Plainly Speaking
     with Karl J. Forehand

 

 

 

Going to Class with Jesus series

Who God Uses

by Karl J. Forehand

 

 

    Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: The first, Simon, who is

    called Peter, and Andrew his brother; and James the son of Zebedee,

    and John his brother;  Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the

    tax-gatherer; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;  Simon the

    Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed Him.  (Matt. 10:2-4)

 

  The original twelve apostles were described as “unlettered, ignorant men.”  This doesn’t mean they were stupid, but that they were outside the schools of philosophical, political and religious thought.  Jesus didn’t go to church to get the twelve, he went to the streets.  In fact, Jesus’ greatest miracle may have been how He transformed the twelve. 

 

  A closer look at the 12.

 

Peter. Most of know about Peter.  He is the one with athletes tongue from sticking his foot in his mouth too often.  Peter was the big-mouthed fisherman.  For Peter everything centered around what he said.  With his mouth:

 - He always was the first to speak

 - He was the first to confess “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.”

 - He was the one that denied that he knew Christ.

 - He repented and was restored by Jesus

 - He preached a message where 3000 people became believers.

 

Andrew.  Andrew was the opposite of Peter.  He didn’t speak up much; yet he brought Peter to Jesus saying, “We have found the Messiah.”  He brought the boy with the loaves and fishes to Jesus.  Andrew was the quiet evangelist and, in may ways, a facilitator.

 

James (son of Zebedee).  He is called James the “Great,” although he didn’t ever say or do anything that significant.  He was formerly know as one of the “Sons of Thunder.”  It seems that this “noisy zealot” became a humble disciple of Jesus and spent most of his days quietly learning.  The teaching must of paid off.  After the resurrection, he was considered the most dangerous threat to Herod III and was the first apostle martyred. 

 

John.  As you may know, John was the disciple that Jesus loved.  He was the most affected by Jesus’ love.  He wrote five books of the New Testament and the theme of love is most evident in those books, especially 1st John.  After returning from exile in Patmos, it is told that he was till talking about Jesus’ love.

 

Phillip.  Allow me the liberty of calling Phillip an engineer.  J.C. Greenhough says of him, “His mind was precise, methodical and almost mechanical—the mind of a plodding, accurate, conscientious business man—but with no originality.  HE had little moral imagination, and was slow to understand and slow to believe what he could not see.  Phillip was the one that told Jesus “the numbers don’t add up” when they were considering feeding the 5000.  He basically sent the Greeks, who were seeking Jesus, to a committee before he let them see Jesus.  You can almost hear him say, “We must have a procedure for talking to Jesus.”  When Jesus was talking about the Father, Phillip says, “Show us the father.”  He needed proof and that caused him to be slow to believe and trust.

 

Bartholomew (Nathaniel).   Bart is the model of transparency.  When he encountered the Savior, he first exclaims “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”  It is what he believed.  When Jesus recognized him without ever meeting him, he said, “You are the Son of God.”  There was not pretense in him—he simply said what he was thinking.  Jesus tells him, “You are an Israelite in whom there is no guile (deceit).”  Jacob’s name, who became Israel, meant “deceit” or “guile.”  Of course, there is good and bad to transparency and it must be used wisely.

 

Thomas.  He was the realist.  We might call him pragmatic.  When Jesus and the disciples faced a difficult crowd near where Lazrus lay dead, Thomas says, “Let us die with him.”  He couldn’t imagine the supernatural because he was a realist.  When Jesus was talking about going to heaven, he says “How can we know where you are going?”  He was thinking in earthly terms.  After the resurrection, he demands to see the nail prints.  Jesus relents and Thomas finally exclaims, “My Lord and my God.”  It wasn’t until Jesus was almost gone that he accepted the message.

 

Matthew.  Matthew (or Levi) was one of those “other” people.  He was one of the despised tax gatherers.  However, when Jesus changed him, he began to bring Jesus to his friends.

 

James (son of Alpheus), Thaddeus and Simon the Zealot.  I call these three the “Secret Service.”  As far as I know, they were never quoted or any of their actions recorded.  They simply quietly served.  Most churches are full of these people.  I call them mice, because you don’t really see their service, they do it when no one is looking. 

 

Judas Iscariot.  Of course, Judas was the one that betrayed Jesus and probably never accepted the call to salvation. 

 

There are good and bad qualities in all twelve.  One thing is certain – they were ordinary men.  They weren’t trained in theology – they weren’t steeped in religious rituals.  They were simply men that trusted in Jesus (at least 11 of them) and followed Him on his mission.

 

  Matthew Henry says, “God did not choose philosophers, nor orators, nor statesmen, nor men of wealth, power and interest in the world to publish the gospel of grace and peace.  He best judges what men and what measures serve the purpose of God.

 

  Who would you choose?  God chooses people like you!

 

   Part 2 - Why God Calls Us

 

                                                                                                                                                        Karl J. Forehand, 2002

 

                                                                                                                                           

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