The Choice of the Twelve Apostles

Introduction: The Significance of the Apostolic Office

0:03 This sermon was preached on Sunday morning, August 26th, 1984, at the Trinity Baptist Church in Montville, New Jersey.

0:15 Now may I invite you to turn with me to the third chapter of the Gospel according to Mark. As we continue our consecutive expositions through Mark's Gospel, we come this morning to chapter 3, and I shall read in your hearing verses 13 through 19. Mark, chapter 3, beginning with verse 13.

0:45 Speaking of our Lord Jesus, Mark writes, And he goeth up into the mountain, and calleth unto him whom he himself would. And they went unto him. And he appointed twelve that they might be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach, and to have authority to cast out demons. And Simon he surnamed Peter, and James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James, and them he surnamed Boanerges, which is Sons of Thunder, and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alpheus, and Thaddeus, and Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot. Who also betrayed him. Now let us ask God by the Spirit to take this portion of his word, and to make it the instrument of his own saving and sanctifying grace to all of our hearts.

2:00 Our Father, we have sung together in the language of the psalmist, that we do desire that we shall be given that understanding that only you can give, but an understanding given not with a... We give you merely to informing our minds, but to the transformation of our lives by practical obedience to your revealed will.

2:27 Our Father, we confess that left to ourselves like those disciples who saw the mighty works of Jesus, we are dull and hard of heart. Come and make our hearts sensitive and receptive, and may your Spirit, so minister in this hour together, that we shall know the saving, sanctifying impress of your own truth. Through Jesus Christ our Lord we plead. Amen.

3:01 Now we have come this morning to examine Mark's account of the appointment of the twelve, that is, twelve of the regular and more intimate followers of the Lord Jesus, to a place of unique privilege, responsibility, and office. And if we are truly Christians, we are so because in a very real sense, we have come to embrace the apostolic testimony and witness to Jesus Christ. A testimony and a witness which they consciously bore as the appointed apostles of the Lord Jesus. If we are truly a Christian church, we are so because we have subjected ourselves to the apostolic directives for the constitution and ordering of the churches of Christ. Therefore, to true believers and to spiritually intelligent members of the visible church, a passage which traces the origin of the apostolate should be one of great interest and of practical concern.

4:20 For as we considered in the Sunday school hour, the church is built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself the chief cornerstone. Ephesians chapter 2 verses 19 and 20. And so, on the surface, what appears to be a mere historical sidelight is indeed a very pivotal passage. One commentator has remarked that this is one of the most significant events in the earthly ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Setting of the Choice: Historical, Geographical, and Spiritual

5:00 In our efforts to think our way through the passage, we shall consider, first of all, the setting of the choice of the twelve apostles, and then secondly, we shall examine together the specific details of the choice of the twelve apostles. First of all, then, setting of the choice of the twelve apostles. By carefully examining the parallel accounts in Matthew and in Luke, it begins to become clear to us that there are three elements of the setting of this choice of the twelve that are laid open to our view. There is the historical, the geographical, and the spiritual, which constitute the setting in which this activity of our Lord takes place. Consider then what our passage and the parallel passages tell us of the historical element of the setting. It is clear from the words of chapter 3 and verse 6 that at this point in our Lord's ministry, the opposition experienced very intensely in the southern part of Palestine, in Judea, and in particular around Jerusalem. Jerusalem has now spread all the way up to the northern area, the Galilee region, where

6:25 our Lord has been ministering. And though his popularity with the masses has just about reached its peak, parallel to that rising popularity among the masses of the Galilee area is this commitment on the part of the Pharisees, chapter 3 and verse 6, to destroy the Lord Jesus. And so the setting in which this choice of the twelve takes place is a setting in which our Lord is being openly opposed now by the same group that had earlier opposed him in the southern part of Palestine, in the area of Judea, and has now become an organized opposition up in the region of Galilee. Furthermore, by putting together the chronology of the Gospels, we know that it will be approximately just one year from these events that our Lord Jesus will be crucified, buried, will be raised from the dead, and shortly thereafter ascend to heaven and send the Holy Spirit down upon his gathered people. Furthermore, the Lord is conscious that part of his mission, as we read in chapter 6, the

7:49 most important part of his mission this morning, is that of proclaiming the good news of the Gospel to the lost sheep of the twelve tribes of Israel. And yet his popularity, as we saw last week, was so great in the region of Galilee that people were literally falling over one another just to touch him. And with but a year left to reach the lost sheep of the twelve tribes of Israel, the time has come when our Lord must definitely bring the Lord Jesus to the table and delegate others to proclaim his message and validate that message by the same miraculous working powers that were operative in himself. Furthermore, he knows that when that year is up and his earthly ministry is concluded, that he will leave behind that church that he speaks of in Matthew 16, that church of which he will be the chief cornerstone, but in which there must be some foundation blocks, and they are described in Ephesians chapter 2 as the apostles. So it is in that specific historical situation that the choice of the twelve takes

9:05 place. But the setting is not only laid out in terms of the historical situation, but also the geographical location. Notice verse 13. And using the present tense, as he often does, desiring that we try to go back in our mind's eye and actually picture what is happening before us. And he is going up into the mountain and is calling unto him whom he himself would, and they went unto him. From the previous passage, we learn that the Lord Jesus left the city, probably the city of Capernaum, came down to the shores of the Sea of Galilee, or Lake Gennesaret, as it is also called, and was ministering so close to the shore that he had this boat as his constant attendant, as an escape route if the crowd should begin to crush him and jeopardize his physical well-being. Now Mark tells us that he leaves

10:11 the lakeside, or the seashore, and he finds his way up into the mountain. Now what is the mountain? What is that mountain? We turn to Matthew's account and Luke's account, and the question is not answered for us. Apparently, it was a well-known hill or mountain somewhere in the region of the Sea of Galilee. Some conjecture that it could have been a place called the Horns of Hattin, and it's a place called that because its twin peaks resemble two horns, and it was about four miles west of the Sea of Galilee. But if you'll take a topographical map, that is a map that shows the heights of the land and sea level and below sea level, you'll notice that the Sea of Galilee has low mountainous regions on all sides, east, I'm sorry, west, north, and east, and it could have been into any one of those areas that the Lord Jesus retreated. But this much is clear, that this was not an

11:19 arbitrary retreat. When he would lead the masses by the sea, it would be only those who stood in a more intimate and permanent attachment to him who would have followed him to his mountain retreat. And since our Lord had a special and crucial work to perform, he was choosing a setting conducive to that work. But then in the third place, and most vitally, the setting of this activity of our Lord is not only laid before us in terms of the historical context, the geographical location, but the spiritual climate in which he performed this act. And here we turn to Luke for a description of the spiritual climate of the choice of the twelve. In Luke chapter 6, we read in verse 12, 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. And when it

12:33 was day, he called his disciples, you see, those who were bound to him in a closer tie than the vast multitudes who were there by the sea. And he chose from them, that is, from the company of those bound to him in a more intimate relationship, to pray. And he chose from them, that is, from the out of them, he chose twelve whom he named apostles. So the spiritual climate in which our Lord engaged in this selection of the twelve is one of eminent and unusual prayerfulness. I'm sure reading Luke 6 in verse 12, we could wish that God would pull back the veil and give us further descriptions of that all-night vigil of prayer. which preceded the choice of the twelve. We have seen in our previous studies in Mark that our Lord was not an ascetic. And all night of prayer, along with fasting, were the unusual activities of our Lord and not the normal. You remember John was called to a life of asceticism. It was Jesus who

13:47 was accused of being a glutton and a wine-bibber, because he ate a lot of wine. He was called to a life of asceticism. It was Jesus who was accused of being a glutton and a wine-bibber, because he ate in the ordinary patterns the ordinary food and drink of an ordinary Palestinian. So when the scripture tells us that our Lord gave himself to a whole night of prayer, it is underscoring that there was set before our Lord a tremendous crisis that drew from him this commitment that caused him to bypass his normal rest and to give himself to prayer.

14:21 And though we can only guess what the content of that prayer vigil through the night might have been, surely the context presses upon us that it must have involved pleading with God for wisdom and guidance in the selection of the twelve. It is most likely that on that very next day he preached the Sermon on the Mount, that tremendous body of truth contained in Matthew 5. And perhaps his prayer was in great measure given over to pleading with his heavenly Father, not only for wisdom in the selection of the twelve, but wisdom in articulating what in a very real sense is the fundamental constitution of the spiritual kingdom which he came to establish and within which the twelve would have so unique a place as foundation stones in the church. In the church of Jesus Christ.

15:23 But whatever the specific content of the prayer may have been, surely God giving us this description of the spiritual climate in which he performed this activity is a rebuke to our own carnal self-confidence and our own prayerlessness. It's evident that our Lord intended to select the twelve from those who were his more intimate. We have already seen that there were stages in calling such men as Peter, Andrew, James, and John, and Matthew into a life of intimate attachment to himself, so that some of these who formed the core of his disciples had been with him for approximately two years. But in spite of all the knowledge gleaned by that intimate contact over two years, when many times they were alone, they were not alone. They were not alone. They were not alone.

16:20 They were not alone. They were not alone. The perfect embodiment of what Proverbs 3, 5, and 6 means, trust in the Lord with all thy heart, and lean not upon your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths. What a picture! The embodiment of all wisdom, the one of whom Paul speaks, in him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. John tells us, he needed not that any should testify.

17:21 He needed not that any should testify of man, for he knew what was in man, and yet there's an all-night vigil of prayer before he enters upon this selection of those upon whose shoulders will rest this awesome responsibility of becoming foundation blocks in his own church. Now granted, there are times when our Lord Jesus, as we, must shoot up, as one dear old saint said, a volley to the Lord in the midst. Now granted, there are times when our Lord Jesus, as we, must shoot up, as one dear old saint said, a volley to the Lord in the midst. of a pressured situation.

17:53 Nehemiah was in the presence of the king. A question was asked, and it says, I prayed unto the Lord, and I said unto the king. And there is no substitute for living in the atmosphere of prayer, and cultivating the spirit and disposition of prayer. In that sense, to pray without ceasing.

18:13 And if anyone knew what those directives mean, our Lord knew what they meant. But in spite of that, they were no substitute. For a concentrated season of lengthy and tense waiting upon God. And the scripture tells us he went up into that mountain with specific intention of giving himself to prayer.

The Author of the Choice: Jesus Christ's Sovereign Will

18:36 And it was in that climate that our Lord had his own judgment influenced, either by direct revelation from the Father, or more likely, in the same way our minds are influenced in answer to prayer, by the use of his own natural faculties, under the pressure and sensitizing influence of the Holy Spirit in answer to prayer, he is given that wisdom from his Father, to make the selection of the twelve that will be pleasing to his Father. Well, having set the context of this selection of the twelve as it is given to us in the scriptures, consider with me in the second place, Consider with me in the second place, Consider with me in the second place, the specific details of the choice of the twelve. And as the details are given to us here in Mark's gospel, and occasionally we'll bring in a highlight from Matthew and from Luke, there is set before us, first of all, the author of the choice, then the results of the choice, and then we'll consider together what the passage tells us about the names, of the twelve who are actually constituted the apostles. First of all, then, the author of the choice.

20:01 Mark's emphasis is clear. Look at the language of the text. He goes up into the mountain, and he calls unto him whom he himself would. And there is a reflexive pronoun used to underscore that this is the act of the choice.

20:22 The activity of the Lord Jesus Christ himself, and the activity of the Lord Jesus exclusively. He calls unto him whom he himself would, and he appointed or designated twelve. And the same emphasis comes through very strongly in Luke's account, where the very standard word for God, God's electing grace and mercy, that election which is unto life and salvation, the same verb is used here in verse 13 of Luke 6. And when it was day, he called his disciples, and he chose, he elected, he selected from them twelve whom he named apostles. He called them, he chose them, he named them, he named them. Our Lord did not ask for volunteers. He did not open the floor for nominations.

21:31 Nor did he ratify personal ambition. None of that is permissible in the language of the text. If ever the regal, sovereign rights of Christ were exercised, and the gospel writers were careful to preserve the record, it is here. The author of, the author of this choice of the twelve was Jesus Christ himself, Jesus Christ alone.

22:00 No common suffrage, no volunteers, no ratification of men of personal ambition, he selects, he appoints, and he names. The author then of this choice of the twelve was the Lord Jesus. So when the apostle tells us that the ascension, the ascended Christ is the one who gives gifts to his church, here is the pattern for his doing it. He gave some apostles, and how does he do it?

22:32 By the exercise of his own sovereign will. Here, John 15, 16 was being fulfilled historically. You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you and appointed you that you should go forth and bear fruit, and that your fruit, that you should abide. This is the inspired commentary upon John 15, 16, or the inspired historical record.

The Results of the Choice: Twelve Apostles and Their Unique Role

23:01 That's the commentary upon this passage. But now, what were the results of the choice? Well, the results of the choice are these. Number one, twelve men are chosen and constituted and named apostles.

23:18 Notice again the language of the text. And he, appointed or constituted twelve, and then there's a textual problem. It's not certain whether someone inserted the language of Luke or whether Mark originally wrote it, but there's no question that it belongs in Luke, so we flip over to Luke. He called his disciples, he chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles.

23:49 Twelve men are chosen and constituted and named, apostles. Now, the question that should come to our minds immediately is why did he choose twelve? Why not eleven? Why not thirteen?

24:05 And I think some of you children could at least suggest an answer. When you think of twelve men, and you go back to some of your Old Testament stories, who do you think about? There was a certain man that had twelve sons, and those sons became the heads of twelve tribes in Israel. Do you remember who that man was?

24:29 One of his sons became a great leader in Egypt. Do you remember? Old Jacob had his twelve sons, who became the heads of the twelve tribes of the ancient nation of Israel. And there is no question that our Lord's selection of twelve was not arbitrary.

24:50 But in selecting twelve, our Lord was demonstrating that he, as the head of the church, was constituting these men as the patriarchs of the new Israel. Oh, you say, Pastor, that's spiritualizing, is it? Well, you turn to Revelation chapter 21 with me, and see if I am spiritualizing or if this is indeed the teaching of the Word of God. Revelation chapter 21, verse 9.

25:29 21 And there came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls, who were laden with the seven last plates, and he spoke with me, saying, Come hither, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb. Now, in the light of our knowledge of the New Testament, what is the bride and the wife of the Lamb? It is the what? It is the church of Jesus Christ.

25:52 Ephesians chapter 5. Christ loved the church, gave himself for the church. So, John is given this message. Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.

26:05 Now, verse 10 says, 22 He carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high. And what does he see? Not a woman in a beautiful white flowing gown, but this is what he sees. 23 He showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God.

26:27 Her light was unto a stone, etc. 24 Here the bride is set before him as the city of God. The New Jerusalem. You see the connection?

26:37 I will show you the bride. Then he carries him away, and John is given to see this city of God. New Jerusalem. This is the church under a different figure.

26:50 That which is called in Scripture, the Jerusalem which is above. That is not spiritualization. That is exegesis of the word God. And now then, when he sees that vision of the glorified, perfected church, notice the description.

27:08 Verse 12. It has a great, a wall great and high, twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and the names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel. So upon the twelve gates are written the names of the twelve tribes, the twelve sons of old Jacob. But now verse 14, and the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

27:45 And God is telling us in a beautiful, symbolic, and yet simple manner, that the bride, the church, the New Jerusalem, is constituted of those who were gathered out of ancient, literal Israel, and those who are gathered out of the New Israel. There are not two cities in the church, two separate lines that never meet, according to the teaching of dispensationalism. There is one people of God, one city of God, one bride, one wife of the Lamb. And our Lord Jesus, in choosing twelve apostles, chose twelve that immediately, those who were steeped in the knowledge of the Old Testament, would at least begin to suspect that there was an organic connection between the twelve tribes of ancient Israel and the new people of God, the new Israel, being constituted by the Lord Jesus Christ. And so the result of the choice is that twelve men are chosen, constituted, and named apostles. Now, from this point on, we must understand that the term apostle has a very special and technical significance.

29:11 The word in itself simply means one sent forth. And it is still used in that way with reference to such people as Barnabas, Epaphroditus, Apollos, and several others. We use it that way. A man who is greatly used of God in his generation may be called an apostle of the seventeenth century.

29:35 One of the great preachers in the north of Scotland, there's a biography written about him, so-and-so apostle to the north. Well, that's apostle with a lowercase a. But when it is apostle capital A, it is referring to that unique, non-perpetuated, distinct office which Jesus constituted here in this historical setting. And it is only the twelve, and then the substitute Matthias, and then subsequently Paul as one born out of due time, who were ever designated by Christ as apostles with a capital A.

30:17 And to be an apostle is to be nothing less than a foundation stone in the very church of Jesus Christ. It is to be given a unique authority directly by Christ, and listen carefully, given unique power to validate that appointment. So that Paul says in 2 Corinthians 12, 12, the signs of an apostle were wrought in me. Well, there's the first result then of the choice of Christ.

30:53 Twelve men are chosen, constituted, and named apostles. You say, Pastor, this is rather heavy and boring. My friend, if you don't get straight on the issue of what apostles are, you're going to be a sitting duck for all the madness of charismania in our very day. You'll be a sitting duck for the smooth-talking so-called restorationists who come saying that we are the church of the latter-day saints, and we have new revelation that came to us through Joseph Smith, etc.

31:25 You'll be a sitting duck for all kinds of heresy if you're not settled in your mind. With reference to what Jesus Christ did here in a mountain 2,000 years ago. The result of that choice is the constitution of a unique and special office. The second thing we see as the results are these.

The Results of the Choice: Special Relationship and Task

31:48 That these are marked out and set apart for a special relationship to Christ and a special task for Christ. Look at the text. And he appointed or constituted twelve in order that they might be with him and in order that he might send them forth to preach and to have authority to cast out demons. What was the result of his choice?

32:25 Having constituted twelve men as apostles in that unique sense, he now sets them apart for a special relationship to himself and a special task to be performed on his behalf. The one was an immediate purpose, the other was a more remote purpose. The immediate purpose is that they might be with him. Now you see, we said earlier in the account of the call of those fishermen, that there was a gradual calling into the role of an apostle.

33:04 There was the immediate confrontation under John's ministry. There was initial response of faith in the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world. They went back to their fishing. Then there was the call by the Sea of Galilee and they basically left the fishing occupation and became part of the band who followed Jesus wherever he went.

33:26 Now that process of marking them out, calling them to himself, reaches its apex and he marks them out, names them apostles, and the first thing he does is to admit them into an intimacy of association in order to prepare them for their task as apostles. They are to be with him, to observe him, his own life, his own mighty works and power, and his ways of dealing with men. They are to be trained in the immediate presence of the Son of God. And then the more remote purpose is that he might send them forth to herald the message.

34:11 The word used for preach is that more formal word to proclaim as an appointed herald. Now it wasn't his purpose to send them out immediately. For if you'll turn over to chapter 6 in Mark's Gospel, and verse 7, there we read, he calls unto him the twelve. You see that is now a technical term for a special group.

34:38 He calls unto him the twelve and began to send them forth by two and two. So for a period of time, there was no sending forth apart from the Lord Jesus being with them. He calls them to be with him. And it is in the context of beholding the plethora of his own credentials as the Son of God, then and only then does he send them forth to preach, and I'll follow closely, not only to preach, but to validate their message as he validated his own with miraculous powers.

35:20 To cast out demons, Mark says, Matthew adds, to heal the sick and even to raise the dead. Matthew 10.1 and Matthew 10.8.

35:30 And apparently, the only authority Jesus did not confer upon the twelve was the power to handle the physical creation. There's no record that they could rebuke storms. There is no record that they could multiply loaves and fishes. It seems as though the Lord Jesus would not share with them with his appointed representatives, the apostles, that creative element of his identity as the incarnate God and as Messiah.

The Names of the Twelve: Diversity and Significance

36:02 But basically, they become an extension of the Lord Jesus Christ. They will go forth to do in his room instead and under his authority and by his power what he himself would do had he been able to go in his person throughout all of the cities and villages of the twelve tribes of Israel. So the second result of that appointment is that they are marked out and set apart for a special relationship to Christ and a special task for Christ. Now, under the specifics, we not only have the author of this choice, the Lord Jesus, the results of the choice, but finally the names of the twelve constituted and commissioned as apostles. And their names are given to us here in the third chapter of Mark. Now, it's a fascinating study to look at the four places where the twelve apostles are listed. In the fourth one, Acts 1, you only have eleven because Judas has gone to his place.

37:11 And I found, as I did my study and my research, some of the most fascinating things out of what appears to be a dull list of names. And certain patterns emerge. In the four lists, Peter is always listed first, Philip is always listed fifth, and James is always listed ninth. So you obviously have three groupings of four, and the first name is always the same in each grouping.

37:41 And the last one always mentioned is Judas. But now, in between, there's an inversion of the order. You don't always have the same order from Peter down through Philip, from Philip down through James, and James through Judas. And some of the conjectures as to why there are these differences renders some very interesting material.

38:03 You can read the books that I read and found out. I won't weary you with that material. But rather, what I wish to do is to focus upon some things that are very obvious, and I trust will be unto our edification. Up till now, this has been pretty heavy going, but I don't know how else to lay it out here, people.

38:20 These are things you've just got to know, and you've got to understand. And there's no way to bypass being faithful to the Word of God, and God has not called me to be clever, but to be accurate in the handling of His Word. But now we come to that which I trust will be more obviously edifying and immediately edifying, as I ask you to note with me several things about the names and the persons constituted and commissioned. First of all, the significance of the fact that they were all male.

Significance of the Apostles: All Male and Nobodies

38:52 They were all males. Now in a day when women were oppressed, demeaned and exploited, Jesus in His own ministry became the great example of care and of gentleness, and in many ways, He was truly the liberator of oppressed women. He elevated womanhood to its true dignified position. And one need only read to the Gospels with this one end in view to gather a plethora of materials.

39:28 How did Jesus treat women? Take that question in your mind and scour the Gospels, and you will see that Jesus was no male chauvinist. He gave privileges to certain women that He denied to men. And women are elevated in the ministry of Jesus, and wherever the Gospel is gone, and found women oppressed, women exploited, the Gospel is come with Him.

39:55 And healing power to raise womanhood to its true God-intended dignity. But there are no female apostles. Why? Because it would have been cruel to put a woman in a position for which God never made her.

40:12 God did not make a woman to lead men. Embedded in the soul of a woman is the disposition to follow and to be a helper to man. And 1 Timothy 2.12 and following is an extended commentary on this very principle.

40:33 And how desperately do we need to hear this note in the current situation. We are told that the only Christian thing to do and to prove that we have no prejudice to women, that we are not prepared to demean women, is to open up every ecclesiastical office to women. And we are told that is the only Christian thing to do. Well, if it is Christian, Christ should pave the way.

41:00 But Christ has not paved the way. He chose twelve men to be apostles. And only men. And He continues to choose men for office-bearing capacity in the church of Christ.

41:15 And only men, and no bishop, no ordaining council, no presbytery, can intrude a woman upon an office and give her an office by their authority when they run counter to the authority and word of the head of the church, Jesus Christ. Now in the second place, notice the significance of the fact that all of them, for the most part, were a bunch of nobodies. All of them were nobodies. We have very little previous history on several of them.

41:52 In fact, we have no previous history. For some of them, we do have a little previous history. We have a history of the four fishermen. We have some previous history of a despised tax collector.

42:04 In the surnames given to three of them, to Peter, we have an intimation of what grace would make them, the sons of thunder, something perhaps about their natural temperament. But very little is said. But this much we know, that for the most part, what is revealed is that they were humble, unlearned, relatively ignorant Palestinians drawn, with the exception of Judas Iscariot, from the region of Galilee. None of the great ones were present in that band.

42:38 From the band of the disciples, He chose twelve, and the twelve He chose were basically a bunch of nobodies. Why? Well, there may be many reasons that only the Lord will be able to tell us in the last day, but surely one of them is this. If they are forming the foundation stones of the church, then surely the whole complexion of the church will be reflected in the foundation stones.

43:06 And of what is Christ's church made? Listen. Behold your calling, brethren, not many wise after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called, but God chose the foolish things of the world that He might put to shame them that are wise. And God chose the weak things of the world that He might put to shame the things that are strong, and the base things of the world, and the things that are despised did God choose, yea, and the things that are not that He might bring to naught the things that are that no flesh should glory before God.

43:44 Fox takes these designations, the foolish, the weak, the base, the despised, the things that are not, and he calls them God's five-ranked army of descending human weakness. You start with the what? The foolish, and you end up with the ciphers, the things that are nothing. Five-ranked army of descending human weakness, and he says with them He'll conquer the world.

44:14 And so it is evident, here in the choice of Christ, that the very pattern of God's work throughout the history of the church is reflected. God chose a bunch of nobodies. A.B. Bruce in his classic work, The Training of the Twelve, has picked up this thread of thought, and he says this, Such were the men that Jesus chose to be with Him while He was on this earth, to carry on His work after He left it. Such were the men whom the church celebrates as the glorious company of the apostles. The praise is merited, but the glory of the twelve was not of this world. In a worldly point of view, they were a very insignificant company indeed, a band of poor, illiterate, Galilean provincials, utterly devoid of social consequence, not likely to be chosen by one having supreme regard

45:10 to prudence and to carnal approach to influence. And then he goes on to describe why did Jesus choose such men? Well, His disciples were made up of that crowd. Do you remember down in Jerusalem?

45:24 It was the smart religious doctors of the law who said, This multitude that knows not the law, they follow Him, but we wise ones, we don't. Ah, we've got more sense than to follow Him. We're not going to be taken in. We're not the gullible rabble.

45:38 And so since the disciples were made up for the most part of the weak and the base and the things that are not, it is out of them that He chose the twelve. And they reflected that very character. And you and I need to rejoice that that's the pattern of God's choice of those who make up the living stones in His church to this day. My friend, rather than swell with pride that you are part of God's people, it's most likely that it's because you're nobody that God laid His hand upon you to make it evident that no flesh should glory before Him.

Significance of the Apostles: Diversity of Temperament and Usefulness

46:15 But then notice in the third place the significance of the vast diversity of natural temperament and background and perspective. What a motley bunch to try to fuse together into those who would be the official leaders of the church. There he has a group of fishermen who share a common religious and cultural heritage. But notice interspersed with that we have one who is called Simon the Canaanian or Simon the Zealot.

46:47 And most likely he was a man who had previously been joined to a party that was determined to throw off the yoke of Rome. They were like insurrectionists. And yet right next door is Matthew, this hobnobber with Rome who collected taxes for Rome and was despised by the Jews because of his affinity with Rome. Now if ever you're going to have a situation to create tension and friction, it's people with such diverse backgrounds.

47:15 Look at the temperaments. Volatile Peter. And yet Bartholomew, most likely Nathanael, quiet and contemplative, sitting under a fig tree thinking about Messiah. Impetuous Peter.

47:28 And then don't mistake the character of John. John's been given a raw deal. The whole picture is he's an old man with bad eyesight and sort of gushy and, you know, wouldn't hurt a flea. He's a son of thunder.

47:41 And the strongest language in New Testament epistles is found in the Johannine epistles. Liar, antichrist, murderer. That's the gutsy, strong language of John, this son of thunder. And this was probably the James who had his head removed.

47:57 Why? Probably because he hadn't learned the unholy art of preaching. Of preaching without bite. And so he preached his head off in Jerusalem.

48:04 So we see this tremendous diversity of temperament, background, and perspective. And what does the Lord Jesus do? He chooses such a group to be with Him and then to go forth. And He's doing the same thing to this day.

48:20 That when that group is brought into a functioning body of spiritual leaders, again it will be evident that only grace could take such a group filled with potential for division and ambition and friction. And there are times when it cropped out. Remember they were debating who's going to be number one. And others overheard it and the whole thing turned into a general fuss.

48:46 And the Bible does not throw a cloak of silence over some of the elements that had to be dealt with by our Lord. But surely it points to the direction or in the direction that ought greatly to encourage us that when the Lord has called us together from such a vast diversity of natural temperament and background and formative influences to make us His church, His dwelling place, what's the end He has in view? To cause people to stand back in amazement and say if that crowd goes through one week without tearing each other's hair and cutting each other's throats, it must be grace that's doing something in them. Beware of the church that is comprised only of those from the same cultural and economic and sociological perspective. It may be nothing but genes and culture that hold them together and not grace. But then notice in the fourth place the significance of the diversity of subsequent prominence and usefulness. All are part of the foundation of the church, the apostles.

49:54 But it's evident that Peter, John and Matthew are given a sphere of influence in life that the others were not given. They were given an influence after their lives were done in the letters that they have written. And it underscores again the great truth that the wise, sovereign head of the church marks out these matters and each must acknowledge his place and be content with his appointed sphere. One sows, another waters, God gives the increase.

50:25 So then neither is he that planteth anything, neither he that watereth, but God who gives the increase. And oh, that we might learn that lesson. Not only amongst ministers. One of the most tragic things to see is ministerial jealousy.

50:42 You want to see somebody turn green before your very eyes? Just start talking to one minister about the blessing of God upon the labors of another. And there seem to be so few who have a heart at rest in what God made them to be that they can rejoice if their brethren outstrip them in usefulness and prominence. Because their great concern is that Christ be glorified.

The Sobering Example of Judas Iscariot

51:09 And if the head of the church chooses to give Peter tremendous prominence never given to Andrew, there's no indication that Andrew stewed in the foul juices of jealousy and envy. Because the grace of God was at work in them. And then, in conclusion, and would God that I could end on a note, other than this, but the text presses it upon me. Notice how it concludes.

51:38 The last named individual, and Judas Iscariot, probably a contraction, meaning Judas from Kerioth, a place in southern Judea. And if so, Judas was the only non-Galilean. And here is his great distinction, who also betrayed him. Last, we learn, the significance of the fact that one is elected to service and usefulness in ministry who ultimately proves to be a stranger to grace.

52:16 I didn't write it, dear people, it's in the text. He chose to himself, for himself whom he would, and he marked out and assigned this unique office not only to Peter and to Andrew, I'm sorry, not only to Peter and to James and to John, and then to Andrew and Philip, but also to Judas, who also betrayed him. Now, I know there are all kinds of questions and problems. How did Jesus choose one that he knew who would betray him?

52:54 For Scripture says he knew from the beginning who it was that should betray him. How can that choice be...

53:00 There are 101 questions. Calvin raises in his commentary four of the most frequently asked questions and answers them in a very sagacious and biblical manner, but I bypass all of those questions and their answers and I come to this issue. This much is clear. Visible attachment to Christ and his people is no proof of grace, and visible usefulness in the service of Christ is no proof of grace.

53:30 He chose twelve that they might be with him, and from this point on, in the most intimate associations of Jesus with the twelve, Judas was always there. John 18 says he knew the very place to go in which to hand Jesus over to the authorities. Why? Jesus oft-times resorted thither with his disciples.

53:56 He knew the very spot. He was with him. Intimate association with Christ and his people. And then when he sent them forth in chapter 6 and verse 7 of Mark, there's not a shred of evidence that when he gave them authority to cast out demons, heal the sick, and even raise the dead, that Judas lacked any of that Christ-conferred authority.

54:25 The eve of the betrayal when he said, one of you should betray me, they didn't nudge one another and say, aha, I bet it's Judas. I notice he never was able to cast out a demon. He never was able to raise the dead. He never was able to preach with unction.

54:39 He never preached with liberty. I've been suspicious all along. No, no. There wasn't a shred of evidence.

54:45 There is not one exegetical thread in the Gospels to indicate that Judas was any other position but within. And when he went forth, that he lacked anything of the delegated power for service. But he was a demon and a betrayer of the Son of God. And at the heart of his betrayal, Scripture tells us, was his covetousness.

55:15 He was a thief. No doubt early in the ministry, whatever there was in Christ that attracted the multitudes, Judas shared in that attraction. But when he was called into that intimate association, he could not help but behold in Jesus the very apex of selflessness. He was there when Jesus said, let's go on a little vacation.

55:41 And they no sooner get the vacation spot when the multitudes come before them and Jesus forgets the vacation and in selfless, self-giving love, pours himself out in ministry to the needy. And it wasn't long before Judas realized, if I'm to be comfortable in the presence of this selfless man, my greeting, covetous, grasping spirit must be transformed by his spirit. And rather than cry to God for a new heart, he calculated to live a double life that led to his hanging himself and going straight to hell. My dear people, that ought to strike fear to your heart.

Application: Self-Examination and True Grace

56:21 You're in the company of God's visible people, yes. You may even have apparent usefulness in the advancement of the kingdom of Christ, yes. But those two things are no proof of grace in your heart. The only proof of grace is that which grace alone can do.

56:42 And that's to take your sin-loving heart at the point of your darling sin, be it lust, pride, envy, ambition, greed, whatever it is. And at that, extend the rule of Christ to every area of your heart. Now, has that happened in you? If not, don't you take comfort that you're part of Christ's visible people.

57:10 Don't you take comfort that you've done great things in his name. Someday, the true state of your heart will manifest itself, and you'll betray the Son of God for that thing that you spared. With Judas, it was his hooks into his dollars. He was a thief, and he held the bag.

57:36 That's what Scripture says. But it wasn't so blatant that people knew. He led his double life until God exposed him. Need I say more?

57:51 That's not theory in this place in these days. May God help us to search our hearts, because Christ is present in his church to give you the heart you don't have by nature. Why go on living that double life when Jesus Christ can give you in heart what you now only have in outward appearance? And by calculated deception, aren't you weary of playing the game?

58:21 Aren't you weary of going through the motions without reality? My friend, flee to Christ, who can give you a heart, that makes you one of his own. Well, these are at least some of the lessons that stand on the surface of Christ's appointment of the Twelve. May God help us to lay them to heart.

58:43 Let us pray. Our Father, how we thank you for the richness of your word. May the Holy Spirit, even now, write it upon the fleshy tables of our hearts, and may we be given grace to walk, to think, to conduct ourselves in its light. O Father, deal with those who are strangers to grace, who merely have a name, that they are alive but are dead.

59:17 Give grace to come out into the light, to own their true state, and draw them to yourself. Help us as your people to be well grounded in the uniqueness of the apostolic office. In our submission to apostolic testimony, O deliver us from being tossed to and fro, by everyone's claims to new light and new revelation. O Lord, keep us, keep us in your grace and power.

59:46 We ask these mercies through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.