6 On another Sabbath, he entered the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was withered. 7 And the scribes and the Pharisees watched him, to see whether he would heal on the Sabbath, so that they might find a reason to accuse him. 8 But he knew their thoughts, and he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come and stand here.” And he rose and stood there. 9 And Jesus said to them, “I ask you, is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?” 10 And after looking around at them all he said to him,“Stretch out your hand.” And he did so, and his hand was restored. 11 But they were filled with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.

12 In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. 13 And when day came, he called his disciplesand chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles: 14 Simon, whom he named Peter, and Andrew his brother, and James and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, 15 and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot, 16 and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

On Leadership

For those at The Chapel, this is a timely word from Darrell Bock:

“Jesus was looking for a few good men and chose them in the hopes of building their character to the point where they could lead the church he left behind.  That goal makes another key point about leadership.  The best leader is one who so prepares his community for the future that when he departs, he is barely missed, since solid leadership is left behind.  That principle warns us against a strong one-person show, which often sows the seeds of later destruction.  The best leadership is frequently seen not in what happens while the person is still around, but what happens after he or she has left.  If the Twelve as a group are measured by this standard of leadership, then Jesus’ choice for successors was a strategic one, since this group came to shake and shape the world.”

Prayer

May we be those in leadership who train up others to do the work.  Help us to see the potential in those around us and develop them whilst they are with us.

Questions

1. How does Jesus prepare to choose those who will lead his followers?
2. What kind of people does Jesus choose?
3. How might the Pharisees have chosen their disciples?
4. How does Jesus show good leadership?
5. How have those around you modeled this kind of leadership?