All right, well, we're continuing our way through the Gospel of Luke this morning, and we're coming to a new part of the story today. Luke's just finished walking us through some of Jesus' early run-ins with the Pharisees and the teachers of the law.
And now we come to sort of a pivotal moment in the story as Jesus selects 12 men from among his followers, and he does some spectacular signs which many witnessed. We're picking things up in Luke chapter 6, starting in verse 12.
One of those days, Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray and spent the night praying to God.
When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose 12 of them, whom he also designated apostles.
Simon, whom he named Peter, his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James, son of Alphaeus, Simon, who was called the Zealot, Judas, son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
He went down with them and stood on a level place.
A large crowd of his disciples was there, and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coastal region around Tyre and Sidon, who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases.
Those troubled by impure spirits were cured, and the people all tried to touch him because power was coming from him and healing them all.
So this big day starts out with Jesus going up the mountainside to pray.
And I know there's a lot to get to here, but I can't help but think that we should just slow down for a minute and think about that.
Jesus spent time talking to God.
Talking with God.
It's easy for us to get fixated on the truth that Jesus has come down from the Father to speak to us.
But here we see Jesus slipping away from us, going up the mountainside to talk to God.
It's also easy for us to be captured by the reality that Jesus is himself God.
And that's certainly true, and it's very clearly taught in the Bible, and a wonderful truth.
But sometimes our fixation on that can cause us to miss what is also true.
That Jesus is truly one of us.
He is truly a man.
And as every man ought to do, so Jesus does too.
He prays to God.
Now this is sometimes hard to get our minds around.
We wonder, wait a second, if Jesus is God, and he's praying to God,
then does that mean that Jesus is praying to himself?
This was a question asked me by one of my own kids recently.
It's a profound mystery that's laid out in the scriptures for us.
God is only one God, and yet he exists as three persons.
Jesus referred to God as his father.
The father spoke down from heaven, referring to Jesus as his son.
And then there is the spirit of God, or the Holy Spirit,
who's also called the spirit of Jesus.
Father, son, Holy Spirit.
He said,
We see and hear all three at the baptism of Jesus.
All three are named in the Great Commission.
And yet there's also a profound unity.
Jesus said,
I and the Father are one.
He also said,
If you have seen me,
you have seen the Father.
So if we're looking for a familiar parallel to this in our own experience,
or in nature,
there is none.
That's what makes God holy and distinct from us.
He is a tri-personal deity.
And so it will seem strange to us.
Along with this mysterious truth is also the truth of who Jesus is.
He is both God,
truly God,
and man.
Truly human.
Both at the same time.
As John said in his gospel,
right at the beginning,
the word who was God and was with God,
the one through whom all things were made,
he became flesh
and dwelt among us.
And this is another mystery,
how God himself can exist truly
as a human being,
as one of us.
And so,
we might sometimes think that since Jesus is God,
therefore prayer is not necessary for him.
And yet we read in the Bible
that Jesus prayed.
He talked
to God.
There is relationship.
Real relationship
and communication
between Jesus
and the Father.
and sometimes we might wonder
whether we're seeing this right
because this sounds a little strange.
Let's just look for a moment
somewhere else in the New Testament
at 1 Peter 1,
verse 3.
This verse is one of my favorites.
Peter,
the apostle,
writes,
Praise be to the God
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
That's part of how he starts the letter.
Now we understand how God is the Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ.
At least,
we've heard Jesus call God that
many times
in the Gospels.
But easily,
we skip over this other relationship
mentioned here.
Maybe just put your thumb over the words
and Father
for a moment.
He is both,
but just for a minute
and read it.
Praise be to the God
of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Praise be to the God
of our Lord Jesus Christ.
What I'm trying to help us notice here
is that Jesus is so truly man
that he
has a relationship with God
just like we do.
He doesn't pray
to himself.
Jesus prays to his God,
the one who he is also one with.
Think of what Jesus cried out on the cross.
He said,
my God,
why have you forsaken me?
He called his Father God.
To put it another way,
if there's anyone
who it seems
should not need to pray,
at least in our judgment,
it would be Jesus, right?
After all,
he is one with the Father.
He's the one speaking to us
what he hears from the Father.
Is there any need for him
to speak to the Father?
Father?
Well, we see here,
the answer is yes.
Jesus prayed.
He talked
to
God.
God is a relational God.
Relationship and communication
are at the core
of who he is.
when we're told in the Bible
to pray,
we're being told
to have a relationship
with God,
to communicate
with God.
Luke tells us
here that Jesus prayed
all night long.
What's the first thing
that you think of
when you hear that?
anyone?
How?
We might be amazed
or surprised.
Most of us,
if not all of us,
have struggled to pray
for more than an hour
at a time.
Sometimes much less
than that.
We know prayer
is good.
We know it's spiritual.
And so we naturally
respect and revere
anyone who can engage
in this holy activity
for a long time.
And so in that sense,
we're surprised
that any man
would pray
all night long.
We look at the disciples
in the Garden of Gethsemane
who fell asleep
multiple times
while praying.
Then we relate
more to them.
And so we look
at this as amazing.
But maybe on the other hand,
we also look at it
as something
that was maybe
just easier
and natural for Jesus
because of who he is.
That special relationship
that he has with God.
And I think
there's truth to that.
I was trying to think
of an analogy
and this is what
came to mind.
What if this moment
for Jesus
was in some ways,
even in small ways,
like,
have you ever had
a dear,
dear friend,
best of friends
who you haven't
talked to in ages
suddenly show up
to visit you
and they're going
to stay overnight
but then they have
to leave the next day.
Is it any trouble
to talk to them
all evening
and even to stay up
until one,
two in the morning
for a total of
four,
five,
six hours?
perhaps this is
just a little bit
of what Jesus'
relationship
with the Father
is like.
There's no doubt
in Jesus' mind
whether the Father
is listening
to every word.
He has been one
with the Father
for all eternity
leading up to this moment.
There's no greater
intimacy,
there's no
closer relationship,
it's like sheer joy
and life
and pleasure
for Jesus
to talk with God
all night long
like staying up
all night
with one's best friend.
Us,
on the other hand,
we've never had
that relationship
with God
from the start
like Jesus did
and so naturally
it will be different
for us.
For our part,
there is faith
that's required of us.
We're praying
to the unseen God,
the invisible God
and we know
that there is
some way too
that God
doesn't commune
with us identically
to how he
does with Jesus
but one day
he will.
One day
we will be with him
face to face
and I think
we know in our hearts
that when that day
comes,
having a conversation
with him
all night long
will not be tiresome
or difficult
or boring.
I know that's a bit
of a rabbit trail
this morning
but I hope
it's a good one
and I think
out of that
comes this question.
How is your
relationship
with God
going
right now?
Are you
communicating
with God
regularly
and often?
Are you
making time
to be with him
to pray?
It's not just
something that we're
commanded to do
it's vital
and life-giving
to do it.
Or maybe the thing
we need to ask
more
is what's
keeping us
from prayer?
What's
distracting us
from prayer?
One of the
big things
that's consuming
our attention
and our focus
and our thoughts
is technology.
We've got
our phones
we've got
our TVs
we've got
our social
media
we've got
YouTube
the way
these things
are designed
and engineered
we get a little
dopamine hit
every time
we refresh
or every time
we find something
that we like
as we scroll
and swipe
we get a little
dopamine hit
every time
we see
that someone
liked our post
or our pick
and it becomes
habit
and even
addiction
for us
to just
pull out
the devices
the moment
that we're
bored
or the moment
that we have
to wait
for something
the moment
that we have
some spare
time
what's the
first thing
that we often
do
in the morning?
A survey
done by
Virgin Media
in the UK
found that
81% of
Britons
said they
reach for
their phones
first thing
in the morning
when they
wake up
75%
said they're
checking
social media
feeds
52%
said they're
checking
news feeds
1 out of
3 of those
who are
polled
said they're
looking to
reduce their
screen time
they kind of
recognize that
it's taking up
too much of
their time
and attention
half of
those polled
admitted to
previously
unsuccessful
attempts
to reduce
screen time
with the
hardest things
to cut
down
being social
media
messaging
apps
and video
streaming
stats like
these tell us
the truth
of what's
getting
our time
and our
attention
in the
morning
and why
it seems
nearly impossible
to find
time in our
day
to pray
there's
something
powerful
and addictive
in our
lives
crowding
prayer out
and when it
comes right
down to it
I think if
we know
the Lord
don't we
often feel
regret as
the day
goes on
that we're
going back
and choosing
that mindless
dead scrolling
of stuff
that often
has very
little value
or substance
over fellowship
with our
Lord
our Savior
and so
even just
this glimpse
of seeing
Jesus go
up the
mountain
to pray
I hope
and pray
that it
will spur
us on
and encourage
us
this week
to put
our tech
away
maybe make
a few
changes
even to
go to
great lengths
if necessary
to be
with God
and to
commune
with God
alright
let's keep
going
verse 13
when morning
came
Jesus called
his disciples
to him
and chose
twelve of
them
whom he
also
designated
apostles
the picture
we get
from these
words
is that
Jesus
stayed up
on the
mountain
but then
and of course
mountains in
Israel
we know
are not
the snowy
peaks
but they're
large hills
in Israel
but then he
calls his
disciples to
him
so they
come up
to him
and it
says he
chooses
twelve
of them
which means
that there
were more
than twelve
before this
and then in
verse 17
we see
Jesus went
down
with them
so we get
a clear picture
here that there
was a special
moment where
Jesus chose
the twelve
disciples
up till now
in the gospel
of Luke
we've heard
about Peter
and how he
was called
we heard
about Levi
the tax
collector
and how he
was called
from the
tax booth
and the
other gospels
tell us
of Andrew
and James
and John
and Philip
and Nathaniel
the reality
is though
that up
until this
point
many people
came to
follow Jesus
and were
counted among
his disciples
from the
start
we read
in John
chapter 6
verse 66
about an
occasion where
many of
Jesus'
disciples
turned back
and no longer
followed him
while the
twelve
continued to
follow him
and so it
wasn't just
that Jesus
kind of
slipped among
the crowds
and just
picked twelve
right from
the start
it was a
whole bunch
of disciples
and now
we see
this moment
where Jesus
sets twelve
of them
apart from
all the rest
notice the
language
of choosing
he called
his disciples
to him
and chose
twelve of
them
whom he
also designated
or named
apostles
and so
these twelve
men
they get
this special
designation
from all
the rest
apostles
the word
apostle comes
right out of
the Greek
language from
the word
apostolos
and it
means a
person who
is sent
out
it's often
used in
ways to
describe a
messenger
or a
delegate
or an
ambassador
and we're
going to
impact this
more deeply
as we go
along here
the apostles
come to
have a
very unique
role in
the plan
of God
we'll talk
about that
in future
sermons
especially as
we get to
Luke chapter
nine when
Jesus actually
sends them
out and
then enacts
the acts
of the
apostles
but for
today let's
just think
of two
essential
elements of
an apostle
and we get
these things
from the
word from
how that
word was
used even
before they
were designated
as such
the first
one to be
an apostle
it means
to be a
sent one
implies
that there
has to be
someone doing
the sending
it implies
that those
being sent
represent
the one
who is
sending
and in
this case
it's
Jesus
he's
choosing
these
twelve
men
and he's
not sent
them out
yet but
he's about
to send
them out
as his
representatives
second
the word
apostle
also
commonly
carried
the meaning
of messenger
and that
really fits
with the
role that
the apostles
were given
they will
not only
be
representatives
but they
will be
sent
with a
specific
message
from
Jesus
and we're
going to
hear more
about that
as well
when we
get to
Luke
chapter
nine
so
Jesus
is doing
something
very unique
here
he looks
at this
growing
pool
of his
disciples
and he
chooses
from among
them all
these twelve
men
and he
designates
them
apostles
it means
that they
will soon
be sent
out
as his
representatives
and as
his
messengers
and so
even though
this is
just a
small
paragraph
in Luke's
gospel
it marks
a massive
shift
in how
things are
going to
go
from now
on
first it
was just
Jesus
and the
crowds
all coming
to him
from
everywhere
but now
it's going
to be
these men
going out
proclaiming
Jesus
proclaiming
the kingdom
and the
crowds that
are already
large are
about to
get even
bigger
as we
go from
here
let's talk
for just a
minute about
who these
twelve men
are
Luke seems
to list
them in
order from
most prominent
to least
at the top
of the list
is Simon
also called
Peter
and his
brother
Andrew
both of
them were
fishermen
from
Galilee
then there
were
James
and his
brother
John
the sons
of Zebedee
also
fishermen
from
Galilee
then there
was
Philip
who is
from the
same
town
as
Peter
and
Andrew
and we
don't
know
too much
more
about
Philip
he
appears
in the
gospel
of John
as the
one
that the
Greeks
go to
when they're
seeking
an audience
with
Jesus
and there's
also some
dialogue
between
Philip
and Jesus
in the
upper room
discourse
that we
read in
John
chapters
14
to 16
apart from
that
not much
else
then we
have
Bartholomew
he's
scarcely
mentioned
in the
New
Testament
but it's
thought that
he is
Nathaniel
from the
gospel
of John
interestingly
Bartholomew
quite literally
means
son
of
Ptolemy
Bar
son
Ptolemy
you can
kind of
hear it
in the
word
so
if
Ptolemy
was
actually
his
dad's
name
then
basically
people
called
him
Ptolemy
son
and
likely
Nathaniel
was
actually
his
given
name
then
there's
Matthew
we already
heard about
him
that's
Levi
also
another
name
he was
the
tax
collector
that
threw
the
banquet
for
Jesus
then
there's
Thomas
also
known
as
doubting
Thomas
he
missed
the
first
big
resurrection
appearance
of
Jesus
to
the
rest
of
the
apostles
and
then
he
was
skeptical
till
he
saw
Jesus
alive
for
himself
a
week
later
then
there's
James
son
of
Alpheus
he's
only
mentioned
in
the
lists
of
the
apostles
very
little
is
known
about
him
today
there's
Simon
the
zealot
another
one
only
mentioned
in the
lists
of
apostles
nowhere
else
in the
in
the
new
testament
it's
pure
speculation
but
either
zealot
describes
his own
religious
zeal
like he
was a
very
passionate
devout
person
Simon
the
zealous
or
it
describes
his
background
before
Christ
probably
in the
political
movement
which
sought
to
overthrow
the
Roman
empire
with
guerrilla
warfare
tactics
they
were
known
as
the
zealots
and
of
course
if
you're
making
a
television
series
about
Jesus
which
one
would
you
choose
then
there's
Judas
son
of
James
this
is
also
probably
the
same
guy
mentioned
in
Matthew
and
Mark's
list
as
Thaddeus
likely
Judas
was
his
primary
name
but
then
to
distinguish
him
from
the
other
Judas
he
may
have
been
called
Thaddeus
either
a
nickname
or
second
given
name
he's
only
mentioned
as
speaking
once
in
the
entire
New
Testament
and
it's
in
the
Gospel
of
John
again
in
that
upper
room
discourse
and
then
finally
Judas
who
is
quite
well
known
as
the
one
who
betrayed
Jesus
so
these
are
the
twelve
men
that
Jesus
chose
and
designated
apostles
he's
going
to
give
them
special
authority
a
message
to
proclaim
and
a
mission
to
complete
verse
17
he
went
down
with
them
and
stood
on
a
level
place
a
large
crowd
of
his
disciples
was
there
and
a
great
number
of
people
from
all
over
Judea
from
Jerusalem
and
from
the
coastal
region
around
Tyre
and
Sidon
who
had
come
to
hear
him
and
to
be
healed
of
their
diseases
so
Jesus
and
the
twelve
they
come
down
the
mountain
!
together
and
there's
!
this
massive
crowd
of
people
waiting
for
them
Luke
describes
it
a
large
crowd
of
his
disciples
so
many
who
are
already
followers
of
Jesus
in
some
sense
and
then
on
top
of
that
a
great
number
of
people
from
all
over
and
then
three
regions
are
listed
and
one
city
maybe
sounds
a little
flat
in
English
a
great
number
but
some
of
the
other
translations
say
a
great
multitude
so
we're
talking
big
crowd
lots
of
people
from
all
over
let's
just
think
where
Jesus
is
for
a
moment
he's
up
in
Galilee
probably
up
somewhere
around
Capernaum
in the
north
and
they
are
coming
from
all
over
Judea
so
that's
the
southern
region
way
down
here
probably
a
three
to
five
days
journey
on
foot
depending
on
where
you
start
from
how
far
south
and
how
far
north
this
mountain
is
they've
traveled
three
to
five
days
on
foot
to
see
Jesus
at
the
base
of
this
mountain
not
only
that
but
they're
also
coming
from
the
regions
of
Tyre
and
Sidon
so
we
see
way
up
here
in
the
north
and
depending
again
on
how
far
north
it
could
be
about
a
three
days
journey
from
there
and
then
lastly
we
hear
that
they're
coming
from
Jerusalem
that
famous
great
capital
city
in
Judea
and
there's
maybe
a little
bit
of
irony
here
usually
Jerusalem
is the
destination
that's
the place
you want
to go
that's
where the
temple
of God
is
that's
where the
Jewish
council
is
that's
where the
annual
festivals
are held
it's the
great
city
of
the
great
kings
David
Solomon
Hezekiah
and yet
all kinds
of people
Luke
says
from
that
city
are
traveling
way
up
north
to
the
boonies
and are
camped
out at
the base
of an
unspecified
mountain
looking
for
Jesus
why are
they here
Luke
says
they'd
come to
hear him
and to
be healed
of their
diseases
Jesus
and so
already
as
Jesus
is
just
choosing
the
twelve
apostles
who
they
will
be
word
has
spread
almost
a hundred
miles
to the
north
and almost
a hundred
miles
to the
south
of the
things
he's
saying
and the
things
he's
doing
and what
an amazing
moment
this was
can you
picture
this
Jesus
is coming
down the
mountain
with four
fishermen
a tax
collector
and seven
other guys
that they
and we
know almost
nothing
about
and people
who are
very obviously
possessed by
demons
are being
cured
in front
of everyone
those
troubled by
impure
spirits
were cured
and the
people all
tried to
touch him
because power
was coming
from him
and healing
them all
can you
imagine
this
the gasping
and the
wonder
and the
amazement
and the
cheering
and the
celebration
and as
people are
healed
and others
see it
the desire
of everyone
in this
great multitude
is intensified
to get
closer
some for
healing
for themselves
others for
healing for
a friend
or a loved
one
or even
just to get
close to see
what all is
happening
and to hear
the things
Jesus is
saying
and I love
the language
of proximity
here
power
was coming
from him
and healing
them all
everyone
who even
made contact
with him
who touched
him
was healed
it was a
day of
countless
miracles
of all
kinds
didn't matter
what virus
or disease
or malady
even demonic
possession
whatever condition
they had
when they came
into contact
with Jesus
it was utterly
vanquished
and dispelled
eliminated
just like
pure light
overthrows
the darkness
in front of
it
and then
Jesus
begins to
speak
and we're
going to save
what he says
for the next
number of
messages
starting next
week
let's pray
father in heaven
we thank you
for the glimpse
you've given
us as to
what took
place
all those
years ago
with your
son
and as we
see him
up on that
mountain
talking to
you
we feel
drawn
we want to
have something
of that
relationship
that he
has with
you
ourselves
and so I
pray that you
would draw
each one of
us deeper
into fellowship
into friendship
relationship
with you
fill our
hearts with
faith
may this
week
be a week
of prayer
not just
one time a
day or at
meals but
all throughout
each day
and may we
even feel
closer to
you
than we
ever have
in our
lives
touch us
and work
in us
we pray
draw us
close
amen
who