Jesus Calls His Apostles - Mark 3

Image result for jesus appoints the twelve

You can listen also on my podcast at:

Jesus Appoints the Twelve

13 Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. 14 He appointed twelve[a] that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach 15 and to have authority to drive out demons. 16 These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter), 17 James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means “sons of thunder”), 18 Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot 19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
We all remember being on the playground when the natural leaders emerged and were the ones who got to pick who was on what team.  They usually picked their best friends first, and so on, and so on.  As Jesus enacts the kingdom by preaching, healing and driving out demons, the word gets out.  People start flocking to him from all kinds of places near and far.  So Jesus realizes he needs to get a team of others who can help him spread the kingdom.  
Jesus leaves the crowd, goes up the mountain and the passage says, "He called to him those he wanted."  Jesus got to pick his team and chose those he "wanted".  And isn't it interesting as you look at his team the different types of players he chose. We know more about some of these men than others. There are two groups of brothers, James and John, and Peter and Andrew.  Peter, James, and John were business associates. They were all fishermen.  Judas handled the money bag for the disciples, which would be his downfall.  Matthew was a despised tax collector.  When Jesus met Nathanael he said, "Here is a man with a spotless reputation."  Simon was a Zealot whose passion was for the Messiah to overthrow the Roman government and end their occupation of Israel.  Maybe Jesus hoped his zeal could be directed somewhere positive for the kingdom. 
As you can see Jesus chose quite an assortment of characters to entrust the kingdom to.  And Jesus gives them a job description.  Preach with authority and drive out demons by my authority.  Jesus gave them the power to do what he was doing?  This must have been a pretty leap for Jesus to delegate these tasks so early on in his ministry.  He took a risk by choosing some potentially unsavory characters.  In fact, one of them would betray him, and apparently he knew about that. Again I come back to where it says, "Jesus chose those he wanted!"
Every man had something in them Jesus knew he could use for the mission to bring in God's kingdom on earth.  My friends God has chosen you.  You are not perfect, yet He wants you to be on his team.  Your job description is the same at the apostles.  Spread the good news and overcome evil with good.  Bring God's power to those who are in need of healing and deliverance.  You're on the team get in the game. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Acts 22 - Paul Sees the Light

Image
6  “About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me.   7  I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me,  ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?’  8  “‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked.  “  ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth,  whom you are persecuting,’  he replied.   9  My companions saw the light,  but they did not understand the voice  of him who was speaking to me.  10  “‘What shall I do, Lord?’ I asked. “  ‘Get up,’  the Lord said,  ‘and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do. This is the famous story of the apostle Paul's conversion on the road to Damascus.  Paul was going there to persecute Jewish Christians and throw them into prison and he meets Jesus is a spectacular way.  Not only is he blinded by a briliant light, but he hears the Lord's voice audibly.  And the Lord asks him, "Lord, Lord why a...
Read more

Hebrews 6 - Have You Graduated From Elementary School of Faith Yet?

Click Here to Read or Listen to Hebrews 6 6 Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, 2 instruction about cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And God permitting, we will do so. The author once again picks up with the theme of moving on to Christian maturity.  He teaches them to move on from the "elementary" teachings about Christ. What does he mean by that?  He gives clues by citing repentance, faith, cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, and teaching on the judgment and resurrection from the dead. We might call these the basics of the Christian faith. If you read through the Apostle's Creed, which our church confesses in our 8am service, it contains many of these core doctrines.  Click here to see the Apostle's Creed Written Around “When we consider the...
Read more

2 Timothy 4 - Fight the Good Fight! Finish the Race!

Click Here to Read or Listen to 2 Timothy 4 4 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3 For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5 But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry. Paul gives a closing charge to Timothy. First of all, he is to preach the word. God's Word speaks to all situations and seasons. The Word of God will sometimes correct us. Our lives can get of out alignment with God's will as outlined in ...
Read more