1996 issue 8 - sermon on luke 6:12-16 - the sovereignty of jesus - counsel of chalcedon

8/12/2019 1996 Issue 8 - Sermon on Luke 6:12-16 - The Sovereignty of Jesus - Counsel of Chalcedon

1/8

th

Fulfillment

of

~ e s s i a n i c r o p h e c y

jesus

is ~ v e r y t h i n g lsaiah said

He would be. He is the

cornerstone upon which a believer

can build his life and future; and

He is the stone of stumbling, Who

came to earth.that all those who

refuse to believe in might stumble

over Him into hell, I Pet. 2:8.

What is He to you?

If

you come to

Him in faith, He will be the sure

and unshakable foundation for

your life and future.

If

you take

offense

at

Him, you will stumble

over Him into etemal torment.

Jesus came to save men from death

and hell and to bring them to

resurrection

and

to

eternal

life;

and

the

miracle of the

healing of the

man

with

the

.

withered hand,

is

proof

that

He is able to

do all that He

promises.

You have

no

good reason

not

to believe

The Sovereignty ofJesus As

the Encouragement of

Christians Under

Fire

A faithful believer in Jesus has

nothing to fear from those who

slander, discredit, intimidate and

persecute him because of His

submission to Jesus and

to

His

written

Word

. Jesus has even His

enemies under His sovereign

control, so that: (1). They cannot

harm

one hair on your head

without His permission;

and

(2).

They carry out His will, regardless '

of their motives and goals. The

hearts of Christ's enemies are in

His hand,

and

He moves them in

whatever way pleases Him,

communion with His Father in

prayer. Time and

aga

in He would

find secluded places to pray

especially before decisive '

moments. Here we are told that '

before Jesus chose the Twelve

Apostles, He spent the whole night

in prayer about His choice.

the

step which He was about to take

was a very momentous one . :

the

.

whole future,of His Church

depended, humanly speaking, em

the choice to be made by Hint. His

choice must be in perfect

agreement with the will of His

Father. - Geldenhuys. These

apostles would be the foundation

of the church of God for the rest of

history, Eph .

2:20. '

If

Jesus

Christ felt the ,

need to

spend

the entire

night in prayer

before making

a vitally

important

decision,

how

much more

urgently

necessary is

it

- ~ f ~ ~ ~ ~ ? l i W ~ for us, frail

. and sinful

in

im and to

submit

your

life to His

sovereign Word.

~ - ' - - ' . - - - - - ' ' ' - - ' ' = = _ - , - , - ~

__

~ . = = ~ : . c . L c . c . . ;

mortals, to

The

Destructiveness of

, Man-Made Religion

All religions, worldviews,

theologies, ways of life, and moral

systems,

not

built

upon

the

Divine,humanSavior, Jesus Christ

and

ihe sovereign authOrity

of

His

written

Word

encourage evil and

are destructive

to

the lives of those

who hold to them.

There

is no

other name under

heaven

given

among men, whereby

we must

be

saved,

(Acts 4: 12), than the

life-giving and life-sustaining and

life-transforming name of Jesus.

because He

is

God incarnate. s

Proverbs 21:1 says:

The

king

's

heart

is

like

channels

ofwater

in

the

hand

of

the LORD; He turns it

wherever He

wishes.

(6:12-16) The Sovereignty of

Jesus in the Renewal

of

His

Church

The Night-Long Prayer Vigil of

Jesus in the Mountain

One

of the distinctives of

Luke's Gospel is His emphasis on

the prayer-life ofJesus. He would

often break away from the

demands of His ministry of the

Word to times of intimate

.. , THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon October,

1996

keep in the most intimate .

communion with God in constant

prayer.

The Calling, Choosing, and

Naming of the Twelve Apostles

The Location of the Calling

of the Apostles '

And

it

was at this tirrie that He

we

nt off TO THE MOUNTAIN to

pray ... And when day came, He

called His disciples to Him .. , Lk.

6:12; Mk. 3:13. The mounuiinas

a locus of revelation and

redemptive action

is

facniliar from

the O.T

and

is the essential

background to the evangelist's

\


2/8

understanding of significant

moments in the mission and

self-revelation ofJesus. - Lane

The Mountain

in

the Old Testament

The Old Testament associates

the

mountain with a sense of the

neamess of God's presence, Dt.

11:29; 27:12f; Josh. 8:33; Gen.

22:2; Exod. 17:9f; I

Kgs.

18:42; I

Sam.

7:1; 9:12f; I Kgs. 3:4. The

mountain also referred specifically

to

Mount Zion inJerusaIem, the

location of the Temple, the

sanctuary, palace and dwelling

place ofJehovah, I Chron. 16:39,

where the people of God gathered

to worship Him, I Chron. 21:29; II

Chron. 1:3,13. The mountain of

Zion became the only legitimate

place of sacrifice and the symbol of

God's presence with His people.

Zion is the holy hill on which God

has chosen

to

dwell with His

covenant people,

t

. 38:12,

Isaiah presents many of his

messianic prophecies in terms of

the mountain of the Lord. He

used terminology that his O.T.

hearers could

und

erstand

to

prophesy about the person, work

and reign of Christ. So, in lsaiah

2: If referring

to

Christ and to the

global triumph of His kingdom,

Isaiah prophesies that in

the

last

days,

THE MOUNTAIN of h

house

of

the

Lord w

ill be established

as the

chief of he mountains. and will be

raised

above the

hills; and

all

the

nations

will

stream

to it. And many

peoples.wUl come and

say.

Conte,

let

us go up to the mountain of

the

Lord ...

--

.. jor the law will go forth

front

Zion

....

In Isaiah 25:6f,

Isaiah prophesies that God will

provide a lavish banquet of

salvation for all nations on this

MOUNTAIN. And that He will

also remove the obstacle to the

nations coming to this banquet in

faith, i.e

the veil of blindness that

covers them because of their sin.

His words are: And on this

MOUNTAIN He will swallow

up

the covering which is over all

nations

The

Mountain

in

the New Testament

Repeatedly. the Gospels tell us

that Jesus went up

on

THE

MOUNTAIN.

Mt.

5:1; 8:1; Mk.

3:13;

Lk.

6:12;

Mt.

15:29;Jn. 6:3,

15; Mk. 6:46. t was on a

mountain where Jesus was

transfigured as He met with Moses

and Elijah. And the Ascension of

Jesus took place on a mountain.

Lk.

24:50;

Act.

1:12. This

mountain-motif in the life of

Christ could have as its purpose to

remind people ofthese O.T.

prophecies and references. so that

they would see in Him their

fulfillment. In calling the disciples

to

Himself on the mountain,

Jesus is beginning the

RESTORATION OF THE PEOPLE

OF GOD as prophesied by Isaiah.

See

Revelation 21:10.

The Call

to

Apostleship

At dawn. after a night of prayer.

Jesus

CALLED His

disCiples to

Him;

and

CHOSE twelve of them,

whom He also NAMED as

apostles... , Lk. 6: 13. Mark's

account is: And

He ..SUMMONED those whom He

HimselfWANTED, and they came

to Him. And He APPOINTED

twelve....

Mk.

3:13f.

TlI Meaning of

Words

Called , (PROSEPHONESEN),

denotes calling or summoning to

oneself with a word of power that

raises the dead.

Lk.

8:54. Chose,

(EKLEXAMENOS), is the most

common Greek rendering of the

Hebrew word.

BHR.

in the

Septuagint. t

occurs 194 times.

92 of which have God as the

subject. In the O.T

it denotes the

sovereign choice of Israel by God

to be His people, Dt. 14:2;Judg.

5:11; Dt. 4:37; 7:6; 10:15.

In

the

N

.T

its common usage means to

choose between two

or

more .

possibilities.

John

particularly

emphasizes the sovereignty of

Jesus

in

the choosing of the

apostles,Jn. 15:16f; 6:70; 15:16f.

In I Corinthians 1:27f the

threefold use expresses the fact

that the members of the

community. in all their human

weakness. serve the purpose of

manifesting the divine strength. In

EpheSians 1:4 the accent is on

eternal choice, the purpose is

adoption

in

Christ.

and

the result

is a consecrated walk,

not in

selfishness, bu t in love.

TheolOgical

Dictionary

of

the

New

Testament. pg. 519.

Named . (ONOMASEN).

denotes call,ing by name.

numbering. promising. and

defining. To name someone

implied power and authority over

that one, Jesus expressed His

sovereignty over His disciples by

calling them

and

defining the

office they are to fulfill and the

work they

ar(to

perform;

and

with

the call, promising the power to

be

successful in their mission.

Apostles. (APOSTOLOUS).

denotes the sending forth,

authorizing

and

commission of

someone

to

a specific mission. The

verb occurs 135 times in

the N.T

mostly in the Gospels and Acts.

Jesus uses the verb.

APOSTE)..LO.

to denote His full authority, i.e

to ground His mission

in

God as

the One who is responsible for His

words and works. -

Theological

Dictionary of

the

New Testam ent.

(See Hebrews 3:1.) He then sends

forth His disciples as apostles

in

His Name. i.e., clothed with His

own divine authority. An apostle.

then. is a person authoritatively

sent out to speak

and

act as

October, 1996 THE COUNSEL of Cb,alcedon 5


3/8

representatives of]esus bestowed

with His authority and power.

Only true disciples, (Le., learners

and followers of]esus), can have

this authority. Thus all apostles

must be disciples, though not all

diSciples are apostles,

Lk.

6:13.

Summoned,

(PROSKALEITAl), denotes "to call

to," and it often

has

God

as

the

subject, Acts 2:39, or the Holy

Spirit, Acts 13:2, or jesus, Mat.

10:1; Mk. 3:13. "Wanted,"

(ETHELEN) , denotes desire,

purpose, wish, and preference. It

is often used for the sovereign will

of God, which is always definite,

certain and

effi

cacious, I Cor.

12:18;jn. 3:8; I Tim. 2:4; Mat.

20:14f; Rom. 9:18,22. The

The works

of]

esus are works of

(re-)crealive, divine power. He

"appoints" and

"c

reates" His

apostles. By

Hi

s works,

He

makes

Himself equal to God, Mk. 11:28;

jn

. 5:18. "He does the Father

's

work; this does not express His

subordination but the fact that

God forces people to decision in

His words and works. His work

on the cross makes peace between

jews and

GentHes

, Eph. 2:14-15."

Theological Dictionary of the

New

Testament,

pg. 898.

The

ature

ofChrist's

Call

to

Discipleship

So

now, in the light of the

words used by Mark and Luke

to

jesus does not look for great men

to

be His disciples;

He

makes His

own out of sinners (4).

t is

a

recreative

call.

Those whom

Christ calls, He makes into what

He

would have them be, Eph.

2:8-10. He "ma de" apostles out of

some of His disciples, just as

He

makes some sinners into disciples:

by His Word ahd Spirit, Heb.

13:20; Phil. 1:6; 2:12. Therefore

the Christian life, the discipled life,

is from first to last, a life of faim in

Christ, of looking

to

Christ to do

in us what we cannot do. Faith is

not obedience to law, although it

motivates to obedience and always

produces obedience, but faith itself

is looking to Christ

as

Lord and

Savior.

disciples accept the will of "Jee;ue;

doee;

not

look for

The Purpose

of

the

Apostleship

esus as the will of God, Lk.

reat men to

be

Hie;

9:54; Mk. 14: 12; Mat. 15:32f; Luke simply tells us that

Mk. 3:13;

Mk.

1:40-41;jn.

die;Giplee;; e

makee;

Hie;

jesus called

Hi

s disciples "to

5:21; 17:23. "The whole Him," 6:13, and thereby

future of the disciples rests own out

o

e;innere; " named them, "apostles." Mark

upon this omnipotent will of L.... ...I tells us that "

He

appointed

the Son jn.

21:21."-

Theological

describe the call ofjesus to His twelve,

THAT

they might be with

Dictionary of the New Testament,

disciples to apostleship, we learn Him, and that

He

might send them

pg. 319. And "appointed," several things about the call of out to preach, and to have

(EPOlSESEN), denotes the creative Christ to discipleship:

1). t

is a authority

to

cast out the demons

,"

activity of God, Eph. 2:10; Gen. sovereign call. He chose whom He

Mk.

3:14-15.

1:1,27; Psa. 19:2. The Septuagint wanted,jn. 3:8; 6:44; 15:16; lJn.

often uses this word

for

God's 4:10,19. The decision does not

dealings in history, Eccl. 1:14; rest on man. Our discipleship and

Num. 14:35; Ezek. 5:10; Exod. new life in Christ are based NOT

13:8. The New Testament takes on our choice of Christ, BUT on

for granted that God is the Creator Christ's choice of us. We know He

of the universe, Act. 4:24; 14:15; has chosen us, if we have chosen

Rev. 14:7; Exod. 20:11; Mk. 10:6.

Him

(2). It is an almighty and

n

the N.T. , the word also is used irresistible call. When Christ

to denote God's judicial and

d

k

called His disciples to Himself,

re emptive acts, L . 1:51; 18:7-8;

. . THEY

CAME

See Mk. 3:14. He

Mat. 18:35;

Lk.

1:68, 72; Heb.

13:21.

His

"work" is greater than does not simply invite people to be

we can ask or think, Eph. 3:20. He His disciples, He powerfully and

makes all things new,

Rev.

21:5 . effectively draws them into

Christians are His "poems," Eph. discipleship, jn. 6:37,44. (3). It

is

2: 10. He does what He promises, a gracious call. Christ came to

Rom. 4:21.

He

finishes what He call sinners, all of whom are

has begun, I Thes. 5:24. He works unworthy and undeserving of such

out His purpose in jesus,

Eph.

3:11. a call, Mk. 2:17;

Ma t. 11

:28

f

6 THE COUNSEL of Chalcedou October

1996

Jesus Called

His

Apostles

to

be with him.

This

is

the fulfillment of the

heart-pro

mise

of God's covenant

with His people, Gen. 17:7. It is a

foretaste of the prime blessing of

Heaven, Rev. 21:3,22. Christ's

disciples have been called to a

personal relationship with jesus

Christ. Therefore, ADORING

ATTACHMENT

to

His

PERSON is

an essential to true faith, along

with RELIANCE upon His

WORK

and SUBMISSION to His WORD.

Our chief end is to know God in

Christ. The Christian is the one

who has been called to love and

submit to Christ and to be loved

by Him. Central

to

Christian faith,


4/8

then, is not exclusively DOING

and GOING, SERVING and

AcrING; it is BEING and

WORSHIPPING, LOVING and

LISTENING. Activity in the King's

business does not make

up

for

neglect of the

King

Jesus Called

His

Disciples

to Send

Tltem Out

to

preaclt

Witlt

Demon-Conquering Autltority

Tlte Relation of tlte

Two

Parts

of Tlteir Calling

jesus chose these twelve men

for the specific purpose that they

might

be

with Him and that He

might extend His preaching

mission through them to the world

in fulfillment ofIsaiah 66:19.

Their relationship to Jesus

explains their existence and

their authority. --- Being

with jesus qualified the

Twelve to bear wimess to

Him and

to

participate in His

distinctive ministry of

proclamation and the overthrow of

demonic power, (Gen. 3:15). The

promise given to the Twelve

is

that

they will share in the power of the

Kingdom of God which breaks

through to men with the coming of

Jesus. -

Lane

Tlte

Call

to Preaclt

with Authority

The word

for

preach in Mark

3: 14 is

KERUSSEIN

. It denotes

the authoritative proclamation of

the Word of God by one sent by

Christ Himself to proclaim that

Word, Mk . 3:14;

Rom.

10:14-15; I

Cor. 15:1-4.

I COl . 15:1-2) Tlte Centrality

o Preaching the Gospel

The preached gospel

of

the

resurrected Christ, and our

embracing of it by faith, bring

salvation from sin and all its

consequences. The preaching of

the gospel makes known the

gospel, as opening a perfume

bottle fills the room with its

fragrance, 15:1. It is the meaning

of the word which is the word

indee

d;

it is the sense of

it

which is

its soul.... Preaching in a more

especial manner reveals God's

word.

When

an ointment is once

opened,

then

it casts its savor

about, and

when

the juice of the

medicinal herb is once strained

out

and applied, then it heals. And so,

it is the spiritual meaning of the

word let into the heart which

converts it and turns it to God.

Thomas Goodwin. In 15:2, we see

that

SALVATION

IS BY THE

PREACHED GOSPEL, I Cor. 1:18f;

--Activity in

the

.

_..

;

:- -

:j

King s b u s i n e s s d ~ s

not a k ~

up

.

neglect

of the hlgW

2:lf

. And

in

15:3, we see that

powerful preaching is

preaching

painstakingly faithful to the Holy

Spirit-inspired apostolic tradition

revealed in the Bible.

(I

Cor

15:1,11,12) Tlte Nature

o

Preaclting

tlte

Gospel

The preacher,

(KERUX in

Greek) had

an

important place

in

the ancient pagan world. Paul did

not create this noun or its verb,

(KERUSSO). They had been in use

a long time. A

KERUX

had a place

in the royal court, where he was

the personal Mend of the king,

who was the voice

of the king, for

his job was to declare official

decrees and announcements. He

had

to have a powerful voice and

he had to be trustworthy, so he

would deliver the message just as

he received it from the king. He

did not express his own views.

While on a mission, he was under

the king's full protection.

Sometimes the ancient Greek

philosophers saw themselves as

preachers whose responsibility it

was to observe men and then to

make declarations based on these

observations.

The word, KERUX ,

preacher:

occurs only three times in the N.T.

and only four times in the Greek

O.T.

Why

so few times? The

Bible

is

not telling us about human

preachers; it is telling us about the

preaching. It is the preached

message that is irreSistible, ]] Tim.

2:9, as it takes its victorious course

through the world, II Thess. 3:1.

Hence, preaching is more

important than ' preacher in the

N.T.

Preaching (KERUSSO)

occurs over 33 times in the

Greek O.T. and over 61 times

in the N.T. In fact, the N.T.

has over 32 words translated

preach. Our almost

exclusive use of preach for

all of them is a sign, not merely of

poverty of vocabulary, but the loss

of something which was a living

reality in early Christianity.

The dec4;ive thing

in

the N.T.

is the preaching, the proclamation

of the gospel itself. It

accomplishes

that

which was

expected by the O.T. prophets.

The divine intervention takes place

through preaching. The kingdom

of Christ comes through

preaching. Satan is defeated

and

demons are cast out through

preaching.

jesus

is the Preacher of the

Gospel, Par Excellence. He was

sent

by

God to earth to accomplish

the gospel and to preach the

gospel, Mk. I: 15. What He

preaches happens

in

the moment

of preaching, for the divine word is

a creative force; it gives what it

declares. Luke 10: 16

and

Romans

10:14 teach

us

that Christ Himself

is the preacher in the preaching

of

October,

1996

TIlE COUNSEL

of

Chalcedon 'f 7


5/8

men. His voice is heard

in

our

preaching, and when His voice is

heard , people believe in Him.

The preached gospel is not

an

esoteric doctrine for a secret

society.

It

belongs to the public.

The

message is to ring out on the

streets and from the ,roof-tops. In

season

exists only because the risen Lord

has charged His disciples to

declare the message. --- A

preacher is not a reporter who

recounts His own experience. He

is the agent of someone higher

whose will he loudly and clearly

makes known to the public.

Without calling and

and out

of

season

it

must

be pro-

claimed

boldly

The

preached gospel is not

an esoteric doctrine for

a

secret society.

t

belongs to

the public.

sending, preaching

isa

self-conrradiction

and

even a

deception. t holds

out something

which has no reality.

and constantly to all men and all

nations in all situations. When the

whole world has heard the

preached

word, the commission

of

the ri sen Lord will be executed and

the end will come. Preaching is

part of

God's saving plan for men,

like the

death and

resurrectiOn

of

Christ, Lk. 24:46f. t is not

enough

that Christ lived and died

and has arisen. ' These saving facts

must

be

preached in order that

they become saving reality for

individuals. Hence, the N.T.

speaks

of

the cross, and

of

the

saving

power of

the preaching

of

,

the cross, I Cor. 1:18.

If there is no sending, the

preaching of Christ is propaganda,

not mission.

Kittel's TheolOgical

,

Dictionary

of

the New Testament.

1

Cor. 15:1-2) The Necessity

of

Embracing the Preached

Gospel

by Faith

The gospel must not only be

preached, it mus t be embraced by

faith. I Cor. 15: Ib says we must

embrace it;

15:1c

says that we

must stand in it; 15:2b says we

must hold it fast, and 15:2c says

we must persevere in holding it

fast. It is a waste of time and

covenant community of God. The

Book of Revelation emphasizes the

unity, catholiCity and completeness

of the Church

by

referring to it as

represented around the Throne of

God in the TWENTY-FOUR

ELDERS , I.e., the twelve patriarchs

of the O.T. and the twelve apostles

of the N.T.,

Rev

4:4,10.

The Twelve reflect backward

on

the prior history

of

the people

of God as the people of the twelve

tribes. In proleptic, (I.e.,

anticipatory), fashion they

represent the

final

form of the

messianic community, the

eschatological 'creation of God. In

the calling of the Twelve, Jesus

orders His word and theirs

in

accordance with the structure of

redemptive history and its goal,

the creation of the community of

God. - Lane. Although the old'

Israel rejected

th

e fulfillment of

God's covenant promises in Jesus

Christ, and

is

in

tum

rejected by

God, the covenant of God remains

in force, the faithful and restored

covenant community continues in

the church built

upon

tlie prophets

and apostles, with Christ Himself

being the chief cornerstone, Eph.

2:20.

Romans 10: 15 tells us that

without commissioning and

sending by Christ there are

no

preachers, and without

preachers there is no

proclamation. True

i \

preacher is not a reporter who

recounts

His own experience.

He

is

the agent of someone higher whose

will

he loudly and clearly makes

known to the public.

The Apostles

as

the

Fcnmdation

of

the

Church

So then

you are no longer

strangers

and

aliens,

but

you

are fellOW-citizens with the

saints, and are

of

God's

household, having

been

built

roclamation does not take

place through SCripture

alone,

but

through its expoSition,

Lk. 4:21.

God

does

not

send

beoks to

men; He sends

messengers. By choosing

individuals for this service, He

institutes the office of

proclamation. Not every Christian

is called to preach. With6,ut

the resurrection of esus t h r ~

would be no preaching office. It

, breath to profess allegiance to

Christ, i f we do not keep a firm

grasp of the basics of the gospel of

Christ.

The Reasonfor

Twelve

Apostles

The number, twelve, has a clear

redemptive-histOrical significance.

The Twelve Apostles represent the

restoration of the Church of the

Twelve Tribes of Israel, the

8 THE COUNSEL

o

h a l c ~ d o n 9ctober, 1996

upon

the foundation

of the apostles

and prophets, ChristJesus Himself

being

the

cornerstone

.. ,

Eph.

2:19-20.

As a result of the reconciliation

between God and

men

accomplished by Jesus Christ,

believing Jews

and

Gentiles are

fellow-citizens

in

the kingdom of

God, fellow-members of the family

of God, and together comprise the


6/8

House of God where the Spirit

dwells, i.e., the Church of Christ.

And this Household of God, the

Church of Christ, is built upon the

solid foundation of the apostles

and prophets, with

Christ Himself

as the cornerstone. The apostles,

together with the N.T. prophets,

as

vehicles of verbal revelation from

God, constitute the foundation of

the church, with Christ being the

principal support and cause of

growth. He, not the apostles

nor

the prophets, sustains the entire

House of God, and carries

it

to its

consummation.

The Spirit-revealed, written

teachings of the

Christ-commissioned apostles are

the DOCTRINAL and

ORGANIZATIONAL foundation of

the Christian Church. This is clear

from such passages

as

John

17:20

and

I Corinthians

3:11.

John

17:20 teaches

us

that the church through the

ages

cons

ists

of

all who

believe in Christ through the

teaching of the apostles.

And that is only another

way of saying that

acceptance of apostolic dOCtrine is

bf the vety essence of the church.

Kuiper, THE GLORIOUS BODY

OF CHRIST, pg. 69. I Corinthians

3:11 teaches us that the foundation

of the church, which

is

Christ,

is

laid through the teaching of the

apostles. To say that the teaching

of the apostles is the foundation of

the

church is

the exact eqUivalent

of saying that Christ is its

foundation. - KUiper, pg. 69.

Therefore, one of the marks of a

true church is :'the succession of

apostolic doctrine,' Acts 2:42,

rather than a succession of persons

or places.

Nevertheless it

must be

maintained that a true

church

of

any time

and

any place has the

distinction of possessing

organizational as well as doctrinal

apostolicity. The apostles

themselves constituted the nucleus

oUhe organized church of the

new

dispensation and during their

lifetime they built that church.

The church

which

they organized

has never passed

out

of existence

and

never will. The divine Head of

the

church

has promised that.

KUiper, pg. 71.

The Twelve Apostolic Thrones

Over

the Twelve Tribes

o

Israel

And]esus said

to

them,

'Truly

say to

you,

thlit you who have

followed Me,

in

the

regeneration

when the

Son of

Man will sit on His

glO1ious throne, you

also

shall sit

1.Ipon

twelve thrones,

judging

the

twelve tribes of Israel:

Mat. 19:28.

And you are those wh o

have

stood

with

Me in

My

tlials; and

just

as

My father has granted Me a

kingdom, I

grant you that you may

eat and

drink

at My table

in

My

kingdom,

and you

will

sit on

thrones

judging the twelve t.ibes

of Is

rael,

Lu)


7/8

Jerilsalem,

coming down out of

heaven from God.... It had a

great

and high wall,

with

twelve gates, 'and

at

the gates

twelve angels; and 'names'

were written n them,which

are

'

those of he tWelve tribes

of the

sans

of

Israel. There were three'gates on

the

east and

three

gates on

the north and

three

gates

on

the

south

and three

'

gates OIT

the west

And

the

willi

of the

iry had twelve foundation stones,

and on

them

were thawe ve names

of the twelve apostles of

the

Lainb,

" , '

Rev. 2 1 : 1 O ~ 1 4

This "holy

City,

Jerusalem,

coming doWn out of heaven from '

God" is the true ChUrch and tnie

Kingdom of God, -lebo 12:22, the '

Bride

of

Christ, Eph.5:25.

It

pictures "the heavenly nature of

th

e

communion

arid fellowship of

God arid -His people,which is '

entered

here by

faith, but which

opens into

unSpeakable fullness

of

giory

truough

ages

o f a g e s . ~

M,

Tetry

as quoted by

Rushdoony in

THY KINGDOI\4 COME;'

'pg.

220. ,

The narries

Of tluo

twelve tribes of

Israel are written

on

the twelve

gates of the city of God, and the '

names bf the

twelve apostles are

whtten

ori

t h ~

twelve foundations

of the

city. The twelve gates With

the twelve names n t i f i e s the '

inhabitants

6f

the City'bf

o d ~ s

'

God's true aridilew Israel, 'the

restbred covenant cdirirriuility in '

Chtist;

1.'e.,'

the church,Reb.

12 :22.

Noticethahhese

gates, "

truee ori the north side,ihree Otl '

the

south,

three on the east and

three

on

the

west, pdints

u;; to

the :

character'

of

God stnle church

as

'

inter-na tional, -ethnle; -ra2ial,

-linguistic.

The

twelve names on

the twelve foundatioris 'echOes

EpheSians 2:20 tharthe

Spiritcproduced teaching of the

apostles is ,the f o u n d a t i ~ n of the

church,

i.e.,lhe churchi?

built

on

and nOUrished by the written

Word

of God.

The List of the Apostles

The Characteristics of the Lists '

The

i s t

of the names of

the

apostles occurs also in Acts 1:13;

Matthew 10:2-4 and Mark

3:16-19,

as

well

as

here in Luke

6

4-16. In every list, Peter is

named

first. These lists,prganize

the apostles in three groups of

four, ,with the same four names in

each group, with the same name

heading each.of the three groups.

InJohn

1:45, Nathaniel

is

mentioned,

but

Bartholomew does

not occur there.

rhe

other Gospel

writers mention Bartholomew,

but

not

Nathaniel, so

that

these hvo

names probably belonged to one

person. Bartholomew is

not

a

personal name

but

a "patronymic,"

i.e., it indicates the person

as

"the

son

of

Ptolemy

."

Matthew is also

called

Levi,

Lk. 5:27; Mat. 9:9.

And Judas, the son of]ames is also

called Thaddeus, Mark 3:18. He is

the

"J1.\das

not Iscariot".of John

14 :22. Judas scariot

is

always

mentioned lastin the lists of tbe

apostles, .

means shalt ,thou wash

my

feet

ever,' to 'not my feet only

but

also

my hands and head,' In. 13:8,9'. -

Nevertheless,by the grace arid :

power

of

the ,Lord this 'changeable

Simon was transformed into a true

Peter."-Hendriksen. Besides

writing I arid Peter, he was

probably Mark's source of

information for his Gospel. That is

the reaSbri 'Mark

is

often called '

"Peter's interpreter

'1

AndreW

,

He

was Peter's brother, anti also

a fisherman ,

whom

Peter brought

to jesus,]n. 1:41,42. See also

Mark 3:18; 13:3;

In

. 6:8,9; 12:22;

Acts 1:13. Andrew is often

bringing people to

JesUs.

, James and John

These brothers were also

fishermen , Lk. 5:10; 8:51; 9:28,

54;

Act.

1:13. They are'mentioned

several times in the Gospek

Because of their fiery personalities,

Jesusnicknamed; hem ,

~ B o a n e f g e s t

Le

","sons

-o

thunder," Mk. 3:17; Lk.9:54.56.

James was the first

to

wear a'

The Names

of

Al: ()stles

Simon

Peter

, martyr's crown, Acts 12:2,.while .

He was the

SOn

of o n ~ s or

john

,

a

isherman

by

trade, who

with Andrew his brother, lived in

Bethsaida, and then

Ih

Capernaum, ,

jn. 1:44; Mk. 1

i

l,29. His'original

name was Simon,

but

Jesus gave '

him

the riame, Peter. meaning

rock, In.}:42. Peter had a '

struggle being

\ e a d f a s t and

stable

in his faith in Christ. He would

sometimes sway from one pOSition

to its opposite. "He turned from

trust to doubt, Mat. 14:28,30;

from

open

profession of Jesus as

John was

probably

the hist,apostle

to

tlie

, He was "the disciple whom

Jesus loved

,

In . 13:23; 19:26;

20:2;21;7,20. John wrote the

Gospel of}ohn, I, II, III John, and

Revelation. Thjs

is

prObably not

the james that wrote the

book

of

'james in

the

N.T., who was the

brother ofJesus. '

,Philip

1

., " . I

Philip also lived in Bethsaida

for a time.

s soon ashe

responded to Jesus'

call

to

diScipleship,

he

brought Nathaniel

to jesus, jn. 1:45. He, with

Andrew, often brought people to

the Christ, to rebuking that very

Christ, Mat. 16)6,22; from a

vehement dec;laration of loyalty to

base, denial, Mat. 26:33-35, ,69-75;

Mk. 14:29-31,66-72; from hyno'

, ]esus,]n. 12:21,22. Seealso]n.

6:5,7; 14:8,9.

Bartholomew

This "son of Ptolemy" was also

1,0 l THE COUNSEL

ofhalcedott

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October,1996


8/8

named Nathaniel, 1 45-49; 21 :2.

When Jesus saw him corrring to

Him, He said of him: Look, truly

an Israelite

in

whom deceit

does

not

exist.

1

Matthew

We have already discussed

MatthewILevi in our comments on

Lk 5:27-32. He was the despised

tax-collector, who, after leaving

everything to follow Jesus, threw a

great banquet

so

that his lost

friends could be confronted by

Jesus

and

hopefully brought

to

faith in Him.

Thomas

Both despondency and

devotion marked this man. He

was ever afraid that he might lose

his beloved Master. He expected

evil, and

it

was hard for him

to

believe good tidings when they

were brought to him. Yet when the

risen Savior in all His tender,

condescending love, revealed

Himself to him , it was he who

exclaimed, My Lord and my

God. Seejn. 11 :16; 14:5;

20:24-28; 21:2.

James the Son oj lphaeus

He is also called, 'james the

Less,

Mk.

15:40, which probably

means, 'james the younger, or

james, the shorter. He is

probably the disCple referred

to

in

Mat. 27:56; Mk. 16:1; andLk.

24:10.

Simon

the Zealot

Mark calls this man, Simon the

,Caruinaean, which is an Aramaic

surname which means

e

nthusiast

or 'zealot. He probably belonged

to

the party of the Zealots, a party

which in its hatred for the foreign

ruler, who demanded tribute, did

not shlink from fomenting

rebellion against the Roman

government. - Hendriksen.

Judas the Son

ofl mes

He

is

also called Thaddaeus,

Mat. 10:3;

Mk.

3:18. He is

probably

judas

not Iscariot of

John 14:22.

Judas Iscmiot, Who

B

ecante a Traitor

He is referred to time and again

in the Gospels, Mat. 26:14,25,47;

27:3; Mk. 14:10,43;

Lk.

22:3,47,48;Jn. 6:71; 12:4;

13:2,26,29; 18:2-5. He was the

man who betrayed Jesus with a

kiss.

The Revelation

oj

the Majesty

ojJesus in the Creation

oj the postolate

What points up the greatness

ofJesus is that He took SUCH

MEN AS

THESE, and welded them

'into an amazingly influential

community that would prove to be

not only a worthy link with Israel's

past but also a solid foundation for

the church's future. -- Even when

we leave out Judas [scariot and

concentrate only on the others, we

cannot fail to be impressed with

the majesty of the Savior, whose

drawing power, incomparable

wisdom and matchless love were

so astounding that He was able

to

gather around Himself and to unite

into ONE family men of entirely

different, at times even opposite,

backgrounds and temperaments. -

jesus drew them to Himself with

the cords of His tender,

never-failing compassion. He

loved them to the uttermost, In.

13:

1,

and

in

the night before He

was betrayed and crucified

commend them

to

His Father,

john 17:6-19) . - Hendriksen

The ReasonJesus Chose Judas

the Betrayer to e an postle

The choice finally supplied a

powerful indirect evidence of the

purity, blamelessness, and

faultlessness of our Lord's conduct

and ministry. When our Lord was

accused before the High Priest and

Pontius Pilate, if anything could

have been proved against Him, the

traitor Judas Iscariot was exactly

the witness who would have

proved it. The mere

fac

t that Judas

never came forward to give

evidence against our Lord, is a

convincing evidence that nothing

could be proved against Him. No

man is so well qualified to expose

another's faults and

inconSistencies, if they really exist,

as

one who has been on intimate

terms with him Judas never

appeared against our Lord , because

he could

not

allege anything

to

His

disadvantage. Ford quotes a

passage from Anselm, on this

point: judas is chosen that the

Lord rrright have an enemy among

His domestic attendants, for that

man is perfect, who has no cause

to shrink from the observation of a

wicked man, conversant with all

his ways. '-].c. Ryle on

LUKE.

Conclusion:

n this call of the twelve to be

Christ's apostles, whose

Spirit-inspired teachings were to

be the authority

and

foundation of

the

ch

urch, we see that the

Significance of the church is

not

exhausted

in

this dispensation

merely by its listening to the divine

Word and putt ing it into practice.

Its service is also one that is

rendered to the world ...

-

Ridderbos. Furthermore, the goal

of the apostolic church that is to

be accomplished through the

preaching of the kingdom of God

is the gathering together of the

messianic people which

as

God's

people have from of old been given

the promise of the great future.

Ridderbos

Q

October, 1996 THE COUNSEL

of

Chalcedon 11

1996 issue 8 - sermon on luke 6:12-16 - the sovereignty of jesus - counsel of chalcedon

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