Obscure to Men, but Used of God
In recent weeks I have begun an in-depth study of the calling of The Twelve. On Sunday mornings, I have been preaching in expositional fashion through the book of Matthew. Upon reaching chapter ten, we arrived at the higher calling of twelve disciples to become apostles. The listing of their names began to intrigue me as I compared the accounts of the three synoptic gospels. This week marks the third week of an exposition of the first five verses of Matthew chapter ten.
Since the role of The Twelve is such an integral part of the earthly ministry of Christ, it would be prudent to look closer at the individual men who comprised this group of disciples. These men are ordinary and common when the Master calls them. These are not young recruits who have just graduated high school. These are all men who are seasoned adults. They have already established their careers for earning incomes. Some have already acquired a family (cf. Matt. 8:14). These men are already hard workers and, yet, everything changed when they heard the call of Christ!
I began to examine how many times Peter is referred to in the New Testament, and how few times Thaddæus is mentioned. As I pondered on this issue, I began to realize an important truth.
As illustrated in the above table, Peter is mentioned the most in the New Testament. The others are mentioned much fewer times, and some are not even mentioned outside of the list of names. Yet, it is encouraging to know that their seeming lack of publicity did not prevent them from being taught by the Savior. Also, these twelve men will all equally share in the joys of Christ’s future kingdom. Jesus assured Peter that all twelve of them, who followed Him, would sit on thrones and judge the twelve tribes of Israel (Matt. 19:28). All twelve of their names will be visible for all eternity, as their names are embedded into the twelve foundations of the Celestial City that is described by John in Revelation 21:14. (The discussion of who the twelfth is, i.e. who replaced Judas, is better left for another study).
Even though several of the twelve are barely mentioned, they all share in the same reward in Heaven, because they faithfully followed. This reminds us of the parable of the Savior concerning the talents (Matt. 25:14-30). Each of the servants, who faithfully used their talents, was given the same reward even though the amounts were different.
Therefore, the lesser mentioned of the twelve offer great encouragement for those servants of God who remain unknown among the body of believers. It is not popularity or achievement that produces eternal reward. Rather, it is faithfulness in following Christ and simply doing what He says. May we all be faithful!
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