12 In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. 13 And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles: 14 Simon, whom he named Peter, and Andrew his brother, and James and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, 15 and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot, 16 and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
Jesus Ministers to a Great Multitude
17 And he came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, 18 who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. And those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. 19 And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came out from him and healed them all. Luke 6: 12-19 ESV
Luke 6: 12-19
He went out to the mountain to pray - Luke makes a point of Jesus praying throughout his gospel. It takes forever for the mind, seemingly even after regeneration to realize the value of Christ's example in this. If He, Who was perfect, needed this, desired this time, then shouldn't we? I am not saying to write it down on your to do list, but rather plead, beg for the desire, the love of fellowship with the Father that is now made available to us through His Son and the Holy Spirit.
…16Rejoice at all times. 17Pray without ceasing. 18Give thanks in every circumstance, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.… 1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18
And all night He continued in prayer to God - I wonder if this had to do with the next verse? It is a big decision to make, and He has limited Himself in His humanness, yet the magnitude of who is chosen here, and what will be expected of them is enormous. Where do you go when a decision is so critical; where do you go when the answer is outside of you or withheld from you? I try to have three of these posts done each week, and I read them with the girls on my days off, but in the mornings and on days when we don't have a lesson or everyone else is at work, and sometimes only one person is home, then we read from the OT. We are in Isaiah and the last couple of chapters has been about the threat of Assyria against Jerusalem. King Hezekiah did not have the resources to deal with Assyria, and the Assyrian army had devastated not only the northern kingdom of Israel, but had conquered all the major cities in Judah as well. There was a man, Rabshakeh, a war ambassador, someone who carried the king's seal and pronounced his judgment or call for surrender. He threatened the city of Jerusalem and all these things were written down and King Hezekiah lays the scroll out before the Lord in prayer. He also goes to a man, Isaiah, who he knows to be a prophet of the most high God. They pray, and God delivers Jerusalem. This is not the only time Hezekiah prayed; he also sought the Lord's favor when he was on his death bed. There are physical threats like this that will bring a man to pray, but there is a spiritual contest that should find us always in prayer.
…5Let your gentleness be apparent to all. The Lord is near. 6Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.… Philippians 4: 5-7
He called His disciples and chose from them twelve - Jesus had many disciples. We who believe are all called as disciples, and in another chapter He sends out around 70 by pairs. Here He picks from all of those who follow Him, twelve, and these will be His special apostles, those that bare His signet so to speak. They will be the pillars of the church, those that meet over doctrine, confirm those that write that which is to become canon and rule with Christ in the Millennial Kingdom. They became standard bearers, and it is from them that we get confirmation of Paul's call, as one of an untimely birth, to be the Apostle to the gentiles and write much of the epistles to the churches, guiding their teaching, defending justification by faith, and rejecting all other gospels. Those who claim to be apostles today are false. The books are sealed and we wait for the Lord's return. The true church holds up sound doctrine, derived from the word of God which is above every pastor and all traditions. The apostles always pointed back to the word of God; it was precious to them.
…27“Look,” Peter replied, “we have left everything to follow You. What then will there be for us?” 28 Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, in the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on His glorious throne, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for the sake of My name will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.… Matthew 19: 27-29
…15Consider also that our Lord’s patience brings salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom God gave him. 16He writes this way in all his letters, speaking in them about such matters. Some parts of his letters are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction. 17Therefore, beloved, since you already know these things, be on your guard so that you will not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure standing.… 2 Peter 3: 15-17
1Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead— 2and all the brothers with me, To the churches of Galatia: 3Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,…
…4who gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. 6I am amazed how quickly you are deserting the One who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—…
…7which is not even a gospel. Evidently some people are troubling you and trying to distort the gospel of Christ. 8But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be under a curse! 9As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be under a curse!… Galatians 1: 1-9
Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor - It is a strong reminder every time we come across him, that he was one of the twelve, yet not. If you haven't found a reason to pray, you think that things are well enough, you have all you need, well think about Judas, and pray you are not a traitor, pray that you have discernment, for they didn't recognize him till very late.
18Children, it is the last hour; and just as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have appeared. This is how we know it is the last hour. 19They went out from us, but they did not belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But their departure made it clear that none of them belonged to us. 20You, however, have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.… 1 John 2: 18-20
On a level place - He comes down with His twelve, the founders, and this is the sermon on the mount so they find a plateau of level ground. This is His amphitheater, His pulpit, and He begins as always to teach and to heal. He has prepared by prayer, has met with His core group, the elders, and now is teaching a crowd of His disciples and a multitude of people who came to be healed.
And all the crowd sought to touch Him - The stories of His power had spread across the land.
…20Suddenly a woman who had suffered from bleeding for twelve years came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak. 21 She said to herself, “If only I touch His cloak, I will be healed.” 22Jesus turned and saw her. “Take courage, daughter,” He said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was cured from that very hour.… Matthew 9: 20-22
He healed them all - Unlike prosperity teachers/ faith healers, who send people out into the crowd looking for easy stuff to cherry pick, like head aches, Jesus was healing everyone with any disease. The television evangelists and other charlatans try to appear more like mediums, one even sending his wife into the crowd with a mic while he wore an ear piece, so it would look like he was a seer. Jesus heals the sick, the lepers, the lame and even raises people from the dead. He doesn't need an ear piece, or to commune with demons to know specific things about you, no, He can look much deeper than that, even at the hidden things of the heart.
…28Then the woman left her water jar, went back into the town, and said to the people, 29“Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” 30So they left the town and made their way toward Jesus.… John 4: 28-30
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