Mark 3:13 -19  The Calling of the Twelve

  He left the town behind and went up a mountainside and separated those that He chose. He singled them out from the crowd and appointed them to be sent out on a mission. “And He appointed twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach the Gospel, and to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils”.

  The minister of Christ begins his ministry by being chosen by the Lord Jesus. Jesus chose twelve men from the crowds that were following for a specific task. They were chosen to augment and supplement His ministry by sending out to the places He could not physically reach. At this time some of the words used in this passage did not have the same connotations that they would later have in the Christian Church. The A.V. uses the word ‘ordained’; the word in this context does not have any of the ritual significance that was later ascribed to it. The word translated ‘apostle’ simply means one that is sent. In other words, a messenger, a servant, rather than a ruler.

  Let’s now look a little more closely at some of those chosen.

  The first name on the list is that of Simon. He was the first, with his brother Andrew, to be called to follow Jesus. Now he is the first to be named in the list of those singled out for this task. It seems he was a big man. Lloyd Douglas titles his book about Peter, “The Big Fisherman”. Jesus gives him a nickname that perhaps tells us something of his character. The name ‘Petros’ means a rock and some branches of the Church make a lot of that giving it an authority that I don’t think is implicit in the original. I think he was a big rough, tough man and Jesus thought Rocky was a good description and a good nickname for him. He was certainly quick to draw his sword in self defence when the temple guard came to arrest Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane .

His brother Andrew was an altogether different personality. He was much more approachable. When Jesus fed the 5,000 Andrew was the disciple who had made friends with a young lad and who knew that the boy, or his mother, had the foresight to equip him with a lunch. Andrew also was the one whom visitors to Jerusalem approached with a request to see Jesus. He does not merit a nickname

Levi was a Levite who should have been serving in the Temple but he had sold out to the secular rulers by becoming a tax collector. Jesus gave him a name that washes away the shame of that employment. Matthew means ‘Gift of God.

James and John were given the nickname Boanerges.

  Jesus called and He appointed those that He had chosen and He determined what they should do.

  Their task would be:-

1. To preach the Gospel.

2. To be the physician of souls.

3. And, to wage war with the Devil, and destroy his kingdom.

  As the preaching of the gospel is our best remedy for the cure of spiritual sickness and our main weapon in our battle with the Devil we will begin there.

  What is the Gospel?

  John 3:16. God loves you so much He is preparing a beautiful home in Heaven where you can live with Him through all eternity. The thing that is missing in Heaven is the sin that causes all the problems here on earth.

  There is sin in every human heart. All have sinned.

  God has provided the remedy

  1 John 4:10  This is what love is; it is not that we have loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the means by which our sins are forgiven.

  You must accept God’s remedy. This is neither religion nor ritual. It is a personal relationship with Jesus

  Romans 8:10-11

If Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. NKJV

  Colossians 1:27

To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

  When you do your sins are forgiven and you have the assurance of a Heavenly future when life here has run its course.