Conference with John's Apostles 

This conference between the two groups was not planned. It happened spontaneously during the first week of October in 27 CE when some of Jesus’ apostles went for supplies at a village near their campsite on Mount Gilboa. At the marketplace, they chanced to meet some of John the Baptist’s apostles. John’s men were then invited to join them at the camp and that was how the conference was initiated. Mount Gilboa is located about fifteen miles (24 km) south of the Sea of Galilee in what is now Israel. It was about the same distance from Jesus’ boyhood home, Nazareth, but to the southeast.

Abner was the leader of John’s apostles while John was in prison. Abner had urged John to appoint twelve apostles as Jesus had done. When they were invited to Jesus’ campsite, Abner sent for John’s other apostles. By the beginning of the second week of October, all twelve were assembled at the Gilboa camp. For three weeks these twenty-four men were in session three times a day and for six days each week.

In the first week of this three-week conference, Jesus mingled with the two sets of apostles in between their morning, afternoon, and evening sessions. They wanted Jesus to preside over their joint deliberations, but he steadfastly refused. He did agree to speak to them on three occasions. The topics were sympathy, cooperation, and tolerance.

The leaders of the two groups of apostles, Andrew and Abner, alternated in presiding over their joint meetings. They had many difficulties to discuss and numerous problems to solve. Again and again, during the first week of this three-week conference, they would take their troubles to Jesus, only to hear him say:

“I am concerned only with your personal and purely religious problems. I am the representative of the Father to the individual, not to the group. If you are in personal difficulty in your relations with God, come to me, and I will hear you and counsel you in the solution of your problem. But when you enter upon the coordination of divergent human interpretations of religious questions and upon the socialization of religion, you are destined to solve all such problems by your own decisions. Albeit, I am ever sympathetic and always interested, and when you arrive at your conclusions touching these matters of nonspiritual import, provided you are all agreed, then I pledge in advance my full approval and hearty cooperation. And now, in order to leave you unhampered in your deliberations, I am leaving you for two weeks. Be not anxious about me, for I will return to you. I will be about my Father’s business, for we have other realms besides this one.”

Jesus then departed and was seen no more for two full weeks.

After Jesus left, it was a week before the twenty-four could settle down to the serious consideration of their problems. They were distressed by the absence of the Master but they finally returned to their discussions even when they could not go to him for help.

The first item the group agreed on was the adoption of a prayer, one which Jesus had recently taught his apostles. It was unanimously voted to accept this prayer as the one to be taught to believers by both groups of apostles.They next decided that, as long as John lived, whether in prison or out, both groups of twelve apostles would go on with their work, and that joint meetings for one week would be held every three months at places to be agreed upon from time to time.

But the most serious of all their problems was the question of baptism. They finally agreed: As long as John lived, or until they might jointly modify this decision, only the apostles of John would baptize believers, and only the apostles of Jesus would administer final instructions to new believers. They then voted that, in case of John’s death, the apostles of Jesus would begin to baptize with water as the emblem of the baptism of the divine Spirit. Accordingly, from that time until after the death of John (January 10, 28 CE), the apostles of John accompanied Jesus and his apostles to baptize believers.

It was next agreed, in case of the death of John, that John’s apostles would present themselves to Jesus and become subject to his direction. But no agreement was reached about what to preach until John’s fate was determined. John’s apostles, like John, preached repentance and baptism. Whether Jesus’ apostles should do likewise came up for discussion, but no binding decision was made. John’s group continued to preach, “Repent and be baptized” while Jesus’ apostles proclaimed, “Believe and be baptized.”

Many other minor matters were considered, and their solutions were unanimously agreed upon. These twenty-four men had a truly remarkable experience during these two weeks when they were compelled to face problems and compose difficulties without Jesus. They learned to differ, to debate, to contend, to pray, and to compromise, and throughout it all to remain sympathetic with the other person’s viewpoint and to maintain at least some degree of tolerance for others’ opinions.

On the afternoon of their final discussion of financial questions, Jesus returned, heard of their deliberations, listened to their decisions, and said: “These, then, are your conclusions, and I shall help you each to carry out the spirit of your united decisions.”

Two and a half months from this time, John was executed, and throughout this intervening period, the twelve apostles of John remained with Jesus and his twelve. The Gilboa camp broke up on November 2, 27 CE. Throughout November and December, Jesus and the twenty-four worked quietly in the Greek cities of the Decapolis. This was really the end of that preliminary period of taking over John's work and organization.

This endeavor by Jesus' disciples to synchronize disparate endeavors, reconcile differences of opinion, structure collective endeavors, establish regulations regarding external rituals, and foster communal religious practices was a preview of things to come. Later, after Jesus had departed, this experience proved to be very beneficial for them.