← Back to sermon library

Please turn with me in your Bibles 
to Matthew chapter 10. Matthew chapter 10 as we continue 
our exposition of Matthew's gospel. You want to read beginning in 
chapter 9 at verse 35 and we'll read the chapter 10 verse 15. 
And our focus this morning will be on the appointment of the 
12th in Matthew chapter 10 verses 1 to 4. beginning in chapter 9 at verse 
35. Then Jesus went about all the 
cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching 
the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every 
disease among the people. But when he saw the multitudes, 
he was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary 
and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. Then he said to 
his disciples, the harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers 
are few. Therefore, pray the Lord of the 
harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. And when he 
had called his 12 disciples to him, he gave them power over 
unclean spirits to cast them out and to heal all kinds of 
sickness and all kinds of disease. Now, the names of the 12 apostles 
are these. First, Simon, who is called Peter, 
and Andrew, his brother, James, the son of Zebedee, and John, 
his brother. Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas 
and Matthew, the tax collector, James, the son of Alphaeus, and 
Labaius, whose surname was Thaddeus, Simon the Canaanite, and Judas 
Iscariot, who also betrayed him. These 12 Jesus sent out and commanded 
them saying, do not go into the way of the Gentiles and do not 
enter a city of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep 
of the house of Israel. And as you go, preach, saying, 
the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, 
raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely 
give. Provide neither gold nor silver 
nor copper in your money belts, nor bag for your journey, nor 
two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs, for a worker is worthy 
of his food. Now whatever city or town you 
enter, inquire who in it is worthy and stay there till you go out. 
And when you go into a household, greet it. If the household is 
worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, 
let your peace return to you. And whoever will not receive 
you nor hear your words when you depart from that house or 
city, shake off the dust from your feet. Assuredly, I say to 
you, It will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah 
in the day of judgment than for that city. Amen. Well, let us 
pray. Our gracious God and our Holy 
Father, we thank you for this opportunity again to return to 
Matthew's Gospel. We thank you for his presentation 
of the Lord Jesus Christ. that one who is altogether lovely 
and chief among 10,000. May you strengthen our hearts 
this morning. May you cause us to reflect upon the goodness 
of our Lord. May we magnify, may we praise, 
and may we honor him. We pray as well, God, that your 
word would go forth with clarity and by the power of your spirit. 
you would draw sinners unto yourself. She would cause men, women, boys, 
and girls to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and to be saved. And even now, God, we are mindful 
of our own sinfulness, our own waywardness, and we come and 
we confess that to you. And we plead the blood of the 
Lord Jesus Christ. Wash us and purify us and make 
us fit to receive the word of the living God. And we pray in 
Jesus' name, amen. Well, just a brief review of 
where we've been in Matthew's gospel. Remember that Jesus had 
taught in the Sermon on the Mount in chapters 5 to 7. Essentially, 
what Matthew is highlighting is the authority of Christ in 
his teaching ministry. That's how the Sermon on the 
Mount ends. The people were amazed because 
he taught them, not like their scribes, but rather as one who 
had authority. And then Jesus not only has authority 
with reference to his teaching, but in chapters 8 and 9 he goes 
about and engages in miracles, he engages in healing, he engages 
even in raising the dead. So Matthew shows us the authority 
of Christ in his word, and the authority of Christ in his work. 
And now Jesus shares that authority with his disciples specifically, 
so that they in turn can go out and do those works and preach 
that gospel for the extension of his church, for the glory 
of his father, for the salvation of sinners. Remember back in 
chapter 9, verses 35 to 38, it's a bit of a summary statement 
about what had preceded but also a transition to what follows 
here in chapter 10. The Lord Jesus looks around, 
he sees the multitudes, according to verse 36, and he's moved with 
compassion for them because they were harassed, they were scattered, 
they were like sheep having no shepherd. And then he says, the 
harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few, therefore 
pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his 
harvest. So the prayer has been offered 
and now Jesus makes good on this particular promise to send forth 
men into this harvest field. So what we find here is the appointment 
of the 12, as I mentioned in verses 1 to 4, and then their 
specific mission is highlighted in chapter 10, verses 5 to the 
end of the chapter. So that's a bit of an overview 
and a review. This morning we're going to take 
up the appointment of the 12 under two considerations. their 
commission, and secondly, their identity. First of all, note 
their commission. Jesus calls disciples to himself. This is not their call to discipleship. This is their call or appointment 
or commission to apostleship, to a specific task. Remember, 
we've already seen up to this point the instance of five of 
these men having been called to discipleship. In Matthew chapter 
4, we see Peter and Andrew called to leave their nets and follow 
the Lord Jesus. We see the sons of Zebedee, James 
and John in chapter 4, again, to leave their nets and follow 
Jesus. And then in Matthew chapter 9, 
Matthew records his own call to discipleship when Jesus sees 
him at the tax office and says, follow me. So Matthew does follow 
Jesus. This is not the call to discipleship, 
this is the call to a specific task. The fact that there are 
twelve of them ought to ring in your conscience, ought to 
remind you of the twelve tribes of Israel. There is continuity 
between the covenants, there is distinction to be sure. But 
the fact that there were twelve reflects the twelve tribes of 
Israel and shows how the apostles would function in the new or 
the true Israel, which is the Church of God. Later in Matthew 
19.28, Jesus says, "...Assuredly, I say to you, that in the regeneration, 
when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who 
have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the 
twelve tribes of Israel." So this is a number that is packed 
with theological emphasis. R.T. Frantz says it this way, 
From an early point in his ministry, Jesus was apparently thinking 
in terms of an alternative Israel with its own leadership, based 
now not on tribal origin, but on the Messiah's call. And so 
this is what Jesus is doing. He calls these twelve to himself. 
They're identified as apostles. And note the order again. There's 
a statement concerning Ezra the scribe in the Old Testament. 
It says, Ezra set his heart to study the law of the Lord and 
to do it and then to teach those statutes and ordinances in Israel. There is a conspicuous order. 
Ezra studies the Bible for himself, Ezra obeys the Bible for himself, 
and then Ezra teaches the Bible to others. The same order is 
conspicuous here. These are disciples. They are 
followers of the Lord Jesus. He has taught them theology. 
He has taught them interpretation. He has taught them how to handle 
accurately the word of truth. He is giving them or delegating 
this authority so that they may go out and extend His gospel 
kingdom. Discipleship precedes apostleship. In other words, if we have not 
followed Christ for ourselves, we certainly ought not to be 
teachers of others. If we have not followed the Lamb 
of God Himself, we ought never to speak on His behalf to others. Chrysostom says, note the careful 
timing of their mission. They were not sent out at the 
beginning of their walk with him. They were not sent out until 
they had sufficiently benefited by following him daily. In other 
words, if you want to be used by the Lord, the best thing you 
can do is to be taught by the Lord. The best thing you can 
do is to follow the Lord. It is in that context and in 
that framework that God raises men up to send them out into 
the mission field, or send them out into the evangelistic world. 
In Acts chapter 13, we see the same order. The Spirit comes 
to an established church. He comes to the leaders and he 
says to them, separate for me Paul and Barnabas to the task 
for which I have appointed them. In other words, Paul and Barnabas 
were faithfully laboring in the church at Antioch, and it's from 
that context that the Spirit calls them to himself and sends 
them out on this missionary enterprise. In other words, brethren, we 
cannot run where God has not first sent us. That is the emphasis 
of the passage. Notice with reference to their 
commission, their authority. And when he had called his 12 
disciples to him, he gave them power. He gave them authority. Remember, that's the context 
of chapters 5 to 9. Christ possesses authority in 
his word and in his works. And so the authority that these 
apostles have is not self-originated. The authority that these apostles 
have is not self-developed. In fact, when we consider their 
identity, The extraordinary thing about these particular men is 
how ordinary they really were. I was reflecting on this. Would 
any of these men make it into leadership today? What do churches 
look for? Not this. They don't look for zealots, 
those guys with political leanings that are to the right. They don't 
look at tax collectors. They don't look at fishermen 
because they're ignorant. This is who Jesus chooses to 
do his particular bidding. So the authority that they possess 
is not self-originated, it is given from on high. It is delegated, 
its origin, its source is to be found in the Lord Jesus Christ 
himself. He gives them that authority 
so that He can remedy the situation of His having looked at the multitudes 
and feeling compassion for them because they are harassed and 
they are scattered and they're like sheep having no shepherd. 
So Jesus says, pray to the Lord of the harvest that He'll raise 
up men. Jesus gives them the authority that is His and He 
sends them on their way so that they may indeed engage in the 
threefold task that He charges them with in summary fashion 
here. He gave them power over unclean 
spirits to cast them out and to heal all kinds of sickness 
and all kinds of disease. And thirdly, they are to preach 
the gospel. We see that in chapter 10, verses 
7 and 8. It's an interesting situation 
when you compare this with the Great Commission. The apostles 
were told to cast out demons. The apostles were told to heal 
sickness and disease. When we get to chapter 28, it's 
more broad, or not more broad, but more narrowly defined. Preach, 
make disciples, baptize. That is normative for the Church. In this specific context, when 
the Lord Jesus sends out the Twelve initially, it is clothed 
with His authority in terms of healing, in terms of casting 
out demons, to confirm and affirm that they are His representatives. 
And that is what they are to do. They are to go. They are 
to cast out unclean spirits. They are to heal all kinds of 
sickness and all kinds of disease. They are to preach the gospel. 
So brethren, as we reflect upon these 12 men, we need to remember, 
they were not self-appointed. They didn't just wake up one 
day and dial up or get on their internet and say, hey, I want 
a degree so that I can go out and serve the Lord. Jesus appointed these men. I 
argue Jesus still appoints men. He does it through the agency 
of the local church, by the power of His Spirit, and by His written 
Word. Just because a man wants to do 
something doesn't necessarily mean he ought to do something. 
These men were set apart by the living Lord himself. They did 
not possess intrinsic authority. They were raised up by Christ. 
They were given this authority by Christ to answer to the specific 
situation addressed by Christ. These sheep having no shepherd. 
Notice he tells them to go to the lost sheep of the house of 
Israel. Again, significantly different than what we find later 
in the Great Commission, which becomes normative for the church 
throughout the ages. We are to go to every nation. We are to teach or make disciples 
and teach every nation. In this instance, the Twelve 
Apostles were to confine their ministry at the time of the Lord 
Jesus to the geographic region known as Israel. That's what 
Christ is calling them to do. Their function was to mimic Their 
function was to imitate, their function was to duplicate what 
our Lord Himself did. If you compare chapter 10, verse 
1, with chapter 4, verse 23, and chapter 9, verse 35, you 
will see the absolute similarities. This has caused Davies and Allison 
to say, Matthew now repeats a phrase used of Jesus in both 423 and 
935, and thereby drives home once again the correlation between 
Jesus' deeds and those of his followers. The disciples do what 
their master did. That's it. Nothing else. Nothing less, nothing more, obey 
the Lord Christ and you will never go wrong. The church, unfortunately, 
at times, loses her way. Instead of preaching the gospel, 
instead of seeking to alleviate the suffering of those among 
her, she tries to do all these other things. When she tries 
to do all these other things and forgets what the Lord Jesus 
ordained for her to do, she is in a bad situation. The church 
will never falter, the church will never hurt, and the church 
will never, ever be out of line when she obeys her Lord. I know 
that sounds so fundamental. I know that sounds so basic and 
elementary. You know, you ask Christians 
today, what's the function of the Church? What is the Church 
supposed to do? You might get a list of things 
that the Church, at least according to the New Testament, was never 
destined or purposed to do. It's very simple. The commission 
at the end of Matthew's Gospel defines it for us. Going, therefore, 
make disciples of all the nations, baptize those disciples, and 
teach those disciples. What part of that do we struggle 
with? Are we smarter than the Lord? Are we more ingenious than 
our Lord? No, we need to obey the Lord, 
and that is precisely what we find in the apostolic ministry. The Lord calls his disciples 
to himself, these 12 men. He gives them power over unclean 
spirits to cast them out, to heal all kinds of sickness and 
all kinds of disease. That brings us, secondly, to 
consider their identity. Their identity. Note their office. 
They're referred to as apostles. Apostles. This word means one 
sent out. But it's just not one sent out. It indicated one sent out with 
the personal authority and as a representative of the one sending. So yes, the man is sent out, 
but he is a personal representative of the one sending him, and he 
possesses the authority of the one who has sent him. That's 
what the apostle, or the word, means. Now, in the New Testament, 
it is used in broader contexts. Barnabas, rather, is called an 
apostle. And so is James, the half-brother 
of our Lord Jesus. But for the most part, the overwhelming 
use of the word apostle in the New Testament refers to these 
twelve men whom the Lord Jesus Christ appointed for this specific 
task. They are the foundation. They 
are the foundation of the Church. Now, Jesus is the chief cornerstone, 
but these apostles in their preaching, in their ministry, in their making 
disciples, and in their planting local churches were foundational 
in the life and ministry of the Church of Jesus Christ. So that's 
their office, these 12 who are called to him. And then it's 
set forth in verse two, now the names of these 12 apostles are 
these. And then we go through these 
12 men. Now there's books written on these 12 men. We're not going 
to do a book-length study on these 12 men. And we're not going 
to launch into, you know, character studies for the next 12 weeks. 
We're going to look at Simon Peter. We're going to look at 
Andrew. No, we're not going to do that. I'm going to give you 
a brief thumbnail sketch of these brothers whom our Lord called 
to serve as apostles, and then make some concluding observations. 
Let me just say at the outset, this is an encouraging list. Because we see the grace of God. We see the mercy of Christ. Remember 
when God comes to select the replacement for Saul, they would 
have never thought it would have been David. I know that Pastor 
Porter preached on that recently. I'm sure he alluded to that. 
What's God's point? I don't judge the way men do. 
I don't look at their natural attainments. I don't look at 
their pedigree in terms of training and education. I mean, didn't 
this blow the minds of the people that came into contact with the 
early church? These were untrained and uneducated 
men. Jesus didn't go to Westminster 
Seminary of Palestine and say, hey, I want your 12 bets. He didn't go to Moody Bible Institute 
and say, I want the guys that are best in the Great New Testament. 
No, he picks very ordinary fellows, very normal men. run-of-the-mill, garden variety, 
the sorts of men you would have passed each and every day on 
your way to work, never giving them a second thought that the 
Lord God Almighty was going to raise them up and turn the world 
upside down with them. I tell you, these twelve men 
are a great encouragement. If you have any desires or inkling 
to be used by the Lord, not necessarily in gospel ministry, but just 
in life, just look at these men. Who's the first one mentioned? 
We can probably just stop right here and praise God. Simon, who 
is called Peter. Simon, who is called Peter. And 
note that he is first. Now, I don't think this means 
he was the first one Jesus cast his eyes on and said, come on, 
Peter. He is first among equals. We reject the notion of papacy. We reject the falling of the 
infallibility of a pope. But we mustn't reject the reality 
that Christ first called Peter. And that in every time, every 
instance in the Gospel records, we see Peter, James, and John. 
It ought not to surprise us in the book of Acts that the spotlight 
in the first half of the book is upon Peter. So while the notion 
of the papacy is heretical, while the infallibility of the Pope 
is heretical, we ought not to minimize the place that Simon 
Peter played in redemptive history. He is one of the Twelve. Simon 
is his name. Jesus calls him Peter. It's a 
rock. One of those books that I mentioned 
that are character sketches is John MacArthur, Twelve Ordinary 
Men. He says that Peter is the man 
with the foot-shaped mouth. Peter is the man with the foot-shaped 
mouth. Big old mouth, size 10 foot, 
right? I'm guessing. Probably an average. 
I don't know. So why rock? Does Peter demonstrate 
the integrity and the stability in his earthly ministry of a 
rock? MacArthur suggests he's called 
Cephas, or he's called Peter to remind him of what he ought 
to be. Because he's tempestuous. He's a ready, fire, aim sort 
of guy. He's the sort of guy that says, 
Lord, everybody else may deny you, but I won't. Jesus says, 
I tell you, Peter, that cock is going to crow three times, 
you're going to deny me. You know the weather vane, the 
cock, the rooster, weather vane, you know what that's supposed 
to tell you? Remember Peter. Don't deny your Lord. Not just 
because roosters have some connection with weather. Did you ever think 
of that? Why do we put a rooster as a 
weathervane? Do they have some sort of know 
in terms of the weather patterns? Are they the nature's meteorologists? No, those are conspicuously displayed. Used to be oftentimes on churches 
so that our members would remember Peter. Don't deny your Lord. Simon Peter. Notice, secondly, his brother, 
Andrew. Spurgeon says, what a blessing 
when brothers in the flesh are brothers in the spirit. There 
are groups of brothers connected to each other in this list of 
12. Remember when we looked at the 
calling of Matthew in Matthew chapter 9. Mark and Luke call 
him Levi. Mark tells us that Levi's father 
was Alphaeus. It could possibly be that James, 
who was the son of Alphaeus in this particular list, was an 
earthly brother of Matthew the tax collector too. The Lord Christ 
calls Peter, He calls Andrew. In fact, it was Andrew who was 
first converted. They're from Bethsaida. Andrew 
was more than likely a disciple of John the Baptist. It was John 
the Baptist who said, Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away 
the sin of the world. And Andrew comes under the sway 
of the living Lord. And then he goes back and he 
gets Simon, his brother, and he says, Come on! You've got 
to see Jesus. Andrew shows us something about 
evangelism. Andrew shows us something about 
the necessity of grabbing brothers or sisters or family members 
or loved ones or friends and bringing them to Jesus. We've 
got a pair of brothers mentioned next. We have James the son of 
Zebedee and John his brother. James and John were also called 
the sons of thunder. Mark and Luke refer to them in 
that manner. You say, why were they the sons 
of thunder? Probably because they preach loud. I don't know. Remember when they were passing 
through that village of Samaria? People rejected the Lord Jesus. 
Who was it that says, Lord, you want us to call fire down out 
of heaven onto this town? There's Boanerges. They're sons 
of thunder right there. James was one of the early Christian 
martyrs, according to Acts chapter 12. James, the son of Zebedee, 
had his head cut off by Herod in Acts chapter 12. His brother 
John is the beloved disciple. His brother John authored the 
Gospel according to John. His brother John wrote 1st, 2nd, 
and 3rd John. And his brother John ultimately 
ended up exiled on the island of Patmos for the Word of God 
and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. And there he was given 
these visions. And he wrote the book of Revelation 
to interpret for the church at that particular time issues concerning 
tribulation and trial and difficulty, but also kingdom. This is the 
sons, or these are the sons of thunder that our Lord Christ 
brings to himself in order to send out for this particular 
mission. Notice we then have Philip. Philip 
was another man who also brought people to the Lord. John chapter 
1. John chapter 1. You can turn 
there as we sketch these men. John 1 gives us some insight 
on a few of these particular men. John chapter 1, verse 44. Well, verse 43, the following 
day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee and he found Philip and said 
to him, follow me. Now Philip was from Bethsaida, 
the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said 
to him, we have found him of whom Moses and the law and also 
the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. 
Just on this brief description of this man Philip, he knew his 
Bible, didn't he? He knew the scriptures, he had 
a messianic expectation, he had a hope, He had the understanding 
that God Most High was going to undertake on behalf of His 
people, as He had promised in His covenantal dealings with 
Israel, that He would send a Messiah, that He would send the Son, that 
He would send this One who would ultimately redeem His people 
from their sins. Philip had an understanding of 
Moses and the law. He had an understanding of the 
prophets. He had an understanding of the person and the work of 
the Messiah. So when the Baptist says, behold 
the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, Philip 
wasn't like a lot of Christians today who might have said, what 
are you talking about? What do you mean? Because they're 
not steeped in scripture. They don't understand. They wouldn't 
know Messiah if he fell into their lap. We need to understand 
Moses in the law. We need to understand the prophets. 
We need to understand the scriptures and how they find their fulfillment, 
how they find their fruition in the person and work of our 
Lord Jesus Christ. Philip also brought Greeks to 
Jesus in John 12, 20-21. Well, Philip didn't. MacArthur 
speculates that he was a bit timid. These Greeks wanted to 
seek out Jesus, so Philip understands that. He tells Andrew, and then 
Andrew tells Jesus. Remember that it's Philip in 
John 6 that serves as a foil for what Jesus will do in feeding 
the 5,000. It's Philip who says, oh, we only have a few fish and 
a few loaves. Lord, we can't feed all these people. MacArthur 
gets a lot out of the narrative. I don't know that I'm comfortable 
going as far. He calls him the bean counter 
and the organizer and the one who is already counting the heads 
and all that. I wouldn't need to count the heads. If I saw 
a few fish and a few loaves and I saw 5,000 people, I don't have 
an accounting degree, but I think I could speculate we're probably 
not going to be able to feed all these people. That's Philip, 
though. And it's Philip in the upper 
room. who makes this request of Jesus, and then Jesus makes 
one of the most stunning statements in all of the New Testament. 
It's Philip who says, show us the Father. What does Jesus say? Have I been with you this long 
and you do not know? If you have seen me, you have 
seen the Father. What do you do as Philip at that 
point? What's the response of Philip 
at that point? Praise God. Praise Jesus. Praise our Lord. The next fellow on our list in 
Matthew 10 is a man named Bartholomew. The majority position is that 
this is the self-same Nathanael described in John 1. When you 
compare the various lists, you'll see a little bit of difference. 
Again, not contradiction. Especially when we get to this 
man with three names. There's a man coming with three 
names. Only two are listed in the New King James. Only one 
is listed in your ESV or NIV. He's a man with three names. 
This man, Labeus, who's also surnamed Thaddeus. He is in Luke's 
gospel, Judas of James. We'll look at him in just a moment. 
But this Bartholomew is more than likely the Nathaniel of 
chapter one that Philip comes to and describes or tells about 
Jesus. MacArthur explains this way, 
Philip's closest companion Nathanael is listed as Bartholomew in all 
four lists of the twelve. In the Gospel of John he is always 
called Nathanael. Bartholomew is a Hebrew surname 
meaning son of Ptolemy. Nathanael means God is given. 
So he is Nathanael son of Ptolemy or Nathanael bar Ptolemy. Let's look at John 1 for a moment 
to see the interchange with reference to Nathanael and our Lord Jesus 
Christ. After that statement in verse 
45, Philip found Nathanael and said to him, we have found him 
of whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus 
of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. It's the first utterance out 
of Nathanael's mouth. Prejudice. This would be akin 
to somebody in Vancouver or in Langley saying, can anything 
good come out of Chilliwack? They're just a bunch of hillbillies 
out there. Have you ever visited Vancouver 
General Hospital or been out in that neck of the woods? They 
think everybody in Chilliwack's a farmer. If they ask you, what 
do you do? Oh, I pastor a church. You don't 
farm? That's been my impression in 
Vancouver. Can anything but a farmer come 
out of Chilliwack? What if you happen to be a brain 
surgeon in Chilliwack? And you mentioned that in Vancouver. 
A brain surgeon? I thought only farmers lived 
out in Chilliwack. This is what Nathaniel says. Can anything good come out of 
Nazareth? Look at what Philip answers. 
This is a great statement. He's not saying Nathanael was 
a sinless man, he was a perfect man, he was a fully sanctified 
man, but Nathanael was a man of integrity. Nathanael was an 
Israelite indeed. Wasn't just a name only, he was 
a faithful covenant member in the community. And Nathanael 
said to him, how do you know me? Verse 48, Jesus answered 
and said to him, before Philip called you, when you were under 
the fig tree, I saw you. Again, MacArthur speculates that 
he was under the fig tree searching the scriptures. I don't know 
if that's true. Can't know if that's true. But 
here's what I suppose. Jesus isn't saying, I've got 
bionic sight. I'm able to peer through trees. 
Jesus is highlighting his omniscience. Jesus is highlighting the reality 
that he knows Nathanael. He knows something of his character, 
he saw him under this fig tree. And then notice in verse 49, 
Nathanael answered and said to him, Rabbi, you are the Son of 
God, you are the King of Israel. You see, Nathanael doesn't say, 
wow, you've got great sight, you've got great vision, you've 
got abilities that only Superman himself possesses. No, he understood 
the messianic implication. He understood the reality that 
Christ knew him. Remember in John chapter 4, what 
does that Samaritan woman tell her village? Come and see a man 
who told me all things that I've ever done. You see, this is true 
of deity. This is true of God. And this 
is what Nathanael recognizes, and he makes this lofty confession. Rabbi, you are the Son of God. You are the King of Israel. This 
is the man in chapter 10 of Matthew's Gospel. The seventh mentioned 
is a man we all know, Thomas. When I say Thomas, you say Doubter, 
right? He's doubting Thomas. Do you 
know he's resolved, Thomas too? John 11, Thomas says, we will 
go and die with you. That's pretty cool, pretty good. By the time we get to John chapter 
20, though, we've seen this passage in our church several times. Thomas isn't just a simple doubter. 
Thomas says, unless I see, unless I touch, I will certainly not 
believe that Jesus rose from the dead. That's this Thomas. Notice eighthly, Matthew. And here Matthew records what 
Mark and Luke do not. Matthew tells us his job. He's 
already rehearsed this in Matthew chapter 9 in his call to discipleship. It's almost as if he wants to 
remind us, look at who it is that Jesus is putting in the 
apostleship. Matthew the tax collector. Again, 
you wouldn't have chosen Matthew in the first century if you were 
putting together a team. Well, Matthew, if we take you 
into places, everybody's going to hate you. They won't hear 
the word. Gil tells us, and also calls himself the publican, which 
the others do not. This he mentions to magnify the 
grace of God in his vocation. Ninthly is James the son of Alphaeus. Probably the same James that 
is called James the less in Mark 15 verse 40. It differentiates 
him from James the son of Zebedee and from James the half-brother 
of the Lord Jesus Christ. James the last, either in stature, 
in influence, whatever it might be. But this particular man found 
his way, by the grace of God, into this twelve. The tenth man is named Thaddeus. In the New King James, which 
is probably a conflation, Labeus, whose surname was Thaddeus. When 
we compare Mark 3.18, he comes just as Thaddeus. When we look at Luke 6.16, he 
is Judas of James. The New King James glosses, Judas 
the son of James. Not demanded. He could be son 
of or brother of James. But probably this Judas is referred 
to as Thaddeus to distinguish him from the notorious Judas 
that ends the particular list of disciples. In John 14 and 
verse 22, this is the Judas, parentheses, not Iscariot. Might give him that middle name, 
not Iscariot. Labeus was probably a nickname. Thaddeus is his surname. His 
given name was Judas, son of or brother of James. There are 
those who make further connections and all of that sort of thing. 
Suffice it to say that this is the Thaddeus, the Judas that 
we find in Mark's gospel and in Luke's gospel. MacArthur makes 
this observation, the traditional apostolic symbol of Judas, Labeus, 
Thaddeus is a club. A club. Not because he went out 
and clubbed people for the gospel, because tradition tells us he 
was clubbed to death for his faith. You see, when these 12 
were commissioned, it was not to a path of rosy living. It wasn't to a path of ease. I've already mentioned James, 
son of Zebedee, loses his head in Acts 12. We mentioned that 
John, the beloved disciple, ends up on the island of Patmos. Now, 
when you hear that, island, I asked Brother Peter how Pastor Phil 
is doing. He said, well, he's in Hawaii 
right now. We hear island, we think Hawaii. When you hear Patmos, 
you didn't think Hawaii. You didn't think, you know, luxury. You didn't think sipping tea 
with little umbrellas in it. Patmos was a rock out in the 
Mediterranean where they put criminals. You see, when these men were 
called to the apostolic ministry, it was no sure thing that they 
were called to a life of ease and happiness. Notice the 11th 
fellow. Simon, literally the Canaanian. He's not a Canaanite. That would 
suggest that he's a pagan Gentile. More than likely, he's not from 
Cana as well. The word Canaanian is an Aramaic 
transliteration of the Greek word zealot. You look in Mark's 
list and you look in Luke's list, he is identified, actually in 
Mark I think he's Canadian, but in Luke he's the zealot. This 
is Simon the zealot. The zealot differentiates him 
from Simon Peter to be sure, but the zealot tells us something 
about his life prior to his conversion. Matthew was a tax collector. Simon was a zealot. And one wonders 
if Matthew and Simon were sitting in the same room, how they could 
have functioned without grace. They were at the opposite end 
of the spectrum. You see, Matthew functioned on 
behalf of the Roman government to take taxes from Jews. Simon was the opposite. Simon 
was one of those couldn't stand the man sort of a man. The zealots 
at the time of Jesus were not real influential. But a couple 
of decades later, the zealots would be instrumental in the 
Jewish-Roman wars. Carson explains, the zealots 
were nationalists, strong upholders of Jewish traditions and religion. 
Some decades later, they became a principal cause of the Jewish 
war in which Rome sacked Jerusalem. The zealots were probably not 
so influential in Jesus' time. The nickname may reveal Simon's 
past political and religious associations. It also distinguishes 
him from Simon Peter. So grace was able to make it 
such that Matthew and Simon could sit together in the same room. 
Because these men would not have been friends at all. Look at 
who Jesus is picking. Look at who he's getting. They're 
not rabbis. They're not scholars. They're 
not PhDs. They're fishermen, tax collectors. Zealots! This is a put-together 
bunch from all spectrums of society. And then the last man that ends 
the list, this is something you'll see in each time the lists are 
given. Peter always comes first and 
Judas Iscariot always comes last. These are obviously the most 
popular and the most recorded in the New Testament. for obviously 
different reasons to be sure. Simon Iscariot, or I'm sorry, 
Judas Iscariot was the son of Simon Iscariot. Iscariot probably 
means man of carry-off. That's his region, that's where 
he hails from. Some say that's not sure, it 
could have been because he was red-headed. If you're red-headed, 
I'm not trying to condemn you this morning. They say early 
Christian art depicts Judas as being redheaded. So if you have 
redhead, don't go home today and color it. I don't want to 
be associated with Judas Iscariot. They're not sure about this word 
Iscariot. More than likely, most of the 
commentators suggest that it means man from carry off. Judas is the one, of course, 
who agrees to betray Jesus. In fact, this is how the passage 
ends. Simon the Canaanite and Judas 
Iscariot who also betrayed him. You see, there's foreshadowing 
going on. The cross casts its long shadow over the entire gospel. The words of Davies and Allison. 
Jesus has already referred to it in Matthew chapter 9, 15, 
the days are coming when the bridegroom will be taken from 
them. Here is another instance, this idea of betrayal or handing 
over. This is what Judas Iscariot is 
famous for. This is what he's gone down in 
history for. He is the man who betrayed the 
living Lord. So later he comes in Matthew's 
gospel, he agrees to betray Jesus. Jesus identifies Judas at the 
upper room. Judas ultimately betrays Jesus 
with a kiss. And then the last instance we 
find of Judas Iscariot, the one who had betrayed Jesus, is that 
he went and he hanged himself. So what do we learn when we look 
at this list of 12 men? The first, I've already alluded 
to this, is their diversity. Their diversity. You see, God 
does not operate like a cookie cutter. You have to have been 
raised as a Reformed Baptist. You have to have known the 1689. 
You have to go to an approved seminary in order to be used 
by God. Now, having said that, we ought 
to raise men as Reformed Baptists in tune with the 1689, and they 
should go to good seminaries. You see, God can take a 16-year-old 
named Charles Haddon Spurgeon and put him in a pulpit to the 
good of multitudes. They were not rabbis, they were 
not scholars, they were not the sort of men who would be sought 
out for leadership in today's church. Simon the Canaanite probably 
could have never run for political office. Matthew the tax collector probably 
wouldn't be welcomed in a lot of places either. Calvin says the apostles had 
almost no rank among men. while the commission which Christ 
gave them was divine. Besides, they had neither ability 
nor eloquence, while the excellence and novelty of their office required 
more than human endowments. It was therefore necessary that 
they should derive authority from another source. Christ gave 
these men authority. It was not self-originated. They were not self-appointed. 
They did not go out and bless the world with their abilities. 
They went out and blessed the world by the power of the Holy 
Spirit, preaching the scriptures of the Old and the New Testaments, 
seeking by the grace of God to be faithful. That's what made 
these men extraordinary. They were not tribal chiefs. 
They were not men that were celebrities. They were not men making a way 
for themselves. You probably wouldn't have found 
www.andrew.com. You would find men committed 
to their Lord, invested with His authority, doing what He 
said. The second thing I think we learn 
from a list like this to appreciate the sinfulness of these men, 
not appreciate their sin, but to appreciate what grace is able 
to do. Matthew was a tax collector. 
When we considered his call, remember that they linked, that 
the New Testament authors linked tax collector with harlots. with 
unrighteous, with adulterers, with sinners. You see, the powerful 
and amazing grace of Christ takes this tax collector from his office 
and sends him out to preach the gospel, to cast out demons, and 
to heal all kinds of sickness and disease. We have Simon the 
Zealot. Some of us wouldn't want to be 
seen with Simon the Zealot. Some of you, I might have mentioned, 
when I was in Idaho a few weeks ago, I visited a man in McCall, 
Idaho. This man is pastoring a small 
church in a small place. McCall's probably 3,000 people. 
This man's got an interesting testimony. He's 33 years old, 
and between the ages of 13 and 24, he was only out of prison 
for nine months. He was in the Mexican mafia. 
This man cannot go to Southern California with his markings 
because he might die. I'd be a little afraid to meet 
him for coffee in Southern California. Some of those Mexican mafia guys 
from the north might drive by and shoot us. Simon the Zealot. Again, not 
so influential at the time of Jesus, but later on. Zealots. radicals. And not only their past sinfulness. What do we remember Simon Peter 
for? I hope we remember him for his 
entire life. I hope we remember him for the 
totality of his being for the Lord Jesus Christ. I hope we 
see him on the day of Pentecost, stand up and preach the gospel. 
But there is that dark period in his life, isn't there? There 
is that time when his own sinfulness casts a cloud over his usefulness. He denied Christ. You see, Jesus 
knew this was coming. Jesus is God. Jesus is omniscient. Jesus selects Simon Peter, knowing 
full well. In fact, he tells him in Luke's 
Gospel, Satan has asked to sift you like wheat, Peter, but I 
have prayed for you. And when you return, strengthen 
my brethren. We also have a man who would 
doubt. And again, the word doubt is 
so innocuous. We doubt that it's going to be 
sunny today. We doubt that it's going to rain 
later. We doubt that we're going to have a good lunch. We doubt 
that we're going to get a pay raise or whatever. That wasn't 
Thomas' way. Unless I see, unless I touch, 
I will certainly not believe. You see, Jesus didn't pick the 
perfect because there were none. And then the scriptures record 
that after Gethsemane, these men who were devoted to Christ, 
these twelve, these men that would become extraordinary by 
His grace and for His glory. You know what it says after Jesus 
is arrested? They all forsook Him and fled. 
That's who Jesus picked. I don't know if you saw it in 
the last hour, that third paragraph with reference to sanctification. 
There's times when our sins prevail upon us for a time. It doesn't necessarily mean we're 
not saved. Peter was a saved man. There's 
one of these men that we find at the foot of the cross, and 
it's John, the beloved disciple. That doesn't suggest that he's 
somehow better than the rest of them. They fled, they forsook 
him. Peter follows from a distance. 
A slave girl identifies Peter, and Peter with oaths and curses 
denies that he knows Jesus. You see, a list like this gives 
hope to people like us. If Jesus picks these kinds of 
guys, if Jesus picks these sorts of dregs, if Jesus picks these 
kinds of sinners, there's hope. There's hope. That's the third 
observation, the graciousness of Christ. The Lord Jesus calls 
the men to discipleship by His grace. He instructs them in theology, 
instructs them in the scripture. He instructs them in the Word. 
He shows how all those things apply to Him. And then He gives 
them His authority. He sends them out on their task. 
And He promises His presence among them. He fills them with 
His Spirit after He departs to heaven. You see, the Lord Christ 
is gracious in the call of these men, in the empowerment of these 
men, and in the sending out of these men. Fourthly, what do 
we learn from the traitor? Can't pass over Judas Iscariot, 
who also betrayed him. Two things I think we ought to 
learn here. The first is a lesson. A lesson. And since Ryle explains this 
a lot better than I do, I will quote J.C. Ryle. He says, orders, 
and by that he means appointment to ministry, he means a license 
to preach. Orders do not confer the saving 
grace of the Holy Ghost. Ordained men are not necessarily 
converted. We are not to regard them as 
infallible either in doctrine or in practice. We are not to 
make popes or idols of them and insensibly put them in Christ's 
place. We are to regard them as men 
of like passions with ourselves, liable to the same infirmities 
and daily requiring the same grace. We are not to think it 
impossible for them to do very bad things or to expect them 
to be above the reach of harm from flattery, covetousness in 
the world. We are to prove their teaching 
by the word of God and follow them so far as they follow Christ 
but no farther. Love what he goes on to say, 
above all, we ought to pray for them, that they may be successors, 
not of Judas Iscariot, but of James and John. It is an awful 
thing to be a minister of the gospel. Ministers need many prayers. There's a lesson here in the 
call of Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him. So there's the 
lesson, and then the foreshadowing. You see, when we read in Matthew 
1.21, "...you shall call his name Jesus, for it is he who 
will save his people from their sins." Matthew fleshes that out. Matthew tells us how that is 
the case. It will come in the latter chapters of his Gospel, 
in the presentation of the Son of Man being betrayed, being 
delivered over to godless men, and ultimately being crucified. 
We never, ever are to forget that reality as we go through 
Matthew's Gospel. betrayed him. Judas handed him 
over. Jesus was delivered up so that 
ultimately he could die for his people and rise again. As I mentioned 
earlier, the crucifixion casts its long shadow over the whole 
gospel. And the final lesson that we 
need to learn this morning as we come to this passage is to 
see how important to Jesus Christ it is that you hear the gospel. 
You say, well, how do you know that? He chose 12 men. Several of them would write books 
of the New Testament. All of them are dispatched to 
preach the gospel, and in their writing, they were to codify 
the written word, or they were to codify the word of the Lord 
Christ for our generation, so that you right now could hear 
the truth that Christ Jesus came into this world, sinners to save. 
These 12 men, their specific purpose and their specific task 
was to make sure that sinners heard that there is salvation 
to be had in the Lord Jesus Christ. If you are here this morning 
and you are not a believer, may I say, believe on Him for the 
salvation of your soul. Christ Almighty has ascended 
on high. He's led captivity captive. He 
has given gifts to men. He has called preachers today 
to proclaim the truth of his gospel and to call sinners to 
repentance and faith. And may I just say, by way of 
a sideline observation, each and every one of you are heading 
somewhere. Each and every one of you will 
ultimately die. Each and every one in this room. Hebrews 9 assures us it is appointed 
unto men to die once, and then comes judgment. You see, if you 
haven't been near a death bed lately, maybe you ought to visit 
one. It is a scary and terrifying place to see the king of terrors 
and to reflect upon your life. You know what's going to matter 
in that particular time? It is not going to be your mathematics. 
It's not going to be your science. It's not going to be your money. 
It's not going to be your car. It's not going to be your houses. 
It's not going to be anything. But am I ready? May I just beg and implore everyone 
here, if I end up on a deathbed and you still know me, give me 
Romans 8-1 until I can't stand it anymore. There is nothing 
more comforting than Romans 8.1. There is therefore now no condemnation 
for those who are in Christ Jesus. You see, the whole Gospel converges 
on that reality, that you and I are sinful, we stand in need 
of salvation, we stand in need of pardon, we stand in need of 
righteousness, and Christ is answered to that in his life, 
death, and resurrection. He appoints these 12, he sends 
them out so that the entire world could know, in concert with that 
psalm we sang, Psalm 22, that all the ends of the earth will 
hear and will turn unto the Lord. You know, this morning I don't 
want you to say, wow, Simon Peter, what an interesting guy. Simon, 
you know, the Canaanite, what an interesting guy. Judas Iscariot, 
what a terrible guy. Look at Jesus. Look at their 
Lord, look at their Savior, look at their God, look at the one 
who called them to discipleship, called them to apostleship, so 
that they could go out and preach, not themselves, but Him as the 
Savior for sinners. Come to Christ, as the Scripture 
says, and you will be saved. Well, let us pray. Our Father 
in heaven, we thank You for Your Word. We thank You for the Lord 
Christ. We thank You for His authority 
in His Word and His works. and sharing that authority with 
his apostles and sending them forth to proclaim the gospel 
of the kingdom. I pray for sinners here this 
morning that you'd open their hearts to receive the word. Cause them to believe on the 
Lord Jesus Christ and to know the joy of being found in him. 
Not having their own righteousness which is from the law, but that 
righteousness which is from you through faith in Christ. We just 
thank you, God, for your mercies. We thank you for your grace. 
We thank you that in spite of our sin, your grace overwhelms. 
And we pray in Jesus' holy name. Amen.