Believers, disciples and apostles

Matthew 10:1-23 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Jesus summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every sickness.

² Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew; and James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John; ³ Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; ⁴ Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, the one who also betrayed Him.

⁵ These twelve Jesus sent out after instructing them, saying, “Do not go on a road to Gentiles, and do not enter a city of Samaritans; ⁶ but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. ⁷ And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ ⁸ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those with leprosy, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give. ⁹ Do not acquire gold, or silver, or copper for your money belts, ¹⁰ or a bag for your journey, or even two tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for the worker is deserving of his support. ¹¹ And whatever city or village you enter, inquire who is worthy in it, and stay at his house until you leave that city. ¹² As you enter the house, give it your greeting. ¹³ If the house is worthy, see that your blessing of peace comes upon it. But if it is not worthy, take back your blessing of peace. ¹⁴ And whoever does not receive you nor listen to your words, as you leave that house or city, shake the dust off your feet. ¹⁵ Truly I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment, than for that city.

¹⁶ “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be as wary as serpents, and as innocent as doves. ¹⁷ But be on guard against people, for they will hand you over to the courts and flog you in their synagogues; ¹⁸ and you will even be brought before governors and kings on My account, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. ¹⁹ But when they hand you over, do not worry about how or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given you in that hour. ²⁰ For it is not you who are speaking, but it is the Spirit of your Father who is speaking in you.

²¹ “Now brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. ²² And you will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.

²³ “But whenever they persecute you in one city, flee to the next; for truly I say to you, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel until the Son of Man comes.

John 3:16 says: God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life. There is a misconception that when Jesus was here, He had twelve disciples. Jesus had twelve whom He called as apostles. Luke 19:37 says: As He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen. A multitude is not a specific number, but rather is defined as a great number. When Jesus was here, there were some people who having experienced miracles or having heard Jesus teaching, became believers even though they may have only seen Him once. There were some, a great number, who followed Jesus, continuing to hear His teaching and became His disciples. What differentiates a person as being a believer verses being a disciple or an apostle was not necessarily clearly defined then and perhaps even less now.

The definition of an apostle (from the Greek apostolos) is "one who is sent" or "one commissioned."  In today’s text we see that Jesus sent or commissioned the twelve.  Jesus summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every sickness. Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew; and James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, the one who also betrayed Him. These twelve Jesus sent out after instructing them, saying, “Do not go on a road to Gentiles, and do not enter a city of Samaritans; but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.  And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those with leprosy, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give.”  These were not men with formal religious training. At that time, they had not walked or served with Jesus a long time. Yet, Jesus gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every sickness. It seems as though too often in the church today, we make sure that those who are sent out are sent in the authority of the church, with extensive training and instruction of the church. Training is good, but it is the authority of Christ is most important. To be an apostle, one who is sent, is not an office one can choose, it is an office one is chosen for by God.

On the other hand, to be a disciple is a choice that each of us can make. We ourselves can choose how earnestly we will follow Jesus. We can choose whether we are content to have heard His word or been touched by His power, or if we will seek His word daily, if our desire is not only to be touched by His power, but to be filled with and overflowing with His power. Jesus spoke to the multitude when He said in Matthew 5:14-16: “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Your light must shine before people in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”  Jesus spoke to the multitude when He taught us to pray in Matthew 6:9-13:  ^“In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” The choice we have is whether we will be believers who pray that prayer, or will we choose to be disciples, those who seek Jesus and the kingdom and the power. Will we be those who rather than only praying the prayer that Jesus taught us, seek to be the answer to that prayer.

Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. I choose to follow Jesus and seek the kingdom of God and heaven. I desire that I would be part of the answer to Jesus prayer. That Your kingdom would come and Your will would be done, both in and through my life. If You choose to send me, I will go.  Amen.