Luke 6:12-16 Disciples and Apostles.
Some of you may have heard me talk before about how our imagination is hurt by the language “The Twelve Disciples.” If you read the text you will see that this is an unhelpful picture. There were many more than twelve disciples. Even the language of “The Twelve Apostles” distracts us from the fact that this label is broader than the twelve. I have come to think that we must call this special group something like “The Twelve.” What it lacks in descriptive details it gains in accuracy.
By know you may be wondering why I even care. There are a few reasons. I will list them in the order that they occur to me right now.
1. It reminds us that many are called to the ministry of discipleship and apostleship. Let us not fall into the trap of our high-church brothers and sisters and assume that apostleship (being sent as an ambassador for God) is limited to a small group of twelve. Even worse let us not think that only twelve are disciples.
2. There were women among Jesus original disciples.
3. Jesus taught his disciples. I am excited by the small group movement and the appropriate correction it offered to the dominance of the school model. Nevertheless I resent the way that some in the small group movement assume that small group are a sufficient medium for spiritual growth. (They are necessary I think but not sufficient.) Even more so I resent how the small group movement co-ops the ministry of Jesus and the early church and implies that small groups were the central or the only way that discipleship happened.
On the contrary, we see in Luke 6, that Jesus called the Twelve to be with him but then he immediately turns around and teaches to all the disciples. It is interesting to me that we have a balance in the gospels between things that happened with the Twelve and things that happened before all the disciples. When we confuse the term disciples and assume that it is talking about the twelve we miss this.
I am a huge fan of relational discipleship. It is an essential part of helping other grow in Christlikeness. But let us not pretend that Jesus’s strategy for discipleship was to choose twelve to pour into and then trust that at the right time they would pour into twelve more etc. Jeus sworked with 3, 12, 100’s, and the crowds. This same pattern can be seen in Acts and the letters of Paul. Why would we think that any part of this paterrn would ever be sufficient for us. WE need all.
4. I have more but that is enough for now.
-Ethan
One Response to 'Luke 6:12-16 Disciples and Apostles.'
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on July 31st, 2007 at 7:43 am
“4. I have more but that is enough for now.” Considering what you said in “3.” I hope you find time for “more”