Luke 6:12-19

Butler's Comments

SECTION 2

Ministering (Luke 6:12-19)

12 In these days he went out to the mountain to pray; and all night he continued in prayer to God. 13And when it was day, 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, 15and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot, 16and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

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, who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; 18and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. 19And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came forth from him and healed them all.

Luke 6:12-16 Helpers called: Jesus reached a critical point in His earthly ministry. His popularity was at its peak. Multitudes pressed upon Him wherever He went. The number of disciples (Gr. mathetas, learners) had increased. He was not physically able to perform all the ministering that needed to be done. He was ready to commission a small group to become special helpers for His present ministry and train them for a world-encompassing ministry of their own when He would leave their physical presence to return to Heaven. Mark's parallel passage states that Jesus chose the twelve for three reasons: (a) to be with him,He needed their companionship and they needed His training; (b) to be sent out to preachHis message needed wider verbalization than He alone could give it; (c) and have authority to cast out demonsevidence that they were spokesmen for God. Mark says Jesus made the twelve (Gr. epoiesen); Luke says He chose from all the disciples, twelve. The Greek word eklexamenos is translated chose and is the word from which we get the English word eclectic.

This was such a momentous decision, one which would affect all men for all time and eternity, Jesus went aside from the multitudes and played all night before His selection of the twelve men. The following morning He chose the men and gave them the title, apostle (Gr. apostello) which means one sent forth. The Greek word is similar to the Latin word missio from which we get the English word, missionary.

Evaluated by the world's standards, these men would never have been selected for such a crucial and demanding task. None of them possessed any unique charisma for leadership, not one of them had any formal training or family background to recommend them as potential influences on society or history. Four of them at least were common laborers in the fishing industry; one of them was a hated tax-collector; another was a right-wing political terrorist (Simon the Zealot). None were, as far as the record goes, of the intelligentsia, or of the ruling classes. But then it was the message these men delivered, not the men themselves, which had such a history-changing impact upon the world. Of course, they were men of character (all but one, Judas Iscariot) or they would not have been faithful and courageous messengers. Still, when all is said and done, it is the gospel which saves, not the gospel messenger. Perhaps the following chart will help the student combine in one glance the different listings of the apostles made in the New Testament:

JESUS CHOSE TWELVE DISCIPLES, AND MADE THEM APOSTLES

*

1.

Simon Peter (Bar-Jonah)

7.

Thomas Didymus (Twin)

2.

Andrew, Peter's brother

8.

Matthew, Levi, (Bar-Alphaeus)

3.

James, John's brother

9.

James (Bar-Alphaeusnot above)

4.

John, (Bar-Zebedee)

10.

Judas Thaddaeus, of James

5.

Philip

11.

Simon, Cananean, Zealot

6.

Nathanael (Bar-Tholomew or Bar-Tolmai)

12.

Judas Iscariot (Bar-Simon)

**

Matthew 10:2-4

Mark 3:13-19

Luke 6:12-16

Acts 1:13

Simon Peter

Simon Peter

Simon Peter

Peter

Andrew his brother

James of Zebedee

Andrew his bro.

John

James of Zebedee

John his bro.

James

James

John his bro.

Andrew

John

Andrew

Philip

Philip

Philip

Philip

Bartholomew

Bartholomew

Bartholomew

Thomas

Thomas

Matthew

Matthew

Bartholomew

Matthew, publican

Thomas

Thomas

Matthew

James of Alphaeus

James of Alph.

James of Alph.

James of Alph.

Thaddaeus

Thaddaeus

Simon Zealot

Simon Zealot

Simon Cananaean

Simon Can.

Judas of James

Judas of James

Judas Iscariot

Judas Iscariot

Judas Iscraiot

*

Follows Matthew's list

**

As they are specifically listed by the writers of the New Testament.

Jesus must have seen in each of these men some qualities which would have been especially useful in His kingdom. Eleven of them were helpful in fulfilling the nature of the Kingdom of God by ministering the gospel to the world. One of them was a betrayer, Judas Iscariot. Jesus knew Judas-' heart before the deed was committed (John 6:70). Then why was he chosen? We like the answer of Hobbs, Certainly it was not for the express purpose of betrayal. God does not deal with men as puppets. All that we can say is that Jesus offered him his chance, and he did not take it. It will forever remain a mystery. But it serves as a warning to all.

Luke 6:17-19 Healing certified: What appears to be a discrepancy when one attempts to harmonize Matthew and Mark with Luke at this juncture is not a discrepancy at all. Close examination of the three accounts shows the following order: (a) Jesus aware of the great crowds following Him after healing the man with the withered hand, withdrew to the sea of Galilee (Matthew 12:15; Mark 3:7); (b) a great multitude from all over the land of Palestine followed Him and His disciples to the sea, many in that area having been healed (Matthew 4:24-25; Mark 3:7-12), and Jesus ordered them not to make His presence known; (c) Matthew quotes an O.T. prophecy (Isaiah 42:1 ff) to show that Jesus is fulfilling the Messianic character of the kingdomministry of spiritual healing; (d) Jesus withdraws from the multitudes by the sea and goes up on a mountain where he prays all night (Matthew 5:1; Mark 3:13; Luke 6:12-13); (e) Jesus chooses twelve disciples and names the apostles (Matthew 10:2-4; Mark 3:14-19; Luke 6:13-16); (f) Jesus comes down from the mountain to a level place and a great multitude from all over Palestine is once again thronging after Him to be healed and He healed them all (Luke 6:17-20). And this is where we take up our comments on the Gospel of Luke again. Matthew skips around chronologically in his record because his purpose was to record the life of Jesus by subject matter, not by chronological order. This is done frequently by modern biographers without the issue of inaccuracy ever being raised. Why should it be raised against Matthew when his accuracy is verified by the three other biographers of Jesus?

There may have been a number of Gentiles in the crowds who came to hear and be healed since people were there from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon. The interesting notation of Luke is that they came to hear, as well as be healed. We noted above that Matthew used Isaiah's prophecy of the Lord's Servant to characterize the Messiah's ministry as one of spiritual healing. We have already dealt with the relationship of physical healing to the spiritual goal of Jesus-' ministry in our comments on Luke 4:32-44. It is interesting to note in Isaiah's prophecy the emphasis on the Messiah's ministry to gentiles since some of the people here are from Tyre and Sidon. Jesus-' earthly ministry was primarily to the Jewish people, calling them to their messianic destiny (Matthew 15:24) but whenever a Gentile came to Him in faith He was pleased, and honored their faith with grace and mercy. This multitude came to hearJesus lifted up His eyes and began to preach. And what a sermon it was! It has never been duplicated for simplicity and profundity. It is absolutely matchless! It marks clearly, concisely and conclusively that the nature of the Son of Man's kingdom is a society of godliness and moral character lived out in the lives of individuals.