Traditional Service

·       Luke 6:12 gives us another important detail to this part of Jesus’ ministry, and that is that He spent the night in prayer with His Father before calling these 12 men to be His apostles.

o   Jesus had come to an important moment in His life and ministry and these were 12 incredibly important decisions He was about to make.

o   At this point Jesus had offended the religious establishment by the way that he taught, and by playing fast and loose with the traditions that they held on to so tightly.

o   Large crowds followed Jesus, but the majority of them were not following Him for spiritual things…they were following Him for self-fulfillment and entertainment.

§  Some wanted physical healing

§  Some wanted to see Jesus make the religious leaders mad

§  Some simply wanted to see the show and be where the crowds were.

o   Religious leaders were already plotting to get rid of Jesus and crowds that don’t get what they want can easily be turned against you…and Jesus knew that.

·       His response to all of this was to pray and chose 12 men.

o   He had to make sure that when He was no longer around…and He knew His time was limited…He needed a way for His message to continue.

o   He also needed a way to make sure that His message was carried to everyone that could be reached.

§  There was no internet, social media, or national television broadcasts for Him to do this, so it would be up to these men to carry the message to the world.