And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles: 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 6:13-16)

Twelve Men

The work of the kingdom was planned before time began. Jesus came to build His church to spread the message of the Father to the world for generations to come. Little consideration is given to the magnitude of the plan to leave in the hands of humanity the task of creating a kingdom that would not be shaken over thousands of years and maintaining the unity of the same message. Jesus knew He must come to earth, but He also knew He would not be staying. For almost three years, He set forth His mission and then left the Father’s work in the hands of twelve men who were as different as night and day.

Choosing twelve men to create an organization lasting for generations was not accomplished by the wisdom of men. Those who made up the twelve men were fishermen, hated tax collector, a zealot who opposed the Romans, and untrained men of no social position. None of the twelve had the qualifications of leadership to imagine carrying out such a task. Jesus chooses twelve men out of His disciples. When the Jewish leaders challenged the leaders of the Way, they noted they were uneducated and untrained men. The one thing they could admit was the devotion the men had for Jesus of Nazareth.

Jesus spent the night in prayer before selecting the twelve apostles. The men He asked to be His inner circle were tasked with preaching the kingdom of Christ, healing and performing miracles, raising the dead, casting out demons, and following Him from place to place in a grueling pace of activity. It was a hard life to follow the ministry of Jesus. The twelve saw and participated in the miracles of Jesus. When Jesus fed more than five thousand people, the twelve men witnessed the creation of an abundance of food. During a storm on the Sea of Galilee, eleven men watched as Peter stepped out of the boat and walked on water to Jesus. The twelve stood in awe as Lazarus came out of the tomb four days after he died. Often Jesus directed His teaching to the twelve. There were many questions asked by the twelve.

Little is known of most of the twelve. Peter was impetuous. John was the beloved apostle. Peter, James, and John formed a close-knit part of Jesus’ work. Thomas was the most courageous of the twelve and seemed to have a deeper mind than others. Philip was inquisitive. Judas was a trusted leader among the twelve assigned to manage the monies collected. Andrew had a deep faith. Thaddeus asked questions. James and John argued about greatness fueled by the mistaken ideas of their mother. The twelve argued among themselves who would be greatest in the kingdom of Christ. When Jesus was in Bethany at the home of Simon, a woman came in with a beautiful alabaster jar of expensive perfume and poured it over his head. All the apostles became angry when they saw this, calling it a waste.

The twelve men were not perfect and struggled to comprehend the teachings of Jesus fully. They were afraid of being killed, fearful of the storms even when Jesus was with them, and did not understand much of the parables of Jesus. When great faith was needed to cast out a demon, they failed. Peter opened his mouth too often. Judas became a traitor and sold his beloved Lord for thirty pieces of silver. The eleven deserted Jesus in His greatest hour of need. Peter denounced his friend and Lord three times, cursing he did not know Jesus. The Lord heard and saw what Peter did. Judas would commit suicide. Peter would spend days in deep grief over his betrayal. The other apostles hid in fear of the Jews. And then Jesus appeared to them, risen from the dead.

Peter, Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon, Judas the son of James, and later Matthias would change the world. These twelve men (along with a host of saints) established the kingdom that will last until the coming of the King. The twelve men who stood before the crowd at Pentecost never gave up their faith. They gave their lives for Jesus Christ. We stand on the shoulders of giants – twelve men who served Jesus Christ and the will of the Father. Let us all be like the twelve who remained faithful to the end.