#048 Jesus Appoints 12 Apostles (Mark 3:13-19; Luke 6:12-16) - Life of Christ = Week 10 - Wednesday

Jesus Selects His Twelve Disciples

Matthew 10:2–4; Mark 3:13–19; Luke 6:12–16

^{Lk 6:12–13}During those days He went out to the mountain to pray and spent all night in prayer to God. ¹³When daylight came, He summoned His disciples, and from them He chose 12, whom He also named apostles: ^{Mk 3:14b–15}that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach ¹⁵and to have authority to drive out demons: ^{Lk 6:14}Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; James and John [^{Mk 3:17b}He gave the name “Boanerges,” (that is, “Sons of Thunder”)]; Philip and Bartholomew; ^{Mt 10:3b}Matthew the tax collector ^{Lk 6:15–16}and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot [^{Mk 3:18b}Simon the Zealot]; ¹⁶Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

The Twelve and the Three

A comparison of the lists of Jesus’ twelve disciples in Matthew, Mark, and Luke yields some interesting results. Another list also appears in Acts 1:13. All the names in these three lists are not the same. The differences are explained by the fact that some of the disciples were known by more than one name.

Here’s a complete list of the Twelve, with the variant names noted and a brief description of each:

	Disciple/Apostle	Description
1.	Simon (Peter)	A fisherman from Galilee; Andrew’s brother
2.	Andrew	A fisherman from Galilee; Peter’s brother
3.	James	A fisherman from Galilee: son of Zebedee; John’s brother
4.	John	A fisherman from Galilee: son of Zebedee; James’s brother
5.	Philip	From Bethsaida
6.	Bartholomew (Nathanael)	From Cana in Galilee
7.	Thomas (Didymas)	Perhaps a fisherman
8.	Matthew (Levi)	A tax collector from Capernaum
9.	James (not the same as James, son of Zebedee)	Son of Alphaeus
10.	Lebbaeus Thaddaeus (Judas)	Called Judas son of James to distinguish him from Judas Iscariot
11.	Simon (the Zealot)	From Cana; associated with the Zealots, revolutionaries opposed to Rome
12.	Judas Iscariot	From Kerioth in southern Judah; probably the only disciple from outside Galilee

Among these twelve men, Peter, James, and John were considered the “inner circle” disciples. They accompanied Jesus on some of the most important events in His ministry, including the transformation/transfiguration (Matt. 17:1–8) and His agonizing prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane (Mark 14:32–33).

Jesus Appoints 12 Apostles (Hills near sea)
Mark 3:13-19
Luke 6:12-16

• God is ... What do we learn about God in this passage?
• We are ... What do we learn about people in this passage?
• In the context of Luke 6, what is significant about Jesus calling these men? What did Jesus do before He chose His apostles? Luke 6:12
• What is the difference between a disciple and an apostle? Luke 6:13
• Jesus prayed all night before choosing the Twelve. What criteria do you think he used in choosing them?
• What do you know about the apostles? Luke 6:14-16
• I will ... What has the Holy Spirit revealed to us in this passage? How will I apply it this week?
• Of the 12 apostles, which one do you feel like you are most like? Which one inspires you the most?
• You can ... Who do you know who needs to hear this? Feel free to share with others by social media links at the bottom of this.

Jesus Selects His Twelve Apostles

Introduction

Our text for this lesson comes from Matthew 12:15–21; Mark 3:7–12 and Matthew 10:2–4; Mark 3:13–19; and Luke 6:12–16. Please open your Bibles to Matthew 12 and Mark 3.

Remember, we have just started Jesus’ second year of His public ministry (reference last lesson). Also, remember that the Jews (Pharisees) are trying to find fault with Jesus. We studied before how they were using events that happened on the Sabbath to try to “catch” Jesus.

Their hatred got so severe that they were plotting ways to kill Jesus (recall Matthew 12:14 says they were looking to “destroy Him”). What we are going to talk about today are events that happened before the Sermon on the Mount. First, a quick question: who are the twelve apostles?

Jesus Withdrew from the Pharisees but Continued to Heal.

Let us refresh our memory about what happened previously by reading Matthew 12:9–14 (read). Now read Matthew 12:15–21 (read). It will also help if we look at what Mark says in Mark 3:7–12 (read).

Something to note is that Matthew 12:15 says, “But Jesus, aware of this. . .” This was one of Christ’s first withdrawals to relieve tension. This also would not be His last.

From Mark’s account, notice all the people who followed Jesus to the sea (Mark 3:7, 8). Jesus taught, healed the sick, and cast out demons. What did He not want them to do? He did not want them to tell anyone. Why did He not want them to tell anyone? He did not want to further infuriate the people who hated Him.

Matthew’s account makes it clear that this was a fulfillment of prophecy (Matthew 12:17–21). You can look at Isaiah 42:1–4 to see this prophecy. Look again at Matthew 12:19 (reread). The coming of the people from outside Palestine (Idumea, Tyre, and Sidon) stressed the significance of Jesus’ ministry to the Gentiles (Matthew 12:18, 21).

Jesus Selects His Twelve Apostles

Jesus knew His days were numbered and that it was time to select men to carry on His mission after His earthly life was over. Remember, He had part-time disciples in Judea and full-time disciples in Galilee. But now it was time to get the selected few.

Pay close attention to Luke 6:12—this decision was not made without first consulting with God. What should we learn from this? All decisions should be preceded by prayer.

He called them “apostles.” The term “apostles” means “one sent.” It was generally used in a sense of one sent on a special mission. The word “apostle” is translated “messenger” in some places. Obviously, the word had additional meaning in this situation because Jesus chose these individuals.

Also notice the significance of having twelve apostles. In Hebrew thought, twelve meant religious completeness. There were twelve patriarchs. There were twelve Tribes of Israel. Now Jesus had selected twelve apostles. Mark and Luke list the twelve while Matthew does not list them until later when Jesus sent them on a training mission.

Matthew’s List	Mark’s List	Luke’s List	Acts 1:13
Peter	Peter	Peter	Peter
Andrew	James	Andrew	James
James	John	James	John
John	Andrew	John	Andrew
Philip	Philip	Philip	Philip
Bartholomew	Bartholomew	Bartholomew	Thomas
Thomas	Matthew	Matthew	Bartholomew
Matthew	Thomas	Thomas	Matthew
James (son of Alphaeus)	James (son of Alphaeus)	James (son of Alphaeus)	James (son of Alphaeus)
Thaddaeus	Thaddaeus	Simon (the Zealot)	Simon (the Zealot)
Simon (the Zealot)	Simon (the Zealot)	Judas (son of James)	Judas (son of James)
Judas Iscariot	Judas Iscariot	Judas Iscariot

Do you notice any discrepancies? Let us evaluate the listings of the apostles. Peter is always mentioned first. This does not make him the “first pope.” It does perhaps suggest his talents made him a natural leader. Thaddaeus was also known as Judas the son of James. All Gospel accounts can be broken in three sets of four: Peter, Andrew, James, and John; Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, and Matthew; James (son of Alphaeus), Thaddaeus, Simon, and Judas.

We have already met several of these men. We met Peter and Andrew in John 1:40, 41 and Matthew 4:18. We met James and John in Matthew 4:21. Philip and maybe Bartholomew are introduced to us in John 1:43, 45. And we met Matthew in Matthew 9:9.

We do not know much about the others, but what we do know is that they were called the same as Peter, Andrew, James, and John and that they had the same missions and power.

Conclusion

By way of application we should ask ourselves three questions.

Do we always have to go after our enemies?

Are there apostles today? No, not like the ones Jesus chose. There are messengers and ones sent. We were not specifically chosen to go and preach like the apostles, but we are charged throughout the Bible to be His messengers.

And on a more personal note: how are you doing being Christ’s messenger?

Further Reading
The Twelve are Chosen