The Twelve
Notes
Transcript
Opening Illustration
Opening Illustration
Chronicles of the past record numerous instances in which a small group of men facing overwhelming odds changed the course of history.
Such events, often memoralized in books and movies, have become the stuff of legends.
One of the earliest took place at the battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC during the Persian invasion of Greece.
A small rearguard led by King Leonidas I of Sparta, consisting of 300 Spartans and several hundred men from other Greek city-states, faced hundreds of thousands of Persians led by Xerxes (the Ahasuerus of the book of Esther).
Despite being hopelessly outnumbered, Leonidas and his men refused to retreat or surrender.
In fact, when a Persian emissary demanded that they lay down their weapons Leonidas replied defiantly, “Come and get them.”
Though Leonidas and most of his men died defending the narrow pass, their courageous stand allowed the bulk of the Greek army to escape and survive.
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The Bible illustrates the principle that God has often turned history using a few people, or even an individual, to accomplish His purposes.
He chose Gideon to deliver the people of Israel from their Midianite oppressors.
At God’s command, Gideon’s initial force of thirty-two thousand was reduced to ten thousand.
But lest the people boast that the deliverance was from their own strength, God directed Gideon to further reduce his force to three hundred men.
The Lord used Gideon and that small force to rout the vast forces arrayed against them.
Later in Judges, God used Samson to singlehandedly deliver the people of Israel from their perennial enemies the Philistines.
Still later in Israel’s history, Elijah alone was enabled to triumph over 450 prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel.
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Just as God used individuals such as Gideon, Samson, and Elijah, to change the course of Israel’s history, so also in the New Testament He used twelve men to change the course of the world’s history.
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So, please turn your Bibles to the Gospel of Luke.
We will conduct our study in Chapter 6 and focus on verses 12 through 16.
Our message this morning is titled, “The Twelve”
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This message today will focus on those common, ordinary men, chosen, trained, and commissioned by the Lord Jesus Christ...
They are the subject of this section of Luke’s gospel...
Along with what Jesus did before selecting these men.
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So, this morning we will cover three main points:
Importance of Prayer...
The Faithful...
And...
The Traitor.
Opening Prayer
Opening Prayer
Before we consider our text, please join me in prayer...
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Heavenly Father...
Our mighty God and sovereign ruler!
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Search us and reveal our short comings...
And then give us a pure and clean heart...
So, we can better serve You!
So, we can give You more due praise and honor!
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Reveal Your desire to us...
Reveal what each one of us is specifically called to do...
And give us the discernment to see that truth...
And the boldness to act upon it.
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Prepare me now as I am about to open Your Word and proclaim Your truth...
Open the ears of all who hear this message...
And may we all surrender to the life saving and eternal truths contained in Scripture.
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And it is in Jesus’s name we pray all these things...
Amen.
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Let’s turn to our text for today:
Reading of the Text
Reading of the Text
12 In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God.
13 And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles:
14 Simon, whom he named Peter, and Andrew his brother, and James and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew,
15 and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot,
16 and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
So, let’s look at our first point...
1) Importance of Prayer
1) Importance of Prayer
Verses 12-13: In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles:
Luke throughout his Gospel account frequently shows Jesus in prayer.
As it says in Luke 5:16:
16 But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.
So, know that prayer was a frequent part of His ministry and life.
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Additionally, Luke shows Jesus specifically praying before major events in His ministry.
In this particular cases, Jesus is praying before He selects the twelve apostles from His larger group of disciples.
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But before we get to the twelve...
Let’s walk-trough some of those other instances that Jesus was seen to be in prayer about...
By going through this together we can witness Jesus’ view of prayer and the way we should view it too.
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Let’s start at Luke 3:21 which says:
21 Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened,
This take place right before Jesus starts His earthly ministry and was led into the wilderness to be tempted as it says in Luke 4:1-2:
1 And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness
2 for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry.
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In Luke 9:18 the Word of God says:
18 Now it happened that as he was praying alone, the disciples were with him. And he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”
Here we witness that Jesus clarifies who He is and What His main mission is to His disciples as it says in Luke 9:20-22:
20 Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered, “The Christ of God.”
21 And he strictly charged and commanded them to tell this to no one,
22 saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”
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Next, just eight days later it says in Luke 9:28-29:
28 Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray.
29 And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white.
Notice that before the transfiguration...
Before Jesus showed His divinity to His inner three disciples...
They were praying.
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In Luke 11:1 we see that before Jesus teaches the disciples how to pray themselves...
Before He provided them with the Lord’s prayer as a template...
He Himself was praying:
1 Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.”
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In Luke 22:31-34 we learn that Jesus has been praying that Peter’s faith may not fail after He reveals to Peter that he will deny Him three times:
31 “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat,
32 but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”
33 Peter said to him, “Lord, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death.”
34 Jesus said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow this day, until you deny three times that you know me.”
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Lastly, in Luke 22:40–46 Luke records this:
40 And when he came to the place, he said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.”
41 And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed,
42 saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”
43 And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him.
44 And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
45 And when he rose from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow,
46 and he said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation.”
Before the crucifixion...
Before being arrested and abused...
Knowing full well that all this was going to happen...
Jesus was in prayer.
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This is quite profound...
Have you ever heard people talking about how they would live there last day on earth if they knew it was going to be their final day...
Or if someone knew they were going to be imprisoned how they would live their last days of freedom.
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Many would want to accomplish something on their bucket list...
Many would party it up with family members and loved ones...
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Jesus spent His time with the Father in prayer...
That was what matter to Him.
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After looking at all this...
I believe we need to all challenge ourselves to put prayer at a more superior spot within our lives...
We need to see the true value and importance of prayer...
The way Jesus saw prayer.
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Another point needs to be made about the fact that Jesus did not just pray...
But He was praying all night...
So, clearly this was a major decision...
And clearly Jesus desired to be united with the Father’s will.
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The New International Commentary on the New Testament on Luke has this great note:
“Here we are told that before choosing the apostles He spent a whole night in prayer, alone on a mountain.
The step which He was about to take was a very momentous one.
The whole future of His Church depended, humanly speaking, on the choice to be made by Him.
His choice must be in perfect agreement with the will of His Father.
That was the reason why He spent so many hours in praying to Him.
How incomprehensible and paradoxical to our human intellect is the fact that He, according to God’s will, should also choose Judas, who would subsequently become His betrayer!
Was this not also a special reason why the Saviour spent such a long time in prayer?
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The Saviour, who is God as well as perfect Man, spent a whole night in prayer to the Father before He had to make an important choice.
How much more urgently necessary it is for us, as erring mortals full of failings, to have the closest communion with Him in constant prayer!”
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The early church learned to imitate this practice of prayer before important decisions and this is recorded in verses like Acts 6:6 which says:
6 These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them.
Additionally, Acts 13:2–3 says:
2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
3 Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.
And Acts 14:23 says:
23 And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.
So, today, in our walk with the Lord...
We need to make prayer a crucial part of our daily life...
And especially in times of making important decisions.
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Now before we move on to our next point...
We need to define a few terms...
The word “disciple” means “student” and is one who is being taught by another.
So, Christ had many disciples...
In fact, at one point in his ministry we know He sent 72 disciples out in pairs to proclaim the gospel as it says in Luke 10:1:
1 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go.
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The word “apostle” refers to a qualified representative who is sent on a mission.
Additionally, the word has the meaning of an “authorized messenger” who is someone sent to act on behalf of the one who has commissioned him.
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So, on this occasion, Jesus chose 12 individuals from His group of disciples...
And He specifically commissioned them as apostles...
That is they were the “sent ones” with a special authority to deliver His message on His behalf...
For an apostle of Jesus must be commissioned directly by Jesus...
Only the twelve and Paul fall under that category.
As the Reformation Study Bible says:
“Paul describes himself as ‘apostle,’ but not his associates.
A man who held the office of apostle was an eyewitness of the resurrection who had been personally appointed by Christ to govern the early church, and to teach or write with authority as one who had received special revelation from God.
The term is used as a title of the twelve disciples and Paul in a distinctive sense.”
The ESV Study Bible adds this note about apostles:
“They established and governed the whole church, under Jesus Christ, and they had authority to speak and write the words of God, equal in authority to the Old Testament Scriptures.
Paul was called to be an apostle when Jesus appeared to him on the Damascus road, and the unusual timing of his call led Paul to conclude that no more apostles would be chosen after him.”
Paul claiming to be the last apostle is found in 1 Corinthians 15:8 which says:
8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.
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So, there are no modern day apostles...
Anyone who makes that claim should immediately raise up a red flag for you that that individual is a false teacher.
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Now, let us bring our attention to the ones who were called by Christ after an intense night of faithful prayer to the Father...
And of the twelve men called...
Let’s start with those who were faithful...
And this takes us to our second point.
2) The Faithful
2) The Faithful
Verses 14-16(a): Simon, whom he named Peter, and Andrew his brother, and James and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot, and Judas the son of James,
So these are eleven of the twelve men called to be Jesus’ closest companions...
These men, although falling short in many ways and stumbling sometimes in very big ways...
Remained faithful to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
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And as we will see...
These men were nothing special by the standards of the world...
In fact, some were very much looked down for the trade that they were involved in...
Simply put, these were just a group of ordinary men.
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Yet, as the MacArthur New Testament Commentary on Luke says:
“Throughout redemptive history, God has chosen ordinary people to do extraordinary things, a truth that the apostle Paul emphasized in 1 Corinthians 1:20–29.
[That passage says:]
20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?
21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.
22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom,
23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles,
24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.
27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;
28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are,
29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.
God chose Abraham, an idolater, to be His friend and the father physically of Israel and spiritually of believing Gentiles.
Joseph entered Egypt as a slave, rose in God’s providence to be the prime minister, and was used by God to preserve His people.
After spending forty years in exile in the land of Midian, Moses, the murderer, was used by God to deliver Israel from bondage in Egypt.
A harlot named Rahab from the destroyed Canaanite city of Jericho became an ancestor of the Lord Jesus Christ and an example of a faithful believer.
David went from being a lowly shepherd to delivering Israel from the Philistines by killing Goliath, and eventually became Israel’s greatest king.
And despite living in the wilderness, wearing rough clothing, and eating a wild diet, John the Baptist was declared by our Lord the greatest man who ever lived.
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Consistent with that pattern, when Jesus chose twelve men to be His official representatives, He chose common, ordinary men.
The Twelve were not from the established religious elite;
None were Pharisees, Sadducees, priests, Levites, rabbis, or scribes.
None were exceptionally wealthy (with the possible exception of Matthew, who gained what he had by extorting his fellow Israelites).
Nor were the apostles chosen from the intellectual elite—the Old Testament scholars; the literate; highly educated; the theologically astute.
Instead, they were “uneducated and untrained men,” noteworthy only for “having been with Jesus.”
Several were fishermen, one was a tax collector and hence a traitor to his people, another was a political revolutionary.
All except for Judas Iscariot were Galileans, scorned as unsophisticated and uncouth by the more cultured Judeans.
Yet the lives and ministries of these men (minus Judas Iscariot and including Paul) would change the course of history.
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The Twelve were a diverse group, not only in their occupations, as noted above, but also in their political views.
Matthew and Simon, for instance, could not have been further apart.
Matthew was a tax collector, a traitor who served the Roman occupiers by exploiting his own people.
Simon, on the other hand, was a member of the Zealots, a faction radically opposed to Rome.
Some of them, known as the Sicarii for the concealed daggers they carried, were terrorists.
They resorted to kidnapping or even murdering Romans and Jews they suspected of being loyal to Rome.
Were it not for their common devotion to Jesus Christ, Simon may well have murdered Matthew.
It was that same devotion that molded all twelve men, different as they were in occupation, temperament, and political views, into a cohesive unit.”
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Having proclaimed and enacted the arrival of God’s kingdom, Jesus now appoints others to multiply its effects...
Echoing the twelve tribes of Israel, the twelve apostles likely serve as a symbolic reconstitution of the people of God around Jesus’ mission and teaching.
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Pastor John MacArthur in his commentary on this section shares some great insight on each of the Twelve...
In fact he dedicated multiple chapters to discuss these apostles...
So, I would like to share a few key comments that stood out to me and that I believe will be beneficial for our study...
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On Peter he said:
“There is no clearer example in Scripture of how God builds a spiritual leader than Peter.
He was chosen and equipped by the Lord to be the spokesman for the Twelve, and as such is the most prominent of the apostles.
Peter is mentioned more often in the gospels than anyone else except Jesus.
None of the Twelve spoke as often as Peter did, nor did the Lord address anyone else as often as Peter.
None of the disciples was so often rebuked by Jesus as Peter was, and no disciple had the temerity to rebuke the Lord except Peter.
No one confessed Christ’s true identity more boldly and explicitly than Peter, yet paradoxically, no one denied Him as vehemently and publicly as did Peter.
No one received higher praise from Jesus than Peter, but neither did He address anyone else as Satan.
Yet God took this common man with an ambivalent, vacillating, impulsive, unsubmissive personality and molded him into the unquestioned leader of the Twelve and the boldest, most powerful preacher in the early years of the church.
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Along the way, Peter suffered persecution and imprisonment.
Eventually, as the Lord had predicted, he was martyred for his unswerving faith in Jesus Christ.
According to tradition Peter, after being forced to watch his wife’s crucifixion, was himself crucified—head downward at his own request, since he felt himself unworthy of dying as his Lord had died.”
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On Andrew he said:
“The three scenes, in which Andrew plays a prominent role, reveal that he was first and foremost a missionary.
The passionate commitment of his heart was to bring people to Jesus.
He was without prejudice, willingly ushering Gentiles as well as Jews to the Savior.
Andrew was also a man whose faith overcame doubt, as in trusting that the Lord could possibly use the seemingly inadequate lunch of a young boy to accomplish His purposes.
Andrew also exhibited humility, being content to remain in the shadow of his famous brother and serve in the background.
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Andrew eventually paid the ultimate price for his devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ.
According to tradition a provincial governor, angered that Andrew had led his wife to Christ, had him crucified on an X shaped cross.
Despite the suffering he endured, Andrew continued to preach the gospel to the passersby for as long as he could speak.
He died as he had lived—bringing people to the Savior.”
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On James he said:
“Like his brother John, James was the son of Zebedee, a prosperous fisherman....
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James’s zeal too was sometimes misguided, and expressed in ways that were less than gracious or righteous.
On His way to Jerusalem for the final Passover of His ministry, Jesus ‘sent messengers on ahead of Him, and they went and entered a village of the Samaritans to make arrangements for Him.’
The Samaritans were...unwilling to ‘receive [Jesus].’
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Outraged at this egregious insult to Jesus, James, along with John, exclaimed angrily, ‘Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?’
A second incident reveals another side of James’s personality.
On this occasion James and John...Seeking the prominent places of honor beside Jesus...requested that the Lord grant them the privilege of sitting on His right and left hand.
James and John sought prestige, preeminence, and to be exalted above the rest of the apostles.
Needless to say, the Lord rejected their self-serving request and then gave all the disciples a much-needed lesson on the importance of humility.
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James sought power and prestige; Jesus gave him servanthood.
He sought a crown of glory; Jesus gave him a cup of suffering.
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James was the first of the Twelve to die, and the only one whose death is recorded in the New Testament.
The life of James offers convincing testimony that a passionate individual, controlled by love, can be a powerful instrument in the hands of God.”
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On John he said:
“With the exception of Peter, John is the apostle about whom most is known.
He was a member of the innermost group of the Twelve, those closest to Jesus, along with Peter, James, and Andrew.
Only Peter, James, and John were present at the healing of the synagogue official’s daughter, the transfiguration, and went inside Gethsemane with Jesus.
In fact, the designation of John as the disciple whom Jesus loved suggests that he may have been the closest of all the apostles to the Savior.
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As He did with the rest of the Twelve, Jesus molded and shaped John into the man He wanted him to be.
That involved learning that his zeal for the truth needed to be balanced with love, and indeed, those two things eventually came to characterize him.
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His deep concern for the truth caused John to be black and white; to see things in stark contrast; to express himself in absolutes and opposites.
John’s passionate devotion to the truth also prompted him to warn against the danger of false teachers, who twist and pervert the truth.
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John’s unwavering, unceasing preaching of the truth eventually led to his exile to the rocky, barren island of Patmos, off the coast of Asia Minor.
It was there that he received the amazing, incomparable series of visions that comprise the book of Revelation.
According to early Christian writers, John spent the last decades of his life in Ephesus.
He was the last of the apostles to die.”
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On Philip he said:
“The day after He called Andrew, John, and Peter, Jesus ‘purposed to go into Galilee, and He found Philip.’
And Jesus said to him, ‘Follow Me.’
‘Philip...immediately went and told Nathanael that he had found the Messiah.’
To instantly, unhesitatingly commit himself to Christ, with no hint of doubt or disbelief, was completely out of character for Philip, as his role in the feeding of the five thousand [and asking Jesus ‘Lord, show us the Father’] demonstrates.
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This skeptical, analytical, pessimistic man of limited ability, weak faith, and imperfect understanding was nonetheless one of the twelve most important people in the history of the world.”
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On Bartholomew he said:
“Philip’s close companion Bartholomew appears by that name in all four New Testament lists of the Twelve, but the apostle John calls him Nathanael.
Both names refer to the same individual.
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His only recorded appearance, apart from the lists of the apostles, is in John’s account of his call by Christ.
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According to some accounts, he ministered in India.
Other traditions place his ministry in Persia, Egypt, Armenia, and Asia Minor.
Nor is there any agreement about how he died.
What is clear is that Nathanael remained faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ to the end, as he had been in the beginning.”
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On Matthew he said:
“Although [Matthew, the former tax collector] was the author of one of the four Gospels, little is revealed in the New Testament about him.
Matthew himself in his own gospel and [Luke’s gospel] briefly describes his call by the Lord, and the reception for sinners he gave afterwards.
Matthew’s silence about himself in his gospel in particular reveals him to have been humble, self-effacing, and content to remain in the background.
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According to some accounts, he was burned at the stake, while others state that he was beheaded or stoned to death.
But in any case this man, who freely abandoned a lucrative, if criminal, career to follow the Lord Jesus Christ, never looked back.
Matthew willingly gave his all for Him to the very end.”
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On Thomas he said:
“[Thomas’s} skeptical reply to the other apostles’ claim to have seen the risen Lord Jesus Christ...has earned Thomas the nickname, ‘Doubting Thomas.’
In fact, that phrase [‘Doubting Thomas.’] has come to label a skeptical, habitually doubting person.
There is a strong tradition from the early centuries of the church that Thomas carried the gospel to India, where he was martyred.
Some accounts say that he was thrust through with a spear—a fitting form of martyrdom for the one whose doubts were forever banished when he saw the mark of the spear in the Savior’s side.”
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On James the son of Alphaeus he said:
“Despite his supreme privilege as one of the twelve men chosen by the Lord Jesus Christ to be His personal representatives, virtually nothing is known about James [the Less].
All that the New Testament reveals about him is that his father’s name was Alphaeus, his mother’s name was Mary, and that he had a brother named Joseph or Joses.
Since Matthew’s father was also named Alphaeus, it is possible that the two were brothers.
According to some traditions, he was martyred by crucifixion in Egypt.”
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On Simon the Zealot he said:
“Simon [was] a member of the radical Jewish faction known as the Zealots.
They were political radicals, the terrorists and assassins of their day, perfectly willing to murder the Romans and their Jewish collaborators.
By doing so, they believed they were doing God’s work.
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According to some traditions, he preached the gospel in Persia and Armenia, others place his ministry in the Middle East and Africa, while some even have him ministering in Britain.
Nor is there any agreement on the manner or place of his death, which some claim was by crucifixion, others by being sawn in two.”
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Finally, on Judas the son of James he said:
“Luke gave his formal name, Judas the son of James, while Matthew called him Thaddeus and, according to some less reliable Greek manuscripts, also gave him the name Lebbaeus.
Both Thaddeus and Lebbaeus are nicknames; Thaddeus literally means, ‘breast child,’ while Lebbaeus means ‘heart child.’
Both could be rendered by the contemporary term ‘momma’s boy.’
Those nicknames may indicate that Judas was the youngest child in his family.
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According to tradition, he may have preached in such places as Samaria, Syria, Mesopotamia, and Libya.
By some accounts Judas, the gentle, compassionate ‘momma’s boy,’ suffered martyrdom with the fiery, passionate, former Zealot Simon.”
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These men...
Despite there flaws...
Stood firm in the faith...
They ran the race with endurance...
And most of them paid with their life...
As John 15:19 the world hates the followers of Christ:
19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
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Although the world hated them...
Although they lost their lives in order to follow Christ...
The Lord did not forget them...
Not only was He with them...
Not only did He prepare them...
Not only did He love them...
He also blessed them eternally...
Just look at what it says in Matthew 19:28:
28 Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
So, the choice of these men was very intentional...
Every single one of them...
Even the selection of the one who was a betrayer.
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As the Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament on Luke says:
“Jesus brings into this important group a wide variety of men:
A fisherman, a tax collector, a political revolutionary, a skeptical man who later wanted clear proof of Jesus’ resurrection, and even a future traitor.
The choice of Iscariot is not to be seen as an accident, but itself was part of a series of events in which God’s hand was at work.”
And with that let’s go to our third and final point.
3) The Traitor
3) The Traitor
Verse 16(b): And Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
Pastor John MacArthur says:
“Judas had the unmatched privilege of being one of the twelve intimate followers of the Lord Jesus Christ during His earthly ministry.
Yet inconceivably, after more than three years of living constantly with the incomparably perfect Son of God, observing the miracles He performed, and hearing His unparalleled teaching, Judas betrayed Him to His death by selling Him to His enemies.
The dark, tragic story of Judas reveals him to have been the most profoundly wicked man in all of human history.
It graphically illustrates the depths of evil of which the human heart is capable, even in the very best of circumstances.
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He saw Christ’s miraculous power and fervently hoped that He would use it to throw off the yoke of Rome and establish His kingdom.
Judas’s motives, however, were not merely patriotic; he was also driven by greed and personal ambition.
He hoped to reap the benefits—power, prestige, and wealth—that would be his in the kingdom as a member of Christ’s inner circle.
It was materialism, not spiritual realities, that fueled Judas’s ambition.
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The biblical tension between divine sovereignty and human responsibility is evident in the calling of Judas, as it is with the rest of the Twelve.
They chose to leave everything and follow Jesus, but He chose them first.
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That the Lord Jesus Christ would be betrayed and die for the sins of the world was foreordained in the eternal counsel of God.
Centuries before it happened, the Old Testament prophesied Judas’s role in the betrayal of Jesus.
Psalm 41:9 says:
9 Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me.
Jesus told the apostles in the upper room that that prophecy would be fulfilled in His own betrayal.
Psalm 55:12–14 also refers to Judas’s betrayal:
12 For it is not an enemy who taunts me— then I could bear it; it is not an adversary who deals insolently with me— then I could hide from him.
13 But it is you, a man, my equal, my companion, my familiar friend.
14 We used to take sweet counsel together; within God’s house we walked in the throng.
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Zechariah 11:12–13 predicted the exact amount Judas would receive for betraying Jesus:
12 Then I said to them, “If it seems good to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.” And they weighed out as my wages thirty pieces of silver.
13 Then the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the lordly price at which I was priced by them. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord, to the potter.
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Matthew’s gospel cites that passage as a prophecy of Judas’s betrayal of Christ.
Thus long before Judas was born, his treachery was foreseen and designed into God’s eternal plan.
Jesus knew exactly the kind of man Judas was from the outset.
But He chose him so that the divine plan revealed in the Old Testament prophecies would be fulfilled.
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But on the other hand Judas freely chose to do what he did, and was fully accountable for his actions.
That his betrayal was predetermined in no way contradicts the truth that he acted of his own volition.
Jesus affirmed both realities when he said in Luke 22:22:
‘For indeed, the Son of Man is going as it has been determined [God’s sovereignty];
But woe to that man by whom He is betrayed [Judas’s responsibility]!’
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The monumental sin of betraying Jesus produced unbearable guilt.
Judas’s conscience immediately came alive and began tormenting him.
He was overwhelmed with remorse (but not genuine repentance).
In a desperate but faithless and futile bid to gain relief from his tormenting conscience, he attempted to return to the Jewish leaders the paltry sum (thirty pieces of silver; the price of a slave he had received from them.
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They contemptuously dismissed him, callously responding to his plaintive cry, ‘I have sinned by betraying innocent blood’ by telling him, ‘What is that to us? See to that yourself!’
This was the end of the line for Judas.
After throwing the thirty pieces of silver into the temple sanctuary, he went out and hanged himself.
In a fitting end to the tragic story of his life, he could not even do that successfully.
Either the knot came undone, or the rope or the branch to which it was tied broke, and Judas plunged to his death in a gory fashion.”
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So, how do we process this?
The shocking selection of Judas among the twelve apostles...
As we saw with Jesus’ prayer that took all night...
This selection of Judas was clearly part of a divinely guided process.
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First, we must understand that Judas was always wicked...
In fact, John the Beloved who served alongside Judas made it clear that Judas was always a thief...
And his outward displays of righteousness was a cover for his inward greed...
For example, look at what John 12:4–6 has to say:
4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said,
5 “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?”
6 He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it.
On top of his wickedness...
His refusal to heed the warning that Jesus said over and over again in his presence led to Satan entering him...
We know this from Luke 22:3–6 which says:
3 Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was of the number of the twelve.
4 He went away and conferred with the chief priests and officers how he might betray him to them.
5 And they were glad, and agreed to give him money.
6 So he consented and sought an opportunity to betray him to them in the absence of a crowd.
Not only did Judas betray Jesus...
But he betrayed him with a kiss...
In middle eastern cultures...
A greeting of a family member of friend involves a kiss on the cheek...
Here Judas chooses this...
A sign of love and friendship...
To betray God in the flesh!
As Luke 22:47-48 records:
47 While he was still speaking, there came a crowd, and the man called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He drew near to Jesus to kiss him,
48 but Jesus said to him, “Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?”
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Next, we must understand that Jesus was fully aware that Judas was going to betray Him...
In John 6:70-71 the Word of God says:
70 Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.”
71 He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray him.
And in John 13:16-18 it says:
16 Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.
17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.
18 I am not speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But the Scripture will be fulfilled, ‘He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.’
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So, we must wrestle with the fact...
That although our minds our limited...
God is totally sovereign and humans are totally responsible for their actions...
Both realities are true.
In fact, Romans 9 is a great chapter that captures these two realities...
And in this section from Paul’s letter to the Romans he uses the Old Testament to prove this has always been the reality.
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Let’s look at this together, Church...
Let’s start at Romans 9:9-13 which says:
9 For this is what the promise said: “About this time next year I will return, and Sarah shall have a son.”
10 And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac,
11 though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls—
12 she was told, “The older will serve the younger.”
13 As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”
Notice that Paul was being very intentional to point out that neither of the twins did anything good or bad...
So, God did not base His election on what Jacob did or would do...
He did not base His election on what Esau did or would do...
The idea that God looks into the future and makes His selection based on what we do is foreign to Scripture...
And this text along with many make that clear.
We are not chosen based on anything we have done, are doing, or will do!
If that was the case then we would be saved based on man’s will...
But salvation is fully of God’s will and desire.
So, God choose Jacob over Esau!
Why?
Jacob was just as much a sinner as Esau...
Jacob as a deceiver and a liar!
But the shocking part about this message is not that is says “Esau I hated”...
The shocking part is that it says Jacob I loved!
Both deserve God’s wrath...
But our of God’s mercy He shows grace to Jacob out of His own desire and purpose...
That is apart from Jacob’s will.
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Then in Romans 9:14-16 it says:
14 What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means!
15 For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”
16 So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.
The initial reaction of our flesh is that God is unfair to pick Jacob and not also pick Esau...
Our initial though is that God is acting unjustly...
But Paul says, “By no means!”...
Or put another way, “A thousand times No!”
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God made it clear long ago that He will have mercy on whom He will have mercy!
God has made it clear that He will have compassion on whom He will have compassion!
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So, Paul says it then does not depend on human will!
It does not depend on human exertion!
It is all about God’s grace!
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Do we as humans have free will?
Yes, we do!
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And with our free will we choose to sin and rebel against God!
We all with our free will have earned death!
And God would be just and right to give us eternal punishment for that is what we deserve!
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So, if today you are walking with the Lord...
Know that it was not by your own will or exertion...
Today you walk with the Lord because He choose to have mercy on you!
He choose to pure His grace on you.
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Judas was a sinner but so where the rest of the disciples...
Peter even denied Jesus three times!
Yet, God choose to have mercy on Peter...
And harden Judas’s heart...
And all of this was necessary to serve God’s purpose.
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As Romans 9:17-19 says:
17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”
18 So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.
19 You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?”
Why was Judas chosen to be one of the Twelve?
Because like rose up Pharaoh...
So, God also rose up Judas...
So, that God’s name may be gloried!
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There is no 10 plagues and spiting of the Read Sea without both a Moses and a Pharaoh!
Both were needed to show God’s power...
Both were needed to show the might of God!
There is no crucifixion without both a Judas and Christ!
Both were needed for salvation...
Both were needed for us to now have a way to God by Christ’s blood!
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And Paul knows...
This will not sit well with many...
As recorded they will say then, “Why does God still find fault?”
They will say, “For who can resist God’s will?”
An understandable reaction...
But a reaction from our flesh none the less.
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Paul responds boldly in Romans 9:20-23:
20 But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?”
21 Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use?
22 What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction,
23 in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory—
Are we to believe we can be judges over God?
Are we to claim to be more holy and noble than God?
Are we to claim we understand fairness better than God?
Are we...
His creation...
Going to speak back to God?
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Does God need our permission to do what He knows is right?
Does God need to answer to us for His perfect actions?
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Paul then says that God shows His wrath...
And rises up Pharaoh...
And rises us Judas...
And rises us other vessels prepared for destruction...
For a reason...
And that reason God hardening the hearts of those who already choose with their free will eternal death...
Is to make known the riches of His glory to those prepared for glory!
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Just like Pharaoh had a part to play so did Judas...
Without the betray he did to Christ...
There would be no crucifixion...
And nobody would escape eternal Hellfire!
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You want fair...
You want everyone to get what they deserve...
They we all get Hell.
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For those who claim God is unfair that is the alternative...
Satan also thinks God is unfair...
And that is his desire.
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But I like God’s plan a whole lot more...
God may be selective of who receives mercy...
But to the ones who experience His grace...
They experience God’s love and favor for an eternity!
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God’s grace is men and women not getting what they deserve...
God’s grace not a right or something we can ever earn...
God’s grace is simply a free gift...
And our job as believes it to tell other about the Good News of Christ...
Only God can change the heart...
So we pray...
And only God knows who are His elect...
So, we share the Gospel with all that we can.
Closing Illustration
Closing Illustration
So, as this message comes to a close...
I would like to share this that I came across in my study this week:
A Sunday school teacher asked if any scholar recollected an instance in Scripture of anyone making a bad bargain.
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“I do,” replied a boy, “Esau made a bad bargain when he sold his birthright for a mess of pottage.”
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A second said, “Our Lord tells us that he makes a bad bargain who, to gain the whole world, loses his own soul.”
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A third replied, “Ananias and Saphira made a bad bargain when they sold their land and then told Peter a falsehood about it.”
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A fourth observed. “Judas made a bad bargain when he sold his Lord for thirty pieces of silver.”
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God is totally sovereign...
But every human is responsible for their own actions...
Judas made the worst decision of His life in both betraying Jesus and refusing to repent...
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As people start searching for great Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals in the coming days...
Let us not ignore the best deal God offers...
Jesus in our place...
Jesus taking our sins...
And Jesus giving us His righteousness in exchange...
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It’s not fair that Jesus had to endure such suffering for us...
It’s not fair that He gives and we take...
But His sacrifice shows the love of God...
And it is truly amazing grace!
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To God be all the glory.
Amen.
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Please join us for one more song from the Praise Band.