April 5 - Following Jesus

April 5 - Following Jesus - Mark 3:7-19

Have you ever wanted to be a groupie? I really haven't. That's not a role I would play well. But, think about these huge crowds that were following Jesus everywhere He walked! He was a rock star! People came to him from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea and the regions across the Jordan and around Tyre and Sidon. They were coming from all over to see this man that was creating such a stir.

I don't do crushing crowds of people very well either. Consequently, I don't generally get myself into situations where I'm going to be pushed and pressed by people all around me. I was in Times Square for New Years Eve 1991 and have never experienced anything like that crush of people. We ended up having to just move with the flow of the crowd. There wasn't a single part of my body that didn't get pushed and shoved that evening. I was breathing in scents from thousands of people around me and my ears were overwhelmed by the sounds of laughing and shrieking. It was too much!

Rather than backing Himself into a corner, He asked his disciples to have a small boat ready so that He could escape the crowds onto the Sea of Galilee. Jesus healed many people, He cast out demons, He cared for the people that came to see Him and to touch Him ... But, He wasn't ready to fully reveal the purpose of His coming yet. (Mark 3:7-12)

We saw Jesus call Simon, Andrew, John and James and then a bit later, Levi (Matthew). As I said before, this was a direct contrast to the standard behavior of the day. Teachers would wait for students to search them out, not go out and proactively look for disciples. Jesus took the initiative and called those that He wanted and they came to Him.

He called them 'apostles.' The word means 'one who is sent with a commission.' These men would be responsible for taking Jesus' message into the world. The would live with Him, eat with Him, serve with Him, learn from Him and then go out into the world with His authority.

Interestingly enough, in the strictest sense of the term, there can be no more apostles. Acts 1:21-22 says that "...it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from John's baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection."

The men are also named in Matt. 10:2–4, Luke 6:14–16, and Acts 1:13. Don't you love that Jesus gave some of His disciples names? These may have been nicknames, but He obviously knew their personalities well and knew what would be required of them as they grew into their roles. Simon was named Peter ... a rock and on that rock, Jesus would build His church. John & James were the sons of thunder. These were the two that wanted to call down fire on a town that rejected them. Simon the Zealot was part of another sect of Jews that plotted to overthrow Rome. His description here served to distinguish between him and Simon Peter.

To these twelve men, Jesus entrusted His ministry. His church. His teachings. His authority.