Luke 6:12 - 19
12 In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. 13 And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles: 14 Simon, whom he named Peter, and Andrew his brother, and James and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, 15 and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot, 16 and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
17 And he came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, 18 who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. And those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. 19 And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came out from him and healed them all.
Questions:
ReplyDelete1. v12 - Why did Jesus find it necessary to go up on a mountain to pray?
2. v13 - Why did Jesus choose these 12, and who was He choosing from? How many disciples did He have?
3. v18 - What does "troubled with unclean spirits" mean?
4. v19 - What does it mean that "power came out from Him"?
https://www.preceptaustin.org/luke-6-commentary says:
ReplyDeleteLuke frequently shows Jesus in the "secret place" praying to His Father in Heaven and particularly before major events in His ministry. Lk 3:21; 5:16; 9:18, 28, 29; 11:1; 22:32, 40-46. The major event here is of course His selection of the 12 disciples who will carry on His ministry after His death, burial, resurrection and ascension.
A mountain or hill was a traditional place to pray since it provided seclusion and its elevation gave the person praying a special sense of nearness to God.
MacArthur observes that "In His humanity, having set aside the independent use of his divine attributes (Phil. 2:5-8+), Jesus sought the Father’s will in choosing the Twelve....Jesus sought the Father's will in everything He did, doing absolutely nothing independently or on His own initiative (John 5:19, 30; 8:28)."
D.L. Moody said something that should convict us all - "I'd rather be able to pray than be a great preacher; Jesus Christ never taught his disciples how to preach, but only how to pray."
https://www.gotquestions.org/why-pray.html says:
ReplyDeleteQuestion: "Why pray? What is the point of prayer when God knows the future and is already in control of everything? If we cannot change God’s mind, why should we pray?"
Answer: For the Christian, praying is supposed to be like breathing, easier to do than to not do. We pray for a variety of reasons. For one thing, prayer is a form of serving God (Luke 2:36-38) and obeying Him.
Another reason to pray is that God intends prayer to be the means of obtaining His solutions in a number of situations. We pray in preparation for major decisions (Luke 6:12-13); to overcome demonic barriers (Matthew 17:14-21); to gather workers for the spiritual harvest (Luke 10:2); to gain strength to overcome temptation (Matthew 26:41); and to obtain the means of strengthening others spiritually (Ephesians 6:18-19).
We come to God with our specific requests, and we have God’s promise that our prayers are not in vain, even if we do not receive specifically what we asked for (Matthew 6:6; Romans 8:26-27). He has promised that when we ask for things that are in accordance with His will, He will give us what we ask for (1 John 5:14-15). Sometimes He delays His answers according to His wisdom and for our benefit. In these situations, we are to be diligent and persistent in prayer (Matthew 7:7; Luke 18:1-8). Prayer should not be seen as our means of getting God to do our will on earth, but rather as a means of getting God’s will done on earth. God’s wisdom far exceeds our own.
For situations in which we do not know God’s will specifically, prayer is a means of discerning His will. God has said that we often go without because we do not ask (James 4:2). In one sense, prayer is like sharing the gospel with people. We do not know who will respond to the message of the gospel until we share it. In the same way, we will never see the results of answered prayer unless we pray.
A lack of prayer demonstrates a lack of faith and a lack of trust in God’s Word. We pray to demonstrate our faith in God, that He will do as He has promised in His Word and bless our lives abundantly more than we could ask or hope for (Ephesians 3:20). Prayer is our primary means of seeing God work in others' lives. Because it is our means of “plugging into” God’s power, it is our means of defeating Satan and his army that we are powerless to overcome by ourselves. Therefore, may God find us often before His throne, for we have a high priest in heaven who can identify with all that we go through (Hebrews 4:15-16). We have His promise that the fervent prayer of a righteous man accomplishes much (James 5:16-18). May God glorify His name in our lives as we believe in Him enough to come to Him often in prayer.
https://www.preceptaustin.org/luke-6-commentary continued:
ReplyDeleteSuch was his love to his Father, that he loved much to be in communion with him: such his love for his people, that he desired to be much in intercession for them.
Rich Cathers - I imagine that praying through the night is a little like fasting on its impact in prayer. Andrew Murray: “Prayer is the one hand with which we grasp the invisible. Fasting is the other hand, the one with which we let go of the visible.”
Luke 6:13 And when day came, He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also named as apostles:
MacArthur on twelve - The importance of the number was underscored by the addition of Matthias to take Judas’s place (Acts 1:23-26). Since Israel and its leaders were apostate, the Twelve were to serve as the leaders of the new, true Israel of God—the redeemed, believing remnant. By selecting twelve apostles, Jesus was sending an unmistakable message to the leaders of Israel that they were spiritually disqualified, and therefore shut out of His kingdom.
Mark and Luke give us additional details. Mark says that Jesus "appointed twelve, so that they would be with Him and that He could send them out to preach, 15 and to have authority (exousia = the right and the might!) to cast out the demons." (Mk 3:14-15). Matthew's description is similar stating that Jesus "gave them authority (exousia = the right and the might!) over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal (therapeuo) every kind of disease and every kind of sickness." (Mt 10:1)
Mark 3:14 adds a phrase not found in Luke - so that they would be with Him - John MacArthur explains "Mark articulates two reasons why He appointed the twelve. The first was simply so that they would be with Him. By constantly spending intimate time with Jesus (for 3 years with God incarnate!), the Twelve would be personally mentored by the Messiah Himself. They would be trained as His apprentices.
MacArthur adds "Much can be learned from the classroom, from good books, and from personal experience. But spiritual growth comes best from close contact with a holy example. A consistently pure life that is patient, loving, reverent, and that has peace of heart and mind is an unmatched tutor for godly living. To hear a godly person talk to others and pray to God, to see him act and react, and to feel his heartbeat for the Lord is to be trained in the best of all schools. The disciples were a humanly defective and inept group, but their Teacher was unsurpassed. His intention was not to teach them to be the best they could be in their own capacities and strength but to teach them to be what they could be through His provision and power.
https://www.preceptaustin.org/luke-6-commentary continued:
ReplyDeleteThe concept of an apostle can be traced to the Jewish concept of the shaliach, which also referred to a messenger sent with full authority to act on behalf of another. A shaliach could also act on behalf of an individual, similar to the modern-day legal concept of power of attorney. Thus in Jewish practice, the shaliach was the same as the one who sent him.
Note that the names of the disciples are combined in pairs, probably because it was by pairs that they were sent out "by two and two" (Mark 6:7 = "And He summoned the twelve and began to send them out in pairs, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits.") on their first missionary assignment (Mt 10:1-4, 5).
Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; and James and John - These four experienced the most intimacy with Jesus (as recorded in the NT) and were considered Jesus' "inner circle." As you progress down the next two groups of four there is a decreasing amount of Scriptural information known about each one and also a decreasing degree of intimacy with Jesus (reaching its nadir with Judas Iscariot). Notice that in this first group of four, there are 2 sets of brothers, and all were fishermen. It is interesting that other than our knowledge of Matthew as a tax collector, we know nothing of the the occupations of the other seven apostles.
"The 12 are always listed in a similar order (cf. Mk 3:16-19; Lk 6:13-16; Ac 1:13). Peter is always named first.The list contains 3 groups of 4. The 3 subgroups are always listed in the same order, and the first name in each subgroup is always the same (Philip’s is always first in group two, and James the son of Alphaeus’ always heads group three), though there is some variation in the order within the subgroups—but Judas Iscariot is always named last.
https://www.preceptaustin.org/luke-6-commentary continued:
ReplyDeleteJowett wrote that Peter was cast into a horrible prison called the Mamertine and for nine months, in absolute darkness. He endured monstrous torture manacled to a post. In spite of all the suffering Peter was subjected to, he converted his jailers, Processus, Martinianus, and forty-seven others. Peter met his death at the hand of the Romans in Nero's circus, 67 AD. Others state that he was crucified. Jerome said that he was crucified, his head being down and his feet upward, himself so requiring, because he was (he said) unworthy to be crucified after the same form and manner as the Lord was.
The brother of Peter, Andrew had been a disciple of John the Baptist who began following Jesus early in the Lord’s public ministry (cf. John 1:40). According to tradition, Andrew died shortly after introducing the wife of a provincial governor to the gospel of Jesus Christ. When she refused to recant her faith, her angry husband had Andrew crucified on an X-shaped cross. He reportedly hung there for two days, preaching the gospel to anyone passing by until he died.
Luke records his fate at the hands of wicked Agrippa I (circa 45 AD) who "he had James the brother of John put to death with a sword."(Acts 12:2).
Not much is known of his ministry after the Lord's resurrection, but it is believed that he lived another 14 years before his martyrdom. Within this 14 year period, James visited the Jewish colonist and slaves in Spain to preach the Gospel. John Foxe states that James the son of Zebedee, was John's older brother and a relative of our Lord because his mother Salome, was cousin to the Virgin Mary. James was martyred for his faith in Christ. In fact, he was the first apostle put to death. Clemens Alexandrinus states that as James was led to the place of martyrdom, his accuser was brought to repent of his conduct by the apostle's extraordinary courage, and fell down at his feet to request his pardon, professing himself a Christian, and resolving that James should not receive the crown of martyrdom alone. Hence they were both beheaded at the same time. Thus, did he cheerfully and resolutely receive that cup, which he had told our Savior he was ready to drink (Mt 20:22). These events took place in AD 44 by the order of Herod Agrippa I.
https://www.preceptaustin.org/luke-6-commentary continued:
ReplyDeleteThe "beloved disciple," was brother to James the Great. The apostle John rose to a position of influence within world-wide Christianity and shortly before the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 AD, he moved to Ephesus. He became the pastor of the church in Ephesus and had a special relationship to other churches in the area, as we know from the letters to the Seven Churches in Asia, in the book of Revelation. From Ephesus he was ordered to be sent to Rome, where it is affirmed he was cast into a cauldron of boiling oil. He escaped by miracle, without injury. Domitian after wards banished him to the Isle of Patmos, where he wrote the Book of Revelation. Nerva, the successor of Domitian, recalled him. Other New Testament books accredited to John are the Gospel of John, along with 1st, 2nd and 3rd John. All of the apostles met a violent death, however, John died peacefully in Ephesus, at an advanced age, around the year 100 AD.
Philip was the leader of the second group. According to John 1:44, he was from Bethsaida, the same hometown as Peter and Andrew. Before the feeding of the five thousand, Philip openly wondered where they could buy bread for so many people (John 6:5). In the upper room, it was Philip who said to Jesus, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us” (John 14:8). In response, “Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, “Show us the Father”?’” (Jn 14:9-10). Philip’s thickheadedness on both of those occasions was typical of all the disciples, who only came to fully understand the truth about Jesus after His resurrection. Bartholomew began to follow Jesus through the influence of Philip (John 1:45).
Philip - Most of his latter ministry took place in Galatia (in Turkey) where he was accompanied by Bartholomew. In the company of the apostle Philip, the apostle Bartholomew went to Asia Minor and labored in Hierapolis, near Laodicea and Colosse, in what is modern day Turkey. While in Hierapolis, it is said that the wife of the Roman proconsul was healed by the apostles Philip and Bartholomew, that she became a Christian, and that her husband ordered Philip and Bartholomew to be put to death by crucifixion. Sadly, Philip was crucified at the age of 87 around AD 54.
Bartholomew - His name means “son of Tolmai” in Aramaic. Most commentators agree that this almost surely the man named Nathanael ("Given of God") about which Jesus spoke in John's Gospel.
Bartholomew or Nathaniel - Bartholomew preached in several countries and is reported to have labored in the area around the south end of the Caspian Sea, in the section that was then called Armenia. The modern name of the district where he died is Azerbaijan and the place of his death, called in New Testament times Albanopolis, is now Derbend, which is on the west coast of the Caspian Sea. Having translated the Gospel of Matthew into the language of India, he propagated it in that country. He was at length, cruelly beaten and then crucified by the impatient idolaters. The apostle Bartholomew is said to have been martyred in the year 68 AD
https://www.preceptaustin.org/luke-6-commentary continued:
ReplyDeleteMatthew was a tax collector, and thus, considered a traitor and renegade by the Jewish people until he quit and followed the Lord. He wrote his gospel in Hebrew, which was afterwards translated into Greek by James the Less. The scene of his labors was Parthia, and Ethiopia, in which latter country he suffered martyrdom, being slain with a halberd in the city of Nadabah, AD 60.
Thomas is the “doubting Thomas” in the passages below. "Strong tradition from church history indicates that Thomas took the gospel to India, where he was martyred."
Thomas - Thomas is also know as Didymus, which means "twin." The apostle Thomas is said to have been a fearless evangelist and a great builder of churches. After the resurrection of the Lord Christ Jesus, Thomas went to Babylon. It is believed that he established the first Christian church there. He is also known to have gone to Persia and from there he went to India and preached the Gospel making many converts. It is also believed that the apostle Thomas evangelized as far as China, and while in India, he suffered martyrdom, being killed with a lance (he was buried in Mylapore, India, which is now a suburb of Madras.)
James the son of Alphaeus was called James the Less. His mother was named Mary and she also followed Jesus.
and Simon who was called the Zealot - This designation serves to distinguish this Simon from Simon Peter. Matthew and Mark both describe Simon as "Zealot" but they both use a different Greek word, kananaios, which means Cananaean, and in Aramaic means zealot or enthusiast. The ESV is more accurate calling him "Simon the Cananaean."
Matthew was a tax-collector, and, therefore, a traitor and a renegade. Simon was a Zealot, and the Zealots were fanatical nationalists, who were sworn to assassinate every traitor and every Roman they could. It is one of the miracles of the power of Christ that Matthew the tax-collector and Simon the Zealot could live at peace in the close company of the apostolic band. When men are really Christian the most diverse and divergent types can live at peace together.
Judas the son of James - He is also called Thaddeus, a surname of the apostle Jude.
Judas Iscariot Who became a traitor - There is some debate about what the name Iscariot means. It probably alludes to a region in Judea and thus might make Judas the only non-Galilean in the group. Several explanations for the name Iscariot have been proposed, but it is probably transliterated Hebrew with the meaning “man of Kerioth”.
https://www.preceptaustin.org/luke-6-commentary continued:
ReplyDeleteA B Bruce's classic (recommended book) Training of the Twelve:
The selection by Jesus of the twelve from the band of disciples who had gradually gathered around His person is an important landmark in the Gospel history. It divides the ministry of our Lord into two portions, nearly equal, probably, as to duration, but unequal as to the extent and importance of the work done in each respectively. In the earlier period Jesus labored single-handed; His miraculous deeds were confined for the most part to a limited area, and His teaching was in the main of an elementary character. But by the time when the twelve were chosen, the work of the kingdom had assumed such dimensions as to require organization and division of labor; and the teaching of Jesus was beginning to be of a deeper and more elaborate nature, and His gracious activities were taking on ever-widening range.
It is probable that the selection of a limited number to be His close and constant companions had become a necessity to Christ, in consequence of His very success in gaining disciples. His followers, we imagine, had grown so numerous as to be an incumbrance and an impediment to his movements, especially in the long journeys which mark the later part of His ministry. It was impossible that all who believed could continue henceforth to follow Him, in the literal sense, whithersoever He might go: the greater number could now only be occasional followers. But it was His wish that certain selected men should be with Him at all times and in all places, — His travelling companions in all His wanderings, witnessing all His work, and ministering to His daily needs.
These twelve, however, as we know, were to be something more than travelling companions or menial servants of the Lord Jesus Christ. They were to be, in the mean time, students of Christian doctrine, and occasional fellow-laborers in the work of the kingdom, and eventually Christ’s chosen trained agents for propagating the faith after He Himself had left the earth. From the time of their being chosen, indeed, the twelve entered on a regular apprenticeship for the great office of apostleship, in the course of which they were to learn, in the privacy of an intimate daily fellowship with their Master, what they should be, do, believe, and teach, as His witnesses and ambassadors to the world. Henceforth the training of these men was to be a constant and prominent part of Christ’s personal work. He was to make it His business to tell them in darkness what they should afterwards speak in the daylight, and to whisper in their ear what in after years they should preach upon the housetops.
https://www.preceptaustin.org/luke-6-commentary continued:
ReplyDeleteIn a worldly point of view they were a very insignificant company indeed, — a band of poor illiterate Galilean provincials, utterly devoid of social consequence, not likely to be chosen by one having supreme regard to prudential considerations. Why did Jesus choose such men? Was He guided by feelings of antagonism to those possessing social advantages, or of partiality for men of His own class? No; His choice was made in true wisdom. If He chose Galileans mainly, it was not from provincial prejudice against those of the south; if, as some think, He chose two or even four61 of his own kindred, it was not from nepotism; if He chose rude, unlearned, humble men, it was not because He was animated by any petty jealousy of knowledge, culture, or good birth. If any rabbi, rich man, or ruler had been willing to yield himself unreservedly to the service of the kingdom, no objection would have been taken to him on account of his acquirements, possessions, or titles. The case of Saul of Tarsus, the pupil of Gamaliel, proves the truth of this statement. Even Gamaliel himself would not have been objected to, could he have stooped to become a disciple of the unlearned Nazarene. But, alas! neither he nor any of his order would condescend so far, and therefore the despised One did not get an opportunity of showing His willingness to accept as disciples and choose for apostles such as they were.
The truth is, that Jesus was obliged to be content with fishermen, and publicans, and quondam zealots, for apostles. They were the best that could be had. Those who deemed themselves better were too proud to become disciples, and thereby they excluded themselves from what all the world now sees to be the high honor of being the chosen princes of the kingdom. The civil and religious aristocracy boasted of their unbelief.62 The citizens of Jerusalem did feel for a moment interested in the zealous youth who had purged the temple with a whip of small cords; but their faith was superficial, and their attitude patronizing, and therefore Jesus did not commit Himself unto them, because He knew what was in them.63 A few of good position were sincere sympathizers, but they were not so decided in their attachment as to be eligible for apostles. Nicodemus was barely able to speak a timid apologetic word in Christ’s behalf, and Joseph of Arimathea was a disciple “secretly,” for fear of the Jews. These were hardly the persons to send forth as missionaries of the cross — men so fettered by social ties and party connections, and so enslaved by the fear of man. The apostles of Christianity must be made of sterner stuff.
And so Jesus was obliged to fall back on the rustic, but simple, sincere, and energetic men of Galilee. And He was quite content with His choice, and devoutly thanked His Father for giving Him even such as they. Learning, rank, wealth, refinement, freely given up to his service, He would not have despised; but He preferred devoted men who had none of these advantages to undevoted men who had them all. And with good reason; for it mattered little, except in the eyes of contemporary prejudice, what the social position or even the previous history of the twelve had been, provided they were spiritually qualified for the work to which they were called. What tells ultimately is, not what is without a man, but what is within.
We submit the following considerations with this view: —
That some of the apostles were comparatively obscure, inferior men, cannot be denied; but even the obscurest of them may have been most useful as witnesses for Him with whom they had companied from the beginning. The purpose of history is served by recording the words and deeds of the representative men, and many are allowed to drop into oblivion who did nobly in their day. The less distinguished members of the apostolic band are entitled to the benefit of this reflection.
https://www.preceptaustin.org/luke-6-commentary continued:
ReplyDeleteLuke 6:17 Jesus came down with them and stood on a level place; and there was a large crowd of His disciples, and a great throng of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon
There is little doubt that the discourses given by Matthew and Luke are the same, Matthew locating it on “the mountain,” and Luke “on a level place,” which might easily be a level spot on a mountain. Observe that they begin and end alike, and pursue the same general order. Luke omits various matters of special interest to Matthew’s Jewish readers (e.g. Matt. 5:17–42), and other matters that he himself will give elsewhere (e.g. Luke 11:1–4; 12:22–31); while Luke has a few sentences (as ver. Lk 6:24–26, 38–40), which are not given by Matthew.
Questions and findings:
ReplyDelete1. v12 - Why did Jesus find it necessary to go up on a mountain to pray?
In that culture, it was standard to go up onto a mountain to pray. People felt closer to God. Jesus also needed to get away so that He could connect with God and hear Him. In this case, Jesus was probably seeking God's will in the selection of the Twelve. If Jesus was divine, didn't He already know God's will? I think that when Jesus came to earth, He set aside His divine attributes. So He needed to get God's will the same way we do - by asking God.
2. v13 - Why did Jesus choose these 12, and who was He choosing from? How many disciples did He have?
By this time, Jesus probably had a lot of followers, many of whom would have been honored to become one of His close disciples. Jesus chose 12 of them because that is probably the max size that He could practically train, and also because 12 represented the number of the tribes of Israel. I think that these 12 had the attributes that Jesus needed: 1. Physical toughness provided by a tough life, 2. Not as many pre-conceived notions (a blank slate - they couldn't have been very familiar with the teachings of the Jewish elders), and 3. The dedication needed to remain His disciples through the tough times (they needed an unfettered life).
3. v18 - What does "troubled with unclean spirits" mean?
My guess is that it was a mixture of people who were actually "demonized" and people who had mental illnesses. As the years have gone by, I have dropped a lot of notions about what this means. I am unsure what form(s) demon activity takes today and throughout history. It's possible that there is quite a lot of unseen demonic activity. It's also possible that this fallen world provides a lot of mental disease naturally with no need for demons to be involved. It's also possible that people in Jesus' day attributed a lot of "natural" mental illnesses to demons, and Jesus just wasn't willing to correct those notions - He worked within the culture He was put. It's also possible that in our material culture, we just don't recognize demon activity for what it is.
4. v19 - What does it mean that "power came out from Him"?
I think this just means that His body became a center of God's healing power. His very touch would heal people. The Holy Spirit living inside Jesus was especially active at that time, to the point that it's effects could be observed.