THE CALL
OF A DISCIPLE
Scripture Passage: Mark 3:13-19
13 Jesus went
up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted and they came to him. 14 He appointed twelve 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.
The call of twelve disciples is mentioned in the above
passage. Mark is the primitive gospel in all four gospels which is written by
John Mark, the companion of Paul in his first missionary journey (Act 15:35-41).
It was written in AD 70 and became the first ever written gospel with the theme
of identifying Jesus as “The Son of Man” (10:45) who came to serve others.
The appointment of Disciples found in this passage. He
appointed the disciples with the intention of being with them, preach and do
what Jesus did. The gospel is giving a kind of urgency in its way of writing –
“Immediately” is the key term found throughout the book.
Responding to the call of Jesus is the integral part
of a disciple’s life. A disciple must obey and follow the commands of a master.
We see Isaiah responded positively to the call of the Lord in Old Testament,
Isaiah 6:8, “Here I am Lord, Send me.”
God’s call and people’s response resounding throughout
the Bible. In this passage God calls whom He wanted and “They came to Him” (v
13). The reason why Jesus chose them is for "following Him", that is the same agenda God has towards us. We are the disciples of
Christ Jesus to follow His footsteps and commands that he delivers us to do.
What are the commands given to them?
To Be with him means – To be in intimate relationship
with Him. The disciples had the highest opportunity of being with Jesus in
understanding every move of Him. They experienced God in their lives – what a
great privilege for the ordinary men. Jesus trained the disciples by being with
them throughout the ministry.
Acts 4:13, “When they saw the courage
of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they
were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.”
Jesus takes your nothing – and makes
everything when you are with Him. a sculpture or art gets more beauty if it is
with the artist long time. if an art is intimate with the artist it becomes
beautiful and masterpiece for everyone to see and enjoy.
Eph 2:10 For we are God’s handiwork (Poiema), created in Christ Jesus to do good
works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
At most contact with Jesus makes you a powerful
person. Power in Greek is Dunamis –
power of dynamite to breakdown the power of evil and dynamo – lighting the
darkened world. All comes through one means that is being (in connection) with
Jesus.
John 15:4-5, “Remain
in Me, and I will remain in you. Just as no branch can bear fruit by itself
unless it remains in the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in
Me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."
Are you in connection with Jesus –The world will see
its difference through your power.
The second purpose of being a disciple is “Sent them
out to preach.” – They must preach others of what Jesus was doing. Jesus
preached towns and villages about the Kingdom of God. A disciple must go and
preach the gospel of His Kingdom through the experiences he gained from the
Lord.
They were the sent ones (apostolos) – which means ambassadors of Jesus in His place to
proclaim what Jesus was doing with them. Reconciliation agents to bring people
unto God – Holy and anointed call to be the apostles. Preaching the living and
active word of God which is the seed to bring people unto God.
The mission of a disciple is to go out and preach the
gospel to the people. Preaching is not a technique or coming out of eloquent
experiences but through the power of God. A person who spend more time in
private (with the Lord), become powerful vessel (of God) in the public. You can
easily understand the preaching of pastors and preachers how long they spent
with the Lord. More time in God’s presence – powerful preaching in the public.
Preaching is a duty of a disciple (I Cor. 9:16) Woe unto me if I preach not the gospel.
We are the sent ones of God today to preach the gospel to the unheard and
unknown.
Jesus gave them the authority to do (drive out demons)
what He did (v.15) – when the power of darkness leave, the Kingdom of God comes
there. Jesus empowered / authorized them to do what He did.
Luke 11:20, “But
if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come
upon you.”
Luke 4:16-21, “16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up,
and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood
up to read, 17 and
the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the
place where it is written: 18 “The
Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the
poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of
sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, 19 to
proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” 20 Then
he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes
of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 He
began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is
fulfilled in your hearing.”
The Nazareth Manifesto we see about the mission of
Jesus who is not sent for preaching but also freedom to prisoners, healing,
freedom and proclamation. The same authority is given to the disciples; we are
His disciples to continue – carry non that work as a disciple.
As a disciple of Jesus
- Are you With Jesus (in intimate relationship)?
- Are you preaching the gospel?
- Are you demonstrating what Jesus did?
May God enable us to carry on His mission as His
disciples!
It really impressive word of God. May God bless you. Continue doing this ministry brother.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your encouragement bro.
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