Transcript

Meet The Apostles-Part One

Matthew 10:2-4
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Pastor Randy Smith

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While the Word of God frequently speaks about the disobedience of individuals, there is definitely one people group that receives its praise. They stand out as exemplary believers. They are models for all of us to emulate. They are the Bereans, and they are spoken of in Acts 17. The apostle Paul encountered them in Greece on his second missionary journey.

What made them so exceptional was their attitude toward the Scripture. They held it in high regard. Of them the Bible says, "They received the Word with great eagerness" (Ac. 17:11). They were hungry to hear the Word. They were prepared to follow the Word wherever it might lead. Yet their obedience was not blind conformity or reckless zeal. Even though their teacher was the apostle Paul, the Bible says they were "examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so" (Ac. 17:11). A heart to obey the Word and a heart to make sure it really was the true Word of God they were obeying.

This is the attitude that I also witness in this church. I am thrilled that I do not need to spend half my time persuading you of the need to obey the Bible. You faithfully come out. You accept the Bible as God's Word and consequently desire to follow the voice of your Shepherd. Yet at the same time I am thrilled that you, like the Bereans, heed what I say from this pulpit only in as much as it squares with the Bible. You understand that I am only a messenger, a messenger accountable to both God and you to teach from this Book accurately.

For three straight weeks we examined God's Word on the subject of money. Not exactly a topic to cover for the fainthearted preacher or the carnal congregation. So I praise God that you have accepted these lessons so graciously, and based on your comments (and continued presence with us!) you submitted to what the Bible taught (regardless of the subject) with great eagerness and humility like the Bereans.

The apostle Paul also said to another Greek church, "For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe" (1 Thes. 2:13). And in like manner I thank God for you.

And with that understanding that values God's Word, I am excited to get back into our study of Matthew. Good churches are biblical churches and biblical churches appreciate the verse-by-verse exposition of the Bible. So after a two-month hiatus, we find ourselves in Matthew chapter 10.

What have we covered so far? Up to this point we have studied the ancestry of Jesus in chapter 1, the anticipation of Jesus also in chapter 1, the arrival of Jesus in chapter 2, the announcer of Jesus (in John the Baptist) in chapter 3, the approval of Jesus (from the Holy Father) in chapter 3, the attack of Jesus (from Satan) in chapter 4, the affirmations of Jesus (in the Sermon on the Mount) in chapters 5-7 and the attestations of Jesus (through various miracles) in chapters 8-9. Now as we approach chapter 10 we will be introduced to the associates of Jesus.

We are at a turning point in the Lord's ministry. At this time Jesus is pulling away from the large crowds and beginning to devote more time to His closest followers. They will have the responsibility to carry His teachings to the world. There was no second string, no backup players, no plan B. They were His 12 disciples, the apostles, men specifically chosen by our Lord (Jn. 15:16).

Yet as significant as these men are I am sure most of us could not identify all of them by name. And while knowing their names might only assist us in a trivia contest, understanding these men and learning from their character will greatly assist us in our walk with Christ. So this morning I would like to introduce you to the personalities of our Lord's most intimate companions. We will be hearing a lot about these guys in the weeks and months ahead so let's get to know them. This will be a "jet-tour," but I believe you will be surprised as to how much you learn about your own character by a study of their character.

Here we go…

Peter

How can we not begin with Peter? He stands foremost in our minds not so much because his name is always first when the apostles are listed (Mt. 10:2-4; Mk. 3:16-19; Lk, 6:14-16; Ac. 1:13), or that he postured himself as a leader and spokesman for the group. We think of Peter because he had a tendency, like so many of us who speak before we think, to embarrass himself with his comments. Quite often with him it was ready…fire…aim!

Peter's name was "Simon" (Mt. 4:18), that is until our Lord said, "I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church" (Mt. 16:18). The original Greek word for Peter (petros) means, "rock". I would like to say that this new name complimented his personality. Unfortunately I can't. If we read the Gospels, Peter was anything but a man of stability. He was brash, vacillating and undependable. He was impetuous, impulsive and overeager. Yet this nickname would serve as a perpetual reminder of what the Lord wanted him to be and by God's grace who he would eventually become.

His 18 months in direct communion with the Lord produced a series of peaks and valleys. No disciple confessed Jesus more boldly then when he said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Mt. 16:16). And no disciple denied Him more vehemently when he, with cursing and swearing said, "I do not know the man!" (Mt. 26:74). No disciple praised Jesus Christ like Peter, yet no other disciple did Jesus Christ ever call "Satan" (Mt. 16:23). To his shame Peter was rebuked the most by the Lord and to his double shame Peter was the only disciple to ever rebuke the Lord (Mk. 8:33).

Yet we must cut Peter some slack. Sure Peter is slighted for sinking in the water, but at least he had the faith to jump out of the boat at Christ's command (Mt. 14:28-30). Sure Peter is mocked for attempting to attack the soldiers who arrested Jesus, but at least he had the courage to defend His Lord (Jn. 18:10). Sure Peter is maligned for denying Jesus, but at least he after the other apostles fled was close enough whereby Jesus could turn and look at him (Lk. 22:61).

The Lord was making a leader out of Peter. His natural gifts were evident; they simply needed to be refined. Within time Peter learned restraint and submissiveness and self-control and humility and courage and compassion. As testified in the book of Acts, he was the dominant leader after the Resurrection for the early church. He wrote two epistles regarding Christian maturity contained in our Bible. And as predicted by our Lord he eventually died as a martyr by being crucified (Jn. 21:18-19). And according to tradition he was crucified upside-down as he felt unworthy to die in the same manner as His Master.

By God's grace Peter became the rocklike leader his name signified.

Andrew

Peter's brother, Andrew, was also a disciple of Jesus. Like his brother, he too was a fisherman.

Andrew is best noted for his humility. And exemplifying his humility, quite often Andrew is simply identified as "Peter's brother" (Jn. 1:40). No doubt this man lived in the shadow of his dominant brother. Consider Andrew, following Christ before Peter. Finally something he had over his brother that is until Peter came to the Lord and once again eclipsed Andrew. His humility is also seen in the fact that while he was among our Lord's closest disciples you can practically count on your fingers the number of times he is mentioned specifically in the Gospels.

Andrew did not seek to be in the center of attention. Nor did he resent those in the limelight. He was quiet, gentle and content being the unsung hero. As a humble individual he was a man of few words, but when he spoke he always seemed to say the right things. Like all people of humility, Andrew's legacy is highly honored in the Scriptures.

We can't leave Andrew without also noting his passion to lead others to Christ. Immediately after Andrew came to the Lord the Bible says, "He found first his own brother [Peter] and said to him, 'We have found the Messiah' (which translated means Christ). He brought him to Jesus" (Jn. 1:41-42). It was Andrew who brought the little boy to Jesus with the 5 loaves and 2 fish (Jn. 6:9). It was Andrew who brought the Greeks to our Lord when they said, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus" (Jn. 12:20). Maybe his brother preached to large crowds, but Andrew was the master of lifestyle evangelism. He enjoyed ministering to people one-on-one.

In line with his "behind-the-scenes" nature, Andrew isn't mentioned in the book of Acts or the epistles. According to tradition he took the gospel north and was eventually crucified in southern Greece on an X-shaped cross. And accounts have it that he hung on the cross for 2 days pleading with people who passed by to turn to Christ for salvation.

James

As a prominent apostle we know very little about James, disciple number three. His younger brother and fellow fisherman, John, gets way more attention. James is remembered as being in the inner circle when Jesus met with only a few apostles on special occasions. Accompanied by only Peter and John, by private invitation, James was there when Jesus raised Jairus's daughter (Mk. 5:37). He was there when Jesus was transfigured on the mountain (Mk. 9:2). And he was there when Jesus prayed in Gethsemane just before the crucifixion (Mk. 14:33).

If we have to describe his character it was probably one of passion. He and his brother John were called "Sons of Thunder" by Jesus (Mk. 3:17). One time his fiery disposition prompted him to command fire to come down from heaven upon the Samaritans who would not receive Jesus (Lk. 9:53-54). On that occasion Jesus needed to rebuke His outspoken and impatient friend: "The Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them" (Lk. 9:55). His passion at times also exposed his selfish motives such as the incident when he asked to be seated at the Lord's right hand in glory (Mk. 10:37). And then, without considering the ramifications, said he would be willing to drink the Lord's cup of suffering (Mk. 10:38-39). Passion must always be tempered with wise thinking - James needed to learn that lesson.

Yet passion is a treasured trait, and the passion of James was also used for good. Probably the reason he was the first to be martyred (by the way the only apostolic martyrdom recorded in the Bible) was because he was committed to the truth, zealous to testify of His Lord and Savior (Acts 12:1-3). So when it came time for Herod to make an example of Christ's followers, James' neck was an easy target for his sword.

John MacArthur in his book Twelve Ordinary Men, reference I used heavily to prepare this message, said, "James wanted a crown of glory; Jesus gave him a cup of suffering. He wanted power; Jesus gave him servanthood. He wanted a place of prominence; Jesus gave him martyr's grave. He wanted to rule; Jesus gave him a sword - not to wield, but to be the instrument of his own execution."

John

Along with Peter, we are probably most familiar with the apostle John, our fourth disciple this morning. He was the author of the Gospel that bears his name. He also wrote three short epistles and the Book of Revelation found near the end of our Bibles. According to the book of Acts he played a large role in the early church.

When we think of John we think of the traditional nickname ascribed to him: "The Apostle of Love." While we cannot deny that he wrote often on the topic of love, his character before it was refined by Jesus did not live up to the billing. Despite the fact that John is often portrayed in medieval art as mild, meek, effeminate and lying on Jesus' shoulder looking up at Him with admiration, this characterization is misleading.

The man was just as rugged and hard-edged as his older brother, James. He too was a "Son of Thunder." For instance, consider the time that he felt jealous because someone was serving the Lord without being a direct follower of them (Mk. 9:38). Jesus needed to rebuke the intolerant and narrow-minded apostle: "For he who is not against us is for us" (Mk. 9:40).

Read John's writings carefully and you will see that his personality shaped the way he wrote. They was no gray with him - everything back and white. Everything absolute and certain. You are either walking in the light or walking in the darkness. You are either in the kingdom of heaven or the kingdom of the devil. You either have God as your Father or Satan as your father. You are either of God or of the world.

No doubt John always had a tremendous zeal for the truth, but as he walked with the Lord he only then began to develop a sincere love for people. And though love and truth are inseparable (1 Cor. 13:6), John began to balance these twin virtues. We especially see this in John's later epistles that he composed when he was an older man. He wrote to the churches with a fatherly love and gentle pastoral concern referring to his readers as "little children" seven times in 1 John (1 Jn. 2:1, 12, 28; 3:7, 18; 4:4; 5:21) and himself as "your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation" in Revelation (Rev. 1:9).

Jerome in his commentary on Galatians said that during his later years the aged apostle John was so frail and weak that he needed to be carried to the church in Ephesus. One phrase was constantly on his lips: "My little children, love one another." When asked why he always said this he replied, "It is the Lord's command, and if this alone be done, it is enough."

John's fiery passion as a fellow "Son of Thunder" (Mk. 3:17) was tempered after spending time in the school of Jesus' discipleship. He was the one who was leaning on the Lord's chest and when told of a betrayer at the Lord's Supper was the first to say, "Lord, who is it?" (Jn. 13:25; 21:20). He alone stayed at our Lord's crucifixion while the others fled (Jn. 19:26). And he was the one whom Jesus asked from the cross to watch over His mother (Jn. 19:27).

John was banished to the island of Patmos because of his testimony, but unlike every other apostle, he was not martyred for his faith.

I would like to continue with the remaining eight apostles next week, but as we conclude our brief overview of the four most prominent apostles, I believe I need to leave you with a few summarizing statements.

I want you to see that these men were not "saints" in the way most incorrectly use the term today. They were not superhuman beacons of the faith. They had their flaws. They had their shortcomings. They were men that loved the Lord, but also men that still struggled with sin. After pastoring for 12 years and becoming acquainted with many personality types, I see these individuals very similar to Christ's followers today. They are people we can identify with. They are approachable. They are just ordinary guys no different than the people who compose this great church.

That encourages me that their weaknesses are recorded in the Bible. That encourages me that the Lord, when He chose 12 men for the most responsible work imaginable, chose individuals no different than you and I. No outstanding natural talents or intellectual abilities. They were real human beings with real human flaws, but as they walked with King Jesus than began to change. By the submission to His teaching through the power of the Holy Spirit, they were transformed.

The apostles prove that God can do much with little. They prove that anybody, regardless of their past and their imperfections and their personal limitations, can be employed to be a useful vessel for His purposes. Let's remember, it was through the unqualified and the unworthy and the nobodies that Jesus turned the world upside-down (Ac. 17:6). And if God could use them in such a dramatic way, there is no reason why He can't use you. There is no reason why He can't change your life and enlist you in the greatest cause to accomplish His purposes. Think about it, there is not much that can bring Him greater glory than to use a broken vessel like you and I. And there is nothing that will bring you greater satisfaction and meaning in life than the reality of being transformed and used by Him for eternal purposes. Like He did with these apostles two-thousand years ago, Jesus is still changing lives and building His kingdom in the same manner today.