Critical Choices

Note:  We apologize that there is no audio for this sermon.

Earlier in the book of Luke we have seen where Jesus called different ones to follow Him and become disciples.  Here we see another aspect to this, as Jesus now picks 12 of the disciples to become His “apostles.”  We will talk more about this word.  But, suffice it to say that Jesus needed 12 men who would serve as His inner group and become the foundation of the Church once He ascended into heaven.  This is a critical choice.  Now let’s look how Jesus makes it here in Luke 6:12-18.

Taking Time To Pray

Jesus truly is a marvel when you study his life and deeds.  To those who accept Him as a real person from history, it is a marvel to understand the amazingly divine things that He did.  On the other hand, for those who find it easier to see Jesus as divine, it is amazing to see the very human things that He did.  Jesus is at a big transitional point in His life and ministry.  He has some critical decisions before Him.  The 12 men He picks will play a critical role in the plan of God.  In fact, to the uninformed person looking on, the choice of Judas Iscariot may appear to have been a bad one.  But we will come back to that in a moment.

The key at this point is to first see that Jesus spends all night praying about this decision.  Why would Jesus pray?  Doesn’t He know all things?  Isn’t He God?  Part of the mystery is solved in seeing the importance of relationship to God.  Throughout eternity past the Son has always existed in a unique unity with the Father and Spirit.  Even though the incarnation has switched things up a bit, the Son still is motivated by relationship.  In fact the glimpse we have of His time in the Garden of Gethsemane may help us to see that perhaps one of the things Jesus was doing that night was agonizing over the choice of Judas.  Here is the good news.  In Christ, we are invited to enter into this eternal, relationship of God.  Sometimes in our rush to get results we can miss the importance of the process.  In fact, we can forget that of the results God desires in life, relationship is the most important. So why should we pray?

First of all, Jesus sets the example here.  Relationship with God is important.  Even if we can handle “it,” God wants us to spend time talking things through with Him.  If He “needed” to talk with His Father then how much more do we?  Are we greater than our master?  To follow the example of Jesus is to say, “I trust your way rather than mine.”  Of course, prayer is cumbersome and difficult at first.  But over time all relationships become more natural and the communication becomes easier.

Another reason to pray is that we are told to pray throughout the Bible.  Philippians 4:6-7 says, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;  and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”  In this passage we are told to not let ourselves be distracted by the multitude of cares and concerns we face in this life.  Rather, we are to turn to God in prayer.  The end result of this process is God’s peace.  This is different from having peace with God.  A believer can be at peace with God in the sense of not being His enemy any more, but still lack the inner serenity that God wants us to find in times of relationship with Him.  In fact this verse may seem to be stating that God’s peace surpasses all understanding.  This is definitely true, but not the point of the verse.  It is actually saying that having the peace of God is something far greater than having perfect understanding.  Think about it.  Most of the time, we want God to make everything perfectly clear.  But God is saying that He wants us to have something better.  But doesn’t lack of understanding cause lack of peace?  It definitely contributes to it.  But it is not the cause.  The cause is a broken relationship between man and God.  The more we go to God in prayer and agonize over our decisions and life, the more we will sense His peace in our hearts.  Having the peace of knowing our Father has heard us and has everything worked out is superior to having full understanding.  It is what protects our hearts from doubts and making decisions based on fear and fleshly desires.

Why pray?  Prayer is me saying, “God, you are my answer.”  It declares what your source of wisdom is.  If I never pray about my decisions than I am revealing that He is not the source of my decisions.  What is your source?  I am able to make all my decisions without God’s input, whether in prayer or reading the Word.  But is this wise?  It clearly is not.  Prayer is that means by which I move the source of my decision making from my flesh (my understanding, desires, fears, etc…) to God Himself.  My source of wisdom becomes a spiritual source.  But not just any spiritual source (e.g. demonic or satanic).  The very same mind that created all the cosmos calls me into relationship and is the source of my decisions.  Wow!

Lastly, prayer exercises our faith.  Like a muscle, our faith can atrophy from lack of use.  The more we learn to turn quickly to God in prayer, the stronger we become in our faith.  But do not confuse faith with presumptuous choices.   Thus Jesus, who of all people could have presumed that He could make a good decision, goes to His Father in prayer.  I don’t pretend to know what that night’s prayer looked like exactly.  But I do know that we would be wise to follow Jesus in this.

Calling His Apostles

Now Jesus had many people who wanted to learn of Him and were His disciples.  But He needed 12 men into whom He would reproduce Himself.  Just as God is working to help us become like Jesus, so Jesus took time to reproduce Himself into these men.  Thus the choice involves discerning who would serve Him best from among a larger pool of disciples.  This reminds me of being picked in grade school games.  However, it is clear that Jesus wasn’t picking like we tend to do.  He wasn’t picking His best friends, or the ones who were the studs.  Rather He picked some people that many would scratch their heads over.

Now, the word “apostle” literally means “sent one.”  The person sent was commissioned to be a representative of the one sending.  Thus the apostles are authorized to speak on behalf of Jesus in the years after His death, resurrection, and ascension.  They are enlisted to become the ambassadors of a heavenly King. 

They would also become part of the foundation of the Church.  Scripture gives us this picture of a foundation being laid in several ways.  On one hand Jesus is the ultimate foundation on which everything else that hopes to stand must be built.  In this sense Jesus is the only foundation.  However, another picture that is used would be more like an arch.  Ephesians 2:19-20 says, “Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone.  Here the importance of the prophets and apostles is underlined.  But the uniqueness of Jesus is upheld by referring to Him as the chief cornerstone.   It is the critical stone that holds the others in place much like the wedge at the top of an archway.  Leaning upon each other these stones become the strength that holds up everything above it.  In fact, Revelation 21 points out that the New Jerusalem that comes down from heaven will have 12 foundations named after each apostle.

Another aspect of the people Jesus picks that day is the diversity of the group.  One one hand you have some who are brothers and therefore very close (Peter & Andrew, James & John).  Also these four worked together in the fishing business.  Thus they had learned to work together and appreciate each other.  You have some who were blue collar workers and others who were white collar workers (Matthew the tax collector).  Then we have differing political views.  Matthew as a tax collector was clearly not a rebel.  Yet, we also have Simon who was a Zealot.  This group was a “freedom fighting” group that often operated in terrorist-type ways.

Lastly, we have the one who would betray Jesus in the end.  It has been noted that Judas seems to be the only one from Judea.  Why would Jesus pick Judas?  Was it a mistake?

Clearly it was not a mistake from God’s perspective.  However, it has been noted that the real question is not, “Why did God pick Judas?”  But, rather, “Why did God pick me?”  Don’t we all have the wavering faithfulness inherent in our heart?  Haven’t we all betrayed the Truth of Jesus at one time or another?

Verses 17-18 do not show any great ceremony.  One moment Jesus is calling 12 men to be His apostles and the next minute He is knee deep in ministry.  These apostles go from being a part of the crowd to being with Jesus.  This “one the job” training may not be what they expected that morning.  Any new job is cumbersome at first because you are clueless.  However, I’m sure these guys felt worse than clueless that day.  Yet note the words “with them.”  Jesus, who is Immanuel “God with Us,” comes with His apostles and ministers with them by His side.  Couldn’t He do it all by Himself?  If by “it” you mean heal people then, “yes, he could.”  But God wanted to minister to man in the face of man’s spiritual enemy with 12 weak individuals whom He was turning into Christ-like warriors.  They would participate in His glory and be exalted to a high position within God’s Kingdom.

When we do have a sense of what God wants us to do, we are going to have to learn to trust Him.  We don’t have perfect knowledge of how things will end up.  So why not choose to have perfect peace instead?  Relationship.  Trust.  Peace.  God’s choices for us personally or for us as mankind can be trusted as He wraps up this stage of History and brings in His millennial kingdom.