The Dawn of the Kingdom

I'm just excited to be able to be up here today and be able to share with you the Word of God.

I'm not excited to be up here because I get to be on stage and up front center because that's

still really kind of scary. But I'm just thankful to have this opportunity and I appreciate you guys

allowing me to come up and share the Word of God with me this morning.

And some of you guys I know and some of you I don't know. Some of you I know your situation

and some I don't. I feel like there's a chunk of people who have come into the church faster

than I've been able to connect to. But I've prayed for you.

And I've been praying for you. And I've been praying for this message this morning because

I think it's good. I think it's helpful. And so I pray that we will see God more glorious

today through this passage and our lives will be changed by it. And not just this week because

I'm preaching, but I pray that's how we come to church. Seeking and hoping to see God in a new,

in a real, in a bigger way than we saw Him before through His Word and for our lives to be changed by it.

So our passage this morning is Luke 6, 1 through 16. And we have the kingdom of God that is beginning.

Through this book of Luke that we have in this Word of God, we have divinely inspired stories that Luke

has given to us to allow us to be front row and center to this building of the kingdom of God.

And we get to see some things that Jesus is doing in that kingdom. How do we know that this kingdom

has taken place? Earlier in Luke, Jesus said to the crowd, I must preach the good news of the

kingdom of God to other towns as well, for I was sent for this purpose. Towards the end of Luke,

it says, being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He, Jesus, answered them,

the kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed. Nor will they say, look, here it is,

or there. For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst. The arrival of the kingdom of God

through the person of Jesus Christ, which is happening, Jesus is here on earth, and to the reign of God

that's manifested through His people who are believing in God and wanting to follow after Him.

So although not fully consummated, the kingdom of God is at work and is at hand. So we see it

starting here in Luke, and we're still part of that building of the kingdom of God here and now in

our lives, waiting for God to come back for His final time to take us home and to set up His kingdom

here on earth. So in our passage this morning, we're going to be looking at two areas of the kingdom of God

that Jesus is establishing here on earth. And within those two areas, we're going to look even closer

at a few aspects that Jesus is laying out for us.

I'm going to look at the finalists of the workforce this morning. So I'm just going to give you the outline

from the beginning so you can see where we're going.

So we have, in this passage, there's three short stories. The first two are about the Sabbath,

so we're going to take a look at those. We're going to see how Jesus is redefining for us what the

Sabbath was meant to do. And then the third and last story is Jesus choosing His apostles,

and in that we're going to take a look at prayer and perseverance, what that means to us by being

able to read and observe this story. So what we're going to do is start out with the first one,

and let's open up to Luke chapter 6. We're going to read the first story here, Luke 6, the first five verses.

Luke 6 · chapter mention

On the Sabbath, while He was going through the grain fields, His disciples plucked and ate some heads of

grain, rubbing them in their hands. Some of the Pharisees said, Why are you doing what is not lawful

to do on the Sabbath? And Jesus answered them, Have you not read what David did when he was hungry?

He and those who were with him, how he entered the house of God, and took and ate the bread of the

presence, which was not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those with him.

And he said to them, Son of man is Lord of the Sabbath.

So one thing that we noticed right from the beginning, which seems to be typical for Pharisees,

is they're trying to find fault in Jesus. They're trying to accuse him of something,

try to find sin in his life. The flaw in their plan is that they spend so much of their time

looking for faults in Jesus that they really fail to observe who he really is.

they don't actually get he is the divine son of God. So they spend time looking for that sin

from someone who is never going to sin. If you remember back in chapter 4, when Jesus comes into

the synagogue and there's a man who's possessed with a demon, the demon cries out and calls him

the Holy One of God. So here, the Pharisees are looking for sin from the Holy One of God. Sin is never

going to come from. And in the process, they miss the healings. They miss the miraculous power over

nature, the supernatural, the knowing of people's thoughts and intents of their heart. They miss

all of that because they're too busy trying to find the fault instead of seeing the perfect God that he is.

So in this section, we're going to observe how the Pharisees are trying to catch Jesus doing

something unlawful. Verse 1 says,

On a Sabbath, as he was going through the grain fields, his disciples plucked and ate some heads of

grain, rubbing them together. So they're plucking off heads of grain and they're rubbing them with

their hands. That is to get the outside shaft area off. And then they're eating it.

Personally, my difficulty with that would have been, why is somebody walking through my grain fields,

my wheat fields, and they're plucking my wheat and they're eating it, especially if they didn't ask?

This was something that was acceptable at the time. This wasn't something that would have offended

anybody. We take a look at Deuteronomy chapter 23, verses 24 and 25. It says,

Deuteronomy 23:24

If you go into your neighbor's vineyard, you may eat your fillet grapes as many as you wish,

but you shall not put any in your bag. If you go into your neighbor's standing grain,

you may pluck the ears with your hand, but you shall not put a sickle to your neighbor's standing

grain. So they lived in a time where doing this sort of thing was acceptable. It's sharing what you

have with other people. And that person who was accepting of that, then not taking advantage. So

not taking grapes and more than you can eat and not cutting down more in their wheat fields.

But that wasn't the struggle. Verse two says,

Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?

So they weren't concerned about what they were doing. Their concern was about when they were doing it.

They were doing it on the Sabbath day.

Exodus 20,

Exodus 20:8–10

verses 8 through 10 says,

Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.

Six days you shall honor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath to the Lord your God,

and on it you shall do no work.

So a little bit of history about the Pharisees and their law.

They had two sources really of law that they're pulling from.

One was the written Torah, which is known as the Pentateuch.

We knew that, the five verses of the Old Testament.

They were given by God to Moses.

They also had a second source of Jewish law

that was an extended version of that written Torah.

It was extended through tradition, interpretation,

and that oral version was written down and called the Mishnah.

So the Mishnah contains a whole unit

that's dedicated to all the things that are not allowed to happen on the Sabbath.

And so according to this list,

the disciples were reaping and threshing and winnowing and preparing food

all by their walking through the field and plucking grain

and rubbing it together and eating it.

That's what the Pharisees saw.

They saw them basically doing four different sins all on the Sabbath.

So what does Jesus do with that?

Luke says that the disciples were doing that,

but he doesn't tell us that Jesus was doing that.

But the Pharisees see that Jesus is their leader,

and so he goes to them to make this accusation.

And Jesus answers them with a question, which is often done.

Verse 3,

Have you not read what David did when he was hungry,

he and those who were with him?

How he entered the house of God and took and ate the bread of presents,

which is not lawful for any, but the priest to eat,

and also gave it to those with him.

He's referring to 1 Samuel chapter 21, verses 3 through 6.

1 Samuel 21:3–6

Now then, this is King David.

Actually, before he's king, King Saul is on the throne,

and King Saul is trying to kill David.

So David is on the run.

He's with a group of men,

and he comes up to a priest.

They're in need of food.

David asked the priest for food,

and that's what we're looking at here.

Now then, what do you have at hand?

Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever is here.

And the priest answered David,

I have no common bread at hand,

but there is holy bread,

if the young men have kept themselves from women.

And David answered the priest,

Truly women have been kept from us as always

when I go on an expedition.

The vessels of the young men are holy,

even if it is an ordinary journey.

How much more today will their vessels be holy?

So the priest gave him the holy bread,

but there was no bread there,

but the bread of the presence.

So Jesus is saying to the Pharisees,

don't forget about David.

You know, I have a problem with David,

and what he did.

He was providing for his men.

So if you condemn my disciples,

you're going to need to condemn David

and his men as well.

And the point Jesus is trying to make

is really bigger than what the law is talking about.

The point is that Jesus is trying to make

is that the ceremonial restrictions of the law

need to give way to human need.

If there's a human,

if there's a person in need,

then that needs to come higher

than the ceremonial law set on the Sabbath.

And Jesus adds this in verse 5.

He said,

The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.

If there was anybody here that wasn't here last week,

Sean, in his message,

talked about this phrase,

Son of Man.

In Aramaic,

it could mean

some human being.

However,

Jesus doesn't use it that way.

He uses it

in a different sense.

Later in Luke,

he says,

You will see the Son of Man coming

in a cloud

with power

and great glory.

Obviously,

he's not talking about a human man.

But he's making references

back to Daniel chapter 7,

Daniel 7 · chapter mention

where the prophet Daniel

sees a vision

of one like the Son of Man

coming with the clouds of heaven.

And he says this,

And to him was given

dominion and glory

and a kingdom.

So all peoples,

nations,

and languages

shall serve him.

His dominion

is an everlasting dominion

which shall not pass away

and his kingdom

one that shall not be destroyed.

So Jesus is claiming

by this phrase,

the Son of Man,

to be the one

who possesses

that eternal authority

and power of God.

So when he makes this statement

about the Sabbath,

and that it should give way

to human need,

he's doing it

with the authority

and power of God.

The other thing

to notice also

in both of these stories

is that we are presented

with a representative

standing in for the people.

King David was standing in

for his men

and Jesus is standing in

for his disciples.

So in this case,

Jesus has that authority

as the Son of Man

to interpret that law

and to change it

where it's needed

and to give it a blessing

for us to do that same thing

by what is taking place here.

It should not be a burden.

The Sabbath should be

something that's a help

and a service to us.

just as a practical aspect

of that

as we're thinking

about the Sabbath.

For us,

it's traditionally Sunday.

That's the day of rest

that we've traditionally observed.

We also aren't told

to hide behind

this Sunday

as a day of rest.

It isn't a reason

that we want to get behind

to get out of

serving God

in ways where

he's called us to serve.

It could be

serving in the church.

It could mean

taking food to the poor.

It could mean

helping someone in need.

It could be visiting

at a nursing home.

It could be

helping somebody move.

The list could go

one and one

but the point is

that we don't

not help someone in need

or not do something

that we're called to do

because it's on a Sunday

and we're

you know

this is my day.

I rest.

I also don't go

to the other side

where we don't take time

to rest

and rejuvenate

and refuel ourselves

because we need

to take care of ourselves

and that's what

this is also here for

as well.

But the other side

of that is

we can swing

all the way

to the other side

and forget about

the need of others

and always take care

of ourselves.

And if we're honest

our schedules

are quite busy

so we spend

six days a week

doing stuff

we have to do

work

in school

whatever it is

and then on Sunday

we lock that away

and say

that's just for

for me

to rest

for God

so you

go through

seven days

and you never

have an opportunity

to reach out

you never have

an opportunity

to connect

with your neighbor

to show love

or concern

for someone else

and that's

not the picture

that a Christian

life should look like

so spend time

for yourself

relax

spend time

with the Lord

dig into his word

spend some time

sleeping

if it's needed

but

don't forsake

the need of others

the second story

in our passage

this morning

is also about

the Sabbath

most likely

these did not

happen

Sabbath

six days later

and then another

Sabbath

it was most likely

a little bit

spread out

Luke doesn't

say that

but just the wording

it probably

was a little bit

more spread out

so why is Luke

adding two stories

together that are

about the Sabbath

other than the obvious

that they are

about the Sabbath

because we see

later in Luke

that he's also

talking about

things that happened

on the Sabbath

day

one thing is

Luke wants us

to understand

how steep

the Pharisees

are

in their

tradition

again

tradition

isn't bad

but if we

care more

about the

tradition

and we

miss the

picture

and we

miss out

on our

love and

concern for

others

then we've

missed the

point of

the Sabbath

we've missed

the point

of loving

the other

reason for

this is

we get to

see

Jesus

refining

and clarifying

the Sabbath

so that's why

another reason

why he's put

these two

stories together

so let's

read the

second story

and this

starts in

verse 6

of Luke

so Luke

6

6

we'll read

down through

verse 11

on another

Sabbath

he entered

the synagogue

and was

teaching

and the

man was

there

whose right

hand

was withered

and the

scribes

and the

Pharisees

watched him

to see

whether he

would heal

on the

Sabbath

so that they

might find

a reason

to accuse

him

but he

knew their

thoughts

and he

said to the

man with

the withered

hand

come and

stand here

and he

rose

and he

stood

there

and Jesus

said to

them

I ask you

is it lawful

on the

Sabbath

to do

good

or to

do

harm

to save

life

or to

destroy

it

and after

looking around

at them

all

he said

to him

stretch

out your

hand

and he

did so

and his

hand

was restored

and they

were filled

with fury

and disgust

with one

another

that they

might do

to Jesus

so we

see the

helpfulness

of having

two stories

together

really getting

a glimpse

of how

deep the

Pharisees

were with

their tradition

this was

another

Sabbath

and Jesus

is in the

synagogue

and he's

teaching

and there's

a man

there

whose hand

is withered

paralyzed

atrophied

Luke doesn't

say the

condition

could be

from

paralysis

it could

be a

disease

like polio

could be

something he

was born

with

it doesn't

say that

but Luke

does point

out that

it's his

right hand

so no

offense to

anyone who

is left

handed

out there

but 90%

of the

world

is right

handed

so chances

are this

right hand

that was

withered

was his

dominant

hand

and if it

happened

after he

was born

then it

was his

main

working

hand

it was

his hand

of skill

and strength

so when

it became

unusable

his life

was severely

altered

we can see

how that

would be

the case

we also

know from

this story

that the

healing

wasn't

requested

the man

didn't

come to

Jesus

and say

can you

heal me

he was

in the

synagogue

and at

some point

Jesus

calls him

over to

stand next

to him

not requested

but a miracle

that Jesus

chooses

to show

his power

and his

authority

it was also

to help

teach a

lesson

and we're

going to

see that

in just

a second

so Jesus

is in

the synagogue

teaching

there's a

man

with a

deformed

right hand

who else

is there

we see

the scribes

and the

Pharisees

would like

to say

that they're

harmlessly

listening to

Jesus'

teaching

and they're

learning

but they're

not

verse 7

says

and the

scribes

and the

Pharisees

watched

him

that is

Jesus

to see

if he

would heal

on the

Sabbath

so they

might find

a reason

to accuse

him

you ever

tried to

spy

on someone

while you

were doing

something

else

maybe you're

in a

business

meeting

and you're

trying to

hear what

someone else

is saying

maybe you

are talking

to someone

maybe you're

at a family

function

you're talking

to one

family member

but you

really are

more concerned

about what

somebody else

is doing

or saying

what happens

is you're

really unable

to listen

to the person

in front of

you because

you're too

distracted

with that

side story

that you

need to

know what's

going on

and that's

exactly what

we have

here

happening

with the

Pharisees

they're unable

to listen

to Jesus

and his

teaching

because they're

so focused

on finding

something to

accuse him

of

there's another

practical

life point

for us

here

to grab

a hold

of

and that

is I

hope that

none of

you are

coming in

with distractions

that are

keeping you

from God's

blessing

what do you

mean

I pray

that you're

not

distracted

by something

else

and you're

missing an

opportunity

to be in

the presence

of God

of being

with his

people

saved by

Jesus Christ

moved by

the spirit

and being

able to

worship

and lift

up the

name of

God

this morning

now don't

get me wrong

we come in

and we're

tired

we come in

and we're

distracted

we come

in

depressed

life's

complicated

life's

hard

we come

in that

way

but we

ought not

stay that

way

we don't

want to

allow the

distractions

of life

to block

out our

view

of the

savior

and what

he's

done

for us

to give

us that

freedom

from the

struggles

that we

work with

and we

fight with

and we

deal with

on a

day to

day basis

so I

don't want

you to

come in

sick and

distracted

by life

and miss

the chance

to be

healed

by the

healer

the one

who cares

about you

and your

struggles

that's our

point there

come in

with the

struggles

don't leave

with the

struggles

leave

knowing

that God

loves you

and he

knows where

your struggles

are and he's

there to help

you you have

to depend

on him

stop

depending

so much

on yourself

so let's

look back

at verse

seven

it says

that they

watched him

and the

words used

here

kind of have

a sinister

plot to

them

they are

they're spying

they're secretly

watching

to see if

Jesus is

going to

heal

on the

Sabbath

what are

they going

to accuse

him of

what would

be the

problem

in healing

a man

on the

Sabbath

well to

the Pharisees

the tradition

that they

held to

was that

healing

or medical

work

that was

not an

emergency

wasn't to

be done

on the

Sabbath

so examples

of what

would be

acceptable

would be

a life

in danger

a baby

being born

or if

a circumcision

was needed

so after

a baby

is born

there's

a certain

number of

days before

the baby

needs to

be circumcised

and so

these were

three things

that were

accepted

and we

see a couple

of these

in Luke

Luke 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4

we saw

the demon

being in

the synagogue

and he

was crying

out

Jesus

needed to

deal with

him

then

and not

let it

keep going

so there

was a

miracle

there

in verse

38 we

saw Simon's

mother-in-law

which had

a very high

fever

and this

was a

serious

situation

that needed

healing

to fix

but in

our story

here

the situation

is not

urgent

and so

since the

Pharisees

knew that

then

they saw

his healing

if he did

it

to be

something

that was

in violation

of the

Sabbath

but it

says in

verse 8

that he

knew their

thoughts

this is

also another

little cool

miracle

a little

supernatural

God power

you could

say

where

he's

not

picking up

from

Twitter

that the

Pharisees

are trying

to trick

him

he didn't

intercept

some

communication

that told

him that

but he

connects

to their

minds

right

he reads

their

thoughts

and all

of them

and he

knows

them

it was

like

bam

I know

what each

one of

you right

now

are thinking

that's

just

supernatural

so

he knows

what they're

thinking

he knows

that they're

trying to

catch him

so

why doesn't

he back

away

why doesn't

he just

heal him

another day

at another

time

but for

Jesus

this wasn't

a trap

this was

an opportunity

to again

show his

power

but also

teach a

lesson

so going

back to

verse 8

he said

to the

man

that had

the withered

hand

come and

stand here

so the

man

rose

and stood

there

and Jesus

said to

him

I ask

you

is it

lawful

on the

Sabbath

to do

good

or to

do

harm

to save

life

or destroy

it

now by

saying

to save

a life

Jesus

is referring

to a

general

deliverance

that is

to restore

someone's

health

it isn't

a word

of salvation

but it

is to

give

physical

restoration

salvation

since it

was

permitted

to save

life

on the

Sabbath

then doing

good for

someone else

or doing

good for

someone would

be acceptable

also

and wouldn't

this be a

natural expression

of showing

our love

for someone

else

or concern

for them

if we were

able to

heal them

if we were

able to

help them

loving one

another

is one of

the two

commandments

that Jesus

gives

in the

New Testament

the first one

being love

love the

Lord your

God

with all

your heart

soul

and mind

the second

one is

like it

is love

your neighbor

as yourself

so how

can we

love our

neighbor

if we

can ignore

their pain

and their

suffering

and a need

that they

have

and this

is the

point of

what Jesus

is trying

to get

at here

so here

in this

verse

Jesus

is describing

their actions

of secretly

waiting to

catch him

right

they're trying

to catch

him

and do

harm

to him

to destroy

his ministry

right

so there's

the destroying

that's

that's

taking place

they aren't

looking for

good

instead

they're

looking

for harm

so he

calls them

out on that

and asks

them

which one

is better

I'm trying

to help

him

you're trying

to destroy

me

which one

is better

which one

is allowed

on the

Sabbath

you're wanting

to see

me

destroyed

or me

helping

a man

that's

in need

in verse

10

after looking

around at

them all

he said

to him

stretch out

your hand

and he

did so

and his

hand

was restored

but they

were filled

with fury

and disgust

with one

another

what they

should do

to Jesus

the Pharisees

are furious

why

they're upset

because

God doesn't

hear sinners

or Sabbath

violators

like Jesus

and yet

right here

in front

of them

they're

witnessing

a healing

that takes

power

from God

so they're

mad

this destroys

their thinking

how can

this take

place

on top

of that

they wanted

to say

that Jesus

did some

level

of work

what did

Jesus do

all Jesus

did was

speak

stretch out

your hand

there's not

a lot of

work involved

with that

surely

they've done

more work

in that

and walking

to the

synagogue

and the

man is

healed

his right

hand is

physically

restored

right in

front of

them

whatever

has happened

in the

past

that caused

this deformity

it's cleared

away

and all

the man

had to do

is believe

and act

he didn't

have to do

anything

Jesus called

him to

stretch out

his hand

and his

obedience

was his

trusting

just to

stretch his

arm out

all you have

to do

is believe

and move

your hand

which he

couldn't do

before

and it

changes his

life forever

now this

morning

if there's

anyone here

who is

not a

believer

you don't

trust in

who Jesus

is

if you're

curious

Jesus seems

like a

pretty

pretty good

guy

I think

there's a

guy

I'm not

sure where

you are

in your

belief

but you're

not there

where you

don't

believe in

who Jesus

is

you don't

believe that

you have

sin

you don't

believe he

died on

the cross

for it

this healing

that we're

witnessing

reading Luke

in this

section

is a picture

of healing

for us

that withered

hand

is our

sin

not just

the sin

of an

unbeliever

but the

sin of

all of

us

because we're

all sinners

all

aspects

of our

life

are

affected

by

our

withered

hand

our

sin

in our

life

and we

had no

power

just like

this man

had no

power

we had

no

power

to fix

our

sin

but Jesus

does

that's the

hope

that's the

gospel

the good

news

is that

Jesus

has the

power

to heal

us

physically

and he

has the

power

to take

away

our

sin

so don't

be okay

with your

sickness

come to

the one

who can

heal you

don't be

okay with

your

sickness

and hope

that one

day you

can fix

it

you can't

there's only

one person

that can

heal your

sin

and that's

Jesus

Christ

he's done

it

he's just

waiting for

you to

have the

faith to

stretch

your hand

out

and be

healed

so those

are our

two stories

this morning

about the

Sabbath

but we

don't miss

the point

Jesus

is trying

to make

the intent

of the

Sabbath

was to

keep people

from working

without rest

it's meant

to be a

time of

rejuvenation

for the

people of

God

stop

working

take time

to

refuel

yourself

take

time

to

meditate

take

time

to

allow

God

to

speak

to

you

because

if you

stay

too

busy

then we

have a

tendency

of not

hearing

God

anymore

and taking

time

for him

slow down

it's meant

to serve

God's

people

it's not

meant for

us

to serve

it

we aren't

meant to

serve

Sunday

although some

of us

come to

serve on

Sunday

but it

wasn't

meant to

keep us

from doing

good

not that

hound on

it too

much

we're not

going to

get

specific

with things

you can

and can't

do

that's

something

that you

have to

work out

yourself

but take

time to

rest

but also

do the

work that

God calls

you to

do

loving

and caring

for people

that are

around you

and taking

time for

yourself

so the

third and

last story

in our

passage this

morning

starts in

verse 12

let's read

that together

chapter 6

starting in

verse 12

and these

days he

went out

to the

mountain

to pray

and all

night he

continued

in prayer

to God

and when

day came

he called

his disciples

and chose

from them

twelve

whom he

named

apostles

Simon

whom he

named

Peter

and Andrew

his brother

and James

and John

and Philip

and Bartholomew

and Matthew

and Thomas

and James

the son of

Alpheus

and Simon

who was

called the

Zealot

and Judas

the son of

James

and Judas

the spirit

who became

a traitor

so two

aspects

that we

want to

look at

this morning

from

Jesus

choosing

his

apostles

the first

one is

prayer

and the

second

one is

perseverance

what can

we learn

from this

passage

about

prayer

when we

see that

Jesus

separated

himself

he went

out to

a remote

place

and he

spent the

night

all night

in prayer

there are

over two

dozen verses

in the New

Testament

where it

talks about

Jesus

praying

Jesus

was an

example

to us

of

praying

Jesus

was the

son of

God

so by

default

you would

think he

may not

need to

pray

that much

but that

was

opposite

of what

we see

taking

place

Jesus

prayed

all the

time

and when

Jesus

prayed

it was

serious

prayer

here we

had one

of the

longest

times

in prayer

he prayed

all night

Jesus

made a

point to

pray to

the

father

because

he needed

it

he was

doing the

work he

was called

to do

he was

busy

he was

tired

but it

was vital

for him

to pray

so he

made

time

he broke

away

and took

time to

pray to

God

here it

says that

he broke

away

and went

to a

mountain

and prayed

mountains

are pretty

but we

don't need

a mountain

to pray

we just

need to

get away

we just

need to

separate

ourselves

from life

and take

time

to listen

to God

to tell

God

our struggles

and to

commune

with him

that's

what is

needed

so why

is it

important

for Jesus

to take

time

to pray

to God

in this

situation

it was

because he

was choosing

12 apostles

he's got a

group of

disciples that

follow him

for part of

his ministry

they love

him

Jesus

teaching

them

but

the plan

was

Jesus

wanted

12

people

that would

be part

of his

inner circle

kind of a

core team

that he

wanted to

work with

he was

going to

work alongside

them closer

than all

his other

disciples

he was

going to

spend more

intimate time

with them

teach them

prepare them

for the work

that he

needed them

to do

after his

going to

the cross

and being

crucified

and resurrected

and going

back into

heaven

he needed

someone

that he

could

dedicate