I was listening to podcast by Kris Vallotton who was talking about the origin of the word apostle. Apostle means sent or sent ones. The word was created by the Greeks but was adopted by Romans.
Rome had a different approach to conquering nations. Instead of just taking over the land and killing and/or enslaving the people, they would leave the people but that nation would come under the rule of Rome. The problem they were having is once they conquered a people the land wasn’t transformed, they still looked, talked, and functioned in the same way they always had. Enter in the apostles.
The apostles were government officials whose task was community transformation. When Rome expanded their territory they not only sent the military but they also sent the apostles, architects, musicians, politicians, people who were skilled in the different facets of Roman culture. This is where the saying, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.” When the land you lived in became under Roman rule, you became a Roman citizen and learned how to act like one.
An apostle was sent from Rome to the new Roman territory to transform it to look, feel, and act like it was the Rome he was sent from. The apostle job was not finished until the land they were sent to was transformed.
Jesus takes this governmental term and uses it to describe his disciples. And then he says in Matthew 28:19-20,
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
What would the Roman Emperor say to his apostles, “Go in the authority of Emperor and turn the new territory into Rome.”
Jesus is interested in causing this world to be conformed to the kingdom of heaven. And we are the people he has chosen for this very purpose. The way to create change and have influence is to become an expert in solving a particular kind of problem. Rome would send musicians, politicians, artists, tailors, philosophers to influence and create change. The vehicle to fulfill your purpose is your gifts. As you define, refine and deploy your gifts in the name of the king, the influence you have will create transformation. It’s for this purpose that you have been so equipped.