Last Sunday morning, we looked at Luke’s account of the calling of the apostles of Jesus. Every time I consider these twelve men, I think of how differently I would have chosen them. I have always thought to myself that Jesus knew what He was doing and saw things in these men that I did not. After all, to Israel Saul looked much more like a king than David did. God saw something else. What had not occurred to me until recently is that whether Jesus saw something in them or not, He was not alone in the choice of who or how many. It was the Father’s plan. Henry and Richard Blackaby point this out in their book, Spiritual Leadership.

“Scripture says Jesus spent an entire night praying before he singled out his disciples. (Luke 6:12-13) On the night of his crucifixion, Jesus reiterated that the Father had chosen the disciples. (John 17:6-7) Jesus did not choose twelve disciples as a matter of strategy. Nor was twelve an optimum number Jesus calculated for pedagogical reasons. He had a dozen disciples for one reason only: that’s how many his Father gave him. Would Jesus have included Judas if he were simply implementing a discipleship strategy designed to multiply his efforts? No. Judas was given to Jesus as a part of God the Father’s redemptive plan. According to Jesus, even the teaching he gave his disciples came from the Father (John 6:49–50; 14:10; 15:15; 17:8).”

“I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you.”   – John 17:6-7