It’s interesting to note that those first twelve disciples of Jesus are all mentioned in the book of Acts, but the emphasis is very definitely initially on Peter and John (as it often is in the gospels.) Peter features in many of the gospel stories:
- walking on water to Jesus (Matthew 14:22-32)
- confessing that Jesus is the Messiah (Matthew 16:16-20)
- being a witness to Christ’s glory on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-17)
- denying Christ (Matt 26:31-35; Mark 14:27-31; Luke 22:31-38; John 13:31-38)
- being lovingly restored to a relationship with Jesus after the resurrection (John 21:15-23)
In the book of Acts, we see him taking the lead in choosing another apostle after Judas’s betrayal (Acts 1:15-22) and he is the first to speak publicly after the Holy Spirit comes upon the disciples on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:14-40). He is involved with the first miraculous healing recorded in Acts (Acts 3:1-10), is used by God to raise the dead (Acts 9:36-41) and is instrumental in the gospel being brought to the Gentiles (Acts 10). The first part of the book definitely has Peter as one of the main characters!
Yet interestingly enough, the key character in much of the book was not one of Jesus’s first disciples and was definitely the least likely person to be a key instrument in bringing people to faith! Saul of Tarsus was a persecutor of Christians (Acts 8:1-3, Acts 9:2, Acts 22:2-5), a Pharisee who believed that Christians should be killed. His miraculous conversion on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1-19) reminds us that God is able to intervene in the direst of situations and can use the most unlikely of people to spread the gospel! Paul was God’s ‘chosen instrument’ to proclaim His name to the Gentiles (Acts 9:15); ‘In little more than ten years St Paul established the Church in four provinces of the [Roman] Empire, Galatia, Macedonia, Achaia and Asia. Before A.D. 47 there were no churches in these provinces; in A.D. 57 St Paul could speak as if his work there were done, and could plan extensive tours into the far West without anxiety lest the Churches which he had founded might perish in his absence for want of his guidance and support.’ (Roland Allen, quoted in F.F. Bruce. ‘Paul: Apostle of the Free Spirit’, P 18)
Whether we’re a ‘big name’ person or a more insignificant figure in God’s story, the book of Acts reminds us that people are still a part of God’s plans to proclaim His name to others. What’s your role today?