Mark 3 - Jesus calls His disciples
Imagine with me for a moment. Imagine that we live in a kingdom ruled by the most powerful king. News came about that the King is going to a distant country to recruit some men to work in his kingdom. You knew about this, but one thing you did not know is who or when the king is going to come. One day, while you were doing your day’s worth of duties, you heard a knock upon your door. And thought to yourself – “that must be the neighbour again!” but when you opened the door, a tall and majestic man wearing a glorious crown was standing in right front of your house. There he is – the most powerful king in the land standing in front of you. Then he began saying “Come!”
What would you think at that very moment? What would you say? And what would you do?
Would you feel scared or sad or honoured or confused? How would you feel and how would you respond?
Before we begin, let us read the passage again:
But one question still remains for the Israelites as well as for us today. What kind of king will he be? Is He going to be like Hitler, a great leader but none other than a tyrant or is he going to be like Queen Elisabeth, known by all and maybe loved but have no power and authority over her own kingdom?
Reading from this passage we can see two unique characteristic that are different from other leaders we know today.
The previous passages noted that on this stage of His ministry, Jesus had already made Himself known to various regions, and not only that, crowds were following Him wherever He goes and watching His very move.
But verse 13 showed us a unique aspect of Jesus’ ministry. It is said that he went to a mountainside, which is a remote place, to call those whom He wanted. There are a few things we can learn form this section of the passage. First, it shows that Jesus is not interested in gathering votes or support; He is in a more meaningful campaign than the US presidents. Second, is that this King, rather than using His “secretary” John the Baptist to do His job for Him, He himself came down from His throne to call us, unworthy and rebellious servants to come to Him and to have personal relationship with Him.
Now, we must be careful when we investigate verse 13 when it says that “He called to those whom he wanted”. We shouldn’t be asking “whom is it that he wanted?” instead we must praise Him that this verse did NOT specify whom He wanted, only one clue given is that those He wanted came to Him. And that is a wonderful fact to know. That everyone is included in his grand plan, and the call is for all who would respond to Him.
Now in saying that, we are in a great danger to think that Jesus did not know who will come to him. It may well look like He was just testing his luck when he calls these people in the desert. But verse 16-19 points out clearly the truth that He foreknew each of His disciples by name and this is recorded in all the other gospels as well. This is significant not only has that it signified Jesus’ divine power and authority, to call those whom He wanted. He also knew who they were in the inside, and eventhough He foreknew all these, even Judas who would betray Him but He still calls and accepts them as His disciples. Furthermore, we can see here that He even gave some a new name, which we will discuss more in the next point.
Before that another question arises when we read verse 14 and that is how we deal with the fact that He appoints men for different purposes. Does that mean that the rest of us who are NOT appointed are free to do whatever we wanted? To continue on sinning and living the life we had before?
The Bible never hides the fact that certain men are given certain tasks to do, 1 Corinthians 12:28 states: “28 And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. “
Mark is clear here to separate verse 13 and verse 14 that God did not call men to do specific task but rather he APPOINTS them. Just like a king appointing different men to do different tasks for Him and giving them different levels of authority. Just like in a worldly kingdom, we cannot have everyone to be the King’s right hand man or everyone to be the soldiers or the king’s maid. It is normal to have different roles in a kingdom, even though they are serving the same king.
God’s calling for us is much more than simply doing a specific task; rather it demands our very life. God’s calling is stated in previous verses that we must “repent and believe in the gospel” for that the Kingdom of God is at hand. Jesus the king has arrived. Worship Him as king and obey Him in whatever place or task that He gave us.
Going back to the point that I previously made about names, it is a given that names are important, even today. To know one’s name reflects some sort of close relationship. In the Bible, however, especially the Old Testament, personal name meant much more than a means of identification; to name a few, in 1 Sam. 25:23-25, the name of Nabal is equated with his existence, character and reputation and the most relevant for this topic is Abram, Sarai and Jacob. Their change of name signifies a change in their course of life and a broader unfolding of God's purpose and plan of Promise. So the changing of names here is not only important because it reflects Jesus’ foreknowledge of these people, but it also signifies that Jesus is GOD; He is able to change the course of a person’s life and He reveals God and His plan to this world. And that is the very essence of his calling isn’t it? That His calling is not simply just calling to be closer geographically to him, but calling to change the way we live our life. His calling goes deeper into our very soul and demands our very life.
Knowing all these, this king IS different from Hitler or Queen Elisabeth, He is the TRUE KING. He is mighty powerful and just but at the same time he is also gracious and loving. He is THE KING different from any other kings, the only one who can truly rule His kingdom justly and gracefully. He is the king that this world has been longing for.
Verse 13 said: “He called those whom he loved and they came to Him.” So when He calls you would you listen and submit to this King and treat Him as King over your life, and believe in Him to give you an eternal life. Or would you rather refuse His invitation and receive His wrath and judgement at the end. When He comes and knocks at your door, what would you think? What would you say? And what would you do?
Friends when He comes and knocks at your door, accept Him as king! Repent and believe that His kingdom is near and is here.
What would you think at that very moment? What would you say? And what would you do?
Would you feel scared or sad or honoured or confused? How would you feel and how would you respond?
Before we begin, let us read the passage again:
13Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. 14He appointed twelve—designating them apostles -that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach 15and to have authority to drive out demons.16These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter 17James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means Sons of Thunder 18Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot 19and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.The book of Mark is all about a promised king whom the people of Israel had been longing for. It starts with the account of the messenger who would come before Him to prepare the way of this king. Prior to this chapter, Mark had made it clear that this one is the awaited one, that even the enemy himself acknowledged that He is the “Son of the true king”
But one question still remains for the Israelites as well as for us today. What kind of king will he be? Is He going to be like Hitler, a great leader but none other than a tyrant or is he going to be like Queen Elisabeth, known by all and maybe loved but have no power and authority over her own kingdom?
Reading from this passage we can see two unique characteristic that are different from other leaders we know today.
The previous passages noted that on this stage of His ministry, Jesus had already made Himself known to various regions, and not only that, crowds were following Him wherever He goes and watching His very move.
But verse 13 showed us a unique aspect of Jesus’ ministry. It is said that he went to a mountainside, which is a remote place, to call those whom He wanted. There are a few things we can learn form this section of the passage. First, it shows that Jesus is not interested in gathering votes or support; He is in a more meaningful campaign than the US presidents. Second, is that this King, rather than using His “secretary” John the Baptist to do His job for Him, He himself came down from His throne to call us, unworthy and rebellious servants to come to Him and to have personal relationship with Him.
Now, we must be careful when we investigate verse 13 when it says that “He called to those whom he wanted”. We shouldn’t be asking “whom is it that he wanted?” instead we must praise Him that this verse did NOT specify whom He wanted, only one clue given is that those He wanted came to Him. And that is a wonderful fact to know. That everyone is included in his grand plan, and the call is for all who would respond to Him.
Now in saying that, we are in a great danger to think that Jesus did not know who will come to him. It may well look like He was just testing his luck when he calls these people in the desert. But verse 16-19 points out clearly the truth that He foreknew each of His disciples by name and this is recorded in all the other gospels as well. This is significant not only has that it signified Jesus’ divine power and authority, to call those whom He wanted. He also knew who they were in the inside, and eventhough He foreknew all these, even Judas who would betray Him but He still calls and accepts them as His disciples. Furthermore, we can see here that He even gave some a new name, which we will discuss more in the next point.
Before that another question arises when we read verse 14 and that is how we deal with the fact that He appoints men for different purposes. Does that mean that the rest of us who are NOT appointed are free to do whatever we wanted? To continue on sinning and living the life we had before?
The Bible never hides the fact that certain men are given certain tasks to do, 1 Corinthians 12:28 states: “28 And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. “
Mark is clear here to separate verse 13 and verse 14 that God did not call men to do specific task but rather he APPOINTS them. Just like a king appointing different men to do different tasks for Him and giving them different levels of authority. Just like in a worldly kingdom, we cannot have everyone to be the King’s right hand man or everyone to be the soldiers or the king’s maid. It is normal to have different roles in a kingdom, even though they are serving the same king.
God’s calling for us is much more than simply doing a specific task; rather it demands our very life. God’s calling is stated in previous verses that we must “repent and believe in the gospel” for that the Kingdom of God is at hand. Jesus the king has arrived. Worship Him as king and obey Him in whatever place or task that He gave us.
Going back to the point that I previously made about names, it is a given that names are important, even today. To know one’s name reflects some sort of close relationship. In the Bible, however, especially the Old Testament, personal name meant much more than a means of identification; to name a few, in 1 Sam. 25:23-25, the name of Nabal is equated with his existence, character and reputation and the most relevant for this topic is Abram, Sarai and Jacob. Their change of name signifies a change in their course of life and a broader unfolding of God's purpose and plan of Promise. So the changing of names here is not only important because it reflects Jesus’ foreknowledge of these people, but it also signifies that Jesus is GOD; He is able to change the course of a person’s life and He reveals God and His plan to this world. And that is the very essence of his calling isn’t it? That His calling is not simply just calling to be closer geographically to him, but calling to change the way we live our life. His calling goes deeper into our very soul and demands our very life.
Knowing all these, this king IS different from Hitler or Queen Elisabeth, He is the TRUE KING. He is mighty powerful and just but at the same time he is also gracious and loving. He is THE KING different from any other kings, the only one who can truly rule His kingdom justly and gracefully. He is the king that this world has been longing for.
Verse 13 said: “He called those whom he loved and they came to Him.” So when He calls you would you listen and submit to this King and treat Him as King over your life, and believe in Him to give you an eternal life. Or would you rather refuse His invitation and receive His wrath and judgement at the end. When He comes and knocks at your door, what would you think? What would you say? And what would you do?
Friends when He comes and knocks at your door, accept Him as king! Repent and believe that His kingdom is near and is here.
Comments