The Apostles

This volume offers a critical examination of early Christian sources and narrates the community's development after Jesus' death, tracing belief in the resurrection and reported apparitions, the coming of the Holy Spirit, and the organization of the Jerusalem church. It describes internal structures such as the diaconate, the conversion of Hellenistic Jewish and Gentile converts, early persecutions including Stephen's death, missionary efforts led by figures like Philip and Barnabas, and Paul's conversion and departure on missions. It situates these events amid the political, social, and religious conditions of the first-century Mediterranean and reflects on the separation of the emerging movement from Judaism and the prospects for Gentile missions.