Tag Archives: twelve

THE GOSPEL OF MARK – HE APPOINTED TWELVE

June 2, 2020Bible StudyJudas Iscariot, sons of thunder, twelveLuella Campbell

HE APPOINTED TWELVE

¹³ Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. ¹⁴ He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach ¹⁵ and to have authority to drive out demons. ¹⁶ These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter), ¹⁷ James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means “sons of thunder”), ¹⁸ Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot ¹⁹ and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. Mark 3:13-19

Although these few verses read as a casual occurrence in Jesus’ life, they constitute one of the most significant moments in His public ministry. According to Luke, He spent the night in prayer before He chose the men to whom He would entrust His friendship, His love and the entire future of His mission on earth. If there were any bad apples in this box, His mission would be in jeopardy.

What about Judas Iscariot? What about Peter, James and John whose characters He knew so well that He gave them nicknames? What hope did He have of molding this diverse mob into disciples – learners and imitators of Himself? How was He going to persuade them that His yoke – gentleness and humility, love compassion and mercy – was more powerful than the yoke of the other rabbis in Israel whom the Pharisees slavishly followed?

Mark mentions His strategy in a single sentence. “The plan was that they would be with Him, and He would send them out to proclaim the Word and give them authority to banish demons.” Mark 3:14, 15 (The Message). Simple, yet effective! The key was “that they would be with Him”. They would accompany Him day and night. They would listen, watch, follow, copy until His thoughts became their thoughts and His ways became their ways – no easy task as their behaviour, words and questions revealed their ignorance.

Jesus often showed His frustration with them because of their faithlessness and their slowness to learn. But with great patience and infinite love, He gave them opportunity after opportunity to practise what they saw Him doing. He had faith in them even though, at that time, they didn’t seem to merit it. He knew that His Spirit in them would energize all they learned and practised so that they would become powerful imitators of their Rabbi. His call was a simple one. “Follow me,” but held in it a world of possibilities.

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE – BIBLE SCHOOL, JESUS STYLE

November 15, 2019Bible Studycommissioned, preach, twelveLuella Campbell

CHAPTER NINE

BIBLE SCHOOL, JESUS STYLE

“Jesus now called the Twelve and gave them authority and power to deal with all the demons and cure diseases. He commissioned them to preach the news of God’s kingdom and heal the sick. He said, ‘Don’t load yourselves up with equipment. Keep it simple; you are the equipment. And no luxury inns – get a modest place and be content there until you leave. If you’re not welcomed, leave town. Don’t make a scene. Shrug your shoulders and move on.’

“Commissioned, they left. They travelled from town to town telling the latest news of God, the Message, and curing people everywhere they went.” Luke 9:1-6.

Step two of Jesus’ training programme for His disciples was about to begin. Mark outlined His strategy in one simple sentence: “He appointed twelve: that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach.” Mark 3:14 (NIV).

He had spent a considerable time modelling His method and His message, with His disciples with Him day and night, watching and listening to Him and getting the feel of the kingdom He was introducing to His people. Although they still had in mind that He had come to deliver them from Rome, perhaps they thought that what He was showing them was part of His strategy to win the people over.

Jesus considered them ready to go out without Him to do what He had been doing. They needed plenty of practice for the day when He left them on their own for good to get on with what He had started. The day would come when He would give them their commission to a life work to go, not just to the towns and villages of Israel but to the whole world to pass on who they were – disciples of Jesus.

His instruction was simple. ‘Don’t weigh yourself down with loads of baggage and equipment.’ This was a partnership between Himself and His disciples. It was His responsibility to see that they were provided for on their journey. They did not have to run “Praise-a-thons” to raise funds or stay in 5-star hotels or travel in Mercedes Benz vehicles. Hudson Taylor, founder of the China Inland Mission, said, ‘God’s work, done in God’s way, will never lack God’s supply.’ His policy was “to move man through God by prayer alone.”

They were to rely on the hospitality of the local people. Between the lines, He was giving townspeople the opportunity to have a share in the blessing of partnering with His disciples in the work of the kingdom. If there were those who were inhospitable enough to turn them away, it was not necessary to make a fuss about it. They would be the losers and that would be enough.

Jesus’ strategy was brilliant, bringing people and God together and showing His disciples how to trust Him for their resources by giving people the opportunity to be generous. He promised to meet our needs but He does not do it by tossing money from heaven. It is the generosity of people that creates a current and keeps His resources circulating. This principle works in the natural world too.

The disciples did what He instructed them to do and He did what He promised He would do. He was already beginning to multiply Himself in twelve men who were listening, watching, learning and imitating their Rabbi.

Isn’t it sad that the simple message of Jesus has been covered up with layers of stuff and ritual until it had become unrecognisable? There is nothing wrong with using technology to get the message out as long as the message remains unadulterated with human ideas and interpretations. What Jesus came to do should remain unchanged, however it is delivered.

What did He come to do? He came to show us the Father and to take us to the Father so that we can be reconciled and live as His sons and daughters here on earth. Anything else is not who He is and not what He came to do!

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE – GOD’S GIRLS

November 3, 2019Bible Studymessage, twelve, womenLuella Campbell

CHAPTER EIGHT

GOD’S GIRLS!

“He continued according to plan, travelling to town after town, village after village, preaching God’s kingdom, spreading the Message. The Twelve were with Him. There were also some women in their company who had been healed of various afflictions and illnesses: Mary, the one called Magdalene, from whom seven devils had gone out; Joanna, wife of Chuza, Herod’s manager; and Susanna – along with many others who used their considerable means to provide for the company.” Luke 8:1-3.

Luke gives us an interesting little interlude that is not included in the other gospels – some titbits of information about Jesus’ travelling companions, a group of women who accompanied Him and His disciples. This must have been quite unusual. Jewish women were normally in the background and would certainly not have travelled around the country with a roving rabbi.

Luke’s inclusion of this bit of information about the women is in keeping with the theme of his gospel. He had a special focus on the humanity of Jesus, on His dependence on the Holy Spirit, on His prayer life and on the way He treated people, and especially women.

Unlike Roman society – and Theophilus, the recipient of Luke’s story, was a Roman – where women enjoyed elevated positions, women were nothing in Jewish society. Luke takes time to point out to Theophilus that Jesus had a different attitude to women from other Jewish men. He treated them with dignity and respect as equal to men rather than as subordinates or possessions.

These women who followed Jesus all had very personal reasons for loving Him. Mary Magdalene, for example, had been demon possessed until Jesus rescued her, probably from a life of prostitution, and gave her back her dignity. From that moment on she became a loyal disciple, following Him and ministering to Him and His disciples wherever they went.

She was there at the cross, unashamedly to let him know that she cared, even though she could do nothing for Him at that moment. She was at the tomb in the pre-dawn darkness to anoint His body. She was the first one to see Him alive and to tell the glad news to His disciples.

Why did Jesus choose Mary to be the first person to whom He revealed Himself? Was it to show His disciples and the world that women should be given the honour due to them as the crown of His creation?

There has been much speculation and even stories written about the relationship between Jesus and Mary. Was there a romantic connection which the Bible carefully kept hidden? I believe it is safe to say that we can trust the Bible to reveal the truth about something as important as this.

Right from Genesis, the writers of the books of the Bible, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, were brutally honest about their characters. Nothing was put under wraps, not even the lapses into sin of its most revered characters, Moses and David. The gospel writers would certainly not have ignored or neglected to write about any romantic connection Mary Magdalene had with Jesus.

They loved Him and served Him out of gratitude for who He was and for His gracious treatment of them as people of worth who deserved the dignity and respect given to them by their Creator. That’s who Jesus is.

No matter who you are, you can be sure that the Master sees you as He saw those women, beautiful, treasured and worthy of honour because He created you in His image to worship Him and to be one with Him.

The Proof Of The Pudding

June 30, 2015Bible Studyauthority, demons, heal, preach, twelveLuella Campbell

THE PROOF OF THE PUDDING

Calling the Twelve to Him, He began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over impure spirits. These were His instructions: ‘Take nothing for the journey except a staff – no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. Wear sandals but not an extra shirt. Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.’ They went out and preached that people should repent. They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them (Mark 6: 7-13).

It was time for the acid test. Twelve men had spent enough time with their rabbi to have a feeling for who He was and what He was about. It was time for them to put into action the lessons they had learned. If they were to continue the mission of Jesus when He was no longer with them, they had to show Him that they could do it, that His confidence in them was not misplaced and that they had enough confidence in both Him and themselves to replicate Him wherever they went.

He sent them out in pairs so that they would have each other for encouragement and support. Jesus was not interested in “lone rangers”. They needed each other and He paired them up so that they would learn to live together as one. Imagine! Who did He put with whom? Peter – the motor mouth? John – the hothead? Thomas – the dubious one? Judas – the schemer? O yes, they needed each other alright – because they had many rough edges to knock off.

Why did Jesus tell them to travel light? I think it was a test for both preachers and listeners. The Jews were part of the Middle Eastern tradition to be hospitable. There was no ”guest house” industry in Israel. Travellers relied on the hospitality of the people as they moved through the country. The attitude of the inhabitants would determine their attitude to the message. If they received the disciples with generosity it would be a sign that they were open to their message, and to one whom they represented.

The disciples were not to be picky about their hosts. They were to accept the hospitality of those who received them gladly and not to go off looking for more comfortable accommodation or better cuisine. It was a case of give and take. Where they were welcome they were to stay as long as they were in that town.

Why should they travel light – no suitcase of clothing and no ready cash in their money belts? This was also to be a faith journey for them. They were to learn to trust their heavenly Father to meet their needs as they went out proclaiming the kingdom. Again it was to be give and take. As they obeyed the Master, so He would ensure that their everyday needs were met.

What if the people of the town or village rejected them? Jesus’ instruction sounded like He was telling them to thumb their noses at them. That’s probably how we would react, but that was not Jesus. When a rabbi was training His disciples to walk with him, they did not walk in a bunch around him. They walked in an orderly line, one behind the other. The rabbi wore sandals with flaps on them which kicked up dust as he walked. The one closest to the rabbi, who led them, was privileged to have the dust of his rabbi on his cloak and feet.

As representatives of their rabbi, the disciples would have their rabbi’s dust – His disposition – on them as they went from place to place. If they were not welcomed in the town, they were to shake the dust off their feet – not cursing the people, but leaving behind their rabbi’s blessing as they went on their way. Isn’t that neat! Isn’t that just like Jesus! The very dust of the rabbi’s blessing would testify against them because of their unbelief.

The disciples must have been ecstatic, disease and demons giving was to the authority Jesus had given them. Getting rid of the Romans had nothing on that! Even Judas was in on the deal. We will never know what was in Judas’ heart that led him to betray his Master after an experience like that.

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Unlikely Ones

June 19, 2015Bible Studyappointed, twelve, with HimLuella Campbell

UNLIKELY ONES

Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to Him those He wanted, and they came to Him. He appointed twelve that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach and to have authority to drive out demons. These are the twelve He appointed: Simon (to whom He gave the name Peter), James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them He gave the name Boanerges, which means ‘sons of thunder’), Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alpheus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot who betrayed Him (Mark 3: 13-19).

How well did Jesus read these men? Why did He choose men who, from our point of view at least, seem so unsuitable? Why did He include a guy like Matthew – a thief and a sell-out to Rome? What about James and John? They had no idea how to show compassion. Weren’t they the ones who wanted to call down fire on a Samaritan village for not offering Jesus hospitality? Of what use where they to Him with an attitude like that?

And Simon the Zealot? He was a political activist – the last kind of person Jesus needed in His band. He had enough trouble trying to convince the rest of them that the kingdom of God was not a restored Davidic kingdom, without having a stirrer in His group. And as for Peter! Jesus didn’t even connect him with Andrew his brother because they were two completely different characters. He was very good at putting his foot in his mouth every time he opened it.

Who was Bartholomew? Was he the Nathaniel of John’s gospel? Thomas? He was famous for his scepticism and pessimism. Philip at least tried to believe, now and then, but his puny efforts didn’t get him very far. James son of Alpheus didn’t even make a blip on the radar. And Judas Iscariot? Was he Jesus’ biggest mistake?

Luke even tells us that Jesus spent the night in prayer before He chose His men. That makes it even worse, doesn’t it? He and the Father were in it together. And of course the Holy Spirit was there because He was the one who was on Him from His baptism, leading and empowering Him to do what He did. So the Trinity were all in agreement that these were the men whom Jesus was to train to be disciples and to take over from where He left off when He had fulfilled His mission on earth.

How did Jesus propose to train them? They were not even schooled in the Beth Talmid – “discipleship school” of their day. They were drop-outs from elementary school because they didn’t have it in them to become rabbis or disciples of rabbis. They were raw labourers of one kind or another. Jesus chose a “hands-on” method of honing these rough guys to become just like Him.

The essence of a disciple was to become a replica of his rabbi – not just learning and teaching what he taught but being like him in every way. He had to stick close by him, day and night, learn his language, and copy his gestures, his actions, his words and even his thoughts and attitudes. That took very close association. It must have been tough for both rabbi and his disciples to be so “joined at the hip” that they could not escape each other. No time out for a breather! Not even a moment to let their hair down and be “normal”.

In those two little words “with Him” lay the key to their mission. Unless they learned the lessons from their association with Him, every moment, every situation, every event, every incident, absorbing His actions and reactions, soaking up His attitudes and emotions, listening to His words and His heartbeat, they would never become true followers. Jesus was to be to them like a fish in a fishbowl, exposed every moment from every side. Not only were they expected to watch and listen to Him – He also invited them to scrutinise Him. What other human being would have the courage to do that – to make himself completely vulnerable knowing that his followers would pounce on every flaw and hold him accountable – because they were supposed to replicate him.

How do the so-called “disciples” of Jesus measure up today? How much time to we take to be “with Him”? If that is the key to being a true copy of our rabbi, how badly do we misrepresent Him because of our pathetically impoverished knowledge and understanding of who Jesus really is? His penetrating question to His disciples was “Who do you say that I am?” That was the crux of their confession. If we are not convinced that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, we may as well pack our bags and go home.

It was exactly because of who He is, that He could choose them (and us), not because of who they were but because of what they would become through Him. No other rabbi could offer them that! That’s why He can be so confident when He calls, “Follow me,” because He knows what can happen if we do just that – stick with Him, listen and learn.