The Twelve Apostles
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.
Jesus Ministers to a Great Multitude
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.
Introduction:
If I were tasked to assemble a basketball team for an upcoming tournament, I would choose the best players to ensure that we would win. Perhaps this is also what Jesus was thinking when He chose the 12 apostles.
What can we learn from this passage?
1. Jesus prayed extensively, demonstrating a deep and consistent relationship with God.
Jesus spent days and nights in continual prayer and communion with God before the day came to choose the 12 apostles. From this, we can learn from the example of Jesus in committing everything to God, especially when it comes to the people whom we will appoint as church leaders. We should be careful and prayerful when it comes to appointing people who will serve in our churches and other organisations.
I remember when I decided to enter the bible school. As the school leaders welcomed us freshmen, they told us that we were the product of their prayers. It impacted me deeply when I heard that. It is amazing when the Lord answers our prayers and can see how He unveils His will to us.
Likewise, as a mission organisation, we should continually pray for the people whom we will accept as workers. I appreciate the constant prayer time and ministry that we are doing and we should keep on doing for us to be inclined to His will.
2. Jesus carefully selected individuals to be His closest followers, ensuring they were aligned with His mission.
By the world’s standards, we can argue that they are not the best choices for apostles. Why? Because most of them were simple men. Four of them were fishermen, another was a zealot, and yet another was a tax collector, and then there was Judas!
Why did Jesus choose such people as apostles? Surely the Lord did not make a mistake with this because He is God. This defies our worldly standards and human wisdom. He could have chosen people who are from prominent families, those who are wealthy, highly educated or with status and power instead of mere fishermen. However, He did not rely on our worldly standards of power. Neither did He need such things to expand His Kingdom.
3. Among those chosen, Jesus also included Judas Iscariot who, despite his eventual betrayal, was a part of God’s plan and served a crucial role in the broader narrative.
Why did the Lord choose Judas Iscariot? Was it a mistake? Certainly not! It also serves as a lesson to us that there will oftentimes be a Judas in many Christian churches and organisations.
If Jesus had a betrayer among His followers, we shouldn't be surprised to have a similar experience one day. This is common in every church and ministry; we will always have Judases with us because we live in a fallen world.
It can also serve us as an example that we might be like Judas ourselves. We should always guard our hearts and make sure that we are inclined to His will for us to avoid this from happening.
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