In the previous lesson, we considered the idea that these apostles have some work to do when they meet Jesus. We figured out that they lacked certain personal traits that, perhaps, we can relate to: they lacked spiritual understanding, humility, and commitment. But that’s not all. Tonight, we’ll see that they also lacked faith and power.
How many times do we recall that Jesus said something like, Oh ye of little FAITH, to His closest followers? In Matthew 8:26, He says to them, “Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?” In Matthew 17:20, He tells them “Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.” Similarly, in Luke 17:6, He tells them, “If you had faith like a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and be planted in the sea’; and it would obey you.”
They are constantly amazed by His teachings and His miracles. Just when they think they've seen it all, Jesus does something else they couldn’t have imagined he could do. He heals a leper: they are amazed. He heals a paralytic: they are amazed. He calms the waves and the wind: they are amazed. He casts out demons: they are amazed. One might think that they could have at some point seen enough to start figuring things out.
After all, the very purpose of miracles was to convince people of His authority - to prove that Jesus was the Son of God walking the earth and to increase faith because of that fact. John 20:30f confirms: “Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.”
So why do they need so much convincing? Read in Hebrews 11, and I’ll restate the question. Verse 6 lets us know that, “[W]ithout faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” The question becomes, Why do I need so much convincing?
They lacked spiritual understanding. They lacked humility. They lacked commitment and faith. Then, finally, we have to note that the apostles lacked POWER. They craved power, as we’ve noted before, and they would be less effective without power. Only when the time was right did Jesus gather them, in Matthew 10:1: “Jesus summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.” That power - that authority - comes upon them on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2. They no longer argued about which of them would be the greatest in the kingdom. Now, the power of the Holy Spirit would work through them to accomplish God’s Plan for the new church.
Why should Jesus bother with such a crowd? Our easy answer is because He loves us. He has always loved us since before the creation of our tangible world. Jesus claims, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him” (John 3:16f). John reveals in 1 John 3:16, “We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.”
We see such a transition in the 12 men that Jesus chose for His apostles to build on the foundation of the church. They are ordinary men made extraordinary due to their direct proximity to the Savior of the world and due to the Spirit that compelled them forward.
The question is asked: can the same be accomplished through us, today? We don’t have the power to heal the sick, cast out demons, calm the weather, or forgive sins, but can we finally realize that if we allow God to work through us, with the confidence that we have studied and understand His Plan, we can accomplish remarkable things for God. We, obedient, faithful servants, can do His will and bring glory to Him.
We go from this place tonight with 2 Peter 3:17f in our hearts: “You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness, but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity.”