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"Twelve CHOSEN Men who CHANGED the world" (Part 2)
Matthew 10, 1-8, Mark 3:12-21, Luke 6:12-19, Acts 1:13
Introduction: In the New Testament, as Jesus began His last 3 years of public ministry, He surrounded Himself with TWELVE specially CHOSEN MEN. These TWELVE men, whom the Lord chose to be His DISCIPLES, were the most significant men ever assembled. Significantly, after the resurrection of Christ, they changed the world with the Gospel.
Again would you notice Matthew 10:1-4, “And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease. (2) Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; (3) Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; (4) Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.”
Have you every asked yourself why twelve? Jesus could have chosen ten or twenty or any other number, why twelve? I believe that it’s because twelve is a significant number in the Bible. It’s said to be the number representing perfection.
We have twelve patriarchs, twelve sons of Israel, twelve apostles, twelve gates and twelve foundations. Jesus made His first public appearance at the age of twelve.
Perhaps the reason for the twelve disciples comes from Matthew 19:27-28. When Peter asked the Lord in verse 27, “Behold we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?” the Lord used the number twelve in His answer in verse 28, “And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of glory, ye shall also sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” Here the number twelve, the number of Jesus’ disciples, is used symbolically to picture the perfect reign and rule of Jesus yet to come.
Before their call, the twelve were inconspicuous.
It appears that eleven of the twelve, Judas Iscariot the exception from Judea, were from Galilee. History infers that the people of Galilee were generally less sophisticated, less educated and usually less mannerly and ruder than Judeans. Perhaps Peter, James and John had substantial livelihoods as fisherman. Matthew profited from his extortions before he was saved as a tax-collector. But generally speaking, these men were poor and unlettered.
This, no doubt, was a part of the glorious design of the Lord so that all the glory for their eventual success should be the Lord’s. Usually God works in this manner, for in I Corinthians 26: 26-27, 29 we read, “For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called…But God hath chosen…that no flesh should glory in his presence.” God delights to save and use the un-likely ones, to demonstrate how He can use the weak and base instruments when they are surrendered to His will.
The point I am making is Jesus did not call angels to do His work, but He called men! This is another instance in the word of God affirming that God calls and uses human abilities in His mission of evangelizing the world.
In our last lesson we learned:
First: These disciples were CHOSEN SOVEREIGNLY: we have Christ’s official commissioning of the TWELVE, "And when He had CALLED unto Him His twelve disciples…" The Greek verb for “called” is “proskaleo” an intense word which means “to call to oneself,” and carries the idea of a face-to-face calling so the one can receive a commission from another. Jesus called them to Himself, face to face, to give them their commands, their commission, their instructions. There were four phases of their calling:
Phase One: The Conversion. In John 1:35-51 we are given an illustration of the initial calling to conversion, or salvation. After this initial meeting they returned to their secular employment and to their homes.
Phase Two: The Ministry. This phase is illustrated in Matthew 4:18-22, where Jesus called them to leave their secular employment and their homes to follow Him exclusively and totally. This was to become their schooling and ministry.
Phase Three: The Internship. This phase is illustrated for us in Matthew 10. At this stage they really weren’t ready to go out alone, so they went along with someone else for support. After a season of their personal labor, they returned to the Lord and remained with Him for an extended period of teaching.
Phase Four: Finally the Sending occurred after Christ’s resurrection and ascension. After He went back into heaven, He sent the Holy Spirit who indwelt them and scattered them into the world to disciple the nations.
Second: These disciples were CHOSEN PRAYERFULLY. Christ chose the TWELVE only after He sought the Father’s will through a night of prayer. In Luke 6:12-13 we read, “And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to PRAY, and continued all night in PRAYER to god. And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles;”
Third: These disciples were CHOSEN TO BE TRAINED. There always has to be a training time, and for them it was a period of three years during which they walked with the Lord. They left their nets, their boats, their crops, their businesses, their tax-collecting stands, EVERYTHING and they wandered around with Jesus.
Learning doesn’t really take place by sitting in a class and listening to someone lecture, learning takes place by watching someone’s life and observing their pattern of living as they walk through life. Frankly, it wasn’t an easy job to train the twelve. The best of them, Peter, still didn’t have a clue as to what he was doing, even after the resurrection.
The twelve were really a defective bunch. This evening we are going to look at their defects. Why, because when we see what Jesus had to work with and overcome in their lives, it will give us hope that God can also use us. The Lord dealt with five inadequacies in their lives.
First: The Twelve lacked SPIRITUAL UNDERSTANDING. The Lord chose twelve men to evangelize the world, but they had a problem. They didn’t understand the parables and the precepts that He taught. They were thick, dull, and blind to spiritual truth. For example:
From Matthew 15:15 we read, "Then answered Peter and said unto Him, Declare (explain) unto us this parable. And Jesus said, ARE YE ALSO YET WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING." They didn’t grasp His parables nor understand the prophecies of His suffering.
From John 21:1-18, it was clear that Peter, and six of the other Apostles, didn’t understand their roles, even after Christ’s resurrection. They had gone back to their former occupation of fishing.
Jesus dealt with the Apostles’ lack of spiritual understanding, by constantly teaching them. In Acts 1:2-3 we read that for forty days after the resurrection, Jesus taught the Apostles “of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.”
Second: The Twelve lacked HUMILITY. The twelve were a proud, jealous, envious bunch. In Matthew 20:20-28 the argument about who would be the greatest in the Kingdom got so hot that James and John had the gall to get their mother involved in the dispute.
In verses 20-21 is the mother’s request, “Then came to him the mother of Zebedee’s children with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him. (21) And he said unto her, what wilt thou? She saith unto him, Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom.”
In verses 22-23 Notice our Lord’s reply, “But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able. (23) And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father.”
In verse 24 we have the furious reaction of the disciples, “And when the ten heard it, they were moved with indignation against the two brethren.”
How did Jesus deal with their lack of humility? He did so by giving them a demonstration of His own humility in verses 25-28, “But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. (26) But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; (27) And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: (28) Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.”
Third: The Twelve lacked FAITH. They didn’t believe God. In fact, probably the most common phrase Jesus said to them was, "O ye of little faith"
In Mark 4:40 He said to them, "…why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith?"
In Mark 16:14, Jesus rebuked the disciples because of "…their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not those who had seen him after he had risen." They didn’t even believe the reports of the resurrection.
How did Jesus deal with their lack of faith? He performed miracles and mighty deeds and by repeatedly showed them His power. After the crucifixion, the disciples needed to be absolutely sure and confident in His resurrection, so He appeared to them, let them touch Him and see Him.
Fourth: The Twelve lacked COMMITMENT. They would say to the Lord, "Oh, we will never forsake You or deny you." But when it came down to the crisis hour, when Christ needed them most, they were gone. Judas betrayed him. Peter denied Him. At the last moment, all except John took off. They couldn’t handle it.
It’s interesting that Luke 5:11 says that when Jesus called His disciples, "…they forsook all, and followed Him," but Mark 14:50 says, "…they all forsook Him, and fled." They deserted Christ when they saw the swords, the staves, the lanterns, and the Romans. When they smelled death, they got out.
In Luke 22:31-32a Jesus dealt with Peter’s lack of commitment through prayer.
In John 15:18-21 and 16:1-3 Jesus tells His disciples that they’re going to be persecuted, hated, despised, and even killed. but then immediately in chapter 17, He begins to pray for them; and in verse 15 he says, "I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil." Jesus again prayed for their lack of commitment.
Fifth: The Twelve lacked POWER. We have this illustrated for us in Matthew 17:14-21. “And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying, (15) Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatic, and sore vexed: for oftimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water. (16) And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him. (17) Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me. (18) And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour. (19) Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? (20) And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.” Now notice carefully what Jesus said in verse 21, “Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.” Jesus dealt with this problem in a marvelous way.
In John 20:22 it says, "…he breathed on them, and said unto them, Receive ye the Holy Spirit;"
In Acts 1:8 it says, "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you…"
The twelve were chosen sovereignly by God. They were chosen through prayer, and they were chosen to be trained. In their training, Christ had to overcome:
their lack of spiritual understanding through instruction,
their lack of humility through example,
their lack of faith through wondrous miracles,
their lack of commitment through prayer, and
their lack of power through the agency of the Spirit of God in their lives.
There appeared to be a constant program of instruction and teaching between Jesus, the greatest teacher who ever walked the earth, and the inquiring minds of the disciples. Matthew 10 gives tremendous illustrations of His instruction.
He instructed them to go out and preach to the “lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
He taught them that God supplies the needs of those whose lives are wholly given to make the Word of God known.
He instructed them to preach that He was near and that men could come to Him.
He taught them to appreciate the good homes into which they would enter, and at the some time be aware of the fickleness of human nature.
He warned them of persecution, but at the same time assured them that the Spirit of God would teach them what to say.
He warned them of the hatred of the world, but comforted them with the assurance of the power and love of the heavenly Father.
Measured by all standards of pedagogy, Jesus was the greatest teacher this world ever had. The twelve were not men of letters but men of learning. The truth they acquired was not earthly and transient, but heavenly and eternal.
Jesus accomplished His task, the Twelve were transformed. In Acts 4:13, it says that when the Sanhedrin, "…saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus."
How did the Sanhedrin know that they had been with Jesus? I’ll tell you how they knew. They DID the same things Jesus did. They SAID the same things Jesus said, and they LOVED the same way Jesus loved.
When Jesus finished with them, they went out as living mirrors, reflecting Him. As a result, the impact of the disciples as apostles was felt. When we get to the book of Acts, we read that they turned Jerusalem upside down, and then they turned the world upside down. Everywhere they went people were converted because of their impact. Question, “What kind of an impact for Christ are you making in this area in which you live?”
As you prepare to go into the world this week may the impact of these verses sink deep into your soul and prompt you to greater action for the cause of Christ.
Mark 16:15, “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”
Luke 14:21-23, “So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. (22) And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. (23) And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.”
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If God has spoken to your heart after reading the sermon on "Twelve CHOSEN Men who CHANGED the World" (Part 2), then right now talk to God about what He has spoken to you.
Do you have the assurance that one day you will go to heaven? If you have no assurance that you know Jesus Christ, then I trust you will decide to accept Him as your personal Savior. The Bible tells us in
Acts 16:31, “…Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved…”
Romans 10:13, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
This prayer is here for those who need to ask Jesus to be their personal Savior: “I do want to go to Heaven. I know I am a sinner, and I do believe Jesus Christ died for me. I realize I cannot buy this great salvation, nor can I earn it. Knowing Jesus died on the cross and arose from the grave to pay my sin debt and to purchase my salvation, I do now trust Him as my Savior, and from this moment on I am completely depending on Him for my salvation.”
If you made the decision to accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, would you please let me know? Please send me an e-mail to pdmikBBM@aol.com. and in return I will send you some literature that will help you in your Christian life.
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