This week, let’s discuss the lives of 12 ordinary men that were called by God to do extraordinary things.
Today, let’s open our Bibles and turn to the book of Mark. We will be in Mark chapter 3. Right now, let’s put on our thinking caps and invite the Holy Spirit to guide us in this terrific study. Today, we asked the Holy Spirit to speak to our hearts, and to teach us new things. Bring us closer to Jesus. Let us grow in Christian maturity and faith. In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen!
Mark 3:13-19
King James Version
“13 And he goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom he would: and they came unto him.
14 And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach,
15 And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils:
16 And Simon he surnamed Peter;
17 And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder:
18 And Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Canaanite,
19 And Judas Iscariot, which also betrayed him: and they went into an house.”
This is a very simple passage! It can be found encouraging, because God called these 12 men who had no formal titles before their name. So, we see here that God was choosing his disciples and they were not required to have some kind of status or clout.
These men came from various walks of life. If God did not call them, there would be no reason for them to come together. For example, some of them were fishermen, One of them was a zealot; which was considered to be a radical. They wanted to overthrow the Roman government. Some of them carried daggers that they used to kill the Roman soldiers alone or “when they were off their game;” so to speak!
At least one of them was a tax collector. The tax collectors bought a franchise from the Roman government and collected the taxes. Some of them were farmers, tradesmen and craftsman. All of the 12 except for Judas grew up around Galilee and Judas was a foreigner.
These 12 men were fully human. They had character flaws and carried on ministry after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ that changed history. In fact, their ministry has turned the world upside down. We are offspring of that ministry, and will continue to be until Jesus returns.
So, the next generation will continue in the same gospel.
They were personally selected by God for this mission. Jesus identified who they were. They did not volunteer for the job, but were drafted into it. Knew them, as only their creator could have known them. God knew all of their character flaws, their downfalls, and what made them tick. Knew all of their failures, and he even knew that Judas would betray him. These 12 men were charged with a mission to seek and save the lost. There were no market lanes. There was no Plan B. These 12 chosen by God. They received divine revelation, they wrote the New Testament, hey, we’re going to be the foundation of the church, Ephesians 2:20. All of this, depended on 12 men; which were ordinary! It is true we can do all things through Christ Jesus, who strengthens us.
Now, let’s read the text and meet them.
There is something extraordinary about reading these names. The scripture reported those their given names and their nicknames. This is not a formal listing. You will find the same list in Mathew, Luke, John, and Acts. Don’t you think there’s something endearing about a nickname? Sometimes they receive their nicknames from Jesus. Jesus nicknamed Simon, Peter; the rock. Jesus also nicknamed John and James; Boanerges, which meant The sons of thunder. These lists are not formal lists, but a very personal one.
Have you ever asked why there are only 12 disciples? Have you ever given this a ponder? Why was there not 15 or 16? Is there a hidden meaning to the number of 12?
The Sadducees and Pharisees were corrupt! Much like our governments today! Jesus set up the 12 disciples to be ministers. In essence, to change the world. To give the world a hope! Choosing of the 12 disciples was a judgment upon Israel’s leaders. Luke 22 adds some clarity to this thought.
Luke 22:28-30 (English Standard Version) 28 “You are those who have stayed with me in my trials, 29 and I assign to you, as my Father assigned to me, a kingdom, 30 that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
So, we see here that each disciple will rule over a tribe of Israel. This takes place in the new Israel. Verses 29 and 30 will be filled in the millennial reign.
Relation 21:14 (English standard version) says the following: “14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.”
This means that the name of each disciple will be memorialized, in the eternal kingdom of God.
Why 12 apostles? Because, they represent the new leader ship in the heavenly realm.
By selecting the 12 disciples, we can infer that the Sadducees and Pharisees were rejected by God. The selecting of the 12 was an Unmistakable message sent to the nation. This message is that God has condemned the government of the world. Today, God is still not happy with our sin. God will send Jesus Christ get His people soon. We can count on that!
We have to an opportunity now to accept Jesus Christ as our personal savior. If we commit blasphemy by not accepting Jesus Christ, we will be cast into the lake a fire called hell; upon our second death.
