Who Gets To Be Called An Apostle?

 

There is a question that has to be settled before anyone accepts the title “apostle”: Who gets to choose an apostle? The answer is not found in the ambition of a man, the decision of an organization, or the approval of other people. The answer is found in the Word of God. Jesus Christ chooses whom He appoints, and Scripture gives us witness after witness so that we can recognize what God has established.

Jesus Himself told us where to look when He said, “If you believed Moses, you would believe Me, because he wrote about Me.”, John 5:46. After His resurrection, Jesus met two disciples on the road to Emmaus and, beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, explained to them the things concerning Himself throughout the Scriptures, Luke 24:27. We therefore have Jesus' own authority to go back into Moses and look for what God was showing about Christ. We are not forcing Jesus into the Old Testament after the fact. Jesus told us that Moses wrote about Him. The Old Testament is not a separate story that has nothing to do with Christ; it is part of the witness that leads us to Him.

That brings us to a passage that I believe we have too often read without stopping long enough to notice what God actually put there. In Exodus 24, Israel has entered into covenant with God. Moses has read the Book of the Covenant to the people, the people have agreed to obey all that the LORD has spoken, and Moses has sprinkled the blood of the covenant upon them. Then God tells Moses to come up with Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel. The Hebrew text is very specific about that number: seventy. The passage says, “Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up. They saw the God of Israel, and under His feet was something like a pavement made of sapphire, as clear as the sky itself. Yet He did not raise His hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and they ate and drank.”, Exodus 24:9–11.

Think about what God chose to have written down. Moses went up with Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy elders. That is seventy elders plus the four men who are named separately, seventy-four men altogether. And what happened when they went up? They saw the God of Israel, and they ate and drank. Scripture did not have to tell us that they ate and drank if that detail had no significance. It is there. It is part of the Word. It belongs to the account of the covenant, and it deserves to be looked at rather than hurried past.

There is another detail here that matters for what we are studying. The seventy men in Exodus 24 are called elders. They are not called apostles. Moses is not called an apostle in this passage. Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu are not called apostles. They were chosen for what God had appointed them to do, but the Scripture does not give them the title “apostle.” That distinction becomes very important when we move forward to the ministry of Jesus, because Jesus also appointed and sent people without calling every person He sent an apostle.

Luke records that Jesus appointed others and sent them ahead of Him: “After this the Lord appointed others and sent them two by two ahead of Him into every city and place where He Himself was about to go.”, Luke 10:1. There is an important textual point concerning the number in this verse. Some ancient Greek witnesses read seventy, while others read seventy-two. Therefore, we should not pretend that the surviving textual evidence allows us to state with certainty which number stood in Luke's original wording. (I disagree with this because God’s Word witnesses Itself.) But the reading seventy is unquestionably part of the ancient textual tradition, and that is significant when we place Luke 10 beside Exodus 24. Exodus gives us seventy elders; the seventy reading in Luke gives us seventy others appointed and sent by Jesus. We can see that correspondence without pretending that the textual question does not exist. Exodus 24 is God’s witness to Luke 10.

But the number is not the whole point. The surrounding facts are what make the comparison worth examining. In Exodus, God appointed seventy elders for a particular purpose. In Luke, Jesus appointed 70 others and sent them out for a particular purpose. Yet Luke does not call those whom Jesus sent in Luke 10 “apostles.” That tells us something we cannot afford to miss: being sent does not automatically make a person an apostle. Jesus sent people for different purposes and gave different people different assignments. The fact that someone is sent does not give that person the right to take upon himself every title associated with being sent.

This is where the specific apostolic office established by Jesus comes into view. Luke tells us that when morning came, Jesus called His disciples to Himself, and “from them He chose twelve, whom He also named apostles.”, Luke 6:13. There were many disciples, but Jesus chose twelve from among them and named them apostles. That was His choice. That was His appointment. They did not establish the office for themselves, and they did not appoint themselves to it.

Mark records the same event and gives us the purpose of their appointment: “He appointed twelve, whom He also named apostles, to be with Him, and to send them out to preach and to have authority to drive out demons.”, Mark 3:14–15. Notice the order. Jesus appointed them. Jesus named them. Jesus sent them. Jesus gave them authority. The authority did not begin with the men. It came from Christ.

Jesus later stated this principle in words that are difficult to misunderstand: “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you.”, John 15:16. That is the heart of the matter. The disciple does not get to reverse the order and say, “I have chosen myself, therefore I am appointed.” Jesus says, “I chose you.” The choice originates with Him.

This same principle goes even farther back than the apostles, because Jesus Himself was sent by the Father. Jesus said, “I have not come on My own, but He who sent Me is true.”, John 7:28–29. And after His resurrection He told His disciples, “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”, John 20:21. The order is therefore clear: the Father sends the Son, and the Son sends those whom He chooses. The authority comes from the One doing the sending. The person being sent does not create his own authority by announcing that he has been sent.

We see the same principle when Judas is gone and the apostles need another man to take his place. The apostles did not simply decide that they would create another apostle according to their own preference. They established the qualifications, put forward two men, and then prayed, “Lord, You know everyone's heart. Show us which of these two YOU have chosen.”, Acts 1:24. They understood that the Lord was the One who knew the hearts and made the choice. Matthias was then numbered with the eleven apostles, Acts 1:26. Even in the replacement of Judas, the emphasis remains on whom the Lord had chosen.

Then we come to Paul, and Paul is essential to understanding this correctly because he was not one of the original twelve. Yet Paul was an apostle because Jesus Christ personally chose and commissioned him. Paul did not claim that men had made him an apostle. Quite the opposite. He began his letter to the Galatians by saying, “Paul, an apostle, not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead.”, Galatians 1:1. Paul deliberately identifies the source of his apostleship. It was not from men and it was not through man. It was through Jesus Christ and God the Father.

The account in Acts records the risen Christ confronting Paul, calling him, and giving him his commission, Acts 9:1–20; Acts 22:6–21; Acts 26:12–20. Paul also appealed to having seen the risen Lord when defending his apostleship, asking, “Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord?”, 1 Corinthians 9:1. Paul therefore does not destroy the principle that Jesus chooses apostles. He confirms it. The risen Jesus personally chose Paul.

Ephesians makes the source of the apostolic office even more direct: “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers.”, Ephesians 4:11. Christ Himself gives apostles. That is not something a person can manufacture by taking a title for himself. The One who gives the office is the One who has authority over the office.

That becomes especially serious when we come to Jesus' warning about people who claim something they do not actually possess. Jesus commended the church at Ephesus because they had tested those who claimed to be apostles and discovered that they were not: “You have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and you have found them to be false.”, Revelation 2:2. Paul likewise warned about people who presented themselves as apostles of Christ: “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ.”, 2 Corinthians 11:13. Scripture therefore does not tell us to accept an apostolic claim merely because somebody makes it. Scripture tells us that such claims can be tested.

Now let’s go back to Exodus 24 one more time. Seventy elders went up with Moses, Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu. They were appointed for that occasion. They saw the God of Israel. They ate and drank. They were present in connection with the establishment of the covenant. Fifteen centuries, or 1476 years later, Jesus appointed others and sent them ahead of Him, with seventy being the reading found in part of the ancient Greek textual tradition. Yet those people are not called apostles in Luke 10. Then, in contrast, Jesus specifically chooses twelve and names them apostles. Scripture is showing us something by the distinctions it makes. God can appoint and send people without giving them the apostolic office. Therefore, the mere fact that someone says, “I have been sent,” cannot settle the question.

And there is another connection in Exodus 24 that becomes impossible to ignore when we look at what Jesus does. Exodus 24 is a covenant scene involving blood, and immediately after that covenant is established, the appointed men go up and eat and drink in God's presence. Then Jesus comes and establishes the new covenant, and He does so in the presence of His chosen apostles. He takes the cup and says, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is poured out for you.”, Luke 22:20. The earlier covenant and the new covenant are not identical, but the pattern is there: covenant, blood, appointed people, and a meal. Jesus takes the covenant language and brings it into Himself.

This is why the principle of Scripture witnessing to Scripture matters so much here. God does not need us to manufacture connections for Him. He has already placed His witnesses throughout His Word. The command concerning two or three witnesses establishes a biblical principle for establishing a matter, Deuteronomy 19:15. Jesus tells us that Moses wrote about Him, John 5:46. Jesus then opens Moses and the Prophets and the Scriptures to show His disciples what concerned Him, Luke 24:27. So when we find something in Moses that later appears again around Christ, we do not have to dismiss it simply because it occurred centuries earlier. We examine the witness God has given us.

That is why the seventy deserves our attention. The seventy elders of Exodus 24 are an explicit biblical number. The seventy reading in Luke 10 is an ancient textual reading. The surrounding circumstances involve appointment and sending in both passages. Yet Jesus does not call everyone He sends an apostle. The comparison therefore does not tell us that “seventy” means “apostles.” It shows us something more precise: God appoints people for particular purposes, and the nature of the appointment comes from the One who appoints them.

The number itself is not the foundation of apostleship. Jesus choosing is the foundation. The seventy is part of the witness we can examine, but Jesus' own choosing of His apostles is stated directly more importantly, repeatedly. Luke tells us that He chose twelve and named them apostles. John tells us that the disciples did not choose Him; He chose them. Acts records the apostles asking the Lord to show whom He had chosen. Paul says his apostleship was not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ. Ephesians says Christ Himself gave some to be apostles. Revelation warns that some people could claim the title and still be false.

That leaves us with a standard that does not depend upon human opinion. The question is not whether someone wants the title. The question is not whether other people recognize the title. The question is not whether a person has gathered a large following or built a ministry or possesses a gift of leadership. The question is whether Christ Himself chose and commissioned that person as an apostle.

And this brings us back to where we began: Moses. Jesus told us that Moses wrote about Him. Exodus gives us seventy elders going up into the presence of God, seeing God, and eating and drinking in connection with the covenant. The Gospel accounts give us Jesus appointing and sending others, and Jesus specifically choosing and naming apostles. The new covenant is established in the blood of Jesus, and Jesus sits at the table with those whom He has chosen. The earlier Word and the later Word are not competing stories. They are witnesses that lead us to the same Lord.

The apostles therefore cannot be the center of the story. The seventy cannot be the center of the story. Moses cannot be the center of the story. Paul cannot be the center of the story. Even the office of apostle cannot be the center of the story. Jesus Christ is the center, because He is the One the Father sent, the One who chooses, the One who appoints, the One who sends, the One who establishes the covenant, and the One whom Moses and all the Scriptures testify about.

The question Scripture leaves before us is therefore very simple: Who chose them? If Christ Himself chose and commissioned them, then the appointment belongs to Christ. If Christ did not choose them, a human title cannot make His appointment real. The Word has already given us the standard, and the standard does not point toward a man seeking a title. It points back to the One who has all authority. It is all Jesus Christ, my Messiah.

Prayer:
Father, I praise You because You are faithful, Your Word is true, and Your Word confirms Your Word. I worship You because You alone are God, and You alone have the authority to choose, appoint, and send. I praise You for Jesus Christ, my Messiah, whom You sent and through whom You have revealed Your truth.

Lord Jesus, I worship You as my Messiah, my Savior, and my Lord. Open my eyes to see Your Word clearly and my heart to receive what You show me. Keep me from following the traditions or titles of men, and keep my eyes fixed on You. Let everything I learn and everything I teach point back to You and give You glory.

Father, give me wisdom, discernment, and humility as I study Your Word. Let Your truth be established in my heart, and let my life honor the One who chose me.

It is all Jesus Christ, my Messiah. Amen.

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Don't take my word for it. Like the Bereans in Acts 17:11, search the Scriptures daily to see whether these things are so. Open your Bible, study God's Word for yourself, and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you into all truth. Don't simply accept my conclusions. If what I've written agrees with Scripture, hold fast to it. If it doesn't, let God's Word be your final authority.

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© AMKCH 2026

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