The Twelve - 2/4/2010

Mark 3:14, "He appointed twelve - desig-nating them apostles - that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach."

Perhaps choosing twelve apostles, or messengers, was necessary - but why twelve of them? What is the significance of choosing a dozen? Why not three or seven or twenty-five?

I think maybe Christ linked Himself with the very foundations of the Old Testament by choosing twelve apostles, in this way affirming once more that He is the son of God; that it was His story laid out and prepared for throughout the generations of Israel's family.

Originally God established the nation of Israel through twelve men. Israel was the name of a man who had twelve sons. These were the great-grandsons of Abraham, with whom God made His covenant and whose descendants God promised would outnumber the stars. All Jews for centuries traced their lineage back to one of these twelve men, using their names to identify the tribes to which they belonged.

This literally was God's family - which is why we sometimes refer to the Israelites as God's "chosen people." This is the family to whom God delivered His word, and He promised to send His son, the Messiah, through this same family. The world would know God and be saved by this family - because it is the one into which Jesus was born. Salvation then was offered to everybody "...because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile." - Romans 1:16.

Christ came to save all men, not just the family or nation of Jews to whom He originally preached, if they just believe His message. So, Jesus chose twelve more men. These men were sent out into the world to preach the good news which, like a fire spreading across a dry wheat field, covered generations and continents, eventually spanning the globe. Those who hear and accept the good news that started with these apostles are then grafted into the family that God made - the same family that started with those twelve other men so long ago. This is why it is sometimes explained that Gentiles are "adopted" into the family of God, like in Ephesians 1:5, "He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will..."

So, what is the one and greatest link between the Old Testament and the New Testament? As a Christian, I believe it to be Jesus Christ. The Old Testament establishes God's covenant and relationship with man, prophesying and preparing the way for Jesus Christ to fulfill the law and embody (literally) God's plan to save man from sin and eternal separation from Him. Much of the Old Testament involves preparing the very family into which God's son would be born - the Israelites.

Twelve men and their descendants set the stage for the arrival of the Messiah. Twelve more men carried the news of the Messiah’s arrival into the rest of the world and are the reason we know today of what Jesus accomplished.

In the book of Revelation, John explains how these 24 men will be honored, since it is by them that God's presence and knowledge spread to all of mankind, making the members of God's family innumerable. Revelation 21:12-14 describes part of the “New Jerusalem,” stating that,

"It had a great and high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels; and the names were written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel ... And the wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb."

Surely, if these men are to be memorialized in the city of heaven for all eternity, we shouldn't take lightly how God used them for His glory. By the family of the twelve sons of Israel, the world is able to enter into God's presence - the "gates" to the city as described in Revelation. And once in God's presence, we stand firm on the Truth preached by the twelve apostles - the "foundation stones" of God's eternal Holy City.

Thank you, Jesus, for your plan and your grace, that we might all be saved and come to spend the rest of our days with You.

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