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The Call of Matthew and the Sending Forth of the Twelve Apostles (Based on Luke 5 & 6; Mark 6; Matthew 10)

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The Call of Matthew and the Sending Forth of the Twelve Apostles (Based on Luke 5 & 6; Mark 6; Matthew 10)

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One day as Jesus passed by the receipt of custom, the place where the taxes were collected, He saw a man named Levi, also known as Matthew, sitting there. Jesus called to him and said, “Follow me” (Luke 5:27). Could Matthew leave his business and follow Jesus? Yes, he was willing to leave it, for the Lord’s call was with power, so Matthew “left all, rose up, and followed Him” (Luke 5:28).

Matthew was made willing to become a follower of Jesus, to be always near Him, and to hear His words. He made a great feast in his house that day, and he invited not only Jesus but also many of his friends. These friends included a number of other tax collectors; these people were hated by the Jews since they collected taxes for the Romans. The scribes and Pharisees were unhappy that Jesus and the disciples were wilhng to eat with such people. They said that Jesus was eating with publicans and sinners.

Jesus, however, was not ashamed to be there. He told the scribes and Pharisees, “They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:31&32). What did He mean by these words? Those who are “whole” or healthy, have no need to go to a doctor, but sick people will seek a physician to help them. In the same way, those who do not feel the guilt of their sins do not need a Savior. The Pharisees thought that they were holy; they did not feel the sickness of sin, so they had no need of Jesus as a Savior. Sinners do need a Savior, and Jesus is not ashamed to be their Savior.

By following Jesus, Matthew gave up his worldly riches, but Matthew will forever rejoice that he followed Him. Jesus gave him something much better than anything else in this world. He gave him eternal life in heaven, a treasure which he can never lose. When Matthew was called, there were many people who followed Jesus in His journeys from place to place. Jesus chose twelve men from among them who would be apostles and who would preach the gospel.

Before Jesus chose these apostles, He went alone into a mountain to pray and spent the whole night in prayer to God. Why did Jesus pray? He had no sins to confess and no pardon to ask. He did not need to be taught what He should do, for He was the all-wise God and knew everything. Yes, but He was man as well as God; as man, He often felt sorrow and trouble, and then He loved to go to His heavenly Father to speak to Him in prayer. He also prayed for His disciples and for all His people everywhere.

In the morning Jesus called His disciples and chose from among them the twelve apostles. What were their names? They were: Simon Peter and his brother Andrew, James and his brother John, Philip, Matthew, Bartholomew, Thomas, James the son of Alpheus, Simon Zelotes, Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot. We have already read about some of these apostles. Four of them had been called by Jesus when they were Ashing in the Sea of Galilee; Matthew had been called when he was sitting at the receipt of custom.

Were all the apostles good men? Eleven of them really loved their Master and wished to serve Him, but one of the apostles was very unlike the rest. This was Judas Iscariot; he had never prayed for pardon or for a new heart. Satan was in his heart, not the Holy Spirit of God. Judas did not really love Jesus; he was a hypocrite. He would be the one to betray his Master. Jesus knew all this from the beginning; it had long before been prophesied that Jesus would be put to death by wicked men, betrayed into their hands by one of His own disciples, by a pretended friend.

What did Jesus say to His apostles? He commanded them to go and preach. They were to go among the Jews Arst and preach to them. The Jews were the chosen people of God; He had given them many promises of mercy; therefore, they were to receive the gospel Arst. The apostles were to carry no money with them; they were to live like poor men, not caring for the things of this world. They were to work miracles by the power of Jesus and, in His Name, to heal the sick, to cleanse the lepers, to cast out devils, and to raise the dead. These miracles were to be signs to those who saw them that the apostles were sent by God and proof that their message was true.

It was a great honor to the apostles to preach the gospel of Christ and to work miracles in His Name, but Jesus told them that they would also have to suffer much. He told them that they would be hated, persecuted, imprisoned, and even put to death for His sake. Then Jesus comforted them and told them not to be afraid. He said, “Your enemies may kill your body, but they have no power to kill your soul. Do not fear them, for if you endure to the end, you shall be saved, but if you deny Me, I shall also deny you before My Father which is in heaven. If you really wish to be my disciples, you must be ready to suffer for my sake. And if you lose your life for my sake, you shall have eternal life in heaven.” Then Jesus blessed His disciples and departed.

Christ still has faithful ministers who today preach His gospel in the world. He does not give them power to work miracles, but He promises to bless the word they preach to the salvation of those who hear them. How thankful we should be for this gospel! Let us pray that we may not only hear and read it, but that the Holy Spirit will open our understanding and bless God’s Word to our heart.


Children, however little and young you are, God is always noticing you. He notices how you behave at home, how you behave at school, and how you behave at play. He notices whether you say your prayers or not and how you say them. He notices whether you are greedy or selfish or cross or tell lies or take what is not your own. In short, there is nothing about children that God does not notice.

I read in the Bible that when little Ishmael was almost dead with thirst in the wilderness, “God heard the voice of the lad” (Genesis 21:17). Mark it; He listened to the child’s prayer. I read that when Samuel was only a little boy, God spoke to him (1 Samuel 3:10). I read that when Abijah, the child of Jeroboam, was sick and dying, God said by the mouth of His prophet, “There is some good thing found in him toward the Lord God of Israel” (1 Kings 14:13). Children, these things were written for your learning.

Now I will give you a piece of advice. Say to yourselves every morning when you get up, “God sees me. Let me live as in God’s sight.” God is always looking at what you do and hearing what you say. All is put down in His great books, and all must be reckoned for at the last day. It is written in the Bible, “Even a child is known by his doings” (Proverbs 20:11).

— Excerpt from “The Two Bears” by J.C. Ryle

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