The Twelve: Ordinary Men Jesus Chose

Jesus was about to make one of the biggest choices of His time on earth. He would choose the men who would carry His message to the world. First, He prayed.

All night. “He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God” (Luke 6:12).

Then the choice. “And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve” (Luke 6:13).

A habit, not a one-time thing. “So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed” (Luke 5:16). Withdrew means went away from the crowds.

Early in the morning. “Having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed” (Mark 1:35). Solitary means quiet and alone.

Why Jesus prayed. Jesus is God the Son. He loved talking with His Father, and He wanted to choose the men His Father was giving Him.

Praying about people. Jesus' prayer that night was about people: the men He would choose, teach and send. He brought them to His Father before He called them.

Men the Father gave. On the night before the cross, Jesus prayed to His Father about the twelve. He said they were the men the Father had given Him, and that they had kept God's word (John 17:6).

Keep them. Jesus asked His Father to keep them safe from the evil one and to make them one, the way the Father and the Son are one (John 17:11, 15).

Make them holy. Jesus asked God to make them holy through His word of truth, because He was sending them into the world (John 17:17-18).

Knowing God. In that same prayer Jesus said, “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (John 17:3).

Jesus prays for His friends. Jesus told Peter, “I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail” (Luke 22:32). Jesus knew Peter would fail, and He prayed for him ahead of time.

Jesus prays for you. “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word” (John 17:20). If you believe in Jesus, He prayed for you.

Still praying. “He always lives to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25). Intercession means praying for someone else.

Pray for others. Jesus prayed for the people He loved, and we can do the same. Pray for your family, your friends, your pastor and your teachers by name.

To do this week. Before a big choice, like picking friends or deciding what to do with your time, stop and pray first, the way Jesus did.

When Jesus came down from the mountain, He chose twelve men. They were not kings, priests or famous teachers. They were ordinary men with ordinary jobs.

The list. “Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot; Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot who also became a traitor” (Luke 6:14-16).

Fishermen. Jesus saw Simon and Andrew “casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen” (Mark 1:16). James and John were “in the boat mending their nets” (Mark 1:19).

Follow Me. Jesus said, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men” (Mark 1:17). “They immediately left their nets and followed Him” (Mark 1:18).

A tax collector. Jesus saw “a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax office” and said, “Follow Me” (Luke 5:27). Levi is another name for Matthew. “So he left all, rose up, and followed Him” (Luke 5:28).

Very different men. Tax collectors worked for Rome and were often hated. Simon was called the Zealot, which means full of zeal. Jesus put them on the same team.

Not experts. Later, leaders “perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men” (Acts 4:13). Untrained means they had not studied in the important schools.

Been with Jesus. The same verse says, “And they realized that they had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13). Time with Jesus made the difference.

God's way. “But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise” (1 Corinthians 1:27). God loves to use ordinary people so that He gets the glory.

Clay jars. “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us” (2 Corinthians 4:7). Earthen vessels are clay jars.

Not perfect men. The apostles argued about who was the greatest and ran away when Jesus was arrested. Jesus did not choose them because they were perfect. He chose them by His grace.

Brothers on the team. Jesus called two pairs of brothers: Peter and Andrew, and James and John. Families can follow Jesus together.

Friends. Jesus told them, “I have called you friends” (John 15:15).

A warning. Judas Iscariot walked with Jesus but turned against Him. Being near Jesus is not the same as trusting Him.

Sent out. Jesus promised, “You shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). A witness tells what he has seen and heard.

To do this week. You do not have to be famous for Jesus to use you. Spend time with Him in His word, and tell one person something true about Him.