Twelve Ordinary Men by John MacArthur (2006, Paperback)

As the review title says, this is a must read if you'd like to gain more insight into these 12 men Christ choose to be his inner circle and to carry on His work after His death, burial and resurrection. For years I've wondered just that, why did He choose them? Not one of them were from the 'Religious' Jewish inner circle of the day - Pharisees, Sadducees, the Sanhedrin, etc. - but common, everyday men (and women) like you and me. They were rough, plain talking, and for the most part, uneducated.
I believe this is one reason the established Jewish religious leaders hated Him so much, because He saw right through them (as He did his disciples at times, because He would be just as quick to correct them openly as He would the religious leaders of the day), plus they were afraid if Jesus lived, they would lose their important and well paying positions.
The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, thank God, and thank God for these men who finally saw the light once He was raised from the dead, because they did indeed turn the world upside down by His power and grace. This book helped answer a lot of my questions and opened my eyes to the courage these men had with Christ in them, which is the hope of Glory. Without the infilling of the Holy Ghost or Spirit, they would have never died for our Saviour, let alone continue to preach and spread His name and doctrine to all corners of the world with constant threats of death, beatings, stoning and other cruelties.
Can we be such disciples? Can we really? I'd hope I could lay down my life for Christ, because its the least I could do, but one never knows. Eleven of these men did just that. That day is coming again when Christians will be killed by other religions thinking they are doing their god a favor.