Tuesday 09 September 2008
- Bible Book:
- Luke
"Jesus went out to the mountain to pray; and he spent the night in prayer to God. And when day came, he called his disciples and chose twelve of them..." (v.12-14)
Background
This is a story about Jesus and the people he calls, but firsthe spends time praying up a mountain for a whole night. Mountainsare places where many people feel close to God - where they havedeep life-changing experiences. Other religious stories tell of Godspeaking to people in 'mountain top experiences' (see
So this is where Jesus goes to spend time by himself before he setsabout the serious business of calling 12 of his followers to beApostles. Apostles are those who are sent out by Jesus to do hiswork and the 12 are specially chosen from amongst a larger group ofdisciples. The list includes some well-known names, some lesswell-known, and Judas Iscariot who eventually betrayed Jesus.
Jesus and the 12 then meet with a great crowd of disciples and manyothers - a great multitude from all over the place. They come tolisten to him because they are in deep need - and their needs aremet.
Jesus calls people to follow him and it is a life-changingexperience for them.
To Ponder
How would you feel about praying all night beforea big decision?
If you were on the list of 12 how would you feelabout it?
Why do you think Jesus chose Judas Iscariot to bean Apostle? Did he know that Judas was going to betray him?