Jesus Selects the Twelve Apostles

Luke 6:12–26
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At one time, Francis Schaeffer says, he shared a platform with former cabinet member and urban leader John Gardner, during which Gardner spoke on the need to restore values to our culture. After he finished, a Harvard student asked him: “On what do you build your values? … More

Values

The selection of the twelve Apostles was made after Jesus spent a night in prayer (v. 12). Jesus had a large number of disciples and from those He picked 12 who were to be Apostles (vv. 13-16). A disciple is a learner or an apprentice, while an apostle is a chosen messenger sent with a special commission. This was an interesting group of men. Although artists often portray most of them as elderly they were actually a band of comparatively young men. This suggests to us that youth is the time to yield ourselves to Christ for life service. The earlier a person is saved and surrendered to the Lord, the more he may be permitted to accomplish for God.

These were ordinary men with varied personalities. It seems that seven of them were fisherman (John 21:1-3), one was a tax collector and the other four we cannot be sure what their vocations were. They should be an encouragement to us today, for if God could use them, He can certainly use us. These newly appointed assistants had a big job to do in a needy world. It is estimated that there were 300 million people in the world in Jesus’ day, while there are over 6 billion today. After choosing them Jesus came down from the mountain to a level place where He ordained them (v. 17). For many he had become a symbol of good fortune, or a magician. Instead of desiring God’s pardon or love they only wanted physical healing or a chance to see some spectacular events (vv. 18-19). Some people see prayer as a way for us to control God. He brought a message as to how those who profess to know Him should behave (vv. 20-26). It is a sermon on discipleship and not “the Gospel.” It is probably a shorter version of what we call “The Sermon on the Mount” (Matthew 5-7).

Application

How do the values Jesus talks about in this message compare to the values we are sold every day on T.V.? This is why it is so important that I pass on my Biblical values to others.

Luke 6:12-26 (English Standard Version)

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