THE LEAGUE OF ORDINARY GENTLEMEN

LUKE 6:12-16

Pastor Rick Jackson

I. THE EXAMPLE OF JESUS [v. 12]

1. A Place of Prayer [v. 12, Matthew 6:6]

But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

2. A Priority of Prayer [v. 12, 18:1]

3. A Purpose of Prayer [v. 12-13a, 11:3-4]

II. THE APOSTLES OF JESUS [v. 13-16]

All comparatively young, John may have even been a teen

1. Simon [v. 14, nicknamed Peter or Cephas, Rock] a fisherman, Andrew’s brother, somewhat impulsive, many think they are like Peter but rarely are their impulses that good, inner circle, son of Jonah [not of the whale’s fame]

2. Andrew [v. 14, could have been nicknamed “the witness“] a fisherman, Pete’s brother, very good with individuals

3. James [v. 14, nicknamed “Sons of thunder” with his brother John] son of Zebedee, fisherman, inner circle, first Apostle to be martyred [Acts 12:2], Mark 3:17 And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder:

4. John [v. 14, nicknamed “Sons of thunder” with his brother James] son of Zebedee, fisherman, inner circle, tortured but not martyred, author of 5 books

5. Philip [v. 14, friend of Andrew, could have been nicknamed “the pragmatist“] led Nathanael to Christ Jn. 1:43-45, 6:5-7, 12:21-22, 14:8-9

6. Bartholomew [v. 14, called also called Nathanael John 21:2] John 1:47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!

7. Matthew [v. 15, also known as Levi 5:27, Matthew 9:9] And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him. Possible brother of James & Judas -Mark 2:14 And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the receipt of custom, and said unto him, Follow me. And he arose and followed him.

8. Thomas [v. 15, called Doubting Thomas by history] John 11:16 Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus [twin], unto his fellow disciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him. 14:5 Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? 20:24 But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.

9. James [v. 15, brother of Judas not Iscariot, possibly Matthew, thought to be the one in Mark 15:40 There were also women looking on afar off: among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome;

10. Simon [v. 15, called Zelotes, Matthew 10:4 Simon the Canaanite]

11. Judas [v. 16, brother of James the less and possibly Matthew] Matthew 10:3 Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; John 14:22 Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?

12. Judas Iscariot [v. 16, the traitor or betrayer, never saved Mt. 7:21-29]

The apostles were ordinary men chosen by an Unordinary Man to live lives that were extraordinary. They had power and problems, faith and faults, triumphs and troubles. In short, they were a lot like… us. The question is, can we be a lot like the eleven- for these men, turned the world upside down.