Luke 6:12-16

Applebury's Comments

Jesus Selects the Twelve Apostles
Scripture

Luke 6:12-16 And it came to pass in these days, that he went out into the mountain to pray; and he continued all night in prayer to God. 13 And when it was day, he called his disciples; and he chose from them twelve, whom also he named apostles: 14 Simon, whom he also 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.

he went into the mountain to pray.In His prayer life, Jesus presents an example for His disciples to follow. He prayed before choosing the twelve; He prayed after the feeding of the five thousand; He prayed during His baptism. He prayed publically; He prayed alone, His private prayers sometimes lasted all night long; invariably, His public prayers were brief.

He prayed all night to God just before choosing the twelve. We are not told what He said. We only know something of the significance of the issues involved. On the shoulders of these men was to rest the responsibility of carrying on the work of preaching the gospel in all the world. The success of His earthly mission would depend on them. Some of them were weak. One would deny that he had ever known such a person as Jesus. Another would betray Him into the hands of His enemies. What better way to ponder the problems of preaching the gospel in all the world than to pray to God? Did that night seem long to Him, or did the morning light find Him still grateful for the privilege of talking to His heavenly Father? This we do know, when the night was over He was ready for the great decision.

he called His disciples; and he chose from them twelve.Some of these men had been following Jesus from the beginning. John tells the story of Andrew bringing his brother Simon to Jesus. Luke has already mentioned their becoming fishers of men. Now they are to be formally selected from the many disciples and designated apostles.

An apostle is one who is sent on a mission. The apostles of Christ were selected by Him and sent by Him to carry the gospel into all the world. Later, He chose Paul to be an apostle also. See Acts 9:3-6; Acts 22:7-21; Acts 26:12-18. Matthias was chosen by the Lord to take the place from which Judas fell away (Acts 1:24-26).

The apostles were equipped to carry out their worldwide mission by being baptized in the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:5; Acts 1:8; Acts 2:1-4). Paul also had all the rights of an apostle, although he was not of the original twelve (2 Corinthians 12:12).

Others such as Barnabas and James the Lord's brother were referred to as apostles because of having been sent out by the church (Acts 13:1-3). They, of course, were not baptized in the Holy Spirit, for that was limited to the twelve on the Day of Pentecost. The writer of Hebrew says, Consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, even Jesus (Hebrews 3:1). He can be called apostle because the Father sent Him. Understanding the use of the term depends on the one doing the sending. Christ sent the twelve and Paul; the church sent out some for special duties; God sent the Christ.

Simon, whom he also named Peter.Peter is named first in all four of the lists of apostles (Matthew 10:2-4; Mark 3:16-18; Luke 6:14-16; Acts 1:13). The fact that he is mentioned first has led some to assume that he is head of the apostolic group. No such idea is presented in the Scriptures, for prominence is not preeminence. Exactly the same authority was given to all the apostles that was given to Peter (Matthew 16:19; Matthew 18:18). Jesus said to all of His apostles that in the regenerationthis Christian age when men are being made new creatures through obedience to the Wordthe apostles were to sit on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel (Matthew 19:28).

For the account of changing Simon's name to Peter, see John 1:42. But Jesus continued to address him as Simon. See Matthew 16:17; Luke 22:31; John 21:15.

Among the outstanding things for which Peter is remembered are: (1) the good confession (Matthew 16:16); (2) the tragic denial (Luke 22:54-62; and (3) the powerful sermon on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:14-40). He wrote two epistles to strengthen his brethren in Christ.

and Andrew his brother.Andrew was one of the two disciples of John the Baptist who heard him speak of Jesus saying, Behold the Lamb of God. John 1:35-42. The first thing he did after becoming convinced of the truth of John's statement was to find his own brother Simon and say, We have found the Messiah. He will always be remembered for the fact that he brought his own brother to Jesus. In his quiet way, Andrew must be considered as an effective worker for Christ even though the prominence of his brother sometimes overshadows him.

When Philip was confronted with the problem of the Greeks who wanted to see Jesus, he sought the help of Andrew, not Peter, in deciding what to do. John adds the significant statement: Andrew cometh, and Philip, and they tell Jesus (John 12:22).

James and John.Mark says that Jesus nicknamed these sons of Zebedee Boanerges which means Sons of thunder (Mark 3:17). Their wanting to call fire from heaven to burn up a Samaritan village might suggest a reason for this name. See Luke 9:54. They were selfishly ambitious and often made the other disciples jealous. See Matthew 20:20-28. At one time they actually sent their mother to ask Jesus to let her two sons sit one on the right hand and one on the left hand in His kingdomevidently thinking of His kingdom as an earthly one like that of David or Solomon.

There is some reason to believe that James and John were cousins of Jesus. A comparison of the names of the women who were present at the crucifixion of Jesus suggests this possibility. See McGarvey and Pendleton, The Fourfold Gospel, page 225. If they were cousins of Jesus, their request for special consideration in His kingdom becomes a little more understandable even if less admirable.

These two and Peter formed what is sometimes called the inner circle of Jesus-' disciples. He often took them with Him while leaving the others behind. They were with Him at the raising of Jairus-' daughter (Luke 8:51); the Transfiguration (Luke 9:28); and in Gethsemane (Matthew 26:37). But it is possible that He kept them closer because they needed to be watched more than the others.

James was the first of the apostles to suffer martyrdom (Acts 12:1-2). For a reference to John's death, see John 21:21-23.

John was prominent in the work of the church in Jerusalem. See Acts 3:1; Acts 4:13. He wrote the Gospel of John, the three epistles, and the Revelation. (Some do not accept this view of the authorship of the books commonly believed to have been written by John the apostle).

Philip and Bartholomew.Except for their place in the list of the Twelve and, in Philip's case, the mention made in John 12:22, little is known about the work of these disciples. See also John 1:43; John 6:5-7.

Matthew and Thomas.As to Matthew, see comments on Luke 5:27-32. Thomas who was called Dydimysthe name means Twinis generally thought of as doubting Thomas, a charge that cannot be supported by the recorded facts. He was, in fact, a great believer. But he was not one to accept evidence until he had investigated it. When Jesus told him to put his finger in the print of the nail in His hand, Thomas said, My Lord and my God. John 20:24-29.

James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot.James is sometimes identified with James the less (Mark 15:40). Simon whom Luke calls the Zealot is called the Cananean by both Matthew and Luke.

Judas the son of James and Judas Iscariot.Such names as Judas, Simon, and James were quite common. It is difficult to clearly identify some of those who bore these names. But Judas Iscariot forever bears the stigma of the one who betrayed his Lord.