THE TOUCH OF THE MASTER’S HAND

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]

 

And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;

 

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

 

Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.

 

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] John 1:42 And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.

-professional fisherman

-Andrew’s brother

-somewhat impulsive, many think they are like Peter but rarely are their impulses that good

-inner circle [Mark 5:37] And he suffered no man to follow him, save Peter, and James, and John the brother of James.

-son of Jonah [not of the whale’s fame]

-author of two New Testament books [1 & 2 Peter]

 

2. Andrew [v. 14, could have been nicknamed “the witness“]

-professional fisherman

-Pete’s brother, son of Jona [John 1:40-41] One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ.

-very good with individuals

 

3. James [v. 14, with his brother John nicknamed “Sons of thunder”  [Mark 3:17]

-son of Zebedee - And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder:

-professional fisherman

-inner circle [Mark 9:2] And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them.

-first Apostle to be martyred [Acts 12:1-2] Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church. And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.

 

4. John [v. 14, nicknamed “Sons of thunder” with his brother James]

-son of Zebedee

-professional fisherman

-inner circle [Mark 14:33] And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy

-tortured but not martyred

-author of 5 books [the Gospel of John, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Revelation of Jesus Christ]

 

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]

Luke 5:27 And after these things he went forth, and saw a publican, named Levi, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he said unto him, Follow me

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, not Iscariot -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.

Mark 3:18 And Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Canaanite,

 

8. Thomas [v. 15, called Doubting Thomas by history] John 20:24-25 But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.

-the Eeyore of the group [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.

-unafraid to admit his ignorance [John 14:5] Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?

 

9. James [v. 15, historically called “James the Less” possibly shorter than James the brother of John, he may not have actually been “James the Less” but yet another James]

-brother of Judas (not Iscariot) and 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 [Zelotes,  a Zealot, i.e. (specially) partisan for Jewish political independence]

-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]

 

III. THE TOUCH OF JESUS [Acts 4:13]

 

Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.

 

1.The Touch of Jesus can Give Boldness [Eph. 3:11-12] According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord: In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.

 

2. The Touch of Jesus can Give Learning [2 Timothy 3:15] And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

 

3. The Touch of Jesus can Give Knowledge [1 Cor. 1:3-5]

 

Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ; That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge;

The Touch of the Master’s Hand                                Myra 'Brooks' Welch

Twas battered and scarred, and the auctioneer thought it scarcely worth his while to waste much time on the old violin,

but held it up with a smile; "What am I bidden, good folks," he cried, "Who'll start the bidding for me?" "A dollar, a dollar"; then two!" "Onlytwo? Two dollars, and who'll make it three? Three dollars, once; three dollars twice; going for three.."

But no, from the room, far back, agray-haired man came forward and picked up the bow; Then, wiping the dust

from the old violin, and tightening the loose strings, he played a melody pure and sweet as caroling angel sings.

 

The music ceased, and the auctioneer, with a voice that was quiet and low,

said; "What am I bid for the old violin?" And he held it up with the bow.

A thousand dollars, and who'll make it two? Two thousand! And who'll make it three? Three thousand, once, three thousand, twice, and going and gone," said he. The people cheered, but some of them cried, "We do not quite understand what changed its worth." Swift came the reply: "The touch of a master's hand."

 

And many a man with life out of tune, and battered and scarred with sin,

Is auctioned cheap to the thoughtless crowd, much like the old violin,

A "mess of pottage," a glass of wine; a game - and he travels on.

"He is going" once, and "going twice, He's going and almost gone."

But the Master comes, and the foolish crowd never can quite understand the worth of a soul

and the change that's wrought by the touch of the Master's hand.

 

 

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.