In Prayer to God

All right, well, we're continuing our way through the Gospel of Luke this morning, and we're coming to a new part of the story today. Luke's just finished walking us through some of Jesus' early run-ins with the Pharisees and the teachers of the law.

And now we come to sort of a pivotal moment in the story as Jesus selects 12 men from among his followers, and he does some spectacular signs which many witnessed. We're picking things up in Luke chapter 6, starting in verse 12.

Luke 6 · chapter mention

One of those days, Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray and spent the night praying to God.

When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose 12 of them, whom he also designated apostles.

Simon, whom he named Peter, his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James, son of Alphaeus, Simon, who was called the Zealot, Judas, son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

He went down with them and stood on a level place.

A large crowd of his disciples was there, and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coastal region around Tyre and Sidon, who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases.

Those troubled by impure spirits were cured, and the people all tried to touch him because power was coming from him and healing them all.

So this big day starts out with Jesus going up the mountainside to pray.

And I know there's a lot to get to here, but I can't help but think that we should just slow down for a minute and think about that.

Jesus spent time talking to God.

Talking with God.

It's easy for us to get fixated on the truth that Jesus has come down from the Father to speak to us.

But here we see Jesus slipping away from us, going up the mountainside to talk to God.

It's also easy for us to be captured by the reality that Jesus is himself God.

And that's certainly true, and it's very clearly taught in the Bible, and a wonderful truth.

But sometimes our fixation on that can cause us to miss what is also true.

That Jesus is truly one of us.

He is truly a man.

And as every man ought to do, so Jesus does too.

He prays to God.

Now this is sometimes hard to get our minds around.

We wonder, wait a second, if Jesus is God, and he's praying to God,

then does that mean that Jesus is praying to himself?

This was a question asked me by one of my own kids recently.

It's a profound mystery that's laid out in the scriptures for us.

God is only one God, and yet he exists as three persons.

Jesus referred to God as his father.

The father spoke down from heaven, referring to Jesus as his son.

And then there is the spirit of God, or the Holy Spirit,

who's also called the spirit of Jesus.

Father, son, Holy Spirit.

He said,

We see and hear all three at the baptism of Jesus.

All three are named in the Great Commission.

And yet there's also a profound unity.

Jesus said,

I and the Father are one.

He also said,

If you have seen me,

you have seen the Father.

So if we're looking for a familiar parallel to this in our own experience,

or in nature,

there is none.

That's what makes God holy and distinct from us.

He is a tri-personal deity.

And so it will seem strange to us.

Along with this mysterious truth is also the truth of who Jesus is.

He is both God,

truly God,

and man.

Truly human.

Both at the same time.

As John said in his gospel,

right at the beginning,

the word who was God and was with God,

the one through whom all things were made,

he became flesh

and dwelt among us.

And this is another mystery,

how God himself can exist truly

as a human being,

as one of us.

And so,

we might sometimes think that since Jesus is God,

therefore prayer is not necessary for him.

And yet we read in the Bible

that Jesus prayed.

He talked

to God.

There is relationship.

Real relationship

and communication

between Jesus

and the Father.

and sometimes we might wonder

whether we're seeing this right

because this sounds a little strange.

Let's just look for a moment

somewhere else in the New Testament

at 1 Peter 1,

1 Peter 1:3

verse 3.

This verse is one of my favorites.

Peter,

the apostle,

writes,

Praise be to the God

and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

That's part of how he starts the letter.

Now we understand how God is the Father

of our Lord Jesus Christ.

At least,

we've heard Jesus call God that

many times

in the Gospels.

But easily,

we skip over this other relationship

mentioned here.

Maybe just put your thumb over the words

and Father

for a moment.

He is both,

but just for a minute

and read it.

Praise be to the God

of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Praise be to the God

of our Lord Jesus Christ.

What I'm trying to help us notice here

is that Jesus is so truly man

that he

has a relationship with God

just like we do.

He doesn't pray

to himself.

Jesus prays to his God,

the one who he is also one with.

Think of what Jesus cried out on the cross.

He said,

my God,

my God,

why have you forsaken me?

He called his Father God.

To put it another way,

if there's anyone

who it seems

should not need to pray,

at least in our judgment,

it would be Jesus, right?

After all,

he is one with the Father.

He's the one speaking to us

what he hears from the Father.

Is there any need for him

to speak to the Father?

Father?

Well, we see here,

the answer is yes.

Jesus prayed.

He talked

to

God.

God is a relational God.

Relationship and communication

are at the core

of who he is.

when we're told in the Bible

to pray,

we're being told

to have a relationship

with God,

to communicate

with God.

Luke tells us

here that Jesus prayed

all night long.

What's the first thing

that you think of

when you hear that?

anyone?

How?

How?

We might be amazed

or surprised.

Most of us,

if not all of us,

have struggled to pray

for more than an hour

at a time.

Sometimes much less

than that.

We know prayer

is good.

We know it's spiritual.

And so we naturally

respect and revere

anyone who can engage

in this holy activity

for a long time.

And so in that sense,

we're surprised

that any man

would pray

all night long.

We look at the disciples

in the Garden of Gethsemane

who fell asleep

multiple times

while praying.

Then we relate

more to them.

And so we look

at this as amazing.

But maybe on the other hand,

we also look at it

as something

that was maybe

just easier

and natural for Jesus

because of who he is.

That special relationship

that he has with God.

And I think

there's truth to that.

I was trying to think

of an analogy

and this is what

came to mind.

What if this moment

for Jesus

was in some ways,

even in small ways,

like,

have you ever had

a dear,

dear friend,

best of friends

who you haven't

talked to in ages

suddenly show up

to visit you

and they're going

to stay overnight

but then they have

to leave the next day.

Is it any trouble

to talk to them

all evening

and even to stay up

until one,

two in the morning

for a total of

four,

five,

six hours?

perhaps this is

just a little bit

of what Jesus'

relationship

with the Father

is like.

There's no doubt

in Jesus' mind

whether the Father

is listening

to every word.

He has been one

with the Father

for all eternity

leading up to this moment.

There's no greater

intimacy,

there's no

closer relationship,

it's like sheer joy

and life

and pleasure

for Jesus

to talk with God

all night long

like staying up

all night

with one's best friend.

Us,

on the other hand,

we've never had

that relationship

with God

from the start

like Jesus did

and so naturally

it will be different

for us.

For our part,

there is faith

that's required of us.

We're praying

to the unseen God,

the invisible God

and we know

that there is

some way too

that God

doesn't commune

with us identically

to how he

does with Jesus

but one day

he will.

One day

we will be with him

face to face

and I think

we know in our hearts

that when that day

comes,

having a conversation

with him

all night long

will not be tiresome

or difficult

or boring.

I know that's a bit

of a rabbit trail

this morning

but I hope

it's a good one

and I think

out of that

comes this question.

How is your

relationship

with God

going

right now?

Are you

communicating

with God

regularly

and often?

Are you

making time

to be with him

to pray?

It's not just

something that we're

commanded to do

it's vital

and life-giving

to do it.

Or maybe the thing

we need to ask

more

is what's

keeping us

from prayer?

What's

distracting us

from prayer?

One of the

big things

that's consuming

our attention

and our focus

and our thoughts

is technology.

We've got

our phones

we've got

our TVs

we've got

our social

media

we've got

YouTube

the way

these things

are designed

and engineered

we get a little

dopamine hit

every time

we refresh

or every time

we find something

that we like

as we scroll

and swipe

we get a little

dopamine hit

every time

we see

that someone

liked our post

or our pick

and it becomes

habit

and even

addiction

for us

to just

pull out

the devices

the moment

that we're

bored

or the moment

that we have

to wait

for something

the moment

that we have

some spare

time

what's the

first thing

that we often

do

in the morning?

A survey

done by

Virgin Media

in the UK

found that

81% of

Britons

said they

reach for

their phones

first thing

in the morning

when they

wake up

75%

said they're

checking

social media

feeds

52%

said they're

checking

news feeds

1 out of

3 of those

who are

polled

said they're

looking to

reduce their

screen time

they kind of

recognize that

it's taking up

too much of

their time

and attention

half of

those polled

admitted to

previously

unsuccessful

attempts

to reduce

screen time

with the

hardest things

to cut

down

being social

media

messaging

apps

and video

streaming

stats like

these tell us

the truth

of what's

getting

our time

and our

attention

in the

morning

and why

it seems

nearly impossible

to find

time in our

day

to pray

there's

something

powerful

and addictive

in our

lives

crowding

prayer out

and when it

comes right

down to it

I think if

we know

the Lord

don't we

often feel

regret as

the day

goes on

that we're

going back

and choosing

that mindless

dead scrolling

of stuff

that often

has very

little value

or substance

over fellowship

with our

Lord

our Savior

and so

even just

this glimpse

of seeing

Jesus go

up the

mountain

to pray

I hope

and pray

that it

will spur

us on

and encourage

us

this week

to put

our tech

away

maybe make

a few

changes

even to

go to

great lengths

if necessary

to be

with God

and to

commune

with God

alright

let's keep

going

verse 13

when morning

came

Jesus called

his disciples

to him

and chose

twelve of

them

whom he

also

designated

apostles

the picture

we get

from these

words

is that

Jesus

stayed up

on the

mountain

but then

and of course

mountains in

Israel

we know

are not

the snowy

peaks

but they're

large hills

in Israel

but then he

calls his

disciples to

him

so they

come up

to him

and it

says he

chooses

twelve

of them

which means

that there

were more

than twelve

before this

and then in

verse 17

we see

Jesus went

down

with them

so we get

a clear picture

here that there

was a special

moment where

Jesus chose

the twelve

disciples

up till now

in the gospel

of Luke

we've heard

about Peter

and how he

was called

we heard

about Levi

the tax

collector

and how he

was called

from the

tax booth

and the

other gospels

tell us

of Andrew

and James

and John

and Philip

and Nathaniel

the reality

is though

that up

until this

point

many people

came to

follow Jesus

and were

counted among

his disciples

from the

start

we read

in John

John 6:66

chapter 6

verse 66

about an

occasion where

many of

Jesus'

disciples

turned back

and no longer

followed him

while the

twelve

continued to

follow him

and so it

wasn't just

that Jesus

kind of

slipped among

the crowds

and just

picked twelve

right from

the start

it was a

whole bunch

of disciples

and now

we see

this moment

where Jesus

sets twelve

of them

apart from

all the rest

notice the

language

of choosing

he called

his disciples

to him

and chose

twelve of

them

whom he

also designated

or named

apostles

apostles

and so

these twelve

men

they get

this special

designation

from all

the rest

apostles

the word

apostle comes

right out of

the Greek

language from

the word

apostolos

and it

means a

person who

is sent

out

it's often

used in

ways to

describe a

messenger

or a

delegate

or an

ambassador

and we're

going to

impact this

more deeply

as we go

along here

the apostles

come to

have a

very unique

role in

the plan

of God

we'll talk

about that

in future

sermons

especially as

we get to

Luke chapter

nine when

Jesus actually

sends them

out and

then enacts

the acts

of the

apostles

but for

today let's

just think

of two

essential

elements of

an apostle

and we get

these things

from the

word from

how that

word was

used even

before they

were designated

as such

the first

one to be

an apostle

it means

to be a

sent one

implies

that there

has to be

someone doing

the sending

it implies

that those

being sent

represent

the one

who is

sending

and in

this case

it's

Jesus

he's

choosing

these

twelve

men

and he's

not sent

them out

yet but

he's about

to send

them out

as his

representatives

second

the word

apostle

also

commonly

carried

the meaning

of messenger

and that

really fits

with the

role that

the apostles

were given

they will

not only

be

representatives

but they

will be

sent

with a

specific

message

from

Jesus

and we're

going to

hear more

about that

as well

when we

get to

Luke

chapter

nine

so

Jesus

is doing

something

very unique

here

he looks

at this

growing

pool

of his

disciples

and he

chooses

from among

them all

these twelve

men

and he

designates

them

apostles

it means

that they

will soon

be sent

out

as his

representatives

and as

his

messengers

and so

even though

this is

just a

small

paragraph

in Luke's

gospel

it marks

a massive

shift

in how

things are

going to

go

from now

on

first it

was just

Jesus

and the

crowds

all coming

to him

from

everywhere

but now

it's going

to be

these men

going out

proclaiming

Jesus

proclaiming

the kingdom

and the

crowds that

are already

large are

about to

get even

bigger

as we

go from

here

let's talk

for just a

minute about

who these

twelve men

are

Luke seems

to list

them in

order from

most prominent

to least

at the top

of the list

is Simon

also called

Peter

and his

brother

Andrew

both of

them were

fishermen

from

Galilee

then there

were

James

and his

brother

John

the sons

of Zebedee

also

fishermen

from

Galilee

then there

was

Philip

who is

from the

same

town

as

Peter

and

Andrew

and we

don't

know

too much

more

about

Philip

he

appears

in the

gospel

of John

as the

one

that the

Greeks

go to

when they're

seeking

an audience

with

Jesus

and there's

also some

dialogue

between

Philip

and Jesus

in the

upper room

discourse

that we

read in

John

John 14 · chapter mention

chapters

14

to 16

apart from

that

not much

else

then we

have

Bartholomew

he's

scarcely

mentioned

in the

New

Testament

but it's

thought that

he is

Nathaniel

from the

gospel

of John

interestingly

Bartholomew

quite literally

means

son

of

Ptolemy

Bar

son

Ptolemy

Ptolemy

you can

kind of

hear it

in the

word

so

if

Ptolemy

was

actually

his

dad's

name

then

basically

people

called

him

Ptolemy

son

and

likely

Nathaniel

was

actually

his

given

name

then

there's

Matthew

we already

heard about

him

that's

Levi

also

another

name

he was

the

tax

collector

that

threw

the

banquet

for

Jesus

then

there's

Thomas

also

known

as

doubting

Thomas

he

missed

the

first

big

resurrection

appearance

of

Jesus

to

the

rest

of

the

apostles

and

then

he

was

skeptical

till

he

saw

Jesus

alive

for

himself

a

week

later

then

there's

James

son

of

Alpheus

he's

only

mentioned

in

the

lists

of

the

apostles

very

little

is

known

about

him

today

there's

Simon

the

zealot

another

one

only

mentioned

in the

lists

of

apostles

nowhere

else

in the

in

the

new

testament

it's

pure

speculation

but

either

zealot

describes

his own

religious

zeal

like he

was a

very

passionate

devout

person

Simon

the

zealous

or

it

describes

his

background

before

Christ

probably

in the

political

movement

which

sought

to

overthrow

the

Roman

empire

with

guerrilla

warfare

tactics

they

were

known

as

the

zealots

and

of

course

if

you're

making

a

television

series

about

Jesus

which

one

would

you

choose

then

there's

Judas

son

of

James

this

is

also

probably

the

same

guy

mentioned

in

Matthew

and

Mark's

list

as

Thaddeus

likely

Judas

was

his

primary

name

but

then

to

distinguish

him

from

the

other

Judas

he

may

have

been

called

Thaddeus

either

a

nickname

or

second

given

name

he's

only

mentioned

as

speaking

once

in

the

entire

New

Testament

and

it's

in

the

Gospel

of

John

again

in

that

upper

room

discourse

and

then

finally

Judas

who

is

quite

well

known

as

the

one

who

betrayed

Jesus

so

these

are

the

twelve

men

that

Jesus

chose

and

designated

apostles

he's

going

to

give

them

special

authority

a

message

to

proclaim

and

a

mission

to

complete

verse

17

he

went

down

with

them

and

stood

on

a

level

place

a

large

crowd

of

his

disciples

was

there

and

a

great

number

of

people

from

all

over

Judea

from

Jerusalem

and

from

the

coastal

region

around

Tyre

and

Sidon

who

had

come

to

hear

him

and

to

be

healed

of

their

diseases

so

Jesus

and

the

twelve

they

come

down

the

mountain

!

together

and

there's

!

this

massive

crowd

of

people

waiting

for

them

Luke

describes

it

a

large

crowd

of

his

disciples

so

many

who

are

already

followers

of

Jesus

in

some

sense

and

then

on

top

of

that

a

great

number

of

people

from

all

over

and

then

three

regions

are

listed

and

one

city

maybe

sounds

a little

flat

in

English

a

great

number

but

some

of

the

other

translations

say

a

great

multitude

so

we're

talking

big

crowd

lots

of

people

from

all

over

let's

just

think

where

Jesus

is

for

a

moment

he's

up

in

Galilee

probably

up

somewhere

around

Capernaum

in the

north

and

they

are

coming

from

all

over

Judea

so

that's

the

southern

region

way

down

here

probably

a

three

to

five

days

journey

on

foot

depending

on

where

you

start

from

how

far

south

and

how

far

north

this

mountain

is

they've

traveled

three

to

five

days

on

foot

to

see

Jesus

at

the

base

of

this

mountain

not

only

that

but

they're

also

coming

from

the

regions

of

Tyre

and

Sidon

so

we

see

way

up

here

in

the

north

and

depending

again

on

how

far

north

it

could

be

about

a

three

days

journey

from

there

and

then

lastly

we

hear

that

they're

coming

from

Jerusalem

that

famous

great

capital

city

in

Judea

and

there's

maybe

a little

bit

of

irony

here

usually

Jerusalem

is the

destination

that's

the place

you want

to go

that's

where the

temple

of God

is

that's

where the

Jewish

council

is

that's

where the

annual

festivals

are held

it's the

great

city

of

the

great

kings

David

Solomon

Hezekiah

and yet

all kinds

of people

Luke

says

from

that

city

are

traveling

way

up

north

to

the

boonies

and are

camped

out at

the base

of an

unspecified

mountain

looking

for

Jesus

why are

they here

Luke

says

they'd

come to

hear him

and to

be healed

of their

diseases

Jesus

and so

already

as

Jesus

is

just

choosing

the

twelve

apostles

who

they

will

be

word

has

spread

almost

a hundred

miles

to the

north

and almost

a hundred

miles

to the

south

of the

things

he's

saying

and the

things

he's

doing

and what

an amazing

moment

this was

can you

picture

this

Jesus

is coming

down the

mountain

with four

fishermen

a tax

collector

and seven

other guys

that they

and we

know almost

nothing

about

and people

who are

very obviously

possessed by

demons

are being

cured

in front

of everyone

those

troubled by

impure

spirits

were cured

and the

people all

tried to

touch him

because power

was coming

from him

and healing

them all

can you

imagine

this

the gasping

and the

wonder

and the

amazement

and the

cheering

and the

celebration

and as

people are

healed

and others

see it

the desire

of everyone

in this

great multitude

is intensified

to get

closer

some for

healing

for themselves

others for

healing for

a friend

or a loved

one

or even

just to get

close to see

what all is

happening

and to hear

the things

Jesus is

saying

and I love

the language

of proximity

here

power

was coming

from him

and healing

them all

everyone

who even

made contact

with him

who touched

him

was healed

it was a

day of

countless

miracles

of all

kinds

didn't matter

what virus

or disease

or malady

even demonic

possession

whatever condition

they had

when they came

into contact

with Jesus

it was utterly

vanquished

and dispelled

eliminated

just like

pure light

overthrows

the darkness

in front of

it

and then

Jesus

begins to

speak

and we're

going to save

what he says

for the next

number of

messages

starting next

week

let's pray

father in heaven

we thank you

for the glimpse

you've given

us as to

what took

place

all those

years ago

with your

son

and as we

see him

up on that

mountain

talking to

you

we feel

drawn

we want to

have something

of that

relationship

that he

has with

you

ourselves

and so I

pray that you

would draw

each one of

us deeper

into fellowship

into friendship

relationship

with you

fill our

hearts with

faith

may this

week

be a week

of prayer

not just

one time a

day or at

meals but

all throughout

each day

and may we

even feel

closer to

you

than we

ever have

in our

lives

touch us

and work

in us

we pray

draw us

close

amen

who