Day 22

Luke 6:12–16 (NIV)

¹² One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. ¹³ When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles: ¹⁴ Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, ¹⁵ Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, ¹⁶ Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

Pray for God to show you something to use from the passage

Read the Passage

Who is in the passage?

What action verbs do you see?

What other words stick out in your mind

Questions

Think about the importance of prayer for Jesus. What does that say about it working?

How much do you pray about the decisions you make in life?

Two of Jesus apostles are Matthew, who worked for the government, and Simon the Zealot, who hated the Roman government. What does that say about who Jesus attracted and how it applies to our life?

Notes

Luke 6:12-16

Before Jesus makes most important decision yet spends ALL night praying. How Much do I pray before decisions in my life?

Chooses twelve from many disciples. Know many traveled with him that were not the 12 (See Acts 1:21-24)

vs 13 designated apostles mark 3:14 says the term apostles meant

· Be with Him

· sent to preach

· authority to drive out demons

why 12? These 12 judge the tribes of Israel (Luke 22:29) Some see it as a parallel to the 12 tribes of Israel in the old testament but nothing is stated that way in the bible

vs 14-16 we know the stories of a few but not all. All 11 (not counting Judas Iscariot) thought by early church to be killed for their faith

Here is a little on the 12 apostles

Simon the first name in the list, is also called Peter Jesus gave him this second name (Matt. 16:18; John 1:42), but Luke does not make any effort to discuss it. Luke uses the name Simon for Peter until here, except for Simon Peter in Luke 5:8. For the rest of his Gospel, Luke will call him Peter (the only exceptions are 22:31; 24:34). Peter means “rock” and alludes to his leadership role among the Twelve Mark 1:29 notes that Peter lived in Capernaum.

Andrew, Peter’s brother, was also a fisherman. Luke’s only other reference to him is Acts 1:13. John 1:44 notes that Andrew is from Bethsaida. Otherwise he is mentioned only a few times (Mark 1:16, 29; 13:3; John 1:40; 6:8; 12:22

James and John are called the sons of Zebedee (Luke 5:10) and the sons of thunder (Mark 3:17). They also are Galilean fishermen. They worked with Peter and Andrew (Luke 5:10–11). James is one of the early church martyrs (Acts 12:1–2). In one list, John occupies the second place next to Peter (Acts 1:13). He is known in tradition as the “beloved” disciple and is said to have lived a long life (John 13:23; 19:26; 20:2; 21:7, 20).

Philip appears only briefly in the NT (John 1:43–48; 6:5–7; 12:22; 14:8–9). He was from Bethsaida and introduced Nathanael to Jesus. He is portrayed as a rather typical disciple, often struggling to understand what Jesus is doing.

Bartholomew There is speculation that he has another name, with Nathanael of John 1:45 often being put forward as the candidate. The Synoptics do not mention Nathanael, while John does not mention Bartholomew; (3) every list except Acts 1:13 places Bartholomew and Philip together; and (4) the other men named in John 21:2 are apostles and Nathanael is among them. Thus, it is quite possible that Bartholomew is Nathanael.

Matthew is probably another name for Levi the tax collector (Matt. 9:9–13). After following Jesus, he gave a party for him. When Jesus attended, the Pharisees grumbled about his associating with sinners (5:29–32). Matthew’s presence in the group shows the grace and openness of the community.

Thomas means “twin.” He is also known Didymus (John 11:16; 20:24; 21:2). He is, then, yet another example of a disciple with two names. John gives the most information about Thomas, including the famous “doubting Thomas” incident (John 11:16; 14:5; 20:24–29). Tradition places his later ministry in either Persia or India

James son of Alphaeus There is some question as to whether he is mentioned elsewhere. Some suggest that he is James the Lesser (or Younger) of Mark 15:40 This identification requires that the names Alphaeus and Clopas (John 19:25) be the same, which is possible but not certain The exact identification of this James is uncertain. His connection to Alphaeus raises the question of whether Matthew is his brother. There is not enough material to decide this question.

Simon is called a Zealot The description suggests that he had nationalist political leanings. Josephus describes a fourth party in Judaism, the Zealots, a party to which the reference here might be an allusion It seems likely that Simon was a nationalist Israelite before joining up with Jesus. Thus, among the apostles were a worker for the state (a tax collector) and also one who fiercely opposed the state. Reconciliation was a product of Jesus’ work.

Judas son of James He is often called Jude son of James to distinguish him from the other Judas. Likewise, John 14:22 calls him “Judas, not Iscariot.”

Judas Iscariot eventually betrays Jesus, as Luke notes with his remark about Judas’s becoming a traitor (22:3, 47–48). He is mentioned often in the Gospels, with John giving the most references (John 6:70–71; 12:4–6; 13:2, 29; 18:2–5; Mark 14:10; Matt. 26:14).

Bock, D. L. (1994). Luke Volume 1: 1:1-9:50. Baker exegetical commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books.