Mark 3:13-19
“And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted. And they came to Him. Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons: Simon, to whom He gave the name Peter; James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, “Sons of Thunder”; Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Canaanite; and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him. And they went into a house.” (Mark 3:13-19)
You might not have thought about it this way, but did you know that Jesus was the original New Testament Life Group leader? I think it’s interesting that He began His ministry this way and through these twelve men He changed the world.
Jesus didn’t primarily conduct His ministry in “one on one” sessions with various individuals. Instead, He was constantly surrounded by this small group of men into whom He poured His life. What we learn from this example is that we grow best when we are in relationships with other believers, not in isolation from them. In our case, this is even more important because no one person has all the gifts of Christ. Consequently, apart from a small group, we potentially receive a distorted portrait of the One we seek to reflect.
Consider for a moment what we know about these twelve men.
- Simon – This is his Hebrew name. Jesus changed his name to “Peter.” He was the leader of the group and his name is always listed first. He was a fisherman with a family to support. He was outspoken and opinionated. He failed the Lord in a very public manner, but he humbled himself and was restored.
- James – He was a fisherman like his brother John. He was a member of the Lord’s inner circle. Peter, James and John were singled out for a special time of ministry three times: when the daughter of Jairus was raised from the dead (Mark 5:36-43); when Jesus was transfigured (Matthew 17:1-2); and when Jesus went a little further into Gethsemane to pray (Matthew 26:37). James was the first of the Apostles to be martyred (Acts 12:2).
- John – He was the brother of James, also a member of Christ’s inner circle. John was known as the “Beloved Disciple.” John was the only Apostle not put to death for his faith, but he was persecuted, imprisoned and banished to a deserted island.
These two brothers (James & John) were nicknamed “Boanerges.” The name means “the sons of thunder.” This name fits because they possessed impetuous temperaments, even wanting to pray down fire on a village that refused to receive the Lord Jesus (Luke 9:52-56). They also possessed some selfish ambition, asking Jesus for a place of special prominence in the Kingdom (Mark 10:35-40).
- Andrew – He was the brother of Peter. He had been a fisherman before he came to Christ and every time he appears in the Gospel record, he is bringing someone to Jesus. Andrew was a powerful witness for the Lord Who saved him.
- Philip – Not much is known about him. Jesus calls him in John 1:43 and immediately he went to tell Nathaniel (Bartholomew) about Jesus (John 1:44-45).
- Bartholomew – He is also known as Nathaniel. He apparently had some deep-seated prejudice toward Nazareth (John 1:45-46). He was also a man of honesty and deep religious conviction (John 1:47).
- Matthew – He was also called Levi. He had been a tax collector for Rome and was a controversial choice that would have been despised by many (Mark 2:14). However, the Lord saved him, changed his life and called him to be His disciple.
- Thomas – There is a song about him that reminds us he was a doubter. We do know that he was loyal to Jesus, even to the point of being willing to die with Him (John 11:16). He was the only disciple not cowering in fear in the upper room on the day Jesus rose from the dead (John 20:24). Though he doubted what he could not see, he was willing to accept the truth when it was revealed to him (John 20:28).
- James the son of Alphaeus – Very little is known about him. He was the son of Alphaeus and Mary, the sister of Jesus’ mother (Unger’s Bible Dictionary) (Matthew 27:56; Mark 15:40; Luke 24:10; John 19:25). He was called James the Less, either because he was younger that James the son of Zebedee or because of his short stature. By this identification it would mean that his mother was at the cross when Jesus was crucified (John 19:25).
- Thaddaeus – Nothing is known about this disciple, except that it is likely that the names Judas (not Iscariot) and Thaddaeus are dual names for the same person.
- Simon the Canaanite – The word for “Canaanite” literally means “zealous.” Simon was a revolutionary. He was a Jew sworn to overthrow the Roman government. He was probably idealistic, proud, radical, outspoken, fiery and fearless.
- Judas Iscariot – Judas was the only disciple to come from Judea. He was the treasurer of the group, but was a thief and a miser (John 12:5-6). He was never saved and eventually betrayed Jesus into the hands of the Jews for thirty pieces of silver (Matthew 26:14-16).
How did Jesus unify these men into a cohesive group that enabled them to carry out the work He would eventually intrust to them? He did it by unifying them around two common purposes in discipleship. These two common purposes are true for anyone desiring to follow Jesus as His disciple.
As we learned in the previous message from this passage, Jesus first called these men to spend time with Him, watching Him, listening to Him, and learning from Him. These men abandoned everything they knew as their everyday way of life to be “with Jesus” (Mark 3:14a).
Being “with Jesus,” though, is about more than physical proximity to Him. It is mostly about one’s spiritual proximity to Christ (i.e., Judas was physically close to Jesus, but spiritually he was separated from Him.) It is the attitude of heart that says, “I want to learn about Jesus, know His ways, and hear His teachings that I might faithfully follow Him.” It’s the desire to submit to Him above all else and all others so as to allow Him to pour His life into yours. Until this purpose is realized, nothing else really makes much sense.
The second purpose around which Jesus unified these men grew out of the first purpose.
Having spent TIME with Jesus they were also assigned the TASK of going “out to preach” (3:14b) about Jesus and His Kingdom. This additional purpose finds its partial fulfillment in Mark 6:7-13 and it’s broader fulfillment in the Acts of the Apostles.
Look again at what Jesus says is necessary to be His disciple. In addition to spending time with Him, you must also be willing to be SENT by Him. The task of a disciple is to go wherever Christ sends him/her.
The Greek word used here for “send” (Mark 3:14b) is the word for “apostle,” but he’s not using it in the sense of their official title. In this context it simply means, “to cause someone to depart for a particular purpose—‘to send.’” (15.66)
Luke uses this same Greek word in the book of Acts, referring to those that travelled with Paul and Barnabas to Antioch with a letter from the Jerusalem church. He writes, “...it pleased the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch…” (Acts 15:22). Paul uses this same word when sending Timothy to care for the Philippians. He writes, “But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, that I also may be encouraged when I know your state. For I have no one like-minded, who will sincerely care for your state.” (Philippians 2:19) And, he also uses it in reference to Christ commissioning him. “For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect.” (1 Corinthians 1:17)
In other words, a disciple of Christ is one that is willing to go wherever and whenever Christ sends him/her. They make themselves available to be instruments in His hands to bring Good News to those that “sit in darkness” (Luke 1:79).
On one occasion Jesus dealt with some that were called to be His disciples, but as far as we know, failed to make the commitment. It’s not until you get beyond the initial call Christ’s gives to them that the deeper issues holding them back begin to emerge.
“Then He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.” And another also said, “Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.” But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:59-62)
Christ isn’t looking for excuses! He’s looking for people that won’t delay their obedience to Him. He is looking for those that are willing to immediately abandon their will to His will. A disciple is one that is available to be sent by Him, especially as it concerns the mission of spreading the Good News about Jesus Christ.
This doesn’t mean that He’ll call all of us to leave our present locality to travel to another part of the world to live as international missionaries. But, it does mean that we must be willing to do so, if He sends us there.
Just as importantly, it means we should be willing to leave our living rooms and love our friends, family, co-workers and neighbors to Christ. It means that we will not be ashamed of Him and will represent Him as His Ambassadors everywhere we go. Think about this incredible privilege...we are commissioned to be Christ’s Ambassadors (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:20) in the place where we presently live, as well as anywhere else He may send us.
Notice also that He sends His disciples for a very specific purpose and that is to “preach” (Mark 3:14b). There is a sense in which all of us are called to be “preachers” for Christ, proclaiming His person and plan for redeeming mankind to the Father.
The Greek word means literally, “to publicly announce religious truths and principles while urging acceptance and compliance—‘to preach.’” (33.256) It is not enough for us to quietly live out our faith before a sinful world. We must lift up our voices to proclaim our faith and seek to convince men/women to come to Christ for eternal life.
The book of Romans uses this same Greek word to show the importance of announcing the Good News. Paul writes, “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?” (Romans 10:14) Peter used this same word in reference to Christ. He writes, “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison…” (1 Peter 1:18-19)
Aren’t you thankful that someone announced to you that Jesus saves? Apart from “hearing” (with your heart) this important Good News, you would have been separated from Christ forever without hope!
Another way to describe this aspect (“preaching”) of being a disciple is the one used by Jesus just before He ascended back to Heaven following His resurrection. He told His disciples, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)
Witnesses are not supposed to keep silent about what they have seen. They have to tell their story so others can know the truth. They speak up and declare what Christ has done for them!
So, to be a devoted disciple of Jesus means we are ready to be sent by Him wherever He desires us to go so we may speak the Good News about Him to those that need eternal hope.
While it is possible to be saved from your sins and the possessor of eternal life without being a verbal witness (i.e., a “preacher” of the Gospel) to others, it is not possible to be a devoted disciple walking in obedience to Him, if you are not announcing the Good News to others.
That’s what the Great Commission is all about (cf. Matthew 28:19-20). We are to make disciples that obey all He said, which would include proclaiming the Gospel to others. This is not something you can pay another person to do for you. This is the task of everyone that would be Christ’s disciple. There are many different methods disciples may use to proclaim the Gospel, but all disciples are involved in this great task.
There’s one final thought in this passage about what it means to be a disciple of Jesus and it concerns the “power” by which a disciple will be able to “preach” where Christ sends him/her. His promise is that along with being sent out by Him that He will also give him the “power” he needs for the task he is given.
Obviously, the ability to “heal sickness” and “cast out demons” associated these twelve with Jesus and the power He demonstrated in the first century. Works of this nature are spoken of in 2 Corinthians 12:12 as being the “signs of an apostle” and were for the purpose of authenticating the message before the completion of the biblical canon. God is still sovereign over healing and demons today, but the power given to us now has more to do with “boldness” than miraculous signs.
The Greek word for “power” used in Mark 3:15 literally means, “the power to do something, with or without an added implication of authority.” However, in Mark 3:15 the Greek-English Lexicon of the New testament says that “power” in this context also includes the idea of “authority.”
In other words, Christ is giving to these twelve men, and to all of us as disciples of Christ, the power AND authority to “preach” in His name. This distinct bestowment of “power” is borne out in the book of Acts when the Apostles, Paul and others disseminate the message of the Gospel with Spirit-empowered authority and boldness.
Just look at the number of times the idea of boldness in speaking is found in Luke’s account of the early church. He uses the noun form of the Greek word for “boldness” five times and the verb form is used seven times.
A distinctive trademark of the early disciples was their boldness with which the message of the Gospel was proclaimed. “Boldness” does not indicate brashness, harshness or tactlessness. Rather, it implies clarity in the face of fear. This is a distinctive of any person that is spending time with Jesus and understands that he/she is a representative of Christ to others.
“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.” (Acts 4:13)
“And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.” (Acts 4:31)
“But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. And he declared to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, and that He had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus. So he was with them at Jerusalem, coming in and going out.” (Acts 9:27-28)
“Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said, “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles.” (Acts 13:46)
“And he went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading concerning the things of the kingdom of God.” (Acts 19:8)
(cf. Acts 2:29; 4:29; 14:3; 18:26; 26:26; 28:31)
Jesus was able to take this disparate group of men and mold them into the most effective missionaries the world has ever known. As instruments in God’s hand, the movement of Christ spread around the world so that untold millions have found hope in the person of Jesus Christ alone.
Two things characterize all disciples of Jesus: 1. They spend time with Him, allowing Him to pour His life into them. 2. They go and proclaim Him to others that those who hear might have a relationship with Jesus, as well. If these two things aren’t happening in our lives...we aren’t functioning as His disciples.
Closing:
Let me offer some practical suggestions to get you started in being a witness for Jesus.
- Keep a list of people that need Christ and regularly remember them in prayer. There is nothing like praying that will sensitize your heart to the spiritual condition of people and increase your burden for their souls.
- Watch attentively for opportunities to speak to people about their need of Christ. Various life events open people’s hearts to hear the Gospel and are the passageway God intends us to use to share His love.
- Learn to tell your story about how you came to Christ and share it as frequently as possible with others.
- Love people and be friendly with those that need to know Christ. While we are NOT to love this world, we are to live in this world as Christ’s representatives. Model the life of Jesus and make friends with people that need to know Him. Just don’t participate in their sins while you are trying to show them the way out of their sins.
- Sow the seed of the Gospel as frequently and freely as possible. Yes, some of it will fall on hard ground, other of it will fall on shallow ground, and still other of it will fall on thorn-infested ground. But, when the seed touches the receptive ground of a person’s heart, there is fruitfulness and joy that result. It’s not our job to save the lost, it’s our job to sow the seed.
