The Highway Forums General Discussion Open Forum Why didn't the Apostles go?

In our Sunday night bible study class at church we have just started Acts 8.In the first verse Luke tells us that due to the persecution in Jerusalem the new Christians were scattered abroad,except for the Apostles.The obvious question is why did they not leave?
From what I have been able to gather from my studies,there seems to be not much interest by the commentators,giving the subject only a sentence or two.Only Frank Stagg,professor of Greek at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, seems to be thorough in his answer.Whether he is right or wrong,I know not, therefore I bring the issue to the board here.
He says that the Apostles stayed in Jerusalem because none of them, at that time had tried to break down "the middle wall of partition."They were all still Jews,granted, Christian Jews but still Jews.None of the twelve had taken the iniative to preach to the Samaritans or the Gentiles.Only gradually did they investigate the truths that Stephen had given his life for.
This view dovetails nicely with Saul's rant.His furor was directed at a specific group;those who shared Stephen's liberal view.Just before being stoned Stephen gave his captors a review of Hebrew history,in which he demonstrated that God never limited Himself to one land ,and certainly not to the temple in Jerusalem."Holy ground" was any ground where God had been encountered.Many of the most cherished experiences of their fathers had taken place outside Palestine.
I realize that we are not to add to the scriptures ,but it just seems that there should be if not a theological answer then certainly a historical one.

My understanding has always been that the Apostles remained in Jerusalem because they tenaciously embraced the reality of their position as the core administrators of the Church. Looking through several commentaries on my shelves, I noticed that J.A. Alexander takes basically the same view. I'll quote him in full:

Methinks this is a much more reasonable explanation than the one suggested in your Bible Study.

I suppose the Apostles were increasingly aware of the historical nature of their calling and work.Its easy to believe they shared at the least and inkling of the fantastic success to come of the Kingdom even while they realized their part was to form the base on which the roots could grow.
Being godly men of an extremely small set they must have lived in a state of constant amazement and profound humility, and a yearning we cant really share to ,again , see His face.

Pilgrim's quote answers directly; It just wanst their job.

Thanks to you both.Do you place any validity in Mr. Stagg's view?
After thinking through the context of the preceding chapters I would imagine that the religious lords of Jerusalem would have been somewhat hesitant to put too much pressure on the Apostles as the story of Ananias and his wife was still fresh on their minds which would cause them to be fearful knowing that God might strike them dead as well.

To be honest, I wasn't that impressed with Mr. Stagg's speculation. Scripture does not provide all of what Jesus taught His disciples, for as the apostle John wrote, if all that was done was written down, the amount of written material would be staggering (Jh 21:25). I would expect that much more was said beyond simply stating the words which are best known as the "Great Commission" (Matt 28:19,20). It only seems reasonable that the Lord Christ explained in some detail what He expected of His faithful followers, especially the twelve in regard to their responsibilities, the resistance they would face and even the persecution which they would have to endure. More so, I cannot believe that a good part of His teaching did not concern His sacrificial death and resurrection. We read as much that He did. And, further, I would expect that He open the Scriptures and explained how He came to redeem not only Jews, but Gentiles as well. The disciples perhaps didn't quite grasp the world-wide significance of His teaching, but I do not think that there was the type of bigotry which Mr. Staggs seemed to suggest which would motivate them to remain in Jerusalem rather than bring the Gospel to those elsewhere; Samaritans and Gentiles.

Just my