As the crowds increased around Jesus, He intentionally drew closer to fewer people as He appointed twelve disciples to be His apostles. As Jesus called the original Twelve to specific tasks, He calls us to follow Him in the same way today.
Mark 3:7-21
7 Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the sea, and a great crowd followed, from Galilee and Judea 8 and Jerusalem and Idumea and from beyond the Jordan and from around Tyre and Sidon. When the great crowd heard all that he was doing, they came to him. 9 And he told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, lest they crush him, 10 for he had healed many, so that all who had diseases pressed around him to touch him. 11 And whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.”12 And he strictly ordered them not to make him known.
13 And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him. 14 And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach 15 and have authority to cast out demons. 16 He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); 17 James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder);18 Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Zealot, 19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
20 Then he went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat. 21 And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.”
Job Responsibilities (Mark 3:7-13)
- Ministry needs in this life will never let up or slow down.
- More people follow Jesus to benefit from His ministry than to contribute to His ministry.
- Instead of making the people solely dependent upon Himself, Jesus multiplied His work by calling out disciples to follow Him.
Essential Requirements (Mark 3:13-19)
- Pursuit – “Whom He desired” – The most humbling aspect of Kingdom work is found in the fact that Jesus doesn’t need us but that He wants us.
- Presence – “Be with Him” – Don’t attempt things for Jesus before you have spent time with Jesus.
- Purpose – “Send them out to preach” – We participate in Kingdom ministry by sharing with others what Jesus has taught us.
- Power – “Have authority to cast out demons” – Ministry is pushing back Satan’s dominion and ushering in God’s Kingdom.
Direct Supervisors (Mark 3:20-21)
- The religious elite would have disapproved regarding the caliber of Jesus’ disciples.
- In following Jesus, your faith family might prove to be closer than your physical family.
- Since you cannot please everyone, seek to find your approval in the eyes of God.
Questions to Consider:
- Who is before you?
- Who is beside you?
- Who is behind you?
Travis Agnew serves as the Lead Pastor of Rocky Creek Church in Greenville, SC. His most recent book is Just (About) Married.