1/31/10

The Calling of the Disciples

Openers:

  1. [Activity] Arrange for some random person whom no one else in your group knows to approach your table/meeting place and say, “Hey, would you all come with me?” with no further explanation. You say “Sure” and get up and follow him/her. See if your group comes with you! (Be sure and invite the random person to join in your discussion/activity!)
  2. [Discussion] Suppose you’re getting a promotion at work, and your boss has put you in charge of hiring someone to take your current position. What qualities do you look for in an applicant (e.g., education, experience, character, etc.)?
  3. [Discussion] What is one thing you can learn from the person on your right? Depending on the dynamic of your group, this can be really deep (“I can learn how to be a true friend”) or really shallow (“I can learn that purple and brown really shouldn’t be worn together”).

Main Points: (Choose One)

  1. God has some extraordinary things planned for you to do, whether or not you see yourself as capable of such tasks.
  2. Even seeming “weaknesses” (e.g., past failures or sins, personality flaws, etc.) can be strengths in God’s hands.
  3. Jesus is interested in a personal relationship with you, not just a business relationship.

Foundations:

  1. WHY did Jesus call them?

Mark 3:13-19- “Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. He appointed twelve- designating them apostles- 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 Alphaeus, Thaddeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.”

  1. “To be with Him”
  2. That was their primary job! Just to hang out with Jesus. How cool is that?
  3. They got to see His relationship with the Father, witness His reaction to the hurting, watch Him walk on water and turn water into wine.
  4. “That He might send them out”
  5. The word “apostle” comes from the Greek word meaning “one who is sent” with the purpose of preaching the Gospel, and with the authority of the one sending him.
  6. They were to be with Him first, for the purpose of sending them out later. The second part can’t happen without the first.
  7. This likely gave more intensity to the disciples’ time with Jesus. Knowing that soon they would be sent out likely made them desperate to learn whatever they could from Him in the short time they had.
  8. The word “disciple” comes from the Greek word meaning “student” or “follower” of a great religious leader or teacher.
  9. They weren’t just spending time with Jesus for fun (though it had to be at times). They were full time students.
  10. They were learning all they could so that when the time came for them to be sent out to make disciples, they would be ready (Luke 10:1ff).
  1. Why did Jesus call THEM?
  2. Not because of their special talents
  3. Acts 4:13- “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.”
  4. Their combined special talents included trout fishing and balancing checkbooks (or the first century equivalent).
  5. These guys were ordinary on their own. Time spent with Jesus was what made the disciples extraordinary.
  6. Not because of their education, intellect, power, or wealth
  7. Jesus didn’t choose any rabbis or priests to be his disciples. Actually, no one with religious training or experience was picked.
  8. These weren’t the smartest kids ever. They definitely wouldn’t have made the Dean’s List (Matthew 15:15-16, 16:5-12).
  9. These guys had ordinary jobs with minimum wage paychecks. They were kind of like college kids in that sense.
  10. So that He would get the credit when they succeeded in changing the world

I Corinthians 1:26-31- “Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things- and the things that are not- to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God- that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: ‘Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.’”

  1. Looking at their credentials (see above), it’s obvious they couldn’t have turned the world upside down like they did on their own. Jesus got the glory for that.
  2. Take Peter, for instance.
  3. He denied Christ (Matt. 26:69-75).
  4. He was impatient and went back to fishing after the resurrection (John 21:3).
  5. He even rebuked Jesus (Matthew 16:22), resulting in Jesus calling him Satan (Matthew 16:23)!
  6. Notwithstanding, he preached a sermon on the Day of Pentecost and 2,000 people were saved.
  1. Why did Jesus CALL them?

Because telepathy would have been cliché. 

OR

  1. Luke 6:12-13- “One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles.”
  2. According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, to “call” means “to summon to a particular activity, employment, or office”.
  3. Jesus was picking these twelve from a larger group of disciples and calling them “apostles”.
  4. In calling them, He was setting them apart from the rest for a specific purpose.
  5. The fact that He called them made a difference.
  6. Jesus challenged them to make a decision; he called them to action.
  7. Even when many of His disciples left, these twelve stayed with Jesus (John 6:66-70).
  8. Their calling signified a different level of commitment than the other disciples.
  9. While other followers of Jesus could likely go back to their jobs and families the next day and not have their lives changed, these men had staked their reputations on what Jesus said and who He was. There was no going back.
  10. The relationship that God wants with us is not a contract that can be cancelled at any time, but a personal mutual commitment through any kind of difficulty.

Human Struggles:

  1. Being a disciple, or “student”, means admitting we have things we need to learn and takes a certain amount of humility.
  2. Instead of letting God use our weaknesses for His glory, we use them as excuses as to why we aren’t fit to answer the call.
  3. We have our lives all planned out, and we don’t leave room to answer the call of Christ. His plans aren’t our plans: they’re better!
  4. Being a disciple involves personal cost (Matthew 10:37-39) and giving up things we’d like to hold onto.

Application Helps:

  1. Let Jesus make you extraordinary by building in at least 30 minutes of time to spend with Him every day.
  2. Think of ways to affirm one of your triad prayer people and (gently) push them towards the plan you know God has for them (i.e., salvation, using their gifts for His glory).
  3. Pray about following Jesus to Bolivia this summer or next.
  4. If Jesus called you to give up something in your life in order to follow Him, is there anything that you would have to think twice about before surrendering (Mark 10:21-22)? Ask God to show you how to live with open hands, to receive anything He puts in your hand and to give away anything He asks you to give.

Ashley N. Brown