JimEsteban.com

This is what I think

Jesus appointed us to be messengers who are all equal as brothers and sisters in Christ. So the apostolic role is not a leadership role it's just the job of taking Jesus's message to all nations that we are all supposed to be doing.. We are sent to share the message of our leader Jesus and the one who accepts the message and repents and turns to God and is baptized becomes a child of God just like us. This was the very thing that the Roman government did not like about Christ's Church because it would not aid them in controlling the population. They preferred the notion of the Apostles being unique and special so that so they would have a one to many relationship with the masses which would give the Roman government leverage to control the masses by controlling the leaders and they realized that controlling Jesus was not possible. Jesus never talks about leaders in the Gospels. His message is that he is the only leader. He is our Rabbi, the only one. We can assist others in acquiring the knowledge of of how to follow all of his commandments which is simply a one on one peer relationship where Jesus supplies the message and his disciples deliver it and with more disciples we can grow larger.

Paul gave the Roman government what they wanted by creating the leadership role called elders from disciples that are all equal with no authority to do so because messenger was not a leadership role it was a job that all of us were supposed to to.

Mat 23:8-12 (NASB) 8 “But as for you, do not be called Rabbi; for only One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers and sisters. 9 “And do not call anyone on earth your father; for only One is your Father, He who is in heaven. 10 “And do not be called leaders; for only One is your Leader, that is, Christ.

Jesus warns us about men who call themselves apostles but are not apostles. Rev 2:2  “I know all the things you do. I have seen your hard work and your patient endurance. I know you don’t tolerate evil people. You have examined the claims of those who say they are apostles but are not. You have discovered they are liars.