God Chose You
Luke 6:12…
12 During those days he went out to the mountain to pray and spent all night in prayer to God.[1]
He’s got some big decisions to make. Huge crowds have been following him for a while. Some of them have gotten close to him. And now his job is to choose just 12 of them to follow him even more closely. So, Jesus does what many of us do when we’ve got a huge decision to make. He spends time conversing with the Father.
Luke 6:13-16…
13 When daylight came, he summoned his disciples, and he chose twelve of them, whom he also named apostles: 14 Simon, whom he also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; 15 Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot; 16 Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
Now let’s talk about this crew for a moment. First, the word “apostle” simply means someone who is sent out or commissioned.[2] Not only were these guys gonna spend time with Jesus learning from him, but there was gonna come a time when they would put into practice everything Jesus taught them by going out and teaching others.
As for the 12 guys specifically:
Peter is always listed first. As you read through the Gospels, you soon discover he’s a born leader.
Andrew is Peter’s brother and other than being found in the list of apostles, we see him fishing and hanging out with Peter, James, and John.[3] But it was Andrew who was one of the first of the 12 to see Jesus, and then he went and told Peter about him.[4]
James was the first of the 12 to be martyred for the faith.[5]
His brother John seemed to have had the closest relationship with Jesus and even took care of Jesus’ mom after Jesus died on the cross.[6]
Philip was probably the most pragmatic and practical apostle.[7]
Bartholomew, also known as Nathanael, seemed a little prejudiced and was always frank in his conversations.[8] He was the one who asked, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”[9]
Matthew is a tax collector and may have sacrificed more from a financial standpoint than the other guys.[10]
There’s Doubting Thomas.[11]
James the son of Alphaeus later became known as James the Less. Either he was shorter than the other James or he was younger. We really don’t know.[12]
Simon the Zealot loved his country and would fight for her if it came down to it.[13]
And then you’ve got the two Judases – one later goes by the name Thaddeus, perhaps not to be confused with the other Judas who would later betray Jesus.[14]
You couldn’t put together a more diverse team than these 12 men.
They were financially diverse, coming from different socioeconomic backgrounds – fishermen, blue-collar workers, and a wealthy tax collector.
They were politically diverse. Simon the Zealot was part of a group who felt so strongly about their allegiance to Judaism that they were practically the militia against the Roman government.[15] Yet right next to Simon the Zealot is Matthew, who worked for the Roman government.
They were also educationally diverse. When business leaders assemble a team to work with them, they look for people who graduated in the top 10% of their class, have academic achievements, and are award winners. But that’s not how Jesus did it. These guys weren’t that well-educated.[16]
I’m reminded of the story of four people aboard an airplane that was running out of fuel, and they needed to jump out before the plane crashed. The problem was they had only 3 parachutes. One man said, “I’m a doctor, and I’ve been working on a cure for cancer. The world needs me.” So, he grabbed a pack and jumped out of the plane. Another man said, “I’m the smartest guy in the world. They can’t live without my intelligence.” So, he grabbed a pack and jumped out of the plane. The last two remaining were a priest and a boy scout. The priest sacrificially said to the boy scout, “Hey, you’re young and you’ve got your whole life ahead of you. You take the last parachute, and I’ll go down with the plane.” The young boy said, “Not so fast, Father. The smartest guy in the world just jumped out of the plane with my backpack.”
Jesus didn’t choose these 12 guys for what they were or for what they claimed to be. Financial status, education, and political stance didn’t matter to Jesus. He saw them for what they could become. And isn’t that how the church is today? Here at The Hill, we’ve got business owners, teachers, factory workers, retirees, political zealots, rich people, poor people, and people in between. Jesus knows what he’s doing. He brought all of us together – assimilated us into his church – and each one is unique and different.
Maybe you feel like an unlikely companion to Jesus. But he has called you to him and to this congregation to make a difference in this world just like he called those 12 guys to change the world.
====================================
[1] Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.
[2] William Hendriksen, The Gospel of Luke. New Testament Commentary / William Hendriksen, vol. 10. (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1979), 327.
[3] 18 As he was walking along the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter), and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. Matthew 4:18. 29 As soon as they left the synagogue, they went into Simon and Andrew’s house with James and John. Mark 1:29. 3 While he was sitting on the Mount of Olives across from the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately, Mark 13:3.
[4] 40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard John and followed him. 41 He first found his own brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated “the Christ”), John 1:40-41.
[5] William Hendriksen, Gospel of Luke, 329.
[6] 27 Then he said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home. John 19:27.
[7] 5 So when Jesus looked up and noticed a huge crowd coming toward him, he asked Philip, “Where will we buy bread so that these people can eat?” 6 He asked this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. 7 Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread wouldn’t be enough for each of them to have a little.” John 6:5-7.
[8] William Hendriksen, Gospel of Luke, 329.
[9] 46 “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Nathanael asked him. “Come and see,” Philip answered. John 1:46.
[10] 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Matthew 10:3.
[11] 25 So the other disciples were telling him, “We’ve seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “If I don’t see the mark of the nails in his hands, put my finger into the mark of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will never believe.” John 20:25.
[12] William Hendriksen, Gospel of Luke, 330.
[13] Ibid.
[14] Ibid.
[15] Ibid.
[16] 13 When they observed the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed and recognized that they had been with Jesus. Acts 4:13