The Significance of the Twelve

Luke 6:13-16

Morning dawns. Jesus has been out all night. Praying. He calls to his followers. It could have been a drawn out affair, hunting them down in nearby villages. More likely, they are hunkered down asleep in the surrounding open country, oblivious that Jesus has been up all night, aware only that they are following this rabbi wherever he chooses to wander. Word spreads quickly when Jesus returns to where they are sleeping and the disciples quickly rouse themselves, pushing away the groggy affects of the night’s slumber.

Jesus calls them, his disciples, these followers who have been drawn to him since his public ministry began. He calls them to come to him, to gather around. And gather they do. Not just the Twelve we usually think of as his disciples, but an unknown number of people. He calls them all, every one, to himself and from among this larger group chooses twelve, designating them as “Sent Ones” or envoys. Apostles.

It is a two-fold calling Jesus gives. One, to come be with him and, two, to be sent out by him. Not sequential, but simultaneous. Just as Jesus himself has done – sent out by the Father to earth while at the same time remaining in constant contact with the Father. All followers of Jesus have this two-fold calling. For each one the “sent out” looks different. For everyone, the “called to be with Jesus” is the same.

The Twelve have no idea on this particular day what their “sent out” will look like, other than perhaps that in some way they will represent Jesus. For that matter, they won’t fully know until it is all over and life has ended. At present all they know to do is take it one step at a time. Well, they also have a title, a title which eventually goes to their heads. Doesn’t it always. Jesus will tone them down a bit on that, help them understand that the only bragging rights, if you can call them that, are that they have been called to be with him.

It is an insignificant group, this Twelve that Jesus singles out. We know the rest of the story, so we read into this verse everything we know about Peter and John and … Judas. Iscariot, that is. There is another Judas in the Twelve, distinguished from the infamous traitor only as the son of a certain James. What is striking about this Judas is that he is not. Striking, that is. He is as much an unknown to us as James son of one Alpheus and Simon – not the superstar, Peter, but a zealot, meaning this Simon is a radical.

These and a couple of others, like Bartholomew, never show up in the Scriptures other than as the Twelve. In the canon, they have no speaking parts. Tradition tells us they eventually go on to the “uttermost parts” and become martyrs. But so do so many other people who never get the super-designation of “The Twelve.”

Jesus doesn’t call these twelve because they have already achieved a measure of earthly significance. The occupation best represented is “fisherman.” Otherwise there is a tax collector, a political agitator, and some shadows in the crowds of the day.

Nor does Jesus call them because they will achieve a higher degree of significance than all the rest of his disciples. We know some of Peter’s story. We certainly know Judas’. John and Matthew go on to write significant portions of our New Testament. James becomes the first martyr. All but John, tradition tells us, become martyrs. But that could be said of a host of other early disciples of Jesus.

These are “called outs,” not stand outs. The most important feature about these Twelve is that Jesus calls them. Any significance they have is wrapped up in their relationship with Jesus. And ten thousand years from now it won’t really matter what anyone other than Jesus thinks of them or what they did or did not accomplish on this earth. As the old hymn concludes, “I am his and he is mine.” That is the best that can be said of any follower of Jesus.