The Gospel of Luke 6 12 16 The

The Gospel of Luke 6: 12 -16 The Apostles

Breaking the Ice (how appropriate) How many of the Apostles can you name? If I asked you which Apostles were most prominent, do you know? What’s the last decision you remember spending a significant amount of time in prayer for? 2

General Structure of Luke Can be Divided into 5 Main Sections ▰ The Infancy Narrative (Chapters 1 & 2) ▰ Preparation for Ministry (Chapters 3 – 4: 13) ▰ The Galilean Ministry (Chapters 4: 14 – 9: 50) ▰ The Journey to Jerusalem (Chapters 9: 41 – 19: 44) ▰ Jerusalem, Death, and Ascension (Chapters 19: 45 – 24) In this section, Luke highlights the activity and power of Jesus. Answers the question Who is Jesus? 3

Geography Lesson 4

Let’s Pick up the Story Recap 5

Chapter 6 Review – What happened? What was the outcome? Luke 6: 11 They, however, were filled with rage and started discussing with one another what they might do to Jesus. 6

Luke 6: 12 -16 Jesus Chooses 12 7

Luke 6: 12 -16 The Apostles During those days he went out to the mountain to pray and spent all night in prayer to God. When daylight came, he summoned his disciples, and he chose twelve of them, whom he also named apostles: Simon, whom he also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot; Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. 8

The Apostles ▰ ▰ Jesus chooses the apostles at the same time that opposition is rising to his ministry The title “apostle” indicates their role as commissioned representatives of Jesus on behalf of the message. They are not the same as disciples. Three facts are consistent in the lists: ▻ Peter is always first ▻ Peter, Andrew, James, and John are the first four ▻ There are 3 group of four with Peter, Philip, and James (the less) leading each group The apostles represent a diverse group of people whose central bond is Jesus. 9

Who Are the Apostles - Peter ▰ ▰ ▰ Peter is first on every list because he clearly had a position of leadership among the Apostles. Peter becomes the spokesman for the group. Peter was also known to be impetuous and in some ways unreliable during Jesus ministry. After the resurrection, Peter lives up the title of “the rock” in the early church. Peter ministered until the AD 60 s where he was arrested under Nero and executed by crucifixion upside down in the Circus Maximus. It is believed that Peter’s disciple was John Mark who wrote the Gospel of Mark. 10

Who Are the Apostles – Andrew ▰ Andrew was originally a follower of John the Baptist (John 1: 35 -42) who bought his older brother Simon Peter to Jesus. ▰ Andrew was martyred in AD 70 on a cross in the shape of an “X”. Tradition says that when he saw the cross, he broke out in joy. ▰ He was tied to the cross for three days before he died. 11

Who Are the Apostles – James ▰ Peter, James and John are considered to be the inner ▰ ▰ ▰ circle of the twelve as they were three present at the transfiguration. James and John were brothers (sons of Zebedee) known by the nickname “Sons of Thunder” because they wanted to bring down fire from Heaven. James is often known as James the Greater to distinguish him from James the son of Alphaeus. James was the first Apostle who was martyred. He was killed in AD 44 by Heron Antipas. 12

Who Are the Apostles – John ▰ John was the only apostle who did not ▰ ▰ suffer a violent death. John was the last of the apostles to die after being exiled to the island of Patmos. John wrote the Gospel of John, 1, 2, and 3 John, and Revelation. John was known as the Apostle of Love. Church tradition holds that he was thrown into boiling oil and poisoned, but miraculously survived before being exiled to Patmos 13

Who Are the Apostles – Philip ▰ The New Testament doesn’t give us a ▰ ▰ ▰ much information on Philip. He should not be confused with Philip the deacon and evangelist from Acts 8. He appears in John 1: 45, John 6: 7, and John 14: 8 Tradition says that Philip carried the message to ancient Gaul (modern-day France) and also to Turkey. He confronted pagan priests in Turkey where and was martyred in AD 80 by stoning and crucifixion. 14

Who Are the Apostles – Bartholomew ▰ Bartholomew is mentioned in the synoptic ▰ ▰ Gospels, but not in John. He is believed to be Nathanael, whom Philip bought to meet Jesus in John 1. Not much is said of Bartholomew in the new testament, but tradition says that he became a missionary to Armenia where he and Jude/Thaddaeus began a Christian church. He was confronted by local pagan priests where he was flayed alive and beheaded. 15

Who Are the Apostles – Matthew ▰ Matthew wrote the Gospel that bears his ▰ ▰ ▰ name, and is the same as Levi, the tax collector. He wrote the Gospel with the most Jewish references clearly intended for a Jewish Audience. Tradition says he took the gospel to Ethiopia and established a church there. In AD 61, he ran into problems with local pagan priests and was beheaded. 16

Who Are the Apostles – Thomas ▰ Most unfairly known as doubting Thomas, he is also known as Didymus, “the twin. ” ▰ Before Jesus death, he was prepared to suffer and die with Jesus (John 11: 16) ▰ Confesses Jesus as “my Lord and God” in Acts. ▰ Thomas later become a missionary to India where he was killed by a spear. 17

Who Are the Apostles – James (the Lesser) ▰ James the son of Alphaeus was known as James ▰ ▰ ▰ the Less, perhaps because he was younger or shorter. His mother was one of the Marys who was at the foot of the crucifixion and who went to the tomb on the day of the resurrection. Tradition tells us that he went to Syria before he was recalled to Jerusalem and tried by Jewish leaders as a heretic in AD 62. He was thrown from the temple and survived with a broken leg before he had his head crushed with a stone. 18

Who Are the Apostles – Simon the Zealot and Jude ▰ ▰ Simon was a member of the Zealots political group who were committed to overthrowing Roman rule. Tradition tells us that Simon was a missionary who traveled across the ancient near East before he was martyred in Syria in AD 65. Judas the son of James is also known as Jude or Thaddaeus (Matt 10: 3). He is not the author of Jude the book. Jude is believed to be one of the founders of the Armenian church. 19

Who Are the Apostles – Judas Iscariot ▰ The origin of “Iscariot” is not clear. Some people believe it refers to Kerioth. If that is true, then Judas was the only one of the 12 who was not a Galilean. ▰ Others believe Iscariot refers to the Semitic word for “dagger”, sicari, which was a symbol of assassins. ▰ Judas was the instrument by which Jesus was betrayed, in a manner similar to how Pharaoh was the instrument by which God demonstrated his power in Egypt. ▰ Judas took his own life after betraying Jesus. 20

Touched by the Apostles Philip Peter Andrew Bartholomew Jude Philip James / Simon Thomas Matthew 21

Apologetics – The Example of the 12 Apostles ▰ ▰ 1 Corinthians 4: 9 “For I think God has displayed us, the apostles, in last place, like men condemned to die: We have become a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to people. ” One of the most difficult arguments to get past in the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the willingness of the apostles to suffer and die for their beliefs. If the Apostles knew that Jesus was a fraud, or that his resurrection was faked, why would they have been willing to suffer for it? Furthermore, while some of their martyr claims are debated, there is no doubt they suffered for their beliefs, and there is no recorded testimony of the apostles speaking against any of the New Testament claims. 22

Application 23

Application – Seeking God – Old Testament Example The Command Exodus 23: 32 "You must not make a covenant with them or their gods. "They must not remain in your land, or else they will make you sin against me. If you serve their gods, it will be a snare for you. " 24

The Gibeonites Deceive Israel, Joshua 9: 3 -6 When the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, they acted deceptively. They gathered provisions and took worn-out sacks on their donkeys and old wineskins, cracked and mended. They wore old, patched sandals on their feet and threadbare clothing on their bodies. Their entire provision of bread was dry and crumbly. They went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and said to him and the men of Israel, "We have come from a distant land. Please make a treaty with us. " 25

Joshua 9: 7, 9, 14 -15 – The Cost of Not Seeking The men of Israel replied to the Hivites, "Perhaps you live among us. How can we make a treaty with you? " They replied to him, "Your servants have come from a faraway land because of the reputation of the LORD your God. For we have heard of his fame, and all that he did in Egypt, . . . Then the men of Israel took some of their provisions, but did not seek the LORD's decision. So Joshua established peace with them and made a treaty to let them live, and the leaders of the community swore an oath to them. 26

Application – Seeking God ▰ When faced with decisions of consequence, we should always seek God’s direction. ▰ Consider: Recognize there are some decisions you can make where both option is within God’s will for your life. ▰ Consider: God’s direction does not always mean the situation will end like we expect. Jesus chose Judas as part of God’s plan. 27

Application – Your Circle ▰ Jesus demonstrates an important principal in leadership, and in our lives - Each of us only has so much reach – or so many people that we can impact. ▰ Jesus chose 12 apostles, and from those 12, Jesus chose 3 as part of his inner circle. ▰ Who is your circle? Do you have a circle? ▰ Do you have too many people in your circle? Do you need to focus your influence? 28

Coming Up ▰ February 21: Luke 6: 17 -26 ▰ February 28: Luke 6: 27 -42 ▰ March 7: Luke 6: 43 -49 29