Jesus Chooses the Twelve

(Luke 6:12-16)

Have you ever had to make a really important decision? Have you ever had a choice to make and needed some guidance on which direction to take? If so, then this section of the scripture is worth noting.

Jesus went up on the mountain alone to pray. He prayed all night to God and when day broke he called together his disciples and selected the twelve who were to be the first appointed to carry the message to the world.

Now this was an important decision that he had to make. We know there were more than just twelve who were with Jesus at the time, for in Acts 1:21-23 we see that when the disciples sought to replace Judas who betrayed the Lord, they needed to select someone, “…who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us–one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection. And they put forward two, Joseph called Barsab’bas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthi’as.”

Jesus had to choose from among all that followed him who were to be the chosen twelve. Before he made that decision though he sought the counsel of God. He spent the night in prayer seeking God’s insight, direction and what would be the fulfilment of God’s plan for the selection of these men.

This is good insight for us too. When we need to make an important decision, we too should put the matter before God for his guidance and insight. And it can be any, and should be every, important decision you might need to make.

The purpose of prayer is to have a relationship with God and decision making is part of the ongoing relationship. He wants us to bring to him all of our concerns, issues, problems and decisions. He also wants us to share our joys, hopes, aspirations and blessings. Jesus and the Father want to help us and to share our life with them. Not just the bad times, but the good times too. Likewise when we need to make decisions, what better counsellor could we seek than the creator of the universe. And he has said that there is no problem too big or too small that he will not help us with. Recall that he said he cares so much about each and every one of us that, “…even the hairs of your head are all numbered.” (Matthew 10:30)

So in relation to making important decision there are three scriptures that come to mind that are worth remembering. The first is in relation to your business or job and comes from James 4:13-15 and says,

13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and get gain”;
14 whereas you do not know about tomorrow. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.
15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and we shall do this or that.”

The key to this is what does the Lord will. Whatever decision you need to make, seek the will of God and the Lord Jesus Christ first, because it is the will of God that will be done.

The second and third scriptures comes from the Old Testament in Proverbs 16:3 and Proverbs 16:9 which say,

3 Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.

9 A man’s mind plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.

So if you are making plans of any kind, whether work, holidays, family, finances, hobbies or anything else, commit them to the Lord. Certainly if you commit your plans to the Lord and you receive his guidance, then the likelihood of success increases exponentially. If your plans are aligned with the Lord’s plan for you, how can it fail? The Lord will direct the steps of the plan and lead you to the desired outcome, but first and foremost you must follow the example that Jesus set. Put your decisions and your plans before God for his insight and instruction and be led by his wisdom.

(Picture sourced from stock.xchng https://www.sxc.hu taken by Sigurd Decroos)

John

Hi! I’m John, the owner, author, and editor of this site. Over the past 50+ years as a Christian I have been teaching, preaching and writing about the Bible to help Christians gain a deeper insight into the scriptures that are easily understood. I also answer specific Bible related questions, so feel free to contact me.