Page 40 - Disciples News Today

>> his letters to new christian communities, the epistles, make up a third of the new testament. his teachings show how determined he is to reach out to gentiles. >> jesus said, "go and make disciples of all the nations," and that meant not just the jews. >> if i were james and i had heard about paul and what paul was doing, i would be hugely frustrated. paul never met the human jesus. here was james, who was jesus brother, and this upstart was presuming to teach jesus message and go out among t...

>> in the gospel according to thomas, jesus tells his disciples when they want to find leadership after his departure, they should go to james. >> james was a very devout man. a second-century historian tells us that james was continually on his knees, praying so much so that he had calloused knees like a camels knees. >> james becomes the first bishop of jerusalem. >> my brother. >> he becomes a kind of rock of the movement in many ways because he provides the kind of stability that a new chris...

Print of the nails and put my finger in the mark of the nails and put my hand in his side, i will not believe. >> its really interesting that thomas doubts. hes straightforward, no nonsense, and this seems a little far-fetched, so in order to believe that jesus was resurrected, hes got to see it for himself, or hes just -- his constitution wont allow him to accept it. >> so fast-forward to the next recorded meeting of all the disciples, the 11, in the upper room, still behind locked doors. >> th...

>> so jesus and his disciples are having this lovely meal together. it has a great feeling of, you know, conviviality, very lovely and intimate, and all of a sudden, jesus just comes from this completely unexpected direction. >> this is my body, which is given for you. do this in remembrance of me >> jesus breaks bread in the last supper as an act of symbolism. he says that he breaks this bread in order to illustrate that his body too will be broken. >> i think when peter hears jesus speaking of...

Triumphant entry, he calls peter and all the apostles together for a meal. >> this is the cenacle, so called from the latin root for supper. this is actually a crusader church that was built on a 5th century tradition of this being the place of the last supper with jesus and his disciples. >> when jesus and his disciples meet for the last supper, theres a number of key events that have happened, open conflicts with the authorities, and the tension in the narrative is really ratcheting up. >> pet...

>> kerala, southwest india. around seven million christians here trace their faith directly to the apostle famous for his doubt. they believe their ancestors were baptized by one of jesus 12 disciples, thomas. >> stop doubting and believe. >> my lord, my god. >> thomas vanishes from the new testament after the resurrection, but his story is taken up by a third-century epic narrative, the acts of thomas. >> now, it seems that the acts of thomas preserves at least some historically accurate inform...

Shrine dedicated to the martyrdom of saint thomas. >> in terms of history of christianity in india, i think that declaration of thomas as the patron saint of india gave recognition to the long history, or long held history, of thomas christians. >> the story of saint thomas in the gospel is the story of the importance of faith, reason and doubt. doubt and faith are two sides of the same coin. >> my lord, my god. >> without jesus commission to his disciples to become apostles, that is to go out f...

To repent and turn towards god -- >> im not afraid of you! >> -- john the baptist had dared to speak truth unto power, and for this, he pays the ultimate price. >> i think he understood that he was a martyr. he was a martyr in the cause of something greater. he was a martyr in the cause of a beautiful kingdom of god on earth, which is what he had preached all his life. >> i see jesus and john as being very similar in terms of their conception of god, in terms of what they wanted people to do, in...

Before the crucifixion, so he recommits his life to jesus three times after the resurrection, committing to feeding the flock of the disciples, and ultimately being their leader. >> feed my sheep. >> "feed my sheep." its a beautiful, poignant moment of restoration. >> its the moment where peter is, once again, the rock. hes re-established as the rock who will be key in the early christian movement. >> peter was convinced that jesus was the messiah and became resolute in spreading that message. >...

Could say, "why not by thomas?" >> in bari cathedral in italy is a relic believed to have been venerated for over 1,700 years across the christian world. its said to be the arm that touched the resurrected jesus, the arm of saint thomas. >> so if the relics of saint thomas were found to be from the first century, that would be incredibly exciting. >> could this relic date to the time of jesus and help solve the mystery of what happened to the disciple famous for his doubt? >> thomas is present i...