Luke
6:12-16
The mission of the Messiah, 1:5-9:50
4. The acts of the Messiah, 6:12-7:50
i] The new Israel - Choosing the twelve
SynopsisHeading for a high place, Jesus spends an evening in prayer. The next day, Jesus calls his disciples to him and selects twelve to serve in ministry with him.
Teaching
In the dawning of the messianic age of the kingdom, the messiah inaugurates a new people of God, the new Israel.
Issues
i] Context: See 1:5-25. Ellis argues that the episodes which make up The Dawning of the Kingdom in the Acts of Messiah, 6:12-7:50, serve to reveal the nature of the kingdom - who enters the kingdom and how they get in. The selection of twelve apostles, 6:12-16, identifies Israel as the "framework upon which the Israel of the new age is to be formed", Ellis, so also Creed. Jesus establishes a new spiritual Israel, and so the old Israel, with its twelve tribes, is realised in a new people of God. The apostles are the foundational members of the realised kingdom of God; the day has dawned, the new age begun.
Then follows the sermon on the plain, a teaching session which serves to reveal the promises and principles of the coming kingdom. This declaration from Jesus identifies the covenant (the promise of God's unmerited grace) as the basis of kingdom membership.
Following the Great Sermon, Luke presents four separate episodes:
•iThe faith of the Centurion, confirming that kingdom membership is by grace through faith;
•iLife from the dead for a Widow's son, confirming that the dawning kingdom is nothing less that deliverance from death itself;
•iThe least in the kingdom of God is greater than John the Baptist;
•iFinally, the anointing of the sinful woman confirms again that the basis of kingdom membership is by grace through faith.
ii] Structure: The new Israel:
Setting, v12;
The selection of the apostles, v13;
The twelve, v14-16.
iii] Interpretation:
The endorsement of apostolic authority is certainly evident in this episode and is viewed as its main teaching purpose by a range of commentators, eg., Bock, Evans, Stein Nolland (this authority is particularly evident in the first four apostle, with Peter at the top of the list), Marshall, Danker (the appointment of the twelve has "divine sanction"), Green, Fitzmyer, Johnson, Gooding
An even more substantial teaching purpose is evident in Jesus' choice of twelve apostles. The messianic restoration of Israel is implied in the choice of twelve leaders for the church. Although most of Israel's tribes had long vanished, the new Israel, like Israel of old, will be complete in its representation of the people, for the realisation of the kingdom of God. As Ellis puts it, the appointment of the twelve represents "the reconstitution of Israel. That is, the apostles constitute the twelve-tribe framework upon which the Israel of the new age is to be formed." So also: Creed, (Jesus is "the messianic king" over "the twelve tribes of Israel"); Bovon ("One wonders whether Luke might be following the establishment of Israel on Sinai as a model of his portrayal of this phase"); Geldenhuys ("The ancient chosen people as a whole firmly refused to accept Jesus as their promised Redeemer. So the new people of God must be called into being out of the faithful remnant among the Jews"; Caird (the twelve "correspond to the twelve tribes of the old Israel", they are "the symbolic nucleus of the new people of God").
Tinsley nicely encapsulates the selection of the twelve as a representation the messianic restoration of Israel. "The choosing of a group of twelve suggests that Jesus may have seen himself and the Twelve as called to enact God's establishment of the kingdom through his Messiah and the twelve attendants of the new Israel. In them, people could see a dramatisation of the Old Testament picture of God bringing the twelve tribes of Israel to the promised land. This is how he pictures the kingdom in its final glory; they will 'sit on thrones as judges of the twelve tribes of Israel' (Lk.22:30). He and the Twelve are signs of the presence of the kingdom to the eyes of faith."
iv] Synoptics:
Again, the record of Jesus' selection of the twelve is similar in all three synoptic gospels, but of course, with a range of interesting differences. Matthew's placement of the episode evidences his own thematic / theological treatment of the gospel tradition, Matt.10:1-4, whereas Mark, 3:13-19, and Luke tend to align, except that Mark introduces the episode with a general overview of Jesus' ministry, Mk.3:7-12, as opposed to Luke, who follows up the episode with a similar overview of Jesus' ministry, a ministry overview which serves to introduce the Great Sermon, Lk.6:17-19.
Unlike Mark, Luke makes a point of setting the selection of the twelve in the context of prayer, and from a wider group of disciples, and also in giving them the title of apostolouV, "apostles". Luke seems to be emphasising the divine appointment of the twelve as foundational leaders of the Christian church. Interestingly, Luke does not record the Markan tradition of the purpose of their selection, namely, "that they might be with Jesus, ..... preach, and have authority over demonic powers." If Luke had such a statement in front of him, would he leave it out?
As for the list of the apostles, the order of all three synoptic gospels is slightly different. This is also the case for Luke's list in Acts 1:13. The major difference is that Luke has Judas, son of James (ie., Jude), instead of Thaddaeus. They are probably one in the same person, although Fitzmyer disagrees. He thinks that by the time Luke is writing his gospel, "people no longer could recall who once constituted the twelve", certainly when it came to the lower-ranked apostles; see v16.
Text - 6:12
The New Israel, v12-16. Luke is not shy when it comes to his Sinai allusions. Like Moses of old, Jesus goes up on the mountain to pray - to meet with God. He has his trusted friends, a selection of twelve apostles, aligning with the twelve tribes of Israel. Like Moses, Jesus will come down from the mountain to those gathered below, and provide the new Israel with a new law - "Blessed are you who are poor, lost, broken, humbled before God, for the kingdom of God is yours."
egeneto de "-" - but/and it happened. Transitional; see egeneto, 1:8.
en "-" - in [these days]. Temporal use of the preposition.
exelqein (ercomai) aor. inf. "[Jesus] went out" - [he] to go out [into the mountain]. The infinitive is epexegetic, specifying what happened, but see diaporeuesqai, 6:1.
proseuxasqai (proseucomai) aor. mid. part. "to pray" - to pray. The infinitive is adverbial, final, expressing purpose, "in order to pray."
h]n dianuktereuwn (dianuktereuw) pres. part. "spent the night" - [and] he was spending the night. The imperfect verb to be with the present participle forms a periphrastic imperfect construction, possibly emphasising durative aspect; "throughout the night he persevered in his prayer to God", Cassirer.
en + dat. "[praying]" - in [prayer]. Adverbial use of the preposition, modal, expressing the manner of spending the night, as NIV.
tou qeou (oV) gen. "to God" - of god. The genitive is adjectival, verbal, objective, as NIV.
v13
The disciples come to Jesus, and from this larger group, Jesus selects twelve whom he names apostles. Mark simply has "he called his disciples and appointed twelve." Luke seems inclined to give "the twelve" the title "apostles". When it comes to replacing Judas with Matthias, the requirements are that the candidate has sat under Jesus' ministry, has witnessed the risen Christ, and stands commissioned by Jesus to preach the gospel. Yet, Luke in Acts seems to drift from these apostolic qualifications, because he will later call Paul and Barnabas apostles. Paul argues strongly that he is an apostle, miraculously commissioned and sent to the Gentiles. However the early church viewed the apostolate, Jesus' sent-ones are confined to the first century, with their role as Jesus' witnesses fulfilled in the kerygma, as recorded for posterity in the four gospels. The ministry function of the apostles is taken over by those with gifts of ministry, such as pastor-teacher, evangelist, with their leadership role taken over by the presbuteroV, "Elder / Presbyter / Bishop".
oJte "when" - [and] when [day became, happened]. Temporal conjunction introducing a temporal clause.
eklexamenoV (eklegomai) aor. mid. pat. "chose" - [he called out, addressed = summoned the disciples of him and] having chosen. The NIV treats the participle as attendant on the verb "to call"; "he called his disciples and chose from them ...." This translation is simple and to the point, although the presence of kai implies that the participle is adverbial, possibly temporal; "When morning came, Jesus gathered his disciples, and then he chose twelve from among them, and called them apostles."
ap (apo) gen. "of [them]" - [twelve] from [them]. Expressing source / origin, "from", or separation, "away from." Possibly partitive, as NIV.
kai "also" - [whom] and = also [he named apostles]. Here adjunctive, "also".
v14
Luke goes on to list the twelve selected by Jesus, v14-17
Simwna (wn wnoV) acc. "Simon" - simon [whom and = also he named peter]. As with all the apostles listed, "Simon" is accusative standing in apposition to "apostles". Peter is certainly the most famous of the apostles and so in every list of the twelve, he is placed first. Although Luke tends to use the name "Peter" from now on, he doesn't explain why Jesus gave him this name, cf., Matt.16:16-19.
autou gen. pro. "his [brother]" - [and andrew the brother] of him. The genitive is adjectival, relational. Andrew is a fisherman like his brother.
Iwannhn (hV ou) acc. "James" - [and] james [and john and philip and bartholomew]. Accusative in apposition to "apostles". The brothers James and John ("the beloved disciple"), the sons of Zebadee (BoanhrgeV, "the sons of thunder", Mk.3:17), are Galilean fisherman like Peter and Andrew. As for Philip, in John's gospel we learn that he comes from Bethsaida.
v15
alfaiou (uV ou) gen. "[James] son of Alphaeus" - [and matthew and thomas and james] of alphaeus. The genitive is adjectival, relational; assumed "son of." We have Matthew the tax collector, Thomas, called "The Twin" in John's gospel, and another James, not to be confused with James the brother of John, the James referred to in Mark 15:40, or James the brother of Jesus.
ton kaloumenon (kalew) pres. mid. part. "who was called [the Zealot]" - [and simon] the one being called [a zealot]. The participle is adjectival, attributive, limiting "Simon". Both Matthew and Mark call Simon "the Cananaean", a literal version of the Aramaic for a Zealot. Luke has translated the word for us. The Zealots were nationalists, with a small cohort taking up arms as freedom fighters. Of course, as we well know these days, one man's freedom fighter is another man's terrorist.
v16
Iakwbou (oV our) gen. "[Judas] son of James" - [and judas] of james [and judas iscariot who became a traitor]. The genitive is adjectival, relational, with "son" assumed. Matthew and Mark have Thaddaeus instead. Given that the traitor Judas has his name qualified by noting his town of birth, namely "the man from the town of Karioth", it is quite possible that there was another disciple with the name Judas, also qualified by his father's name, who took on a Christian name after Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus. Well, who wouldn't?
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