The
Disciples (as a group)
They were called individually, even if they were
brothers. They each had a spiritual encounter with Jesus and chose to believe
in Him (or not; Judas Iscariot). They were eyewitnesses
to all of the miracles and teachings of Jesus. They were given power to preach the gospel and perform miracles as well. They
lived with and travelled with Jesus for three years, so they knew Him
better than anyone else. They were with Him as His popularity was at its peak,
and most deserted Him when the tide turned against Him. (John 12:12, 16:32,
Mark 14:50) They were slow to learn
and often didn’t understand the significance of an event at the time, but the
Holy Spirit reminded them of everything Jesus said and did and how it fulfilled
Scripture or was clear in light of His redemptive work in order for the
Scriptures to be completed. (John 4:33, 6:6-9, 60-61, 66-69, 13:7, 12:16) At
the end of Jesus’ ministry, they finally confessed
their faith (John 16:30) “Jesus
answered them, ‘Do you now believe?’” (John 16:31) Don’t be too hard on
them. We have the benefit of two thousand years of church history and many
study Bibles and commentaries to help us to understand what we’re reading. They
were living in the moment and at the time that Jesus died, they really had lost
all hope that He was the Messiah promised to Israel. (John 20:9) Other than
Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Him, as the Scriptures prophesied, (John 13:18-19)
all but John were martyred for their
faith in the risen Saviour.
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