Minions By The Bunch Series

And while we might not know everything about the Apostles there are some things that we know about the twelve, let’s start with their call.

Mark 3:13-14 Afterward Jesus went up on a mountain and called out the ones he wanted to go with him. And they came to him. Then he appointed twelve of them and called them his apostles. They were to accompany him, and he would send them out to preach. . .

They Weren’t Just any Minions, They Were Chosen Minions

Just so you understand, there were countless disciples but there were only twelve apostles.

The twelve weren’t the only ones to follow Christ during the three years he taught, Jesus had followers two thousand years before twitter, but the twelve were the ones who followed him the closest and he chose them for their role they would play in changing the world.

Jesus had come to the place that his mission and his message could no longer be fulfilled without the help of others. He was working under constraints that he had put on himself by choosing to come when he came and choosing how he came.

He came as a person and he came at a time when there was no social media, no mass media, no printed media and for that matter no media period. If people were going to hear his message they would need to hear it in person.

And I’m in no way suggesting that there would have been a better time or a better way, Paul tells us in Romans 5 that Jesus didn’t come at just anytime, he came at just the right time.

And because of that he needed help if his message was going to spread and if his message was going to stick.

And so he choose the 12. Notice that he didn’t chose 12 people who would do their own thing in their own way at their own time. Instead He chose 12 who would function as a group. From the very beginning Christianity was designed to be a social religion and wasn’t simply to be something we do by ourselves.

And so Jesus called the twelve to serve a couple of purposes. He called them to be the steady and constant players in the drama of his mission.

We would see others who would come and go, but for three years the 12 were with him. And he called them to represent him, he couldn’t be everywhere so he multiplied his efforts when he called the twelve. It’s a great example of synergy.

And the scriptures were very clear the 12 were different than the multitude.

Why would he call these 12 and not 12 others? Because he’s God and because of that He ultimately he gets to choose Wesley wrote “With regard to the eternal states of men, God always acts as just and merciful. But with regard to numberless other things, he seems to us to act as a mere sovereign.”

So, they were chosen, what else do we learn? Let’s keep reading.

Acts 4:13-14 The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the Scriptures. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus. But since they could see the man who had been healed standing right there among them, there was nothing the council could say.