July 26, 2026 - The Gospel of Luke - Week 13 - Down the Mountain

So we'll read from Luke chapter six, verse 12.

Who later betrayed him.

Everyone tried to touch him because healing power went out from him and he healed everyone.

Now, in the last couple of weeks, Jesus and the Pharisees have been going back and forth.

Luke really introduces us to the religious, not really digging the way Jesus is doing stuff.

And so there's a lot of back and forth between these guys and it's intensifying to the point to where they're like, we gotta do something about this Jesus.

Luke tells us that Jesus goes up on a mountain to pray.

This is going to be a reoccurring theme in Luke's gospel.

More than any other gospel, Luke talks about Jesus's prayer life.

It's important for us to see those things that Jesus spends time with his father.

And in this moment, he tells us that Jesus prays all night long.

not just for a moment, not just for a quick time to get away and be with the Lord, but it is an all night prayer vigil.

And the names that Jesus is about to call are not random.

They're not thoughtless.

Jesus spent time with his father.

These names were given as a result of praying all night long.

These names were going to be responsible for continuing Jesus's kingdom revelation in the world in a special way that's different from anyone else.

Why? Because they were eyewitnesses and they were with Jesus from the beginning.

Apostles means sent one.

So today, when you see a pastor or a person introduce themselves as apostle so-and-so, it's not in the same nature as the original apostles.

The apostles were eyewitnesses to everything that Jesus did, said, walked through.

They were the ones, their names are recorded.

Why? Because there were people who might've said, I'm one of the original apostles in their day.

And they're like, no, no, no, no. Luke took care of that.

The gospels took care of that.