Page "John the Apostle" Paragraph 9

There is no other information in the Bible concerning the duration of this activity in Judea.

According to tradition, John and the other Apostles remained some 12 years in this first field of labor, until the persecution of Herod Agrippa I led to the scattering of the Apostles through the various provinces of the Roman Empire.

In any case, a messianic community was already in existence at Ephesus before Paul's first labors there ( cf.

" the brethren "), in addition to Priscilla and Aquila.

While he remained in Judea and the surrounding area, the other disciples returned to Jerusalem for the Apostolic Council ( about AD 51 ).

Paul, in opposing his enemies in Galatia, recalls that John explicitly, along with Peter and James the Just, were referred to as " pillars of the church " and refers to the recognition that his Apostolic preaching of a gospel free from Jewish Law received from these three, the most prominent men of the messianic community at Jerusalem.