Sunday Service 5-30-21 - Luke 6:12-19 - Choosing The Apostles

Luke 6 Sermon B (12-19) - Calling The Apostles In the face of rising opposition we saw in the previous unit, Luke now shows us the beginning of the reconstitution of the people of God around 12 new tribes ... finishing the story in Acts. 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. He prayed all night ... Why? Opposition, what to do? Choose 12 apostles, Who? Those guys. Perhaps his prayers were for the team he was about to form and the new community that they would build together in the face of opposition. Early Church emulated Christ's example of prayer: Acts 6:6 (ESV) 6 These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them. Acts 13:2-3 (ESV) 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. Acts 14:23 (ESV) 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. Having spent the night in prayer, Jesus is ready to act. He will make a selection from within the circle of disciples and train them for leadership. So, we can now assume that the selection of the apostles, each one is the deliberate and purposeful choice of a Sovereign God according to the counsel of His own will. ... And, it sheds interesting light on the ways of God ... "Regular" people, not celebrities, rich, powerful, influencers. None were insiders and a few would've been especially cast as spiritual outsiders - sinners, tax collectors. What qualified them? Jesus did. It was not their qualities that qualified them. Jesus said, "You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide". Talk about Jesus' calling of a group of varied individuals with varied backgrounds and gifts. Think about this variance: One was a tax collector working with the Romans to collect taxes, another was a Zealot plotting rebellion against the Romans specifically because they collected taxes. A great example of reconciliation in Christ. (1 Corinthians 1:26 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.) Always 3 groups of 4 (sometimes the 4 are in a different order, but always grouped in that way). Each one of these guys has a story ... a past and a future that we could spend a lot of time on. Like Simon (always first): He named Simon, Peter - not due to what he was but to what he would one day be. He was anything but a rock in the present and the near future. Like James and John, the Sons of Thunder (as Jesus affectionately called them) with James as the first martyr and John likely the last. Phillip who introduced Nathanael (aka Bartholomew) who infamously repeated the saying (can anything good come out of Nazareth), but whom Jesus then called "An Israelite in whom there is no deceit/guile". Thomas. James son of Alphaeus (aka the Lesser (younger or shorter)). Judas son of James (aka Thaddeus). Judas Iscariot. The group included even the man who was going to become a traitor, in order that, without in any way canceling human responsibility, God's counsel regarding the salvation of his people might be carried out. Luke 22:22 (ESV) 22 For the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed!" Acts 2:23 (ESV) 23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. Acts 4:27-28 (ESV) 27 for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! "Disciple" - Primary root involves thinking (learning), but Jesus makes clear that there is such a thing as a true disciple based on loyalty to Jesus and his word (John 8:31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples). So, the idea of a disciple puts together the idea of mindfully engaged loyalty, loyal learning. This mind is what separates man from animal. An animal can be loyal but does so more in the will than the mind. Loyalty in the will, engagement in the mind. "Apostle" - The Jewish concept of sending quite possibly serves as the background for the use of this term. If so, then the representative acts as one with authority equal to the sender. The Mishnah phrases the concept this way: "The one sent by the man is as the man himself" Unique office: Ephesians 2:20 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, Apply to us? We do not choose our calling in the church; God chooses it for us. This principle is basic to all Christian ministry. 12 Apostles - reconstitution of Israel, people of God. Luke 22:29-30 29 and I assign to you, as my Father assigned to me, a kingdom, 30 that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 24 elders around the throne in Revelation. Revelation 21:14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. Practical Lesson: Accomplished Through Prayer. "He spent the entire night in prayer to God." What an amazing power there is in earnest prayer. How tremendous are the results! After this All-Night Prayer Vigil Jesus accomplished the following: a. organized the church in its New Testament manifestation, making it an institution for the good of mankind; b. laid the foundation for world-wide missionary enterprise, a work that is still continuing. c. healed ever so many sick people (verses 17-19), thereby setting an example for all time of showing sympathy to and providing help for those in need; and d. preached an unforgettably beautiful sermon (verses 20-49), one that has been a source of blessing to many throughout the centuries and continues to hold its place among the most quoted portions of sacred literature. What points up the greatness of Jesus is that he took such men as these, and welded them into an amazingly influential community that would prove to be not only a worthy link with Israel's past but also a solid foundation for the church's future. Yes, he accomplished this multi-faceted miracle with such men as these, with all their faults and foibles. We should not fail to be impressed with the majesty of the Savior, whose drawing power, incomparable wisdom, and matchless love were so astounding that he was able to gather around himself and to unite into one family men of these different, even opposite, backgrounds and temperaments. Included in this little band was Peter the optimist (Matt. 14:28; 26:33, 35), but also Thomas the pessimist (John 11:16; 20:24, 25); Simon the one-time Zealot, hating taxes and eager to overthrow the Roman government, but also Matthew, who had voluntarily offered his tax-collecting services to that same Roman government; Peter, John, and Matthew, destined to become renowned through their writings, but also James the Less, who remains obscure but must have fulfilled his mission. Jesus drew them to himself with the cords of his tender, patient compassion. He loved them to the uttermost (John 13:1), and in the night before he was betrayed and crucified commended them to his Father, saying: "I have manifested thy name to the men whom thou gavest me out of the world; thine they were, and thou gavest them to me, and they have kept thy word.... Holy Father, keep them in thy name which thou hast given me, in order that they may be one, even as we are one.... I do not make request that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Consecrate them in the truth; thy word is truth. Just as thou didst send me into the world, so have I also sent them into the world. And for thy sake I consecrate myself, in order that they also may be truly consecrated" (John 17:6-19, in part) Ultimate Internship: He immediately reminds them what he's about, showing them how He loves and serves the people through teaching the truth and healing them. 17 And he came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, 18 who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. And those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. 19 And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came out from him and healed them all. People from all over. People came to listen: Their desire for a message from his lips did not meet with disappointment. Jesus gives the Sermon of sermons, the Sermon on the mount, as we call it from Matthew's description in Matt 5-7. These words would be immortalized and treasured throughout the ages all over the world in many languages. He will teach them all what it means to be His disciple. Luke speaks of Jesus healing both those who had diseases and those who were troubled with unclean (evil) spirits. It would be right to marvel at how much Jesus did this. By now, this is already a common scene and we're only in Luke 6. We read about it dozens of times in the gospels, and remember John 21:25 (only a sample of what Jesus did). Jesus worked 6 days a week, 52 weeks a year, for 3 years. And, all of this continually proving that He is the Messiah, with the power to triumph over evil and the effects of sin. Compassion (Luke 7:13 13 And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, "Do not weep.") For Jesus, these weren't just cases, these were people (image bearers, brothers/sisters) to whom he gave each one special treatment suited to their particular suffering. This is what it means to have compassion. He entered into their pain with a wholly sympathetic heart. (Matthew 8:17 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: "He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.") "To touch him ... power came from him and healed them all" - Luke would have us riveted with Jesus, to desire to be one of the crowd, to see him as all sufficient, all powerful to heal us of our diseases and our troubles. And, this Jesus has not only the power but the compassion to do it for all who come to him. And, here is his first lesson to His disciples: I am here to save, to love, to have compassion for those who come to me. I am not like the other religious leaders who care more about their positions to serve themselves, instead of using their blessings to bless others. You are not to use religion as a way to lord yourselves over people. I will teach them the truth and the way and the life because I care for you. You will do likewise as my commissioned apostles. Draw Me Nearer (I Am Thine Oh Lord) or A Wonderful Savior Is Jesus My Lord (He Hideth My Soul).