He Commissions the Twelve

["Click here for Matthew's account"]
["Click here for Mark's account"]
["Click here for Luke's account"]

"And He called to Him, His twelve disciples." This completes the calling of the twelve men chosen by Christ to carry on the Gospel after He was gone. Seven had already been called, Peter, Andrew, James, John, Philip, Nathaneal and Matthew. Then the remaining five were called, Thomas, James the less, Thaddaeus, Simon and Judas. Perhaps now would be a good time to acquaint ourselves with these 12 men.

1. PETER - the big fisherman.
   1. Brother of Andrew
   2. Quick tempered
   3. Weak in himself
   4. Leader of the twelve
2. ANDREW - the first missionary
   1. Disciple of John the Baptist
   2. Led Peter to Christ
   3. Led the first Greeks to Christ
   4. Was crucified on a cross that was named after him.
3. JAMES - Brother of John
   1. Son of Thunder
   2. Son of Zebedee and Solomie
   3. Rich and self-centered
4. JOHN - Brother of James
   1. Son of Thunder
   2. Son of Zebedee and Solomie
   3. The Beloved Disciple
5. PHILIP - The first Disciple
   1. Led Nathaniel to Christ
6. NATHANIEL - called Bartholomew
   1. The second Disciple
   2. Studious
7. MATTHEW - (Levi) the publican
   1. Wealthy
   2. Educated
   3. Wrote the most authoritative record of the life of Christ.
8. JAMES - the less, son of Alphaeus
   1. May have been a brother of Matthew and Thaddaeus.
   2. Probably small of statue.
9. THOMAS - "Doubting Thomas"
   1. A man of courage
10. THADDAEUS - called Lebbeus or Judas
    1. Brother of James the Less originator of the question that has stumped the world for 2000 years, "Why will you make yourself known to us and not to the world?" (John 14:22)
    2. Man of mystery, little known about him.
11. SIMEON - the Canaanite
    1. A Zealot, a group dedicated to the overthrow of Rome.
12. JUDAS ISCARIOT
    1. Iscariot meant he was a man from Kerioth, a town in southern Judah. Judas was the only Judean in the group, the rest were Galileans.

Notice when Jesus called these 12 men He gave them "authority" over unclean spirits, to cast them out and to heal every disease and infirmity. Most people do not realize that the disciples had this power before Pentecost.

Matthew places this account at a later date than Mark and Luke. Matthew Henry, in his commentary, says that he believes that by now the "disciples" had become quite numerous and that the period up to this time was a time of probation and preparation. This is brought out by Luke, "and He called His disciples and chose 12 whom He called Apostles (Luke 6: 13)

Notice that the twelve received a "calling", Mark says it this way, "Those whom He desired, He ordained for a job." The job was to heal the sick, cast out demons and preach the Gospel. For this, He gave them the necessary power. It is interesting to note that the words "Angel" and "Apostle" mean the same thing, "one sent on a errand". Why were there 12 and only 12 chosen? These 12 by their doctrine, were to judge the 12 Tribes of Israel. (Luke 22:28-30)

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