One of the first and most important lessons we can learn from what
11. CHANGED PRIORITIES
One of the first and most important lessons we can learn from what the New Testament tells us about the twelve disciples Jesus chose and trained is that of priorities. It would be easy to presume that those who were directly called by Jesus and who saw his ongoing daily example would have quickly learned to have the same priorities he did – the same goals in any given situation. Yet throughout Christ's ministry, and even after his resurrection, we see the disciples all too often had misplaced or simply wrong priorities.
To see this, we need only look at the account of Jesus' ascension. In his last moments with the disciples, and in their last recorded words to Jesus, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" (Acts 1:6). This was over a month after the resurrection, and the disciples had been given special indepth teaching during that time. Yet they still had misplaced priorities – thinking that the most important goals were those of a political messiah who would free Judea from the Romans and give the Jews an independent physical kingdom again!
As he so often had done, Jesus patiently corrected the disciples at that time and straightened their priorities out (Acts 1:7–9). But this had been an ongoing problem – Jesus had to continually guide the disciples into right priorities throughout his ministry. It is not coincidental that in his Sermon on the Mount Christ instructed his followers not just to seek the kingdom of God, but to "seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness" (Matthew 6:33 ESV, emphasis added).
Noting Jesus' frequent stress on priorities when speaking to those who would be his disciples is instructive – as when we read that a man he called to follow him said "Lord, first let me go and bury my father" and Jesus replied "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God" (Luke 9:59– 60). The Gospel of Mark records an important interaction between Jesus and the twelve disciples in exactly this matter of priorities:
Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him, they exclaimed: "Everyone is looking for you!" Jesus replied, "Let us go somewhere else – to the nearby villages – so I can preach there also. That is why I have come." (Mark 1:35–38) Jesus declared that his purpose was to preach, but notice that his priorities were to pray, then preach – to seek God first, then to do God's work. Notice, too, that Simon Peter and the other disciples had not learned this lesson yet. We are told "when they found him, they exclaimed: 'Everyone is looking for you!'" (vs. 37), meaning the crowds of people Jesus was teaching. This statement was more than simply letting Jesus know the disciples had been trying to find him. It is as if they were saying "Where have you been? – There is ministry work to be done!"
Interestingly, after the Spirit of God was poured out at Pentecost this situation changed and the disciples' priorities were corrected. Acts tells us that when the Twelve became overwhelmed with the many everyday responsibilities of the Church, they appointed seven individuals as deacons to help with the physical work. Of themselves the apostles said "We … will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word"(Acts 6: 3–4). These were exactly the priorities – and in the correct order – that Jesus had lived during his ministry, and they were now the priorities of his disciples.
It is important to see that the disciples had eventually learned a vital lesson. They had been entrusted with the most important job in the world, but they now realized that their work must be based on their relationship with God. Jesus had sought the Father as his first priority before attempting to do the work he had been given to do, and now his disciples were successfully following his example. Today, this is a lesson that every pastor, preacher, missionary, and ultimately every Christian must fully understand – that even the work we do for God must be made a second priority to our walk with God.
A wonderful example of this truth is found in the experience of Evangelist Billy Graham who, despite the incredible spiritual achievements accomplished through his work, late in life admitted to several regrets – one of which was that he felt he had sometimes prioritized his work before his spiritual life. Looking back on his life and ministry he wrote "I would do many things differently. For one thing, I would speak less and study more." He elaborated on this:
I would also spend more time in spiritual nurture, seeking to grow closer to God so I could become more like Christ. I would spend more time in prayer, not just for myself but for others. I would spend more time studying the Bible and meditating on its truth, not only for sermon preparation but to apply its message to my life. (From the autobiography of Billy Graham, Just As I Am) Billy Graham learned, just as the twelve disciples eventually learned, that we must sometimes change our priorities, no matter how right they may seem. We too must learn that seeking God was always Jesus' first priority – and must be ours, also.