WWJD Day 14 Meat - Jesus Appoints the 12 Disciples

“And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him. And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach and have authority to cast out demons. He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder); Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.” Mark 3:13-19 ESV “In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles: Simon, whom he named Peter, and Andrew his brother, and James and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot, and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.” Luke 6:12-16 ESV This event may not seem to be filled with as much amazement as others we have covered but this is equally powerful.  It’s just Jesus naming off the 12 disciples right?  From the very beginning of this section of scripture We learn so much from Jesus and about Jesus.  The writers Mark and Luke here seem to have the same stories, just with a bit of difference in the order and details.  So what happened between Jesus calling Matthew and this event where He chooses the 12? Jesus was asked why His disciples didn’t fast like the Pharisees disciples and John’s disciples, Jesus heals the invalid man of 38 years (!) on the Sabbath, Jesus speaks of His work and authority with and through the Father, He defines the purpose of the Sabbath, He healed a man with a withered hand in the synagogue on the Sabbath, He withdrew to the sea from there and healed everyone that came to Him and was being crowded so much that He went away up on a mountain to pray. Jesus was literally God in the flesh. Emmanuel. God with us.  Why in the world would He need to pray? Jesus WANTED to pray! He desired to be near the Father He loved talking to “Dad” He shared with Him in life and even though He was fully God and was fully man, He loved to talk with God He sometimes had to get away to do this  Even from people who desperately needed Him Even from His friends and family and work  He needed time where it was just Him and God If He needed it, I can’t even imagine how badly we need it! We read that He spent all night in prayer! When is the last time you spent 10 minutes in quiet away from everyone prayer? Jesus looked forward to prayer so much that He went away from anything that could distract Him.  How do we pray? Like this? What did He talk about with God? Who knows, but it just happened to be right before He chose the 12… Keep in mind, He had a huge following of people, many of whom were disciples But they didn’t get chosen as one of the 12 If Jesus didn’t have a special job for you, would you still follow Him completely? If your friend or spouse was raised up to be an incredible preacher or minister and you were raised up to teach 4 year olds would you be ok with that? If we are the body of Jesus as the church and your spouse or friend was an eye and you were a nose hair or a toenail, would you still follow Him and love Him with all your heart? Many disciples followed Jesus 12 were chosen They might not have even been the best or most talented or smartest 12, but they were the 12 that God wanted and they each served an incredible purpose for Jesus and the Kingdom! Thinking the 12 chosen. How many have you heard of? How many wrote books or letters or even have more than 1 word written about them? Yet they were chosen for a purpose  You are called as well, called to follow Him and let His plans become your way of life His will, not yours His Kingdom, not yours His way, not yours Even if and when you think you have a better idea, Gods way is still better Always  Side note: When the demons who were possessing people saw Jesus, the bowed and cried out He was the Son of God! If demons kneel before Him and proclaim His reverence, shouldn’t we…? If we are going to involuntarily some day, shouldn’t we voluntarily do it today? Kneel before Jesus and pray He will lift you up from the ground and hold you in His arms like you belong to Him Because you do He created you He’s been waiting for you to come back to Him To repent To return to Him He holds no grudges and doesn’t expect you to be good enough He just wants you with Him Go pray Just like we started this class Pray for laborers  He is creating that in you Be who He created Even if you are just a nose hair - you are the nose hair of Jesus! That makes you more special than anything else! Pray and obey Be content  Go and love