88. Beginner Bible Course: The disciples of Jesus

EPISODE 88    The simple Bible overview of…THE DISCIPLES OF JESUS

We bought a house...

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00:00:04

...and I decided to put some of that crown molding up on the ceiling. I'll admit it. Now. I shouldn't have tried to be so fancy. I should have known my place. This was in the 1990s, 15 years before YouTube was invented. I asked the dude at the big box store, what I needed for tools to do crown molding. He said I needed a compound miter saw one that cut two angles at the same time. So I bought one back in the garage with my new miter saw, I made the first 45 degree compound cut. I made a number of compound cuts. None of them matched when I put those boards up where the wall met the ceiling.

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Then I remember David, the guy had B and G my local lumberyard. David was a guy tucked into a back shop at the back of the lumberyard. I'd spoken with him once or twice before when I ran into some of these woodworking roadblocks I'd guess David was about 70 and he knew his stuff. You got the idea. He probably built his own crib. I explained to him my situation and wondered if he could help me know how to use my new compound. Miter saw he motioned to me with his big thick finger to follow him. He grabbed out of my hand, the sample piece of crown molding. I'd brought with me and went over to his simple miter.

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Saw he made an angle cut. Then again, motioned me over toward a cabinet of tools. He asked me, you got one of these and pulled out. What I knew was a coping saw. I even had one of those, but I had no idea what to do with it. David, very simply explained how that saw, got its name. What the cope of a piece of trim was then using that little bladed saw he cut my piece of crown molding along its cope there. In a matter of two minutes, David showed me how to make a perfect inside corner on crown molding. If it weren't for David, the crusty woodworker it'd be in G I'd still be in my garage.

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Making practice cuts with my fancy compound. Miter saw what David did to me that day in his lumber shack is precisely what Jesus did with the people around him. People who were willing to learn who wanted to learn his apprentices, the new Testament calls them disciples, but I prefer the word apprentices. The word disciple means learner Jesus. The rabbi assembled a group of learners around him. As we go through the rest of the gospel story, it's amazing what these learners learned. They learned to trust about the only time Jesus got bent out of shape upset is when these learners didn't learn to trust, they learned to serve Jesus model that in both his words and actions they learned to forgive and me, they had plenty of opportunity.

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I imagine in his group of apprentices, a zealot and a former tax collector, they learn to value the unvalued, the least among them like children. The last among them like Samaritans and the left behind among them like lepers and people with diseases and the blind. All of these things they had been taught were a result of sin. As we go forward, you'll actually see Jesus bigger task was to make them unlearned, correcting the misconceptions and errors they'd been taught. He also like David in the shop needed the, teach them the proper use of tools like scripture.

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These apprentices followed Jesus around for between two and four years. They spent most days with him. And many times nights, they went on the road with him 24, seven, but other times they had time off or even went to their own homes at night. It appears they were all Jewish and were likely younger than Jesus. In some cases they could have been in their mid to late teens. Some people think that's true of James and John, the sons of thunder. We find later in our story, James and John sent their mother with a special request to Jesus. Peter on the other hand was likely older.

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We're told he was married, but that didn't mean he had to be much older. As they often married in their teens. These men were ordinary working stiffs like fishermen and tax collectors. Some were out front very public while others stayed in the shadows. We don't know anything, but their names Judas. The one who betrays Jesus takes his own life. Nearly all the rest of them were killed or martyred for clinging to their testimony about Jesus being the son of God. The risen Lord James, the brother of John was killed by Herod with the sword Jesus in the gospel of John predicts that Peter will be bound and taken to a similar fate is Jesus.

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The church, father origin and others say, that's exactly what Nero did to Peter in about 67. Ady hanging him upside down on a cross. Tradition says the other apprentices, except for perhaps John were killed in the most unpleasant ways. Filleted with knives, crucified, beheaded very shortly after Jesus' baptism in temptation in the wilderness. He begins to assemble these apprentices. Andrew is the first one. Apparently Andrew was a disciple of John the Baptist. He was keenly interested in John's preparation for the coming King. And when John introduces him to Jesus, Andrew runs to get his brother Simon.

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When Jesus meets Andrew's brother Simon, he renamed Peter. The rock rabbi. Jesus could see more than what was on the surface. He could look deep into their hearts and into their destiny. And as a good mentor shaped that destiny early on. We also see him calling Phillip and Nathaniel. Nathaniel's also known as Bartholomew in the new Testament. His calling is pretty special. The gospel writer, John tells us when Nathaniel heard about Jesus with people claiming he was the Messiah and him being from Nazareth. Nathaniel asked could any good thing come out of Nazareth.

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He's challenged. Why don't you come and take a look when Jesus meets Nathaniel, he says, wow, what you see is what you get with this guy? I like that. Nathaniel's response to Jesus's. How can you say that about me? You don't even know me, but I do. When you were under the fig tree, I saw you at this. Nathaniel says something incredible rabbi. You're the son of God, the King of Israel. You have to ask yourself what's going on here? What did Jesus possibly say there? That would change Nathaniel's attitude from how could anything good come out of Nazareth to you're the son of God, the promise King of Israel, just because Jesus said, I saw you under a fig tree.

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What if Nathaniel was under that fig tree all by himself? What if he was meditating on scripture or praying under that fig tree all by himself. If he were doing that and suddenly Jesus walked up and said, you know, when you were all alone in that place, praying, I was there. I saw you talking to me. Jesus collects 12 apprentices, four were fishermen. One was a tax collector and the others were really not told what they did. Their names were Matthew, Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, James and John brothers. Another James called the lesser one and Judas Simon.

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He called Peter and Simon. The zealot Thaddeus and Thomas were also told others joined around him, but not as close 70. In fact, it was sort of like a rings on a target, the 70 on the outside, the 12 closer in. And then he had three of his disciples on the inner ring, Peter and the brothers, James and John, how rabbi Jesus taught his apprentices is very interesting. It was almost identical to how David taught me in that back wood shop at B and G. He gave them guidance as they went along through stories, examples, and a lot of questions.

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It was on the job training. I highly doubt David in the wood shop ever gave a woodworking one Oh one course and rabbi Jesus, didn't give a prayer one Oh one course deep into their time of walking with Jesus. They finally realize this per thing is really important to our rabbi. We should ask them about it. So they find him and say, teach us to pray. Why did Jesus choose apprentices these young bucks to follow him around, to unlearn and learn many things. Here are four possibilities. First. They were eyewitnesses after Jesus' death and resurrection. These apprentices would spread out across the globe, proclaiming the good news.

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00:09:29

And as I've mentioned, nearly all dying as martyrs clinging to their testimony. He also chose them because they'd be the ones to record the story. The teachings of Jesus. One third in the new Testament is written by the disciples, Matthew, John, and Peter. If you include Peter's tutoring of Mark and add the gospel of Mark over 40% were written by them. The third reason Jesus gives at the end of the gospel of Matthew, they, as apprentices were to pass the torch by making apprentices of others who had make apprentices of others. Christians today are here because they were faithful to keep passing that torch.

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A fourth reason was he wanted companionship. Remember our old Testament theme, I will be your God. You'll be my people. And we will be together. Jesus was not some stoic. Holy man. In the third chapter of the gospel of Mark, it tells us specifically why Jesus chose 12, that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach. Jesus wanted those men with him. He needed those men with him. You shall call his name, Emmanuel God with us. The son of God wanted to be with his men. Intimately daily. The sending them forth later to preach was secondary.

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How did his apprenticeship with these men work? Spoiler alert here in the book of acts, they were recognized as having been with Jesus. His imprint on them was unmistakable in what they learned and unlearned. There's truly something amazing that happens when you're apprenticed to a master teacher, it's been over two decades since I took that piece of crown molding into David, the crusty old master carpenter I've often wondered what it would have been like to be apprentice to him for a year. Back in that little shop, I have a hunch out of learn to be quite a little craftsmen. I probably would have even decided to sell my almost brand new fancy compound miter saw I didn't.

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So I'll never know, but I know what happened to those 12 men following Jesus around. They changed their world and ours. As we continue to move forward in the story of Jesus in the gospels, something even more amazing surfaces, Jesus invites you and I to follow him around, to be as learners, his apprentices, there's one remarkable passage where he issues what some have called the great invitation as with his 12 disciples. He invites each of us into a special relationship, which he describes with his own word picture. And we're going to take a look at that stunning word, picture of Jesus in our next word picture.