler is the imagery of Saint James is perhaps one of the images that is most shocking for us today and most Politically Incorrect at the time clearly the church did not have a problem with this we are talking about the time of a crusade one has to understand that the struggle of the Spanish State against Islam was perceived as a sacred one in Galicia the images of James's Matamoros are everywhere [Music] in Santiago Cathedral he gallops like Highwayman Dick Turpin over the altar cleaves the heads of infidels inside chapels perhaps a curious image to greet pilgrims on arrival when pilgrims finally arrive in the Great Plaza del obradora at Santiago almost all follow a time-hearted ritual they Place their hands where countless thousands of peregriners have done before them and greet the apostle there's a hug for Saint James behind the altar respects paid to what tradition at least claims to be his remains they're spectacle to be enjoyed like The Swinging of the massive butterfumero which in times past was used to counter The Ripe smell of the pilgrims [Music] for believers a special communion to celebrate a pilgrimage accomplished [Music] for all pilgrims Believers are not the Camino seems to be in a special experience [Music] very happy and a little bit tired yes it's uh one of the best more beautiful experience of my life to work on the Camino for us it was a search knowledge just to start in the morning and to see the sunrise and to be on the road it's every day every day is wonderful [Music] it's extremely unlikely that the Apostle James ever went to Spain alive or dead but there's no doubting the reality of the power of the tradition foreign as far as I'm concerned it doesn't really matter who's buried under the cathedral at Santiago what what matters to me it seems is it for well over a thousand years people have made their way in faith along this Camino and people continue to make their way in faith and really okay St James is what draws them there whether he's really there or not people are drawn to Santiago but getting to Santiago or Santiago the place is not as important as Santiago the journey Santiago is not quite the end of the story in medieval times this was the end of the world cup finished her 50 miles west of Santiago some pilgrims would come here and ritually burn their clothes before embarking on the long and uncertain journey home many pilgrims say that it's only on returning home that the real Camino begins [Music] next week we tell the story of Matthew the Apostle who exchanged money for faith [Music] oh I understand [Music] the fifth Apostle is known in different gospels as both Matthew and Levi whatever his name is celebrated as the tax collector who rejected wealth to follow Jesus we'll be visiting the Sea of Galilee to see where this conversion happened and we'll ask whether this patron saint of Bankers still speaks to the Christians who work in London's Financial square mile we'll also find out how Matthew's gospel is preached in America's Bible Belt and ask whether the Apostle could really have written a book that bears his name [Music] thousands of years trade have supported the people who live around the Sea of Galilee [Music] I've always been some who live by Honest labor and others who hope to grab easier pickings [Music] two thousand years ago that Jesus found his fifth apostle a tax collector Matthew he was working near galilee's eastern border in the fishing Village of capono [Music] it was the first Village just coming from the East that is over the frontier there was the Jordan River and he would have collected the tolls and traffic coming over the frontier and in order to back him up to give him Authority he had a little Garrison headed by a centurion and so it would have been a very compact little bureaucratic organization in what was a fairly big fishing Village [Music] the Old Village analyzing ruins but in Jesus time it was as busy as the modern towns nearby and its fishing industry was a valuable source of revenue for Matthew [Music] the tax machine took a bite out of every catch in every crop 10 tons of silver a year were harvested for the people of Galilee by their ruler Herod Antipas a puppet King of the Roman Empire foreign must have hit the people hard Antipas was grabbing enough to fund the construction of a whole new capital city princely wants to make his Mark and the princelings in Palestine were particularly ambitious Lord and the princeling in Galilee built a new town to be his capital tiberias and it had a magnificent Palace in it which had to be paid for by a relatively small population of Galilee is a population of 250 000 something like that but the people weren't just paying for the king's architectural ambitions they were also lining the pockets of the tax collectors Matthew paid a fix up to Herod any more that he could collect was his to keep he would have been able to charge whatever rate he felt was appropriate and often Tax Collectors tended to um to be extortionate and to extract far more than was necessary and of course they pocketed the profit and this led to them being much despised because of this they're collaborators they're collaborating with the regime and they're knocking you off every time you pass with a donkey load of beans or wheat and charging you and you hate it the fisherman who had uses his first disciples had no cause to love Matthew we can only imagine their reaction when he joined them and turned away forever from the Love of Money as Jesus passed on he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax office and he said to him follow me and he rose and followed him Jesus is actually speaking to people who really don't have an easy decision to make when they decide to follow Jesus and yet they're still depicted as making that decision very quickly you have people leaving everything to follow Jesus and for somebody like Matthew this would mean leaving behind a lot Jesus showed he'd accepted Matthew by going to dine in his house the ACT broke the rules of religion and Society as he sat at a table in the house behold many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Jesus and his disciples and when the Pharisees saw this they said to his disciples why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners as far as Jews were concerned Tax Collectors were unseen no one would ever have invited Matthew to dinner he had to invite if he wanted guests now for us a meal tends to be a rather casual affair but in Antiquity in the first century to have a meal with someone meant that you're accepting them as a close friend as the equivalent of part of your family Circle if you like Ordinary People would have been shocked by Jesus associating with tax collectors even more so if he accepted their Hospitality because by definition they were Sinners they were the wicked those who are well have no need of a physician but those who are sick go and learn what this means I desire mercy and not sacrifice for I came not to call the righteous but sinners from the point of view of Jesus this was his way of explaining that God cared for these people even on the very fringes the very margins of society that God's kingly rule God's kingdom was for them accepting someone like Matthew into the Christian Community was assuring these people that economic bonds which very often tied them to a selfish form of life that that was possible to be broken Matthew's rejection of money became a potent ideal for the first Christians wealth was for sharing not keeping in the modern world Matthews widely acknowledges the patron saint of bankers but can his calling still hold a message for a society that depends on goods and profit I think that God is showing through calling someone like Matthew that she's interested in every sector of society and although people in the city may appear to have it all okay and they they look smart and Rich and everything else I suspect that and I know of having taught to some people that there are some very sad situations in London's Financial square mile many churches are open at seven o'clock to receive the morning's first commuters [Music] I feel this is an oasis in the desert of the city I don't think the word of God is heard enough because most people come in here to work and it's it's all about money you know it's a financial center of the world and you have stock Brokers you have Bankers it's all about finance and people are basically very busy you rush around so much and I'm very have very little time to think about spiritual things [Music] thank you the challenge facing all Christians in the city is how we can live out the teachings of Jesus in the very materialistic and busy world that is the city the Lord be with you a reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew I certainly think Matthew does have something to teach us he was a tax collector at a time when tax collectors were often very despised that were having to make very difficult decisions and many people feel today that they can't follow their chosen job because of the great difficulty they have of trying to reconcile the teachings of Jesus and the circumstances they find themselves in [Music] of the world [Music] [Music] again I tell you it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God when the disciples heard this they were greatly astonished saying who then can be saved I Think Jesus is saying there that it's very difficult extremely difficult for such a person to enter the Kingdom of Heaven this is a sharply worded saying meant to give people a jolt and a jolly will ought to give people a jolt today but I don't think Jesus is ruling out the possibility that someone who does have Financial Resources should be a follower of course not [Music] the the Bible talks about the love of money is the root of all evil and it's the substitution of putting money first in our lives seeking after that the Bible speaks very strongly about actually we do need to have money to be able to function in our lives we need to be responsible and particularly to be able to help the poor and that's the strong emphasis in the Bible is that if God has blessed you with lots of money then for goodness sake it's not just for you it's to help the poor and to look after them and provide for those who haven't got so there's nothing wrong in having a lot of money it's how you use it is the key aspect all the city churches are trying to use their resources and the resources of people who come regularly to Worship in a responsible way and particularly trying to be conscious of the needs of the people nearest to us in boroughs round about uh into hamlets or Hackney Matthew left all and followed Jesus for many people that's the right way forward but there are many many more Christians who are accepting the challenge of trying to live out their faith in the circumstances of their work and accept those challenges and see how they can adapt them to the teachings of Jesus Matthew is calling my Jesus and his rejection of wealth still pose questions 20 centuries later it's by far his most significant moment in the gospels we learn nothing more about the man and he Fades into the group of the Twelve Disciples there are conflicting stories about his later life some say he was martyred others that he lived peacefully into old age and took the word of God to Ethiopia Persia or Macedonia but those life is obscure his legacy is immense because it's Matthew who for centuries has been credited with the authorship of the First Gospel in the New Testament [Music] Nashville Tennessee the city known as the Buckle of America's Bible Belt [Music] the gospels are the Bedrock of religion here preached and studied in the city's many churches and in magazines and television programs for many of the city's Christians they are literally the word of God in the television Studio at the Madison Church of Christ Matthew's gospel provides the text for pastor Jimmy science As We Gather for this Bible study I would like for us to focus on a few verses from the gospel of Matthew so be opening your Bibles to Matthew chapter 28 and verses 16 through 20. this is a section of scripture known as the Great Commission the resurrection narrative comes to its climax as does the entire gospel in this final Majestic Declaration of Jesus as recorded by Matthew but the 11 disciples proceeded to Galilee to the mountain which Jesus had designated when they saw him they worshiped him but some were doubtful and Jesus came up and spoke to them saying all authority in heaven and on Earth has been given to me go therefore and Make Disciples of all Nations baptizing them in the name of the father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you and lo I Am With You Always even to the end of the age my work and everything that I do is related to the Great Commission it pulsates constantly with a rhythm that that orchestrates get out there go for it even if it puts you at risk even if it kills you you get out there and you tell the good news you on Galion in the Greek the good news of Jesus Christ to the people who need to hear it the first people to follow the Great Commission were the apostles themselves who passed on the news of Jesus from memory as Christianity spread more and more converts took up the mission and the stories were told and retold different versions and interpretations developed eventually some of them are written down among them the gospel known as Matthew 's gospel from quite early on was associated with somebody called Matthew now there's a very interesting fact here and that's that we don't have any other person to whom this gospel we call Matthew was attributed it's unanimous from very early on that this text has got something to do with somebody called Matthew traditionally Christians have believed that the gospel actually was written by the Apostle Matthew for many this is still Central to their faith we do know that he was commissioned by God through the Holy Spirit to write an eyewitness of count of what he saw in the life of Jesus ministry on Earth the modern historians and Scholars tend to disagree no one knows when the gospels were written but Scholars by and large do agree now I think that the gospels all of them were written after the destruction of the temple at Jerusalem that's in ad70. so 40 years after Jesus death roughly speaking and this means that you're talking about at least a generation between Jesus's death resurrection and the composition of first Gospels could the Apostle Matthew following a high life as a poor preacher have lived so long and the gospel is in Greek Matthew might have learned to speak it but could you have written it this is a guy who's had a good Greek education he writes Greek very well he can't be a tax collector because a tax collector in reality would probably have been illiterate Roman society at a very low level of literacy compared with modern industrial society I reckon perhaps in the first century at any one time there would have been 40 Christians who could write then there's the content Scholars agree that the author of Matthew quotes extensively from Mark's gospel now if Matthew has directly used Mark's gospel if he's copied out Parts in Greek verbatim from the text of Mark this is makes it very unlikely that we're dealing with an eyewitness the arguments against Matthew having written the gospel are strong but they don't explain how his name became attached to it it's most unlikely that Matthew's gospel as we now know it was written by Matthew the Apostle but there's an interesting follow-up to that and that is why the name of Matthew if Matthew wasn't a particularly prominent in the early Christian Church unlike Peter or John for example but not so well known how did his name come to be attached to this gospel I think myself that somehow or other and we can't work out how this might have worked that Matthew must have had a hand or been thought to have a hand in the writing of this gospel perhaps in its very early stages whatever the gospel's connection to Matthew it was soon one of the several that circulated among Christian groups Matthews is a sophisticated narrative designed to show that Jesus is the Messiah promised in Jewish scripture [Music] quite clear that the gospels are trying to preach good news to people and in their own way in the first century what they are is good Christian propaganda for their cause they're not if you like biographies in the modern sense they're not historical texts in the modern sense what they're trying to do is convince people that Jesus was the Christ the son of God who died and raised from the dead then Jesus sent two disciples saying go into the village opposite you and you will find an ass tide and a cult with her untie them and bring them to me this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet saying tell the daughter of Zion your king is coming to you humble and mounted on an ass and on a cult the foal of an ass Matthew's gospel refers to a number of passengers of Old Testament and claims that they have been fulfilled in the actions and in the teaching of Jesus and he draws appropriate passages and Slots them into the story if you like and says these things that Jesus has been doing and saying are in fulfillment of this passage of scripture so he's giving the reader a clue as to the deeper sense of what's going on you you can see that in its opening words the first two words of the Greek texts are biblos Genesis the Book of Genesis which is translated in English the story of the of the genealogy of Jesus but if you have that as a translation you missed the stunning beginning that it's the Book of Genesis the Christian Book of Genesis Matthew's gospel soon became the most widely copied and most frequently quoted of all its influence became even greater in the second and third centuries when the church decided that only four gospels were acceptable and Matthew took pride of place in the New Testament from its earliest days Matthew's gospel was a vital tool for strengthening their faith and bringing new converts to Christianity and it remained so today we have an expectation from Jesus Christ to go into all the world and try to reach the lost with the message of the good news I'm afraid that that far too many Christians today have turned the Great Commission into the Great Omission yeah what are some practical suggestions that you would give to help us as Christians to better carry out the Great Commission some of the things I've been involved in the last 20 years or so with Eastern European Mission we go into a country like Russia or Romania we take the printed word into them share that word with them and it's pretty exciting to see people come to the knowledge of God who had no knowledge of God in the past and to be able to share it with them [Music] mission is alive in Nashville the written word of God is spread by Thomas Nelson who claimed to be the largest Christian publisher in the world over 23 million Bibles and other Christian books leave this Warehouse every year for North and South America Europe and Africa Asia and Australia and Nashville is also the home of Gideon International who plays Bibles in hotel rooms all around the world [Music] the gospels are not quite as old as Christianity itself but for almost as long as Christ's teachings have been spread preachers have taken their messages from the written words of John Luke Mark and Matthew in particular is a masterpiece of literature it's inspired by faith I can I'm a non-believer but I can still read it with complete admiration and and it won it was persuasive it worked and because we have that text we have a continual reminder of the central emphasis in the life and in the actions of Jesus and so we have good cause to be thankful for whoever wrote this wonderful gospel for Gathering up the traditions of the life and teaching of Jesus into this very full highly organized form [Music] the Apostle may have been given credit for someone else's labor but the gospel has made Matthew's name one of the most influential in the Christian tradition foreign we look at the life and work of the Apostle who is famous for doubting but is also believed to have taken Christianity to India Thomas [Music] India in the Searing tropical heat hundreds of thousands of pilgrims gather to worship God they're not Hindus as you might expect but Christians and this convention is the largest gathering of Christians anywhere in the world their deep faith is the legacy of the Apostle most remembered for his lack of it Thomas [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] the name doubting Thomas has become a byword for disbelief and skepticism yet the truth about the Apostle Thomas may be much more complex from the very start he alone declared a willingness to die with Jesus and a recently discovered gospel claims Thomas was chosen to receive the secret sayings of Jesus by evangelizing India and possibly China it may have been doubting Thomas who took the message of Christ further than any other Apostle it was an odyssey that spanned four decades and would push him to the limits of his faith and physical endurance [Music] adventurous unwavering and bold this is not the Thomas most people would recognize to really understand him we must travel back to the hills of Judea where the story of Christianity and Thomas began Jesus had summoned a group of followers to accompany him as he preached one of them was Thomas at first he remains in the shadows we really know nothing of the background of Thomas I mean some of the others are right at least four of them are identified as fishermen but about how much we don't where do you fish them and I suspect it might have been mentioned but he could have been a farmer he could have been a carpenter like Jesus himself any of the sort of lower middle fast trades in Galilee when Jesus is put at risk Thomas finally emerges he's blunt confident and leading from the front the Jewish authorities threatened to kill Jesus if he dared to visit his dying friend Lazarus Thomas has no doubt about making the ultimate sacrifice alongside his master says to the disciples let us also go that we may die with him so who is this man who shows such loyalty and commitment even his name poses a fascinating problem of identity Thomas means twin and for the early Christians this posed a tantalizing question whose twin was he could he have been the twin of Peter of Andrew could even have been the twin brother of Jesus was he literally the genealogical twin I would doubt it very much because the only place we find it mentioned is where they are insisting that if you want to see Jesus look at Thomas where he is the sort of twin with quotation marks I would say the perfect manifestation the ideal example the other Jesus as a word whether joined by blood or not Thomas enjoyed a close relationship with Jesus even if at times he failed to comprehend the true meaning of his words at the Last Supper Jesus talks enigmatically about where he's going the disciples are confused Thomas said to him Lord we do not know where you are going how can we know the way Jesus said to him I am the way the truth and the life is this where the doubt sets in when Jesus is arrested later that night in the Garden of Gethsemane Thomas like the others abandons him to his fate the man who promised to die alongside Jesus in the end chose not to when Jesus rises from the tomb and first appears to the disciples Thomas is not among them [Music] he's told he refuses to believe unless I see the marks of the nails in his hands and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side I will not believe and so Thomas then became almost a hero of doubt that one of the Apostles doubted so it was all right for us to almost and that's a little bizarre because to doubt is not actually to sin in in Christian thinking um having serious doubts about something is not a kind of a major failing it's a way of saying I'm a human being and I'm putting one step in front of another and trying to get there what is Thomas doubting he is doubting the belief of the disciples and he's saying I want to believe that but I must have the same experience you have had so rather than being doubting Thomas he's authenticating Thomas [Music] finally sees the truth of the resurrected Jesus [Music] he finally understands that Jesus is the way the truth and the life he confesses my Lord and my God [Music] doubt becomes certainty [Music] and this drama of doubting Thomas would Inspire artists throughout the centuries it's fascinating to see the way in which artists and this goes back to the um ancient Orthodox iconography I mean it's not just medieval and Renaissance artists it's much earlier they have this thing about Thomas actually touching the wounds of Jesus because of course in John's gospel we're not told he did which is curious that the artists from very early on filled in the Gap and made Thomas reach out his finger in a very dramatic moment in this graphic Portrait by Caravaggio Thomas pokes his finger deep into the fleshy wound probing for truth it's as if the condition of Thomas is the condition of us all with other Apostles Thomas meets the Risen Jesus for the last time on the shores of Lake Galilee in a final Miracle Jesus fills their Nets with fish they are now to become Fishers of Men in the last chapter of John's gospel Jesus appears to a group and the place of Thomas in that group is a little unusual he's named immediately after Peter and so I think it is Rehabilitation of Thomas in when he appears then in a slightly more prominent role at the very beginning of chapter 21. [Music] fight of his Rehabilitation Thomas doesn't play a leading role alongside Peter in the early movement based in Jerusalem he simply vanishes but his story is far from over [Music] two thousand years later his name resurfaces from The Sands of the Egyptian desert for in 1945 a concealed jar was discovered containing a manuscript that would generate unprecedented excitement it was a gospel bearing the name of Thomas these are the secret words that the living Jesus spoke you should be wise as serpents and innocent as dust split the wood and I am there love your brother like your soul in style it is the sayings of Jesus there's no actions there's no birth story there's no Miracle stories there's no passion story no Resurrection story it's it's sort of the sayings of chairman Jesus as you could always say the sayings in Thomas are different from those found in the four Gospels if they are as old then they offer a radical new picture of Jesus so the Gospel of Thomas is very different from the gospels of the New Testament it suggests that Jesus comes from the Divine Light and manifests the image of God so do you and that's what you need to learn from the Gospel of Thomas that's totally different from something like the Gospel of John which says Jesus came from the light is the light of the world and you and I and all of us are in complete darkness apart from him I am the light that is above everything become Wanderers by having a gospel named after him it suggests that Thomas appealed to certain communities in early Christianity and influence subsequent writings [Music] in the library of the ancient monasteries and Catharines in the Sinai desert there's a manuscript that proved popular with third Century readers who divide its story of an exotic missionary Adventure it's the acts of Thomas a time we the apostles were all in Jerusalem and we portioned out the regions of the world in order that each one of us might go into the region that fell to him and to the nation to which the Lord sent him [Music] by lot then India fell to Thomas he did not wish to go saying that he was not able to go on account of the weakness of his flesh and how can I being a Hebrew man go among the Indians to proclaim the truth [Music] the acts of Thomas is an oriental romance but it may be based on truth that Thomas turned his back on missionary activity in the west and instead carried the message of Christ to the east [Music] Southern India is home to a vibrant Hindu culture with some of the finest and oldest temples in the country foreign it's also home to a large and confident Christian Community they don't owe their existence to Portuguese missionaries or the British Raj their roots are not found in Lisbon or Canterbury they consider Thomas to be their founder they consider he came here 20 years after the death of Christ but if the other Apostles traveled within the borders of the Roman Empire preaching its major cities of Corinth Alexandra and Rome why would Thomas choose to go east [Applause] I think it's very eurocentric attitude that all roads led to Rome some Reds led to Rome clearly and and uh Judea and Palestine was part of the Roman Empire but a lot of the economy of Palestine looked eastwards so St Thomas wasn't the sort of you know Emissary of civilization going to Outer black India he was someone from the provinces going to a much richer civilization according to Legend Thomas sailed to the Malabar Coast to the region now known as Kerala the Exotic world had hugged the shores of the Indian Ocean would have been a revelation to someone from the deserts of Judea its rainforests were home to extraordinary Wildlife its land produced unusual fruits and spices indeed Thomas would have traveled the spice route to India that was exploited by the Roman merchants you needed larger to do it because it was a it was a turbulent Journey making use of the of the monsoon winds which obviously were were high buffeting winds you couldn't do it in a tiny dinghy you needed a proper large trading vessel uh and you also needed to be able to make the Act of Faith you had to LEAP out into the open ocean a place where Thomas first landed is today known as kadongula and it's a site of a major Shrine commemorating him [Music] once there would his new message of Salvation be accepted by the local Hindu population India was not such a hostile place to foreigners we have been a very hospitable place and religious Traditions like Buddhism and Jainism had flourished here so Thomas came to a place which was already ripe and sensitive with spiritual ideas fundamental to Christ teaching was that God's kingdom was open to all India would present a unique problem for Thomas's Mission with its rigid caste system dominated by Brahmin priests it's quite possible that Thomas took the view as did the later Portuguese that if you were going to convert India you should start at the top of the caste pyramid and convert the brahmins and then work downwards because if you started with a with a lower caste Church India being as rigidly hierarchical as it's always been essentially that you weren't going to get the upper class converting at all if you started with with the sudras with the Untouchables one day approaching the town of paleo Thomas encountered by a pool brahmins believing that by sheer will of Faith they could stop water in the air [Music] this white men a beautiful person they allowed him to go to the pool so he prayed and he took the water and he threw all these things in the air great to Great surprise of all the people each drops remaining in the air and glittering in the Sun then they could realize oh oh oh [Music] Thomas journeyed along the Labyrinth and backwaters that linked Village to Village he established seven communities each with its own church together they would form the Cornerstone of Christianity in India just as the trade route brought Thomas to India so the same route may have taken him further east to China well I think the circumstances probably helped him because there was this famous silk route to China and there was a sea route again to China and the North Eastern Asia so it was rather easy for a person like Thomas to travel with the Traders with the merchants to this far so-called far off lands if it's true that Thomas brought Christianity to China and became the Apostle of the Orient you would have been responsible for taking the word of God further than any other apostle his final Journey took him to the hills of Southeast India he settled in the town of malapore and was now too old for further travels but he continued to preach and convert and in doing so he created enemies one day they found Thomas praying in a cave near his home he was dragged outside and stabbed with a spear according to Marco Polo Thomas echoing the words of Jesus on the cross prayed Lord I Thank thee for all thy Mercers into thy hands I command my spirit Thomas was martyred in ad 72 20 years after he first stepped ashore in India and the place of his martyrdom has become a center of worship and pilgrimage foreign to tradition his body was removed and taken to the West emerging on the Greek island of Patmos [Music] in the monashiths in Johns they proudly displayed their most treasured possession [Music] it is they believe the skull of Thomas [Music] although his bones may be in the West for Thomas's Christians his heart still beats in India in Kerala you can see the legacy of Thomas everywhere Lively Christian communities a unique architectural Heritage and over 6 million adherents the words and deeds of Thomas continue to pass down from generation to generation in the same way they always have done through stories and songs [Music] Thomas himself told the story of Jesus as a first-hand witness he didn't walk around with the New Testament in his hand the gospels had yet to be written [Music] Christians called Kerala God's own country although Christianity is not a major religion in India its churches are thriving its services are packed the Church of Thomas accepts all casts from gold Merchants to dalits The Untouchables [Music] [Applause] his confidence by his term from its own perhaps unique view of its founder [Music] the West statue has always been of Thomas the doubter of Thomas as the man who questioned the Risen Christ who wanted evidence before he believed it in India this is very different attitude to me they emphasize the fact that he was the first person to explicitly State Christ's Divinity he said my Lord my God so I don't agree with those people any person is going to say that the eternals is doubting Jesus Christ no no no he was the person who promised you encouraged the apostles let us go and die with him in Jerusalem [Music] the vibrancy of this church is evident with its annual Gathering involving over a million pilgrims to honor Thomas and the church he founded [Music] and when the convention is over they'll return to their homes in all corners of India and in all corners of the world foreign [Music] [Music] Thomas Christians in London gathered to celebrate the Eucharist the reenactment of The Last Supper [Music] we've forgotten that Christianity was originally an Eastern Faith every bit is Eastern as Judaism as Islam and and indeed Hinduism and Buddhism it's an Eastern faith that traveled West and said Thomas as the possible twin of Jesus as certainly one of The Twelve Apostles was the Apostle who went East and I think he's the vital symbol of this the other half of Christianity who we've completely forgotten about in the West foreign for most people Thomas is the disciple who dampened the joy of the Resurrection but he overcame his confusion and uncertainties to become an apostle with courage and conviction these Thomas Christians demonstrate the True Legacy of doubting Thomas next week we return West to tell the story of two friends who became apostles Philip and Bartholomew [Music] what do Armenian worshipers in South Kensington have in common with meat Porters in Smithfield what connects ambulance drivers in Rome with nurses in the city of London all these people are brought together through the two figures of Philip and Bartholomew best friends and apostles foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] Bartholomew were best friends from Galilee who found in Jesus and the Messiah they'd both been eagerly anticipating their roles in the story of Jesus may be low-key but they're significant Philip is a crucial intermediary and Bartholomew proclaims Jesus to be king of Israel after the resurrection myths and traditions grew up around them and if these Legends are true the two friends blazed a trail across Central Asia preaching the message of Christ and founding churches Philippine Greece and Bartholomew in Armenia the first country in the world to declare itself Christian this is where the story of Philip and Bartholomew began here in the Jordan Valley according to John's gospel the place bristled with excitement there was talk of an impending crisis John the Baptist attracted crowds with his message of a judgment and a coming Messiah for the Jewish people many believe this Messiah would liberate them from Roman occupation Peter and his brother Andrew left their Hometown and traveled many miles to become Disciples of John a friend from the same town was also drawn to this Crusade his name was Philip we know quite a lot about Phillips because he was from betsaida the hometown of Andrew and Simon he's got a purely Greek name so I would presume that he came from a bilingual family I would presume too that he was a fisherman so that he was educated to take over part of the biggest business in the lake the main source of protein in the ancient world was fish so like his compatriots he was a shrewd businessman Philip was Keen to tell his best friend about the message of John the Baptist the gospels differ over his friend's name was it Bartholomew or Nathaniel the word Bartholomew is composed of two words bar and ptolemu in the three first gospels Matthew Mark and Luke we find this character Bartholomew usually linked with Philip then in John's gospel we find Philip linked with somebody with a different name Nathaniel and we don't have Bartholomew and John and we don't have Nathaniel in Matthew Mark and Luke so most people have thought down the years that they probably are the same person and that Nathanael is his personal name and that Bartholomew is his family name or as we would say surname Philipp was practical and business-like Bartholomew was untroubled and easy going according to one gospel account Bartholomew wild away the hours sitting under a fig tree and contemplating his Jewish faith he longed for the arrival of a savior [Music] but the wait would soon be over in Jesus of Nazareth Philip and the others believed they had found their Messiah the news spread quickly [Music] as the Gospel of John tells us it was the first to be interested in Jesus was Andrew and then he called his brother Simon and we're totally called Simon first so there must have been a second and I suspect that although this is not clear in the present text that it was Andrew who then called Philip and Philip impressed by Jesus he then called Bartholomew in other words it was a chain reaction but rather than Jesus Calling disciples its disciples choosing Jesus Philip said to Bartholomew we have found him about who Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote Jesus Son of Joseph from Nazareth but to leave their livelihoods and follow a new leader they would have to be sure initially Bartholomew was dismissive can anything good come out of Nazareth but when I finally met Bartholomew was astonished to discover that Jesus already knew him he'd seen him earlier sitting under that fig tree Bartholomew was soon convinced that Jesus was indeed the Messiah Rabbi you are the son of God you are the king of Israel by saying this Bartholomew was the first disciple openly to declare Jesus as God's chosen leader [Music] Allah was a proud man Bartholomew took his place amongst the disciples and worked quietly in the background Philip visited himself as a group's provisioner this message of the kingdom of God would require his total commitment with no time for domestic responsibilities it's claimed Philip asked if he had time to bury his father for Jesus this was no longer a priority [Music] Let the dead bury the dead the message of Jesus proved highly popular and he drew huge crowds nestled among the Hills of Galilee this church commemorates one of the most extraordinary Miracles told in the gospels the feeding of the five thousand seeing all the people who followed him Jesus was in need of practical advice and turned to Philip for support where are we to buy bread for these people to eat he said this to test him for he himself knew what he was going to do Philip answered him six months wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little and instead of saying well what can we really do what should we be thinking positively Philip chips in rather negatively you know it's going to cost a whole lot of money if we have to run off and buy all this um which again symbolizes doubt it also I suspect represents the Practical men in the in the company of Jesus at least they knew this that normally if you wanted to feed people you had to go and buy bread that you didn't snap your fingers say a prayer and it would all happen they knew that Jesus confounded Philip he not only fed the five thousand but filled 12 baskets with leftover food [Music] the Loaves and the fishes would stand as a reminder to Philip never to doubt Jesus Jerusalem then has now embraced different Jewish movements and sects at the Passover Festival a group of greeks-speaking Jewish pilgrims were Keen to meet Jesus as Jesus didn't speak Greek Philip acted as interpreter this was a key moment as perhaps Philip shrewdly realized that the future success of Christianity would rest with the greek-speaking world of the Mediterranean which he was quickly approaching Jesus anticipated his death and prepared Allah supper for his disciples his conversation was strange and intimate he talked of being the way and finding the father it required a business-like response Philip said to him Lord show us the father and we will be satisfied Jesus said to him have I been with you all this time Philip and you still do not know me whoever has seen me has seen the father in other words look at Jesus you'll discover who God is so it's not that there's an identity it's that Jesus is as it were an accurate angled mirror when you look at him you see the exact reflection of God at the final crucial moment Philip and Bartholomew like the other Apostles failed Jesus while the Lord was tried and executed they fled and went into hiding later in the upper room in Jerusalem traditionally this room here they witnessed the Risen Jesus and believed he was alive yet they were still uncertain about the future but something was about to happen and when it did it would change their lives forever at Pentecost they received the Holy Spirit it empowered and motivated them for the challenges ahead [Music] as the apostles traveled from Palestine Philip and Bartholomew would bring the message of Christ to Greece and Asia Minor and would pay the ultimate price [Music] after Pentecost the New Testament reveals little about the lives of Philip and Bartholomew however myths and legends quickly grew up telling of their Journeys and Adventures across Asia Minor and the Mediterranean according to early Christian tradition Philip being a Greek speaker traveled to Greece if it's true it was an inspired choice for it was through the Greek language that Christianity spread throughout the Mediterranean world [Music] in the acts of Philip a second century apocryphal story Philip was later joined by his friend Bartholomew and together they traveled to the city of eropolis where they encountered a population who worshiped a dragon [Music] Philip said [Music] persecution nor the serpents of the land nor the dark dragon and there was a flash of lightning which blinded the dragon and its brood and they were withered up but the apostles closed their eyes unable to face the lightning and remained unhurt but Phillips active bravery wasn't appreciated by everyone some plotted against him while Bartholomew managed to escape Philip was seized he was tied to a tall cross and like his beloved Jesus he was crucified but what if Bartholomew the first church historians were convinced he went to India bringing with him the gospel that had been written by his fellow Apostle Matthew [Music] but the country most associated with Bartholomew is Armenia [Music] it's claimed he traveled there and brought the message of Christ and converted many people as a result Armenia was the first country in the world to adopt Christianity as its religion boasting an Apostolic founder in Bartholomew [Music] the ancient Armenian Cathedral of Saint James in Jerusalem is the jewel in the crown of Armenian Christianity and it continues to Bear witness to the mission of Bartholomew [Music] foreign Faith would prove a vital source of strength as it endured centuries of foreign persecution and Exile as Armenians fled across the world their Christianity kept their sense of Armenian nationthood and identity alive [Music] here in West London the spiritual descendants of Bartholomew continue to celebrate the message of Christ [Music] but they know that their faith came at a terrible price for their founder [Music] for according to the acts of Bartholomew written in the third Century Bartholomew's message of Christ was not welcomed by all Armenians indeed the king's brother was so violently opposed to it he had Bartholomew skinned alive with a butcher's knife foreign Bartholomew had declared Jesus the son of God the king of Israel in the Sistine Chapel in Rome Michelangelo in his depiction of the last judgment evokes a haunting image of Bartholomew holding his hanging skin revealing the terrible price the Apostle paid for his Messiah as Armenian Christians fled during centuries of persecution the relics of Bartholomew like other apostles were also dispersed traditionally they were brought to the Italian Village of benevento but eventually came to rest here in the Church of San bartolomeo in Rome but this is a story still open to speculation the history of this church is linked with the history of the relics of San Martin this church was built at the end of 9th century by the emperor Otto III when the emperor Otto established his new church on the island in the Tiber he looked around to see what relics he could get and he sent to benevente for some Bartholomew well they refused to send them so he sent soldiers to bring the the remains to Rome and the beneventum sent some bones and the relics arrived from benevento and they were the the relics were put in the main altar of the church the beneventans they always claimed they sent the bones of saint paulinus of Nola and they kept sent Bartholomew what we know is that is the entire body of submetology is there and inside we have some few pieces and one Benedictine scholar says that the large sarcophagus that forms the altar in the church of Saint Bartholomew is empty we don't have a certain Roman certificate for to demonstrate that they're inside there is some Bartholomew nevertheless people go there to venerates and Bartholomew indeed I've been there myself so it's hard to know who to believe whatever the truth Don Angelo and many others in Rome are comforted by the presence of the Israelis and perhaps it's only right that they are here it's a few hundred yards away in the Church of San apostoli lie the relics of his great friend Philip [Music] beneath the high Altar for the past 1200 years lie the relics of the Apostle brought here by a medieval Pope Philip and Bartholomew started the epic journey together it's fitting that it ends together down the Century's Rome has attracted Pilgrims from all over the world in 1123 came an Englishman rahir whose life would never be the same again rahia was a courtier of the Norman King Henry the first and Henry lost his son Prince William in the white ship disaster off bar Fleur it's said that the king never smiled again but actually he took a new wife that year so I think he probably did smile again but nevertheless a certain Gloom descended upon the Norman court and they looked to religion for consolation raheer our founder who was probably already a preventry of the cathedral decided that he would amend his ways he was rather an entertaining sort of fellow Jester juggler certainly entertaining at the court of Henry the first and he decided he would go on pilgrimage to Rome in Rome rahir suffered from a terrible part of malaria and was near to death taken to a hospital opposite the Church of San bartolomeo he made a vow that if he recovered he would build a church and a hospital for the poor in London rahea did regain his health and on the way back to London he experienced an extraordinary dream in which Bartholomew appeared and spoke to him I am Bartholomew the Apostle of Jesus Christ who has come to help thee in thy Straits I have chosen a spot in a suburb of London where in my name Thou shalt found a church that shall be the house of God [Music] when rahir asked how he was going to pay for the church Bartholomew told him not to worry about money it would come indeed the money did come and with the blessing of Henry the first and the help of Orphans dry here built his church in the hospital next door in what was then the most unattractive part of London smoothfield Leighton earners Smithfield today it's a vibrant part of the city 24-hour community by day the Church of Bartholomew the great which Survived the Great Fire of London and Zeppelin raids continues to give praise to Christ here celebrating Palm Sunday [Music] his sacred name in the Square outside the market young and old alike enjoy the fun of the fur Bartholomew once a Victorian spectacle recently revived then at night the area is transformed in Bart's Hospital nurses quietly attend the sick while across the road butchers busily carved their joints of meat in an inspired Touch of black humor Bartholomew who was skinned alive by a butcher's knife has become their patron saint it's not surprising therefore that this area with its symbolism and history should appeal to a writer like Ian Sinclair the interesting thing is that the relation between the church and the hospital and the market and I think over the period of time that is one of the vital elements that defines the quality of London and lends itself to what Bartholomew stood for both healing and Butchery surgery and Miracle were all wonderfully interwoven and connected in the medieval mind somehow it Dawns on you that there's a relation between all of these elements and where the elements meet then there is the figure of Bartholomew foreign [Music] [Music] places in London develop particular spirits you come here there is a different kind of spirit and I think if you wanted to give that Spirit a name you could call it as a umbrella title Bartholomew this is his Zone this is what happens here he was a man who gave his life and was sacrificed I think now we have to invent new ways of understanding the story but we can't do that if we don't do honor to the Past [Music] and for some honoring the story of Bartholomew and rahia provides a constant source of faith and encouragement [Music] we have a very strong sense that we have both our founder priara here and our patron saints and Bartholomew and that between them they look after us whether it be London or Rome Greece or Armenia the influence of Philip and Bartholomew has spread far and wide their roles in the gospel stories were subtle but important and their missionary achievements are still felt today next week we tell the story of three of the Lesser known Apostles but significant nevertheless Judas the days Simon the Zealot and James son of alphys [Music] for some of the Apostles there are big stories to be told how they founded churches [Music] had great adventures experienced Revelations or wrote The Great witness accounts of Jesus's Ministry but there are three Apostles whose lives and doings are barely mentioned in the gospels they're James son of Affairs Jude also known as Judas orthodius and Simon the zealot [Music] [Music] [Music] if you ask someone to name the Twelve Apostles they'll probably staggered through three or four they'll almost certainly not mention James son of alphaeus Jude or Simon the Zealot as their Lincoln obscurity we're going to look at all three in this program later we'll explore how Jude came to have an extraordinary influence in 20th century America but first we'll be investigating new theories which suggest that while being downplayed in the gospels they were in fact important players close relatives of Jesus and among the first leaders of the Christian church these are the names of The Twelve Apostles first Simon who is called Peter and his brother in the New Testament the apostles are listed four times each time James Jude and Simon are placed at the end of the list just before Judas is carried apparently they simply didn't write for the gospel writers their focus would have been on the figure of Jesus those around him would have been mentioned insofar as it was necessary to bring out either a relationship with two Jesus or a reaction against Jesus or other aspects that were part of the life of the community people who were very committed people who were less committed so disciples would be selected to bring out this dimension you couldn't use all 12 otherwise you'd become so refined and complicated that they had just to pick one or two Thomas for doubt and Peter for denial it's it's rather like a play where there are some Heroes and others who are simply in the background nodding their heads wisely and and filling up the filling up the screen after all we have to remember that the 12 were a symbolic number and Jesus chose 12 to make the statement about the new Israel not because each one of them was going to have major things necessarily to do immediately [Music] James is called son of alphaeus of whom nothing definite is known to distinguish him from James the great the brother of John he's also known as James the less [Music] Jude has no family tag or nickname Simon is termed Zealot which may indicate he had had links with the Jewish revolutionary movement that's all the gospels give us no speeches no significant actions but some biblical historians maintain that these names common as they of course were May signal a very significant connection according to Mark 6 3 we hear about Jesus's brothers James Joseph Judas and Simon now those quite remarkable James Judas and Simon are also names of Jesus's disciples now is it possible that some of the twelve are Jesus's brothers who were Jesus's brothers though his early childhood has been a popular subject his family relationships as an adult as shadowy markless the members of his family when he describes thy neighbor's skeptical reaction when Jesus preaches in the Nazareth synagogue foreign is this not the carpenter the son of Mary and brother of James and Joseph's and Judas and Simon and are not his sisters here with us and they took offense at him while the New Testament plainly uses the word Brothers Christians divide on the exact relationship to Jesus depending on whether or not they accept the reality of the Virgin birth uh James Simon and today is Jesus Blood Brothers no I personally accept the Virgin birth um so that there is actually no connection at all they would have been seen by Society in my view as Step Brothers because I think they were not children of Mary they were children of Joseph by a previous wife most Scholars and it would be the normal reading of the text to be honest would say from Matthew's gospel at least onwards that it was assumed that after Jesus birth Joseph and Mary had normal marital relations and had a sizable family like most people did what most Bible scholars will agree on is that Jesus's family members were the Blood Brothers step brothers or cousins are less than supportive of their close relative when he begins his ministry teaching around Galilee in one episode his mother and brothers hearing that he's making a spectacle of himself in Capernaum travel there to restrain him [Music] and his mother and brothers came and standing outside they sent to him and called him and a crowd was sitting about him and they said to him your mother and your brothers are outside asking for you and he replied who are my mother and my brothers there are a number of references to the family of Jesus in the gospels and to my mind they are consistent and they're consistent in their denial I don't believe that Mary and I don't believe that the brothers of Jesus accepted him during his ministry they did not accept him as the Messiah they did not accept him as a messenger of God they would have been happy had he been a prophet but he was claiming more than that and that they refused but other biblical Scholars take a different view of Jesus's family attitude citing another reference in John to Jesus's time in Capernaum after this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and his brothers and his disciples and there they stayed for a few days you find in the Gospel of John that Jesus goes to concern him and his brothers follow him that's very interesting so I think we have more of a family movement than the Christian church has allowed for 2 000 years here then is the connection according to this reading Jesus's brothers James Jude and Simon may have been not just sympathetic to Jesus project they may have been the apostles James Jude and Simon named among the twelve the early church especially in the Syriac Church take it very seriously that some of Jesus's brothers were indeed followers now you can imagine under the evidence of the Virgin birth let it not be that won't be good news so this is pushed off to the fringes but you can find it in some early Syriac Traditions that are quite challenging so we're left with a big question to what extent was Jesus's family from the word go involved in the movement the synoptics will tell you no a lot of Scholars say there's your history but now we're beginning to realize you can't ignore John the traditional view is that Jesus's mother Mary doesn't become a follower until his crucifixion and Resurrection so too it is Brothers [Music] his brother James experiences a conversion similar to Paul's and becomes the leader of the infant Church in Jerusalem according to tradition after Jesus's Ascension the apostles scattered at the ends of the Earth to spread the word the champions of the Apostles as brothers theory proposed that James son of alphaeus also known as James the less Jude and Simon stayed on in Jerusalem and led the emerging Church who is this James Celeste well Jesus has a brother named James that term could mean the less meaning like the kid brother the younger James the younger it can be translated that way uh is it possible that this unknown James the less is actually the Towering figure the brother of Jesus who after Jesus death even in the New Testament it's explained takes over the leadership of the movement after James death in 62 A.D a Simon took over the movement early non-gospel sources called him a brother of Jesus after him a Jude familiar names could they be the three shadowy apostles I wouldn't write this in stone but I would say it could be ironically that these least known three James Simon and Judas might be the brothers of Jesus and in fact the three main people who take over leadership of the movement some Bibles call us argue that early Christians consciously played down James Jude and Simon's activities to protect them from the Romans who are sensitive to possible developing dynasties this is why the actions as apostles were also downplayed with the exception of Simon the Zealot they'd have higher profiles in subsequent Christian history and tradition James the less also known as son of alphaest was adopted by The Armenian Church in the east as with Jude Who is credited as being a prime mover in that church ly Jude the Obscure would also find an important role in the new world two thousand years later [Music] foreign [Music] stories centered here in Chicago not in the high-rise commercial District but in the south of the city it was here that from before the turn of the 20th century the city's wealth had been built on Stockyards and steel [Music] immigrants had flooded into Chicago to work in the steel mills many of them are Mexican Spanish-speaking and Catholic [Music] in 1925 the Catholic Church sent a member of the coloration order to minister to them and build a Parish Church Father James tort a claration from Spain was was sent to the U.S and came to Chicago and and began working in a small Parish our lady Guadalupe Parish in South Chicago he himself had a great Devotion to Saint Jude he was in the middle of building a church and he didn't know if he'd have enough money to to finish the church and uh so he began to pray nightly to Saint Jude father taught organized formal devotions to Jude he promised him a shrine in the church if it could be built he assigned him a role in identity Saint Jude was to be patron saint of hopeless or lost causes father Todd succeeded in building his church Our Lady of Guadalupe it would be a landmark for years to come but just at the time it was finished the world around fell apart by the time Wall Street crashed in October 1929 Catholics in Chicago were already petitionists and Jude for help more than a thousand many of them Steel Workers had held vigils outside his Shrine on the eve of the crash there are plenty of cases for Jew to attend to after the crash came the Great Depression Across America people began turning to Jude for help it is a pattern that would continue in following decades as America pulled itself together to face the rest of the 20th century you can see American Social history unfold in the prayers that people make to Saint Jude so for example in the throughout the 30s as men are struggling to find work during the Depression and women that first generation of American Catholic women are beginning to work outside the home as uh as uh family relations are strained by the depression all of these find voice in the prayers to Saint Jude and then the second world war starts and uh American Catholics have to contend with loved ones abroad and with death and loss in the 50s as American Catholics solidly enter the middle class there are prayers about wanting new homes and making car payments and uh taking care of elderly relatives back in the old neighborhoods that they've now left and for the first time in the 50s there are prayers for children's success in school my son wants to be a lawyer Saint Jude please help him with the bar exam so you could literally trace the trajectory of American Catholicism its movement through social history in these prayers Saint Jude cousin of Jesus Saint Jude Apostle of Christ Saint Jude who share today's and Jews Shrine is still located in the Parish Church he's still venerated but so many petitions now flood in asking for his help that declarations have opened an office Uptown to deal with correspondence and send out information and petition forms over the years devotion into Saint Jude has grown in Leaps and Bounds to the point where at this point where we mail over 10 million pieces a year and we receive over a million pieces a year in return and over 85 percent of the mail we get includes a petition of some sort where people are praying for for family members for friends for themselves for years I have been praying to Saint Jude telling him of my problems my main intention was for my son my 84 year old cousin is seriously ill with Parkinson's disease his wife divorced him he had to take a forced retirement and he had a few family problems I don't know how long she can survive but she is unmarried and lives alone if she cannot be helped will you at least pray for her and for a peaceful end she has been a good person all of her life many thanks for your help we read every letter that comes into our department usually the donor census and donation but if they don't we still acknowledge every single letter that is received in this office some letters really touch all of us I think and we pray for these people and sometimes we cry I pray every night so that he has his strength and Faith to return to the happy healthy man he once was the petition forms containing prayers are taken from the office to the church where they lodged in a cabinet above is a reliquary which the faithful believe contains a fragment of Saint Jude's leg burn symbolically the presence injured are brought together the hope is this endued Apostle of Jesus will take these hopeless cases to the highest court [Music] eous cousin of our divine Lord Apostle of Christ might have for Christ and Patron of almost hopeless or impossible cases May almighty God bless you and Grant your petitions named the father and of the son and of the holy spirit amen I've been praying to Saint Jude the the emphasis is to remind us of the Lord's presence with us and Saint Jude is is we believe is is an intercessor for us he he really is in heaven and he really is interceding for us with the Lord some petitioners believe Jude performs miracles the latest one was the baby and uh she weighed four and a half pounds they told her that told us that she would be illiterate she wouldn't be able to do anything and we came here and we prayed and prayed she is now 11 years old and she's about five feet seven inches tall she's in sixth grade and that is really a miracle for us and we thank Saint Jude every day there are many stories like that so many stories that they can't be discounted by profession however I uh my my profession of religious studies we stay on this side of the of the miraculous divide and our Our concern is uh not to verify the miraculous but to think about how we could talk in a respectful and non-reductive way about the miraculous uh about what what might be happening and what I came to think is that a kind of partnership forms with Saint Jews Saint Jude becomes between the person in need and Saint Jude Saint Jude becomes a kind of a special friend in their experience and he helps them he helps them find the courage and the confidence to imagine new possibilities in their lives we do not talk much here at the shrine about miracles but we do talk about Grace that we feel that the people in their prayer really are strengthened by God's grace and God's presence in their lives [Music] and Jude's parishes needed strength over the years young men went to the war in Vietnam War were lost here than from any other Parish [Music] then after a long time ailing the steel mill is closed down for the last time striking at the communities very hard it was a disaster for the neighborhood there was terrible unemployment and the neighborhood really suffered dramatically people could not care for their homes and with the young people being idle come to drugs and come the gangs it's a reality here [Music] in these circumstances Jude's name can be invoked to provide material help each day declarations collect tens of thousands of dollars from petitioners part of which feeds directly into the community donations are small generally but they add up and so the amount that is is uh available over and above promotion of the of the devotion um goes to the works of the claritians right in the neighborhood uh through the housing program through the medical center through supporting uh youth programs specialized organization within the clinician order concentrates on helping local people achieve affordable housing the goal of clinician Associates is to revitalize the neighborhood around Our Lady of Guadalupe Church we provide housing related services so if you own a home and you want to repair it we'll lend you money if you want to buy a new home we can help you find an affordable mortgage product we also build new homes ourselves and sell them and to date we have completed three real estate development projects the first being via Guadalupe which is probably the most important project to date it is a building for senior citizens it's located across the street from the church because a lot of the seniors wanted to be very close to the church since then we've done 20 single-family homes in an area about four square blocks around the church we don't like to use the word hopeless so much about South Chicago but it's definitely a very hard cause and I know that some of our staff on a regular basis will go across the street and pray to Saint Jude the church anchors our community and I think that having Saint the shrine of Saint Jude there I think it's just sort of a beacon in the community the apostles James son of Affairs and Simon never really made a mark in the modern world but Jude thousands of miles and Years From Galilee and Jerusalem did as a friend and a helper to many who desperately needed one he's been caricatured and condemned throughout history as the only bad apple among the apostles [Music] he's been judged guilty of the definitive Act of betrayal and was he guilty or was he the victim of a smear campaign by the early Christian Church a campaign which would have tragic consequences he is the 12th Apostle Judas [Music] [Music] [Music] hello on the face of it the case against Judas is clear-cut he betrayed Christ but the more one looks at the Judas story The more unsatisfactory the case appears in this program we're going to reassess Judas and explore how he became a crucial Focus for and a tool of Christianity's dark cousin anti-semitism these are the names of The Twelve Apostles first Simon who is called Peter and his brother Andrew James son of Zebedee and his brother John [Music] Philip and Bartholomew Thomas and Matthew the tax collector James son of alphaeus and Thaddeus Simon the zealot and Judas Iscariot who betrayed him I know where he removes with his fellas ilka One I shall tilt it Jews black-hearted Judas as he speaks in a modern version of the medieval mystery plays in the gospels there's no Charming story of judas's calling he is merely named at the end of a list usually with the dismissive rider unlike most of the other Apostles he's given no background some Scholars have turned to his name for Clues as to where he might have come from who he might have been judas's name is uh divided usually of course into two sections one is Judas that means fundamentally that he was a Jew the second part of his name which was probably given to him by the disciples or by somebody else Iscariot was meant to differentiate him from probably two or three other judases among this type of disciple group the most common interpretation is the discariat refers to an area in the South where Judas came from near Jerusalem there is in fact a village about 20 miles north of Jerusalem and that is still known as carryout if that was true then he would be different from the others the others apparently were all galileans whereas he is much further to the South not quite a Judean but a marginal figure another theory is that judas's surname signals he is a member of the sikari terrorist group dedicated to reading Israel of the Romans and collaborators among the Jewish priesthood a sicarius is a small dagger and the sikari were daggermen who carried these small knives under their cloaks that they could stick them into people in the crowds and then melt away it was an early form of terrorism now that's possible but it's only one of various interpretations of Judas who remains of course the most enigmatic of them all uh there's simply no evidence that he was a member of that group I suspect though that a number of the disciples were very deeply attracted to that group they did not become members perhaps maybe some of them did become members I I believe also by the way that Jesus himself was deeply attracted to it for a Time [Music] there's little doubt that the 12 initially at least saw Jesus's great Enterprise is a worldly one but then the kingdom of God would be in Israel freed and Reborn Jesus would fulfill his role as Messiah by bringing it about some historians have painted Judas as a disgruntled revolutionary with connections to the temple in Jerusalem to whom Jesus was a liberator who failed but the gospels appear to paint a simpler picture Judas is plain bad [Music] its character is revealed in the episode where Martha one of Jesus's disciples anoints Jesus with expensive oil one of his disciples Judas Iscariot who was later to betray him objected why wasn't this perfume sold and the money given to the poor it was worth a Year's wages John goes on to tell you that the reason Judas objected not that he cared for the poor but he wanted the money for himself the Christian tradition over the centuries has just magnified us like mad unjustly injured I Judas by Jesus that Jew person was out balancing Brethren's budgeting books to Temptation I tumbled to tell the tale true on a tenth of each Turtle the treasurer took the judas's blackest Act is of course his betrayal of Jesus in John's gospel Jesus Intimates at the Last Supper that he will be betrayed prompted by Peter the Beloved disciple asks him who will perpetrate the ACT Jesus answered it is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish then dipping the piece of bread he gave it to Judas Iscariot son of Simon a soon as Judas took the bread Satan entered into him Judas goes to the temple authorities and agrees to lead them to Jesus in return for 30 pieces of silver Jesus has gone to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray and struggle to come to terms with what lies ahead after Jesus had prayed and got a grip on himself he came back to the disciple and say okay it's finished let's go and just as they were beginning to move up the hill towards Bethany they saw torches in the distance these were the authorities coming to arrest him they were led by Judas who identified Jesus by a kiss Jesus is taken before Caiaphas the Jewish high priest who hands him over to Pilate overcome with remorse Judas tries to return the money cancel the deal but it's too late Jesus is crucified and for Judas of course the wages of sin is also death not by honorable martyrdom like the rest of the Apostles but by Suicide or Divine affliction here at the bottom of the Hidden Valley where the traditional site of hakadama the field of blood which is two different explanations one is that it was bought with the blood Money the other is that it was here that Judas died that he committed suicide this place whatever is historical uh strictly historical connotations symbolically it is a place of Terror and death [Music] there are two accounts of Jews whose death Luke writes that with his blood Money Judas bought a field the field of blood one day he simply fell down and his guts gushed out in a sort of spontaneous disembowelment Matthew recalled that overcome with remorse Judas rushed out and hanged himself from a tree [Music] there can't be both correct what they do indicate is that for the biblical writers Judas came to a terrible end the deep deep despair of suicide or a terrible illness which was willed on him by God but in both cases it was a horrible death which was understood by the biblical writers as punishment for his betrayal of Jesus this then is the authorized account the received version but is it true is it fair or was Judas himself betrayed by events misperceptions and then down the edges by Christianity itself [Music] the more you look at the figure of Judas his actions and motives the more unsatisfactory and inconsistent the received version becomes at the Last Supper for example Jesus doesn't treat Judas as a betrayer as no animosity what you are about to do do quickly Jesus told him what Jesus is presented as saying to Judas um there is no element of reproach that I can see it's simply an urgent little command okay let's get this over with one could argue that Judas did not betray Jesus that he in fact cooperated with Jesus Jesus had recognized I am convinced that his death would be the highlight of his ministry this would be the Supreme sacrifice that would redeem the human race now once he had committed himself to that vision of his Destiny then he would want to get it over quickly he would want to be sure that the authorities knew exactly where he was and that role of intermediary was fulfilled by Judas according to this reading Jesus needs Judas to fulfill the divine plan which is hinted at but the apostles have failed to grasp [Music] in a more secular but not a mutually exclusive reading Judas with his human revolutionary Ambitions has anticipated that Jesus identity as the Messiah will be acknowledged by the high priest Caiaphas who join forces with Jesus to usher in God's Kingdom Judas and Caiaphas May in fact have planned this sir it all goes wrong when Jesus won't answer the high priest's questions Jesus refused to cooperate with the high priest and the high priest lost his cool and just said Well if you know if you won't cooperate you can't be the Messiah obviously so I'm going to send you to Pilate judas's life fell apart as soon as he heard that Jesus was in pilate's hands because he knew that Jesus didn't have a chance Judas never thought that Jesus would be handed over to Pilate God been the Messiah you just thought he was and now he'll die as a common Criminal Judas is devastated has no place to go just know will just come to me that pilate has condemned Jesus to death have come back from the temple and those misguided priests will not even allow me to cancel the deal I threw the money at their feet I told them that Jesus was an innocent man now I will die with him the sake of my wife and children let this act of taking my own life also be seen in the light of my love for my master [Music] if he dies I want to die with him [Music] according to the gospels Jesus would rise again but Judas will be consigned not too Oblivion but to infamy when the story of Jesus life and death comes to be written up in the gospels the case against Judas is progressively ratcheted up what you have is a scale going upward and upward where Mark says nothing about Judas doing anything bad whereas by the time John writes 60 years later he is uh you know a devil the Bible progresses if you put it up on its end the way the Bible is written you'd read Paul first then Mark and Matthew then Luke and then John now if you read the Judah story from that point of view there is no mention of Judas in all of the Pauline writing no mention of a of a betrayal act taking place by the twelve that comes first in Mark and I would date Mark in the early 70s and but but everything about it is unclear there's no motive there's not even a sense of what he betrayed Matthew provides a motive greed and John states that Judas is possessed by Satan and betrays Christ but it counts the cumulative are not consistent there are a lot of the details that don't quite add up together when you put them all together you don't get a composite story that's part of the reason why I believe that the Judah story could well have been if not a total fiction uh it was it was building upon the barest bit of evidence to create a particular thing and what I think the Christians are trying to create was to exonerate the Romans for the death of Jesus and blame the Orthodox party of Jerusalem because the Orthodox party was the party with whom they were struggling to get along animosity between the Jews and their Roman overlords had escalated into outright War culminating in the sacking of Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple in ad70. but for the earliest Christians who were themselves of course Jews it was a Jewish establishment rather than the Romans which was the Real Enemy they began to blame these Orthodox Jews for the destruction of Jerusalem and for that war and so they wanted to separate themselves from that mentality and they did it in an interesting way they heaped this scorn upon Judas who's the sort of quintessential Jew and they whitewash the head of the Roman Empire pilate he's always washing his hands and saying oh I am innocent of the blood of this just man and the Jewish crowd is shouting his blood be upon us and upon our children according to this reading the gospel writers essentially mounted a smear campaign against Judas which the early Christian church built on as part of the process of forging its own identity by the time we get to the early Christian fathers all Jews are associated with Judas Judah stands for all Jews and all Jews betrayed Christ and therefore no Jew can be forgiven until he has come to accept Christ in other words become a Christian the mechanism of of Judas was phenomenally successful in dejudaizing Christianity losing Christianity from its Jewish Origins as the Christian Church grew so did anti-semitism Jews came to be seen as literally another species to be exploited marginalized or worse by the time we get to the Middle Ages and the Jews are demonized figures and um the key the the the the the key person in that demonizing is the figure of Judas over the years medieval and Renaissance painting developed an iconography to project and underline judas's grotesque evil he is usually portrayed at the Last Supper that's how we mainly see him um with his bag of money money is very important and he has deformed characteristics he is lascivious so we have a combination of ugliness greed um lasciviousness depravity right down to there is one painting um in which you actually see Judas leaping from his feet apparently to do something horrendous to the host and at the moment of doing that um you actually see a fly a big black fly you often see this flying into the mouth of Judas and extreme ugly image the black beeelzebub flying into judas's mouth as he leans forward to desecrate the host and at that moment with all these acts coming together greed betrayal treachery gluttony the lot visitation from the devil he has an erection if vicious visual character wasn't enough there were also prominent churchmen like the formidable Martin Luther ready evening to have a go at the Jews Martin Luther begins favoring the Jews Martin Martin Luther's early pieces are um attacks upon the church for the way in which they have good attack strong attacks powerful attacks upon the church for the way they have demonized the Jews it seems that as he failed to pull the Jews on board and get them to convert to his new form of Christianity he lost belief in the Jews and then became um as angry as anybody about I cannot understand how the Jews managed to be so skillful unless perhaps I think that when Judas Iscariot hung himself his guts burst perhaps the Jews sent their servants with platters of silver and pots of gold to gather up judas's piss and then they ate his awful thus acquiring eyes so piercing that they can find in the scriptures commentaries that Matthew and Isaiah himself could not find let alone the rest of us cursed it's never pretty to see a man of distinguished intelligence putting his mind to filth quite like that um I understand it's very important to understand I think that every religion must demonize it would do us all good of whatever Faith to remember that we are all guilty of some form of this what's unforgivable is the is the Venom with which it was done under thorough goingness with which it was done and of course what it led to we all know what it led to images like these have become foul cliches of course many Christians spoke out and fought against the evils of Nazism even gave their lives but it seems an unavoidable conclusion that Christian demonization of Judas over the centuries played a part in the rise and obscene flowering of anti-semitism I think you cannot overstate the part that the the creation of Judas and the whole Judas story has played in the um in the history of anti-Semitism it's a very powerful Tale the poorest plight pricked me not to play no pretense what pricked me and pined me was loss of my Pence the cause which that cursed Christ to cumberance shall come and failed in my fiddle full fast will I flit sell that saltering sort of self-samsung had 30 Pence pocket from Pontius Pilate [Music] [Music] and what of Judas today he's still part of the culture in a mercifully small way famously when Bob Dylan first went electric a die-hard folk fan shouted Judas at him in Fury his name lives on in the Adolescent iconography of rock bands [Music] it's a common journalistic shorthand for dirty dealing it seems that Judas is still lodged in our minds as a traitor however unfairly if Judas was actually serving the purpose of Jesus then of course he cannot be considered a traitor and he has been greatly maligned by history it seems though that we prefer the Judas we love to hate I think Judas continues to Fascinate people today because these he is the epitome of evil evil always fascinates us he is the Antichrist he is the anti-hero in the Christian drama we need we need to have a bad person someplace you know we like Jesus more if he had somebody who betrayed him or bad people that put him to death and so on I think the picture of Judas is so deeply ingrained now this can be very very difficult to change the first step is to remove the word betrayal from the New Testament and that's beginning [Music] [Music] [Music] Mary Magdalene is best known as a repentant prostitute a model for Sinners everywhere but many early Christians revered her as Jesus most faithful follower the Apostle to the apostles in this program we'll visit the holy land and the south of France to find out how her image changed and to try to unravel her story from the myths that have built up around her and we'll be asking how Mary is a positive example for a new generation of ordained women after 2000 years are we ready to scrape the dirt of history from our picture of Mary magdon in Jerusalem the bells are calling the faithful to the Church of Mary Magdalene on the Mount of Olives in this Russian Orthodox Church the worshipers hold Mary in high esteem [Music] [Music] here she is revered as a crucial figure in Christianity the woman who stayed with Jesus to his death who took murder to anoint his body and who then became the first witness to the resurrection and in Legend she is the disciple who dared to present the Roman Emperor Tiberius with a red egg the Roman symbol of Eternity to announce that Christ was risen foreign Church Praises her the West has treated her less kindly you go out on the streets of London stop 20 people and asked if they know anything about Magdalene they'll say when she a prostitute because the church has done a good job trashing her reputation through the years if we go back to the gospels can we uncover the real Mary Magdalene foreign Jesus traveled through towns and Villages bringing the good news of the kingdom of God the twelve were with him and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities Mary called Magdalene from whom seven demons had come out and Joanna the wife of husar Herod steward and Susanna and many others these women were supporting them out of their own means at a time when most women would have been limited to entirely domestic lives as wives and mothers we find Jesus taking women as well as men into his disciple group and we're told that the women gave the group its financial support Mary's role as has been similar to those of the disciples she would have learned from him she would have questioned him but there's no record that suggests that the male Apostles actually supported Jesus and this means that she would have been his Patronus she would have had a socially Superior role but it meant a high level of commitment on her part but who was this woman who was able to follow Jesus on his travels Mary's name is the first clued her identity she seemed not to be named after a husband but a place the town of magdala on the shore of Lake Galilee these half excavated ruins give little idea of the bustling town that would once have stood here [Music] magdala was perhaps the most important town in the lake magdala is a Corruption of mgdal it was a tower on which fish was hung to be air dried the Greek name tarichie is from tarikul which means to pickle in brine so that the real translation is the fish factory if Mary had money to support Jesus it's likely that she made it here among the fishing industry like many ports the town had a bad reputation which is rubbed off on Mary throughout history commentators have suggested that Mary might have been selling herself to the sailors but she could just as easily have been a Potter or a weaver Luke's gospel also tells us that Jesus cast seven demons out of Mary [Music] the early church fathers decided that these represented the sins in which she indulged nowadays they're more usually read as a metaphor for a much less scandalous condition it's only since the 19th century that they've been looking at Mary magdalene's ailment as being psychological and it's particularly women who have uh who started that attitude and now it's generally accepted that she was in some way neurotic or had some psychological Problem whatever cure or strength Murray found in Jesus she was evidently well enough to join his band on their Journey one of the first places they visited was the town of Cana where Jesus famously performed a miracle of turning water into wine at a wedding feast this church is built on the place where the miracle is said to have happened but some commentate to say that the story is hiding a deeper truth that this was where Mary Magdalene and Jesus were married I have argued in a book I wrote that that Jesus was married to Mary the fascinating thing about that wedding Feast story is that Mary the mother of Jesus is cast in the role of the mother of the groom she's the one looking after the provisions so they go to her when they run out of wine people say well we've always been taught that Jesus was a single man nobody says anything in the New Testament about Jesus being married well it doesn't say anything about Jesus being unmarried either and for a Jewish man to be unmarried would be so unusual the pressure to get married was so great that for him to be unmarried would indicate that that would be the thing they would talk about it would have been very odd in this period for a man of Jesus's age not to have been married uh was he married to Mary Magdalene though it would I would find it odd to say that she was styled as his patroness but never spoken of his wife that was beyond my imagination to think that she could have been his wife and have been mentioned in that way I didn't see that there's anything except speculation with regard to the relationship between Christ and Mary Magdalene because after all he does say that people have to give up the familial relationships in order to follow him and he would hardly be advocating that um and not practicing it himself whether she was his follower or his wife Mary devotedly stood by Jesus throughout his fateful journey to Jerusalem [Music] different gospels give different accounts of the crucifixion all or most of the male disciples were absent hiding in fear for their lives Jesus mother may or may not have been there [Music] but every account places Mary Magdalene at the foot of the cross we know she was there um at the cross and so for me then she's a woman of tremendous courage that she's got staying power she doesn't avert her eyes from the suffering of someone that she loved very much after Jesus was taken down from the cross on Friday afternoon he was simply wrapped in his shroud and put in the nearest tomb the nearest empty tomb that was not honorable burial but of course being Jews they could do nothing on the Saturday and so it was early on the first day of the week on Sunday morning that Mary and other women came to the Tomb in order to dress it properly for burial after Mary found the tomb empty she became the first witness that Christ had risen again the gospels vary in detail but John tells the story in its most famous and dramatic form she's standing outside weeping and she turns and she sees who she thinks is the gardener and she says where he would take my Lord's body and he says Mary and she recognizes him foreign she turned towards him and cried out in Aramaic rabonai which means teacher Jesus said do not touch me for I have not yet returned to the father [Music] [Music] it's not a don't touch me in the sense of you are physically impure so keep your horrible little hands off me it's it's much more powerful than that it's don't cling to me you have to go and tell the Brethren I am risen from the dead I think Mary certainly should be numbered among the disciples and as far as I'm concerned she should be numbered among the apostles because she was sent by Jesus and apostoline which is the Greek verb behind our word Apostle means one cent and if anyone was ever sent it was Mary so she is the Apostle to the apostles foreign [Music] the New Testament concentrates on the work of the male Apostles but there was another Christian tradition in which Mary Magdalene outshone any of the men it can be found in a manuscript that probably dates from the second century the Gospel of Mary the Gospel of Mary clearly presents Mary Magdalene as the ideal disciple it came to light in 1896 in Cairo and it's a rather short little text but absolutely remarkable it's a story about Jesus resurrection appearance the disciples are distressed worrying that what happened to him will happen to them [Music] they wept greatly saying how shall we go to the Gentiles and preach the gospel of the kingdom of the son of man if they did not spare him how will they spare us then Mary stood up greeted them all and said to her Brethren do not weep and do not grieve or be irresolute for his grace will be with you and will protect you Mary may never have spoken those words but some early Christians clearly believed that she did and took her as their example she is as important as far as I can see as Peter is for certain groups within the early Church in fact there's a certain competitiveness between Peter and Mary of magdala she is a major leader in the early church if there was a struggle between the followers of Peter and Mary it was clearly Peter's party who won Christianity developed an identity that was incompatible with the Gospel of Mary the gospel said that Jesus had given secret Revelations to Mary but secrecy could have no place and a religion open to everyone and the religion turned the 12 male Apostles into figureheads mirror images of the kings of the Twelve Tribes of Israel so ideas about female leadership in the Gospel of Mary became dangerous [Music] in the Gospel of Mary we find the strongest argument for the legitimacy of women's teaching and leadership in any early Christian text and it does so not by arguing that women are in any sense Superior to men but arguing that gender whether one is male or female has no role in deciding the question of leadership the question of leadership is a base is based on spiritual maturity the early Christians met to worship not in especially built churches but in their houses in the first half of the first century I think women are extremely important if you have a house Church women are in charge of the house if there is a Eucharist in a church the woman would be in charge she's in charge of the house that's her domain Lord give your servants courage to preach your word stretch out your hand in healing let signs and wonders be shown in the name of your holy Child Jesus but the women's role was changed by the great Christian lawmaker Saint Paul says that he forbids a woman to speak in church some woman somewhere was speaking and and the Orthodox party chopped down on that very very hard and women went into a position of of great oppression in the life of the church and I don't think they've emerged from that until this century the rest of Mary's life is said to have taken her far from the holy land to the kamag in the south of France with her were a number of companions including Mary Salome and Mary Jacoby who may have been the mothers of some of the Apostles [Music] that enemies of the Christians had put them in a boat with no sails no Wars and no food and set them to Sea to die but God's hand brought the boat safely to land the other two Mary's stayed here in the town named after them twice a year the statue is taken back to the sea in memory of the boat's safe arrival Mary Magdalene traveled Inland to convert to pagans many believe that her skull is here in a church of San maximum La Sant bone [Music] every year on her Saints Day it's taken in procession around the town [Music] this is a day of festivity and Noise but Mary is said to have ended her life in very different circumstances the Blessed Mary Magdalene sought quiet contemplation and went into the Wilderness to a place chosen by the angel of God and there she lived completely alone for 30 years without the comfort of running water or trees or plants and every day she was carried into the air by angels and heard the Glorious singing of the Heavenly Choir this contemplative Mary is very different from the woman who spoke out to the apostles conveniently for the church she is isolated and silent and she's also taken on a burden of sin [Music] in the 6th Century Pope Gregory the Great announced that Mary Magdalene was the same woman as the unnamed sinner in the gospel Who Weeps on Christ's feet dries them with her hair and anoints them they're very clearly two different people but Gregory the Great Amalgamated them and that is how Mary Magdalene the repentant prostitute came into being Mary was now saddled with her reputation she became a favorite subject for artists who used her as a warning against the sins of the flesh but at the same time enjoyed her erotic charge and in almost every picture she was associated with a jar of ointment with which she was now supposed to have Anointed The Living Christ Mary Magdalene became the archetypal sinner while the Virgin Mary was promoted as the ideal woman adopting Madeleine's former role as Jesus's faithful follower the two headline women in Christianity if you like in the New Testament are Mary the mother of Jesus and Mary Magdalene and they fulfill two stereotypes of women virgin and and those two very strong stereotypes simplistic stereotypes of of how women are are clearly defined by people who are other than women I men and it's interesting that they trash the Flesh and Blood woman and Elevate the sexless holy pure spotless virgin mother that's the way the church was dealing with the mentality that fleshes evil marry the repentant sinner became inextricably bound up with the church's uncomfortable relationship with sexuality you go forward into the 18th and the 19th century and you see women being incarcerated for the crime of being sexual beings unwed mothers and many of these were offered shelter and protection in what were called magdalins particularly in Ireland the Magdalene laundries were catholic workhouses that took in washing as labor for the women residents for 17 years I've been scrubbing the swashboard ever since the fella started an afternoon a mother poor soul didn't know what to do the cannon said child there's a place for you I'm serving in the time of the Magdalene laundry [Music] now some of them may have been what we call Fallen women some of them are just very pretty girls in a country that was beleaguered by poverty like Ireland who got locked up because they were so pretty they might have tempted the boys and that I'd call that incarceration [Music] in recent years these launders have come to be seen as symbols of repression the last closed less than 10 years ago one Magdalene in Dublin held the graves of over 130 women who died within its walls for it to be associated with such a powerful and strong woman as Mary Magdalene is terrible because if she was meant to be a patron saint for penitent women she was surely a way of offering them an identity that was about being a strong woman with Jesus with Jesus on your side not some kind of in the gutter who got dragged out and forgiven somehow through the penury of hard work thank you in 1969 a Catholic Church acknowledged that Mary was not the same woman as the repentant prostitute women's groups in the church are now working to redeem her from that centuries-old image with this new way of looking at her and going back to the gospels and seeing the strong courageous character there she gives a much better model for the woman that she actually was who can actually stand up and talk which is what she does in the Gospels with women now being ordained in the Protestant Church they're once again able to follow Mary's example and speak out father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit the Lord be with you and Welcome to our service this evening I think there is more of a willingness to listen to women on religious matters now and I think that has certainly been the case within my lifetime a reading from the book of Isaiah chapter one hear the word of the Lord you really saw Sodom listen to the teachings of our God you people of God Morrow I see Mary Magdalene as as a role model for myself because she is very much a determined woman a woman who has overcome her own difficulties she's flawed as we all are but she works to overcome those flaws and she has Christ Central to her life and her whole life is devoted to Christ Mary is a role model for women and men as are all the apostles they were people who loved Jesus Christ who took a risk who followed him um who were literally followers of the way and that way was a way of love and forgiveness for two thousand years are images of the Apostles have been altered by history and myth but as we have seen in these programs they still have an important place in modern culture and are an inspiration to Christians around the world [Music]

Channel: All Out History - Premium History Documentaries

Views: 263,737

Keywords: The Apostles, Jesus, christianity history, christianity debate, christianity explained, christianity documentary, melvyn bragg, Religion, saint peter, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Patron saint, All Out History, AlloutHistory, Allouthistory, allouthistory, AllOutHistory

Id: xv_ZvPXzpAw

Length: 228min 27sec (13707 seconds)

Published: Fri Dec 09 2022