“Jesus summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority” ( Matthew 10:1 Chapter 10 1 And he called unto him his twelve disciples, and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of disease and all manner of sickness. ).

When Jesus summoned His twelve disciples, He was making more than a casual request. The word Matthew used is an intense term that means to call someone to oneself in order to confront him face-to-face. It is used of God’s calling the Gentiles to Himself through the gospel ( Acts 2:39 39 For to you is the promise, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, `even' as many as the Lord our God shall call unto him. ) and of His calling His chosen men and entrusting them to proclaim the gospel ( Acts 13:2 2 And as they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. ; 16:10). The vocabulary implies that this summoning was connected to an official commissioning to the Lord’s service.

Behind Jesus’ commissioning and training of the twelve disciples are several foundational facts. First, these men were chosen sovereignly by God. None of the twelve initiated the idea of following Jesus and becoming His disciples, much less His apostles. It was entirely God’s planning and doing. Mark tells us that Jesus “summoned those whom He Himself wanted” ( Mark 3:13 13 And he goeth up into the mountain, and calleth unto him whom he himself would; and they went unto him. ), and near the end of His earthly ministry Jesus reminded them, “You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you” ( John 15:16 16 Ye did not choose me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that ye should go and bear fruit, and `that' your fruit should abide: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. ).

The men themselves were not consulted nor were any other men. Jesus’ only consultation was with His heavenly Father. Like Abraham, Moses, David, Isaiah, and all the prophets, the twelve disciples were chosen by God’s sovereign will and for His sovereign purpose, being foreordained to His service before the foundation of the world. That has always been God’s way. He divinely chose Israel, He divinely chose His prophets and His apostles, and He divinely chooses those today who become the leaders of His own Body, the church.

Ask Yourself

Have you routinely thought of God’s calling on your life as having this kind of urgency, intention, and purpose? Are there other priorities that are siphoning off the importance you should be placing on the tasks God has called you to accomplish in His service?

From Daily Readings from the Life of Christ, Vol. 1, John MacArthur. Copyright © 2008. Used by permission of Moody Publishers, Chicago, IL 60610, www.moodypublishers.com.

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