Unlimited: Jesus Appoints The Twelve | Good News Unlimited
Unlimited: Jesus Appoints the Twelve
Mar 1, 2024 1579
Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach and to have authority to drive out demons. These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter), James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means “sons of thunder”), Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him (Mark 3:13–19, NIV).
Large crowds have been following Jesus wherever he goes. Some of these people have been called personally by Jesus to follow him. But most are following him because of his remarkable teaching and his amazing power.
Now, from among them, Jesus chooses a special group of people.
There are many people following Jesus, but he picks out twelve people to be his closest followers, called “disciples.”
In the Jewish culture, “disciples” were learners who were to learn from the teacher by living and travelling with him, and listening and watching everything that he said and did.
Twelve is not just a random number. It’s highly symbolic. In the Bible, it’s the number of God’s government. In the Old Testament, God established his nation on the twelve tribes of Israel. Now Jesus is going to establish his church through twelve disciples.
It’s also interesting that Jesus gave nick-names to some disciples, and they reveal that Jesus definitely had a sense of humour. For example, the fishermen James and John were probably loud and boisterous, so he called them, “Sons of Thunder.”
These disciples were among the unlikeliest people that Jesus could have chosen. He didn’t choose the most educated, the best-connected, or the wealthiest. He chose people in whose hearts he saw potential.
Yes, even Judas.
Jesus didn’t choose people who were qualified. He chose people who were willing to say “yes,” and then he qualified them.
– Eliezer Gonzalez
Eli’s Reflection: Are you waiting to become sufficiently qualified before serving God? Maybe sufficiently holy, or sufficiently educated, or sufficiently wealthy? Jesus calls you to serve him now, and he’ll take care of qualifying you. Where might he be calling you today?
