By the end of the first century AD, all of the apostles had died. However, their influence lived on – not only through their writings but also through oral tradition. The early Christians living in the second and third centuries heard many stories about the apostles from eyewitness accounts (either directly or indirectly), and some (most notably Clement of Rome, Ignatius, Papias, and Polycarp) were even discipled by the apostles. What did these writers say about the influence of the apostles on their lives? What stories did they tell of these great men?

The influence of the apostles

The early Christians respected the apostles and held on to every word they said. Early writer Papias, a disciple of the apostle John, wrote the following:

• “If, then, anyone who had attended on the elders came, I asked minutely after their sayings, what Andrew or Peter said, or what was said by Philip, or by Thomas, or by James, or by John, or by Matthew, or by any other of the Lord’s disciples: which things Aristion and the presbyter John, the disciples of the Lord, say. For I imagined that what was to be gotten from books was not so profitable to me as what came from the living and abiding voice.” – Papias (c. 120)

The early Christians wrote of the influence of the apostles in their own lives and around the world:

• “From Jerusalem there went out twelve men into the world. These men were uneducated and of no ability in speaking. But by the power of God, they proclaimed to every race of men that they were sent by Christ to teach the word of God to everyone.” – Justin Martyr (c. 160)
• “At that time [after the Ascension], His apostles were eleven in number. To them was added Matthias in the place of the traitor Judas. And afterwards Paul was added. Then they were dispersed throughout all the earth to preach the gospel as the Lord their Master had commanded them. For the next twenty-five years (until the beginning of the reign of Emperor Nero), they busied themselves in laying the foundations of the church in every province and city.” – Lactantius (c. 320)
• “It was by help of a divine power that these men taught Christianity and succeeded in leading others to embrace the word of God. For it was not any power of theirs of speaking . . . according to the arts of Grecian dialects or rhetoric that was the effective cause of converting their hearers. . . . For had the doctrine and the preaching consisted of the persuasive utterance and arrangement of words, then faith too . . . would have been through the wisdom of men and not through the power of God. Now, on seeing fishermen and tax collectors (who had not acquired even the merest elements of learning) . . . discoursing boldly about faith in Jesus – not only among the Jews, but also preaching Him with success among other nations – who would not inquire from where they derived this power of persuasion?” – Origen (c. 248)
• “‘When He, the Spirit of truth, will come, He will lead you into all truth’ [John 16:13]. He thus shows that there was nothing of which they [the apostles] were ignorant, to whom He had promised the future attainment of all truth by the help of the Spirit of truth.” – Tertullian (c. 197)
• “I am also of the opinion that there were many persons of the same name with John the apostle, who were moved to choose the same name because of their love, admiration, and emulation of him. In the same way, we find many of the faithful called by the names of Peter and Paul.” – Dionysius, Bishop of Alexandria (c. 262)

The writing of the Gospels

Early Christian writers Irenaeus and Origen recounted the author and purpose of each of the four gospels as well as the order in which they were written:

• “Matthew also issued a written Gospel among the Hebrews in their own dialect, while Peter and Paul were preaching at Rome and laying the foundations of the church. After their departure, Mark, the disciple and interpreter of Peter, also handed down to us in writing what had been preached by Peter. Luke also, the companion of Paul, recorded in a book the Gospel preached by Paul.” – Irenaeus (c. 180)
• “Concerning the four Gospels which alone are uncontroverted in the church of God under heaven, I have learned by tradition that the Gospel according to Matthew (who was at one time a tax collector and afterwards an apostle of Jesus Christ) was written first. He composed it in the Hebrew tongue and published it for the converts from Judaism. The second one written was that according to Mark, who wrote it according to the instruction of Peter. . . . And third was the one according to Luke, which he composed for the converts from the Gentiles. This is the Gospel commended by Paul. Last of all, there is the one according to John.” – Origen (c. 245)

Details about specific apostles

Clement of Alexandria, a teacher at the catechetical school in Alexandria, Egypt, told some of the oral traditions that were handed down regarding the apostles:

• “Christ is said to have baptized Peter alone. And Peter baptized Andrew; and Andrew [baptized] John. And the two of them baptized James and the rest.” – Clement of Alexandria (c. 195)
• “To James the Just, John, and Peter, the Lord imparted knowledge after His resurrection. These imparted it to the rest of the apostles, and the rest of the apostles to the Seventy, of whom Barnabas was one.” – Clement of Alexandria (c. 195)
• “They say in the traditions that Matthew the apostle constantly said that if the neighbor of an elect man sins, the elect man has sinned. For had he conducted himself as the Word prescribes, his neighbor also would have been filled with such reverence for the life he led as not to sin.” – Clement of Alexandria (c. 195)
• “Peter and Philip fathered children, and Philip gave his daughters in marriage. Furthermore, Paul did not hesitate to mention his ‘companion’ in one of his epistles. . . . He says in his epistle, ‘Do I not have the right to take along a sister-wife, as do the other apostles?’ [1 Cor. 9:5]. However, the other apostles, in harmony with their particular ministry, devoted themselves to preaching without any distraction. Their spouses went with them, not as wives, but as sisters, in order to minister to housewives.” – Clement of Alexandria (c. 195)

Peter

In the days of early Christianity, Peter was most well-known for preaching the gospel in Rome, founding its church, and suffering martyrdom at the hands of Emperor Nero:

• “The greatest and most righteous pillars have been persecuted and put to death. Let us set before our eyes the illustrious apostles. Peter . . . endured not one or two, but numerous labors; and when he had at length suffered martyrdom, he departed to the place of glory due to him.” – Clement of Rome (c. 96)
• “While Nero reigned, the apostle Peter came to Rome. Through the power of God committed to him, he worked certain miracles. And by turning many to the true religion, he built up a faithful and steadfast temple unto the Lord.” – Lactantius (c. 320)
• “Mark was the follower of Peter, when Peter publicly preached the gospel at Rome before some of Caesar’s equestrian knights.” – Clement of Alexandria (c. 195)
• “[The people of Rome] had seen the chariot of Simon Magus, his fiery car, blown into pieces by the mouth of Peter and vanish when Christ was named.” – Arnobius (c. 305)
• “They say, accordingly, that the blessed Peter, on seeing his wife led to death, rejoiced on account of her call and conveyance home. He called to her very encouragingly and comfortingly, addressing her by name and saying, ‘Remember the Lord!’ Such was the marriage of the blessed and their perfect disposition towards those dearest to them.” – Clement of Alexandria (c. 195)
• “Peter, the first of the apostles, was often arrested, thrown into prison, and treated with dishonor. He was finally crucified at Rome.” – Peter of Alexandria (c. 310)

Paul

Paul assisted Peter in founding the church at Rome, and both were eventually martyred there. The early Christians revered Paul for his wisdom, faith, and humility:

• “For neither I, nor any other such one, can come up to the wisdom of the blessed and glorified Paul.” – Polycarp (c. 135)
• “Paul also obtained the reward of patient endurance, after being seven times thrown into captivity. . . . After preaching both in the east and the west, he gained the illustrious reputation due to his faith. For he had taught righteousness to the whole world, and he came to the extreme limit of the west. He finally suffered martyrdom under the prefects.” – Clement of Rome (c. 96)
• “Let them also follow the example of the apostle Paul, who, after often-repeated imprisonment, after scourging, after exposures to wild beasts, continued to be meek and humble in everything. Even after his rapture to the third heaven and Paradise, he did not proudly arrogate anything to himself.” – Cyprian (c. 250)
• “The renowned Paul, having been oftentimes delivered up and brought in peril of death . . . was also himself beheaded in the same city [of Rome].” – Peter of Alexandria (c. 310)

John

According to the early Christians, John made his home in Ephesus:

• “The church in Ephesus was founded by Paul, and John remained among them permanently until the time of Trajan. It is a true witness of the tradition of the apostles.” – Irenaeus (c. 180)
• “John, the disciple of the Lord, who also had leaned upon His breast, did himself publish a Gospel during his residence at Ephesus in Asia.” – Irenaeus (c. 180)

Tertullian writes that, during the persecution of Emperor Domitian, “the apostle John was plunged into boiling oil, but was unhurt.” It is said that the entire audience converted to Christianity after seeing this miracle. Tertullian continues, “He was then banished to his island of exile [Patmos].” While at Patmos, John wrote the book of Revelation; and after his release, he returned to Ephesus, where he penned the Gospel of John:

• “When John said these things [in Revelation], he was on the island of Patmos, condemned by Caesar Domitian to labor in the mines. Therefore, it was there that he saw the Apocalypse. When he had grown old, he thought that he would eventually meet his end through suffering. However, Domitian was killed and all his judgments were thrown out. After he was released from the mines, John later delivered [to the churches] this same Apocalypse that he had received from God. . . . He later wrote the Gospel of the complete faith for the sake of our salvation. For when Valentinus, Cerinthus, Ebion, and others of the school of Satan [Gnostic teachers] were scattered abroad throughout the world, all the bishops assembled together to John from the neighboring provinces and compelled him to draw up his testimony.” – Victorinus (c. 280)
• “The fourth Gospel is that of John, one of the disciples. When his fellow disciples and bishops entreated him, he said, ‘Fast now with me for the space of three days, and let us relate to each other whatever may be revealed to each of us.’ On the same night, it was revealed to Andrew, one of the apostles, that John should narrate all things in his own name – as they called them to mind.” – Muratorian Fragment (c. 200)

At Ephesus, John continued training elders and appointing leaders in area churches:

• “On the tyrant’s death, John returned to Ephesus from the isle of Patmos. He then traveled to the adjoining territories of the nations, being invited, here to appoint bishops, there to set in order whole churches, there to ordain such men as were marked out by the Spirit.” – Clement of Alexandria (c. 195)

John wrote his Gospel and epistles specifically to counteract the teachings of Gnosticism, a heretical movement that was threatening to infiltrate the church. Polycarp, a disciple of John and bishop of the church at Smyrna, told of an encounter that the apostle had with the heretic Cerinthus:

• “There are also those who heard from [Polycarp] that John, the disciple of the Lord, going to bathe at Ephesus, and perceiving Cerinthus within, rushed out of the bath-house without bathing, exclaiming, ‘Let us fly, lest even the bath-house fall down, because Cerinthus, the enemy of the truth, is within.’ . . . Such was the horror which the apostles and their disciples had against holding even verbal communication with any corrupters of the truth.” – Irenaeus (c. 180)

The character, love, and faith of the apostle John is perhaps no more evident than in this story told by Clement of Alexandria:

• “Listen to a tale, which is not a tale but a narrative handed down and committed to memory, about the apostle John. . . . Having come to one of the cities not far off (the name of which some give [Smyrna]), . . . John looked to the bishop appointed, and seeing a youth who was powerful in body, comely in appearance, and ardent, he said, ‘This youth I commit to you in all earnestness, in the presence of the church and with Christ as witness.’ . . . And the presbyter took home the youth who was committed to him; and he reared, kept, cherished, and finally baptized him. After this, he relaxed his strict care and guardianship, under the idea that the seal of the Lord he had set on him was a complete protection to him.
• “But when the young man obtained premature freedom, some youths of his age who were idle, dissolute, and adept in evil things corrupted him. First, they enticed him with costly entertainment. Afterwards, when they robbed people on the highways at night, they took him along with them. Then they dared to band together for something greater. Gradually he became accustomed to their lifestyle. . . . Soon he entirely despaired of salvation in God. He no longer desired small acts of evil but perpetrated great exploits. Deciding that he was entirely lost, he made up his mind to accept the same fate as the rest. Taking them and forming a band of robbers, he became the captain of the bandits – the fiercest, the bloodiest, and the cruelest.
• “Time passed, and when some necessity arose, they sent again for John. When he had settled the other matters for which he came, he said to the bishop, ‘Come now, restore to us the deposit which I and the Savior committed to you in the presence of the church over which you preside.’ The bishop was at first confounded, thinking that it was a false charge about money which he did not get. . . . But when John said, ‘I demand the young man, and the soul of the brother,’ the old man, groaning deeply, burst into tears and said, ‘He is dead.’ ‘How and what kind of death?’ ‘He is dead,’ he said, ‘to God. For he turned wicked and abandoned the faith, and at last he became a robber. Now he has taken possession of the mountain in front of the church, along with a band like him.’ The apostle tore his clothes, struck his head with a great lamentation, and said, ‘It was a fine guard of a brother’s soul I left! But let a horse be brought to me, and let someone be my guide on the way.’ He rode away, just as he was, straight from the church.
• “On coming to the place, John was arrested by the robbers’ outpost. He neither fled nor pleaded with them, but cried, ‘It was for this I came! Lead me to your captain.’ Meanwhile, the captain was armed and waiting. But when he recognized John as he advanced, he was ashamed and turned to flee. John, forgetting his age, followed with all his might, crying, ‘Why, my son, do you flee from me, your old and unarmed father? Son, pity me. Fear not; you still have hope of life. I will give account to Christ for you. If need be, I will willingly endure your death, as the Lord endured death for us. For you I will surrender my life. Stand, and believe. Christ has sent me.’
• “When the young man heard, he first stood, looking down. Then he dropped his weapons, trembled, and wept bitterly. John approached and embraced him, the young man speaking when he could. He was baptized a second time with tears, yet he concealed his right hand [the hand that held the sword]. John assured him on oath that he would find forgiveness from the Savior. He fell on his knees and pleaded with the young man, kissing his right hand that was now purified by repentance; and he led him back to the church. John stayed with him to entreat with many prayers, strive along with him in continual fasting, and subdue his mind with instruction. He did not depart, as it is said, until he restored the young man to the church, presenting him as an example of true repentance and a token of regeneration.”

Conclusion

What would we give to sit at the feet of the apostle John, to hear Paul’s conversion story firsthand, to listen to Peter tell of his time with Jesus? Although we cannot talk with the apostles personally, we can read of their lives and teachings in the pages of Scripture and in the works of those who did sit at their feet – men like Clement of Rome, Ignatius, Papias, and Polycarp. Later writers who did not personally learn from the apostles were still very much aware of the oral tradition handed down to the churches, and they often wrote about the lives and teachings of these great men of faith. What a treasure we can find in the early Christian writings – if we only choose to look.