The Call Of

The Twelve Apostles

How Jesus Christ Called The Twelve Apostles

Jesus Christ first informed the disciples that twelve apostles shall be selected to serve as pillars of the church. Jesus Christ told the disciples to wait and prepare for the call. And at the right time, when Jesus Christ called them, they left what they were doing and followed Him. They knew that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, because they had received several prophecies and revelations about His coming and birth. And as Jesus Christ grew up, they saw and witnessed many miracles, signs and wonders, which confirmed that Jesus Christ is truly the Lord and Saviour. And He spent three days in prayer, before he selected and called them.

Besides, the apostles of Jesus Christ were not only twelve. They were many apostles, including female apostles. One of them was Apostle Mary Magdalene and another was Apostle Matthias, who was always among the twelve apostles, in spirit, even before he physically joined them. The Holy Spirit is not a hypocrite, who says white here and goes there to say black.

Jesus Directs Fishermen To A Heavy Catch

Then Jesus said to Peter, “Bring your nets aboard, and put out in the deep.” And Peter did as Jesus bade him do. But in a faithless way he said, “This is a useless trip. There are no fishes in this shore of Galilee today. With Andrew I have toiled all night, and taken nothing.”

But Jesus saw beneath the surface of the sea. He saw a multitude of fish, and said to Peter, “Cast out your net upon the right side of the boat.” And Peter did as Jesus said, and, behold, the net was filled. Even the net was not strong enough to hold the multitude of fish trapped. And Peter called to John and James, who were nearby, for help. And when the net was hauled to boat, both boats were almost filled with fishes.

When Peter saw the heavy catch, he was ashamed of what he said. Ashamed because he had no faith, and he fell down at Jesus' feet, and said, “Lord, I believe!”
And Jesus said, “Behold the catch! Henceforth, you shall fish no more for fishes. You shall cast forth the Christian net into the sea of human life, upon the right side of the boat, and you shall lead the multitudes to holiness and peace.”

Jesus Calls The First Four Disciples

Now, when they reached the shore, the Christian Master called to Peter, Andrew, James and John and said, “You fishermen of Galilee, the Angels have a mighty work for us to do. I go, and you may follow me.” This also means, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” And they left all and followed Him. By men, Jesus means people.

And passing along by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon Peter and Andrew the brother of Simon Peter casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you become fishers of men.” And immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on a little farther, He saw James the son of Zeb′edee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. And immediately He called them; and they left their father, Zeb′edee, in the boat with the hired servants, and followed him. Mark 1:16-20

What Actually Happened

Apostle Philip: What is fishers of men?

When Jesus Christ was speaking to Apostle Peter, saying, “You shall be fishers of men.”

What does that mean?

The Head: It means that the Apostles, Disciples and Saints have something to give to the people, to win souls, to win people, and for the people to follow them, for people to repent, turn to God, do the will of God and become Christians.

Apostle Philip: Son of man, truly, truly and truly, Jesus Christ knew that such a thing as these shall happen. Therefore, He did it both theory and practical.

It is written in the holy book?

The Head: Yes.

Apostle Philip: What is the particular place, where Jesus Christ and Apostle Peter were, when Jesus Christ said it?

What have you Christians being told that happened, that made Jesus Christ say the word to Apostle Peter, that the Apostles, Disciples and Saints shall be fishers of men?

The Head: The disciples had being fishing, toiling, since morning, without catching any fish. Jesus Christ told them to cast their net into the sea to catch fishes. Eventually, when they caught many fishes, Jesus Christ told them to leave the work of fishing, and follow Him to become fishers of men.

Apostle Philip: Yourself answered very well. But that was not how it was written.

Son of man, the bible did not say exactly what happened.

Son of man, a person who is going to catch fish, he has to carry the food for the fishes?

The Head: Yes.

Apostle Philip: And the trap, net?

The Head: Yes.

Apostle Philip: Can you just put your hand into the water and catch a fish?

The Head: No, it is hard to do so.

Apostle Philip: As ourselves, the Twelve Apostles, are explaining it, we shall be explaining it physically. The people we use as examples are the Evangelists and preachers.

Son of man, there is something you have to give to the fish, in order to catch the fish?

The Head: Yes.

Apostle Philip: Even so it is. That is how all the teachers and Evangelists shall take the word of God to all the ends of the earth, to make the world do what?

The Head: Hear it.

Apostle Philip: Son of man, but now, in these present and modern generations, the Evangelists do not have the Holy Spirit. The Angel leading them are not with them.

Even so it was, when the disciples went to catch fish. The Angels made them forget to, made them not to know what they were doing.

What did the Angels do to them?

They forgot the food used in feeding and catching the fishes, and it did not occur to the mind of any of them. The disciples have being successful fisher men for many years. But on that day, they forgot to take the food. They left with the net only.

Son of man, truly, truly and truly, when you spread out the net, all the fishes will run away. This is because they know that the fishers have come to catch them. Even so it is when the Evangelists are preaching, preaching and preaching. Their preaching bear no good fruit in the ears, in the life, of the people who hear them. This is because all the people shall say, “This evangelist has come to convert us, for us to start attending his church.” And all of them run away – though people are physically present, hearing the preaching, but spiritually, the people have decided and hardened their hearts never to follow the preachers.

The Head: That is true.

Apostle Philip: The only mercy the people have for the teachers and Evangelists is just to keep quiet and listen, or to pretend to be listening. After the preaching, the preachers shall go home.

Even so were the fishes to the disciples. When the net was cast into the water, all the fishes ran away, because the disciples have not yet done what they should done have. They toiled all day and night, but did not catch even one fish, till they became weak and tired.

Have you seen it?

Have understood what happened?

The Head: Yes.

The Head: When Jesus Christ told them, “Cast your net on this side, and you shall catch fishes.” Do you think that it was ordinary net that was cast?

Son of man, Jesus Christ reminded them of the food for the fishes. “You people want fishes, but you have not given food to the fishes, which food will make it possible for you to catch fish.”

Have you seen it?

And Apostle Peter said, “We have being toiling to catch fish but have not being able to catch any fish. Let us forget about catching of fishes.”

It was when Jesus Christ reminded them about the food for the fishes, that they remembered, and they went and brought the food. Then, they spread the food into the water, before they cast their net, and the fishes caught were plenty. Son of man, even so it was when Apostle Peter and the Apostles had grown up in spirit.

Jesus Calls The Second Two Disciples

And Jesus walked along the shore, and seeing Philip and Nathaniel walking on the beach he said to them. “You teachers of Bethsaida, who long have taught the people Greek philosophy, the Angels have a higher work for you and me to do. I go and you may follow me.” And then they followed him.

Jesus Calls Philip and Bartholomew (Nathan′a-el)

The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. And he found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” Now Philip was from Beth-sa′ida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Bartholomew, and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

Bartholomew said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”

Philip said to him, “Come and see.”

Jesus saw Bartholomew coming to him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!”

Bartholomew said to him, “How do you know me?”

Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”

Bartholomew answered Him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”

Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You shall see greater things than these.” And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.” John 2:43-51

Jesus Calls The Third Three Disciples

A little farther on, there stood a Roman tribute house, and Jesus saw the officer in charge. His name was Matthew, who once abode in Jericho. The youth who once ran on before the Lord into Jerusalem and said, “Behold the Christians come.” And Matthew was a man of wealth, and learned in wisdom of the Israelites, the Syrians and the Greeks. And Jesus said to him, “Hail, Matthew, trusted servant of the Caesars, hail! The Angels call us to the tribute house of souls. I go and you may follow me.” And Matthew followed him.

As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, "Follow Me." So he arose and followed Him. Matthew 9:9

Ischariot and his son, whose name was Judas, were employed by Matthew and were at the tribute house. And Jesus said to Judas, “Stay your work. The Angels call us to a duty in the savings bank of souls. I go and you may follow me.” And Judas followed him.

Judas was called to be one of the disciples, just to give Satan chance to prove his fraudulence, deceitfulness and wickedness, and not because Judas would do a good work. He was in the midst of the disciples, but not one of the apostles, because he did not do the work of the apostles.

And Jesus met a lawyer who heard about the Christian Master and had come from Antioch to study in The School Of Christ. This man was Thomas, man of doubt, and yet a Greek philosopher of culture and of power. But Jesus saw in him the lines of faith, and said to him, “The Angels have a need of men who can interpret law. I go, and you may follow me.” And Thomas followed him.

Jesus Calls The Fourth Two Disciples

And when the evening came and Jesus was at home, behold, there came his kindred, James and Jude, the sons of Alpheus and Miriam. And these were men of faith, and they were carpenters of Nazareth. And Jesus said to them, “Behold, for you have toiled with me, and with my father Joseph, building houses for the homes of men. The Angels call us now to aid in building homes for souls. Homes built without the sound of hammer, axe, or saw. I go, and you may follow me.” And James and Jude exclaimed, “Lord, we will follow you.”

Jesus Calls James (Before Called Levi)

He went out again beside the sea; and all the crowd gathered about Him, and He taught them. And as He passed on, He saw James the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office, and He said to him (Levi), “Follow me.” And he rose and followed Jesus. Mark 2:13,14

Jesus Calls The Fifth One Disciple

And on the tomorrow Jesus sent a message unto Simon, leader of the Zealots, a strict exponent of the Jewish law. And in the message Jesus said, “The Angels call for men to demonstrate the faith of Abraham. I go, and you may follow me.” And Simon followed him.

Explanations

What the holy book says is true. What Bartholomew said was true. The Nazarenes were suffering from hunger. If you saw a person from Nazareth, he was so lean, because of persistent hunger. The city was disregarded, looked down upon, because of general poverty. But that was where the saviour came from. That was why Bartholomew asked, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”

What humanity do not know is that God the Father created both the great and the small. A big thing contains something big, and a small thing contains something small. The big ones see that the small ones are very small. Therefore, the big ones overshadow and suppress the small ones. The world do not know that both great and small are very important.

Nobody expected that the saviour would come from Nazareth.

The FirstSon of God, is He a big or small thing? He is a big thing.

The Israelites did not know that the FirstSon shall come from Nazareth. They did not know that the Rising Sun shall come from Nazareth. In many places and times, the rich and the wealthy, as well as the successful and prosperous people, come from the lowly places. That is God’s doing, so that the poor shall not be getting poorer, while the rich are getting richer.

Jesus Appoints The Twelve Senior Apostles

And He went up on the mountain, and called to Him those whom He desired; and they came to Him. And He appointed twelve, to be with Him, and to be sent out to preach and have authority to cast out demons. Mark 3:13-15

And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease.

These twelve Jesus made the Apostles of the Gospel of Truth and Salvation. The names of The Twelve Senior Apostles, in the right sequence, are as follows:

1. Simon Peter.

2. John De Beloved.

3. John De First.

4. Jude.

5. Thomas.

6. Matthew.

7. Bartholomew.

8. James De First, the half-brother of Jesus.

9. Mathias.

10. Philip.

11. Andrew.

12. James De Zealot, meaning James De Evangelist.

Jude And Judas

Jude is different from Judas. For example, Somtoochukwu and Otito, both mean praise. Somtoochukwu means “join me in praising God,” while Otito means praise. The two names mean the same thing, because they show a person who has the spirit of singing and whom the children of God should join in singing praises to God.

Son of man, the difference is this. Somtoochukwu simply means, “Soro m too Chukwu,” join me in praising God. But Otito means simply praise. Even so were the names, Jude and Judas.

Placeholder

Judas was allowed to be among the twelve, but was not counted among the twelve apostles. He came in as an agent of Satan.

Judas was not among the twelve apostles, because he was doing his own personal ministry while in the midst of the apostles and disciples, by often following his own plans and schedule, and because he was acting as a placeholder for Matthias who was also an apostle, during the life and works of Jesus Christ, according to the master plan of God.

The Hierarchy Of The Apostles

Apostle Matthew: The order of The Twelve Apostles is not the order of their call.

The Head: It shows their spiritual levels, seniority, spiritual arrangement and hierarchy.

At the time of Jesus, and after His death, only men were regarded as apostles, because the society was dominated by the men, in the favour of the men. This is a one-sided report.

During the time of The Twelve Apostles, several women worked very hard. Those women were moving with the apostles, going on evangelism with them anointing doves doing whatever the men were doing. Some women attained the level of apostle, but were not recognized as such.

In His present reincarnation as the man who saw God face to face, Jesus is now recognizing such women for their meritorious services. Therefore, Jesus as the man who saw God face to face, has made it known that all the former apostles shall be called senior apostles, while the women apostles shall be called apostles, for two reasons.

One, for the women to know that they should follow and obey the men. And two, for the men to know that they should get their guidance from God Almighty.

Follow Me

Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.

Explanations:

1. Those who are called to minister in the vineyard of the Lord, should do so, out of joyful volition, willingly and readily.

2. The practice of giving all kinds of reasons and excuses on why a person will not answer God’s call is both bad and irrelevant.

3. Be quick to attend to the things of God, without delays, without hesitations and without lukewarmness.

4. The only reason why humanity were sent down to earth from heaven is for them to learn how to live in heaven.

5. Among the teeming world populations, the purpose of their lives here on earth is to do the work of God. But many neglect this very important duty by which they shall either attain the kingdom of heaven or be condemned to hell fire.

6. All the reason and excuses usually given by people, for failing to do God’s work, are irrelevant excuses.

7. ‘To follow’ means to work with the master and to obey the His instructions.

8. To make means to prepare, to teach, to train and to empower others to become like their master.

9. Fishers of men those who work in the Lord’s vineyard, by converting souls to righteous life, by turning humanity back to God the

10. It is not only ministers of God that are called to work in the Lord’s vineyard.

11. Every follower of Jesus is a fisher of men, by his thoughts, words and actions. His character and habit must be such as inspire and encourage others to follow Jesus.

12. Therefore, you are expected to convert souls in your house, in your place of work, on the roads, inside the markets, at occasions, while inside the bus, etc.

13. Any person who is not living the Christian life in his religion, education, industry, school, community, on the road, during occasions, etc, is not a true Christian. He is a hypocrite and a deceiver, bound to hell fire.