We are looking at the transition in the Lord’s ministry after his classic statement that the harvest is plentiful and the laborers are few. He assessed the problem of humanity: in this life, they are faint and scattered without a shepherd. Their end is the harvest, heading toward the eternal judgment of God. The greatest need of this perishing humanity is for laborers. Jesus is going to die and rise again. This news is the only gospel for the world, but we need laborers who can take this message after him. So, laborers are needed even today.
We are in chapter 10, where he teaches how he prepared and sent out laborers. This is a wonderful pattern for us. When we are burdened about the harvest, we should know how to prepare the laborers. We will learn many wonderful lessons, and my prayer and burden is that this should take our church to another level. We cannot continue to be passive; we have a great work to do. As the song says, “Arise, the Master calls for thee, the harvest days are here. No longer sit with folded hands but gather far and near.” Each of us has to prepare ourselves. This chapter shows us how.
Last week, we saw how he selected his disciples, how he prepared them, and how he trained them with both theoretical and hands-on training, which is what we see in chapter 10. We also saw some of the problems he faced, which are the same problems we face, and how he overcame them. Now, in verses 2-4, we have the list of the apostles. I have two options: I can just read those names and move on with other verses, or I can spend some time going through each of the apostles. I have read a few books on each of the apostles and how they ministered and died as martyrs, and it encouraged my heart. I think it will do the same for all of us. I could do one sermon on each of the apostles, but I won’t. I will try to complete as many apostles as possible in one sermon, or maybe three or four. I think this is the time we can learn about them. The Holy Spirit lists their names for that purpose.
Verse 1 says, “He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.” He called them to be disciples and then sent them out as apostles. I think that is the plan for the church: to call people to be disciples, train them, and send them out, not to just huddle together and live their whole lives in comfort. In verse 1, he sends them and gives them the power to do miracles. He gave them exousia, which means power, authority, or the right. With that divine authority, they could do two things: they could cast out vile, evil, wretched, unclean demons, and they could heal all kinds of sicknesses and diseases. That was the gift of miracles. Paul calls that a sign of an apostle. They went out healing and casting out demons. This was a confirmation of their message. The main thing they did was preach. Go down to verse 6: “Go,” it says, “to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, preach, saying the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Their primary task was to preach. To authenticate their message, he gave them the power to do miracles.
Today, in verse 2, we come to their identity. It is so amazing to think that the entire spread of Christianity started with 12 men. Who are these 12 who were sent? Let’s meet them.
Just think, Jesus relied on these 12 to carry the message to the world after he left. That is the way God designed it. He trained them, and these 12 would carry the message. The ones who heard it from them would tell others, and here we are, two thousand years later, telling it again. It is our greatest responsibility, both as believers and as a church, to tell this message to this generation, which shall then tell the next generation. But it all began with 12 men.
These 12 men, introduced to us in the first part of chapter 10, are the foundation of the church. In Ephesians 2:20, it says that the foundation of the church was the prophets and the apostles, with Christ being the chief cornerstone. They were chosen. Verse 1 says that he called to him 12 disciples, and in verse 2, they were sent as apostles. They received divine revelation. They were the ones responsible for writing most of the New Testament. They were the ones to whom it was promised that God would bring all things to their remembrance through his Spirit, whatever Jesus had said. They were the ones who received the final special revelation. They were the ones who wrote it down so that the early church, when it met together, studied what was called the apostles’ doctrine, according to Acts 2. They were not only the authority for truth but they were the framers of theology. They received revelation, and having received it, they taught it. Having taught it, they codified it. They framed it into a system of truth and theology. It then became the substance that the church taught and from which it learned. Not only did they teach, but they also set an example of their teaching with their lives. They set the pattern of a godly, holy, and virtuous life. So, they were the foundation.
Let us meet them. Verse 2: “The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus whose surname was Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.”
Frankly, these were just ordinary men. The only one who may have had some special wealth was Matthew, and he gained it by being an extortionist and working for Rome. None of them that we know of had any particular academic background like the scribes or Pharisees. None of them had any social status. They were just common people. Some of them are still utterly unknown to us. All we know is their names. They were chosen from the common people to be the ones who would be the first line of representatives for Christ to set in motion the advancement of the Kingdom throughout the history of the world. This was a critical task. Never in the history of the world has there been a task to equal the one these 12 were given. The most monumental and incredible thing that any man was ever asked to do in the history of the world was to finish the work that Jesus began.
Now, as you look at the list, there are some fascinating things to learn just from the list itself. There are 10 things we can notice. Let me tell you about them one by one.
1. Peter is Always First There are four lists of these disciples in the New Testament: in Matthew 10, Mark 3, Luke 6, and Acts 1. In all four lists, Peter is always first. And when Judas is mentioned, he is always last. Peter is always first. Why was he first? Was he the first one chosen? No. John 1 makes it clear that he was not the first one chosen. But look at the word there: “the first, Simon who is called Peter.” You have to understand the word there, protos, which in this context means “foremost in rank.” Although they are all equal in authority, power (all were given the same power to heal diseases, cast out demons, preach the gospel), and all will sit and judge the tribes of Israel, Peter is first in terms of function. Peter was foremost as a leader for the apostles. We see that in Acts. He was the chief of the 12. They had to have a leader, and he was their leader. So, the first thing to note in the list is that they had a leader.
2. They Are in Three Groups In all four lists, there are three groups. Group one: Peter, Andrew, James, and John. Group two: Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, and Matthew. Group three: James the son of Alphaeus, Lebbaeus called Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot. The same four guys are always in each group in all four lists. They never get out of their group. Their names may be in a different order, but they are always in the same group.
3. Group Calling Order If you look at the calling of the 12, you will find that the first four were the first ones called. The next four were the next ones called, apparently. And the last four were the last ones called. So, you have these three groups of four.
4. Decreasing Information What is also interesting is that we know a lot about those in group one: Peter, James, John, and Andrew. We know a little more about group two: Philip, Nathanael, Thomas, and Matthew. We don’t know anything about group three, except for Judas. And what we know about him, we wouldn’t care to know. There’s a decreasing amount of information about each group.
5. Decreasing Intimacy There is a decreasing intimacy. The first group includes Peter, James, and John, who were the most intimate of all. I really think you get an insight into this from the groups. The Lord was very, very close to group one. He was somewhat close to group two. We don’t know that he was close at all to group three. As a leader, you cannot be close to everyone.
6. Scripture Writers You’ll notice that the writers of Scripture came out of group one and group two, but mostly out of group one. So, you learn a little bit about how they functioned together.
7. Leaders Within Groups In each of the three groups, the names will be mixed up in the different lists, but the first name is always the same. In every list, it’s always Peter first in his group, Philip second in his group, and James the son of Alphaeus third in his group. You know what that means? It means that even in the individual groups, they had leaders. That’s how leadership functions. You have Peter, who is a sort of chief over everything. And then, under him, you have the most intimate group, and they have a leader, and another group, and they have a leader. And everybody functions. That’s the way it was among the 12. We gain some insights into that group. I tried to do that with our young people, creating groups like “Luther’s group,” “Calvin’s group,” and “Tyndale’s group,” so they can disciple and train each other. When Jesus sent them out on their first internship, he sent them two by two. So, they went out in their groups of four, with only two together.
8. Natural Organization There’s an interesting insight to see in the fact that they were all so organized, but it was a very comfortable, natural kind of thing. Peter, James, John, and Andrew were all interrelated; they were brothers and they knew each other, and they were the fishermen in the group. So, they were probably very close and intimate. In the next group, we only know that one of them, Matthew, was a tax collector. We don’t know what Philip did. We don’t know what Nathanael did. We don’t know what Thomas did. And in the last group, we have no clue what they did at all. It’s as if that original group all knew each other, were the initial ones called, and were the key ones the Lord wanted to use, and then there was a sort of fading away in terms of intimacy, though not importance in apostolic ministry.
9. Different Temperaments Their temperaments were also different, and I want to call this to your attention. Peter, for example, was a man of action. He was impulsive and eager. He would always blurt out things, charging ahead in a mad hurry without much thought. In his group was another fellow by the name of John. All John wanted to do was be quiet and meditate. He had a loving heart and would recline on the breast of Jesus. It must have been interesting in that little group for Peter and John to work together. In the first 12 chapters of Acts, the Lord put John with Peter, which must have been a marvelous lesson for both of them. Peter would always want to charge and say, “John, will you get up and get going?” While John would respond, “I’m just meditating, Peter.” That must have been frustrating when you want to get moving.
10. Political and Social Differences In group two, there were a couple of interesting fellows. There was Nathanael, or Bartholomew. Nathanael believed everything. He accepted things wide open and didn’t seem to doubt anything, just willing to receive everything. And in his group was Thomas, who didn’t believe anything unless he could see it, touch it, and feel it; he was a skeptic. And then you had Matthew, who worked for the Roman government extorting taxes. And you had Simon the Zealot. A Zealot was a radical revolutionary trying to overthrow Rome. And I can promise you one thing, if Simon had gotten this close to Matthew anywhere but among the disciples, he would have stuck a knife in him.
So, you had political differences, spiritual differences, and basic emotional differences. And all of this conglomerate of people were thrown together, and the Lord was going to make something out of this mix to change the world. The wonderful story is that they didn’t fail. When they died, the world was not the same as when they were born. They spread the light everywhere. They turned it upside down.
Let us quickly look at Peter today, as he is the leader of these 12. We will see two things: first about himself, and then how Christ made him a leader. His name was Simon, a very common name. He was the son of Jonas, or Jonah, or John. He was a fisherman by trade. He lived with his brother Andrew in a village called Bethsaida, and they later moved to Capernaum. He was married because the Lord healed his mother-in-law. In 1 Corinthians 9, there is a very interesting word. He was married, and it was likely from what Paul says there that he actually took his wife with him on his apostolic mission. He went wherever he went with his wife.
His original name was Simon. The Lord gave him the name Peter. Maybe he was unstable, emotional, and vacillating. To indicate how the Lord’s grace was going to transform him, he gave him the name Peter. Peter means a solid stone. It must have been funny initially. “Stone, come over here.” And every time he said that, Peter was thinking, “I’ve got to be solid. I’ve got to be firm. I’ve got to be a stone.” Every time he wanted to say good things about him, he called him Peter, but when he was acting wrongly or sinfully, he called him Simon. The way the Lord called him, he knew what he was going to hear. It’s like what we do for my son: we call him “good John” or “problem Adam.” So, whenever he was doubting, when the Lord told him to put the net, he called him “Simon.” When he was sleeping in Gethsemane, Jesus said, “Simon, are you sleeping yet? Can’t you stay awake for one hour?” After the resurrection, when he went back to fishing, he called him “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me?” Another way he is called Simon is in secular contexts. For example, in Mark 1, it says “Simon’s house”; in Luke 4, “Simon’s mother-in-law”; or in Luke 5, verse 3, “Simon’s boat.” In other words, when you just want to designate him in a secular way, just want to identify him with a boat, a house, or a place, he’s just Simon. That’s his earthly, secular name.
The passage outlines how God built Peter into a leader by taking the right raw material, using specific tools, and teaching him key principles. The author uses Peter’s life as a blueprint for leadership development, contrasting his rough, contradictory nature with the mature, humble apostle he became.
The Raw Material of a Leader
God chose Peter because he had the right “raw material” for leadership. These qualities, though initially rough, were essential for a man who would lead the early church.
- A Mouldable Heart: Peter was not a hardened, unchangeable man. Despite his flaws, he was teachable and receptive to correction. Unlike those who become defensive or quit when criticized, Peter repeatedly returned to Christ to learn, even after harsh rebukes. This humility is the foundation of a leader’s character.
- An Inquisitive Mind: Peter was a natural question-asker. The author notes he asked more questions than all the other disciples combined. This trait showed his active mind, his desire to understand complex truths, and his drive to find solutions, which are all essential for effective leadership.
- A Spirit of Initiative: Peter was never passive. Whether it was answering a question no one else dared to, or taking a bold step forward, he consistently took initiative. Leaders don’t wait for others to tell them what to do; they act and lead the way.
- A Man of Action: Peter was always at the center of the action. He was the one who got out of the boat to walk on water, the one who followed Jesus all the way to the high priest’s house, and the first to rush into the empty tomb. His failures, like sinking in the water or denying Christ, were a result of his being in the middle of the action, unlike the other disciples who stayed safely on the sidelines.
The Tools of Transformation
God took Peter’s raw material and, like a sculptor, used two primary tools to mold him into a leader: truth and experience.
- Truth (Revelation): Jesus didn’t just teach Peter; He revealed profound truths to him. Peter’s most significant confessions—”To whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” and “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God”—were moments of divine revelation. God was preparing Peter to be a foundational pillar of the church, a man who would one day preach God’s revelation on the Day of Pentecost and write His truth in his epistles.
- Experience (Temptation): Jesus used Peter’s failures and temptations as a training ground. He allowed Peter to be “sifted like wheat” by Satan, letting him experience his own weakness and pride. The bitter experience of denying Christ three times was a crucial lesson that taught him the danger of overconfidence and the necessity of complete dependence on the Lord.
The Leadership Principles Learned
Through these tools, Jesus taught Peter five essential leadership principles that he later taught to the church.
- Submission: Peter, who initially resisted authority, learned the importance of submitting to every human authority “for the Lord’s sake.”
- Restraint: The impulsive Peter, who once drew a sword and cut off a man’s ear, learned to restrain himself. He later taught believers to follow Christ’s example of not retaliating when reviled.
- Humility: After his pride led to his denial, Peter became an advocate for humility, writing, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
- Love: Peter learned that a leader must be people-oriented, not just task-oriented. Jesus’s repeated question, “Do you love Me?” and His example of washing the disciples’ feet taught him to have a “fervent love among yourselves.”
- Courage: The man who denied Jesus with curses later stood boldly before the Sanhedrin, declaring, “We must obey God rather than men.” His final moments, where he was crucified upside down, show his complete courage and commitment.
The author concludes by emphasizing that every Christian is called to be a “disciple” before they are “sent.” This involves not just listening to sermons but actively training oneself in God’s Word, becoming mouldable, and praying for the humility and commitment to serve.
Grace Reformed Baptist Church, Bangalore 