Adult Christian Life: Second Quarter 2019

By R.H. Boyd Publishing Corporation

Adult Christian Life is a quarterly resource that is specially written for practical adult life experiences. These lessons provide clear, biblical interpretations and stimulating discussions for everyday living.

• Language: English
• Publisher: R.H. Boyd Publishing Corporation
• Release date: Feb 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9781681674834

Book preview

SUMMONED FOR SERVICE

RESOURCES: New National Baptist Hymnal 21st Century Edition, God’s Promises Bible, Boyd’s Commentary for the Sunday School

KEY VERSE: And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease. Matthew 10:1, KJV

Intro

The United States military has an age, height, and weight requirement. Depending on a solider’s career path and branch of service those requirements vary. Most college admissions departments require applicants to submit written test scores. When we survey the background of the people used by God from Genesis to Matthew, there is no evidence that such criteria as material possessions or physical appearance played any role in God’s selection of people to serve Him. There are no formal requirements for being recruited and enlisted to serve God. Abraham was not like Moses. Moses was not like Esther. Esther was not like David. David was not like Sarah, Rachel, or Miriam. Considering Moses was slow of speech, most people would overlook him as an effective orator and leader. Certainly Sarah would not be the ideal candidate for childbirth at ninety years of age. Amos confessed that neither he nor anyone in his family had any prior experience as a prophet, yet God selected him to be a part of His prophetic service. Service to God is not limited to an elite group of people with special abilities. Service to God is open to all within the whosoever-will crowd.

In today’s lesson, we are examining Jesus’ call to the early disciples. Who were the first individuals Jesus called to follow Him? How different or similar were they? We will learn to appreciate that service to God is purpose-oriented. Similar to the early disciples, today’s churchgoers can find inspiration for service.

Think About It

Jesus, the Master Teacher, saw His ministry multiply His disciples through His training program. As a church worker how have you thought about multiplying the number of people who are able to do what you do?

I. AN INDIVIDUAL CALL TO SERVE (Matthew 10:1–4)

Know It

Chapter 9 of Matthew ends with Jesus’ prayer for God to send workers into the harvest ripe for gathering. The names listed at the beginning of chapter 10 are not the first mention of or contact with the Twelve by Jesus. It is the formal calling of each disciple by name to the office of Apostle. When Old Testament prophets were called, we would see the words, the word of the Lord came to. . . (Jeremiah 1:2; Ezekiel 1:3; Hosea 1:1). Here Jesus is the Word who summons the Twelve to Him. The summons affirms the need for workers as well as Jesus’ authority to send His disciples out to harvest. Matthew may be anticipating the Twelve being asked, like Jesus, By what authority are you doing these things?

Authority is what gives a person the freedom to act. In the Kingdom of God, Jesus has the freedom of complete authority and control. His calling of a disciple is personal. Each name is called out. The order of names listed can be found in three Gospel accounts, as well as the Book of Acts. Some biblical scholars believe the listing of Peter’s name first indicates his leadership role among the Twelve. We learn something of each Apostle. The Gospel according to Matthew seems to always remind the reader that Peter and Andrew were brothers, along with the other set of brothers, James and John the sons of Zebedee. They were fishermen by vocation. Matthew worked as a tax collector. Simon, as a zealot, was an activist engaged in political revolution. Judas, the betrayer, along with Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Thaddaeus, and James do not have an occupation listed. Nonetheless, each disciple had a previous life.

The Twelve experienced a three-year apprenticeship with Jesus. Afterward, Jesus Christ, the Head of the Church, granted authority to the Twelve to carry out a very specific mission for the Kingdom of God. The disciples were not asked to convert anyone. They were instructed to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to obey everything Jesus had taught them. What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life (1 John1:1). The twelve Apostles, as eyewitnesses to the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, had a major role in establishing the Church and its doctrine.

II. SERVICE WITH A PURPOSE (Matthew 10:5–15)

Matthew’s account of the instructions Jesus gave the Twelve differs from that in Luke’s Gospel. The limitations Jesus set for the Twelve in Matthew required the disciples to refrain from ministering in areas occupied by Gentiles and Samaritans. They were to minister first to the Jews. However, in no way do Jesus’ instructions to the Twelve represent a belief that the Gentiles and the Samaritans should be excluded from the Kingdom of