Jesus Chooses His Disciples Pastor Reynolds May 7|2014

Aim To discover the talents and skills of Jesus’ disciples and to see what talents and skills we have to offer to God.

Background Scriptures  Matthew 10:2-8  Mark 2:14  Luke 6:13-16  John 1:43-47, 20:24-29

Facts  Jesus knew He needed helpers to tell others about God’s plan of salvation.  He choose twelve men to do this out of the crowds of followers.

Facts (cont.)  God gave each of these helpers different talents that would enable Him to use them to complete this task.  The Apostles were a varied group from many different walks of life.

He Called Them “Come and follow Me”

Disciple  Followers of Jesus  Another name for Apostle  Used to identify the original followers of Jesus

Apostle (Disciple)  “one sent forth”  “the twelve that were called to the office by our Lord during His ministry”

Signs of an Apostle  They were chosen directly by the Lord or the Holy Spirit (Matt. 10:1-2, Mk. 3:13-14; Luke 6:13; Acts 9:6:15; 13:2; 22:10- 15; Rm. 1:17)

Signs of an Apostle (cont.)  They were endued with sign gifts, miraculous powers which were the divine credentials of their office ( Matt. 10:1; Acts 5:15-16; 16:16-18; 28:8-9)

Signs of an Apostle (cont.)  Their relationship to their Kingdom was that of heralds, and announcing to Israel only (Matt. 10:5-6) the Kingdom is at hand (Matt. 4:17), and manifesting Kingdom powers (Matt. 10:7-8)

Signs of an Apostle (cont.)  To one of them, Peter, the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven (Matt. 13 and 16:19)  Their future relation to the Kingdom will be that of judges over the twelve tribes of Israel (Matt. 19:28)

Signs of an Apostle (cont.)  Consequent upon the rejection of the Kingdom, and the revelation of the mystery hid with new enduement, they will be baptized with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-4 and Ephesian 2:20-22)

Signs of an Apostle (cont.)  The indispensable qualification of an apostle was that he should have been an eye-witness of the resurrection (Acts 1:22; 1 Cor. 9:1- 2)

Who are the Disciples?  Peter  Andrew  James  John  Phillip

Who are the Disciples? (continued)  Bartholomew  Thomas  James  Thaddaeus  Simon  Judas

Disciples’ Natural Interests  Five were fishermen – Jesus knew of their patience, how to work together, how to work hard and depend on God in severe storms in lonely boring hours mending nets and repairing their boats  One was a tax collector  One who had courage but doubted

Disciples’ Natural Interests (cont.)  One was a shadowy figure  One was a publican  One was the son of Alphaeus  One was a member of the Zealots  One was in charge of the money

Who are the Disciples?  Matthew (Levi) was a tax collector in Capernaum when Jesus called him, gave a feast in Jesus’ honor  Andrew, the bringer was a fisherman from Bethsaida who brought others to Jesus  James, the son of Zebedee, a fisherman was one of “the sons of thunder” and the first disciple to be martyred

Who are the Disciples? (cont.)  John, the son of Zebedee, a fisherman, “the disciple whom Jesus loved” and called “the son of thunder”  Phillip, a fisherman from Bethsaida had an inquiring mind and wondered about Jesus’ miracles and was eager to bring others to Jesus  Thomas (Didymus) had courage as well as doubts

Who are the Disciples? (cont.)  Bartholomew or Nathaniel, the publican, was honest and direct, came to Jesus from Nazareth  Thaddaeus (Judas or Lebbaeus) is a shadowy figure  Peter, a fisherman, who is also called Simon was Andrew’s brother

Who are the Disciples? (cont.)  James or James the Less or Younger was the son of Alphaeus  Simon the Canaanite was a member of the Zealots  Judas Iscariot of Krtioth was in charge of the money, helped himself to it and later killed himself

Jesus’s Invitation  Invitation was not forceful  Invitation to Disciples was to be co-workers with Him in ministry  Invitation recognized the special talents given  Invitation was to honor Him and tell others about Him

Disciples Today (Matthew 28:16-20)  Teaching/Preaching  Baptizing  Observe the Commandments

Conclusion God has given each of us at least one special talent. We can thank Him for the talent (s) He has given us and those around us. We can use our different abilities and work together to bring others to Christ, help others, and honor God.