1. TWELVE ORDINARY MEN by John MacArthur
Given An Uncommon Mission
1 Cor. 1:26-29

2. Chapter 1 COMMON MEN, UNCOMMON CALLING
If you were Jesus, how might you have
proceeded to get the message about the
kingdom of God spread throughout the
world? What sort of strategy might you
have pursued?
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3. [Jesus] chose to work through the instrumentality of those few fallible individuals rather than advance His agenda through mob force, military might, personal popularity, or a public-relations campaign. (continue)

4. From a human perspective, the future of the church and the long-term success of the gospel depended entirely on the faithfulness of that handful of disciples. There was no plan B if they failed. (Zech 4:6) Twelve Ordinary Men, p. 3

5. Four Phases of Their Calling
Common Men…
Four Phases of Their Calling
Called to Conversion
Called to Ministry
Called to Apostleship
Called to Martyrdom
An Uncommon Calling

6. The Call To Apostleship
Common Men…
The Call To Apostleship
The Timing
The Twelve
The Teacher
The Task and
The Training
An Uncommon Calling

7. The Timing (Luke 6) Conflict with the scribes and Pharisees
Common Men…
The Timing (Luke 6)
Conflict with the scribes and Pharisees
In “these days” He calls The 12
Change in His ministerial focus
Rejected by Jewish religious establishment
The 12 would have to come from the anti-establishment
An Uncommon Calling

8. The Twelve What about qualifications? Who could meet the standards?
Common Men…
The Twelve
What about qualifications?
Who could meet the standards?
Unworthy nobodies are all God has
(Satan says: “Unworthy = Useless”) Cor. 1:20-21
Man does NOT make the Apostle!
Apostles are among the Heroes of the Bible
Where are man’s great minds? Not in the church, because God gets the glory!
An Uncommon Calling

9. The Teacher He prays all night (Lk. 6:12)
Common Men…
The Teacher
He prays all night (Lk. 6:12)
He chooses from among the multitude.
Many desert Him after “hard sayings.” (Dynamics of John 6)
He did NOT ask for volunteers (John 15:16)
Why 12? (Luke 22:29-30)
An Uncommon Calling

10. The Task “Pulled in” then “pushed out.”
Common Men…
The Task
“Pulled in” then “pushed out.”
The timeline of their preparation: - They would follow Jesus on a part-time basis. - Mt. 4 is when He calls them to follow Him exclusively. - Later He will give them the gift of authority and miracle power - Finally He will send them out on short-term missions. - After His death, return, and ascension they would take the gospel into the entire world.
An Uncommon Calling

11. Their Uncommon Task Preach the New Kingdom to Israel
Common Men…
Their Uncommon Task
Preach the New Kingdom to Israel
Found the church and lead it through its early growth.
Channels through which the New Testament would to be written. (Eph. 3:5)
The source of all true church doctrine. (Acts 2:42)
To edify the church. (Eph. 4:11,12)
To set the standard for godliness and true spirituality. (They set a standard to emulate.)
To use their miraculous powers to confirm the word. (Heb. 2:3,4)
An Uncommon Calling

12. The Training They became full-time students
Common Men…
The Training
They became full-time students
They sat at the feet of the Master Teacher. (18 months, best seminary training ever!)
The scriptures do not whitewash their blemishes. (Matt. 15:16-17) (Luke 24:25)
- They were lacking in many important areas.
An Uncommon Calling

13. The Training Jesus just kept teaching. (Acts 1:1-3)
Common Men…
The Training
Jesus just kept teaching. (Acts 1:1-3)
Jesus continued to model servant-hood.
Jesus kept doing signs and wonders. (John 20:30)
Jesus continued to pray for them (John 17: 11-26)
Jesus sent the Holy Spirit. (Acts 1:8)
They lacked spiritual understanding.
They lacked humility.
They lacked faith.
They lacked commitment.
They lacked power.
An Uncommon Calling

14. Why didn’t Jesus just pick other men?
Common Men…
The Conclusion
Why didn’t Jesus just pick other men?
The weak things of this world confound the mighty of the world (1 Cor. 1:26-29)
Consider how they come to be viewed after the Holy Spirit is poured out upon them – Acts 4:6-13
The same should be said of every true disciple of Christ! (Luke 6:40)
An Uncommon Calling

15. 29That no flesh should glory in his presence.
1 Corinthians 1:26-29
   26For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
   27But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
   28And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
   29That no flesh should glory in his presence.

16. “Some might imagine that if Christ had wanted His message to have maximum impact, He could have played off His popularity more effectively. Modern conventional wisdom would suggest that Jesus ought to have done everything possible to exploit His fame, tone down the controversy that arose out of His teaching, and employ whatever strategies He could use to maximize the crowds around Him.” Twelve Ordinary Men, p. 2

17. Zechariah 4:6:    6Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.