Slices
Prepare
‘The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart’ (1 Samuel 16:7). As you turn to God now, what does he see in your heart?
Bible passage
Crowds follow Jesus
7 Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lake, and a large crowd from Galilee followed. 8 When they heard all he was doing, many people came to him from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, and the regions across the Jordan and around Tyre and Sidon. 9 Because of the crowd he told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him, to keep the people from crowding him. 10 For he had healed many, so that those with diseases were pushing forward to touch him. 11 Whenever the impure spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, ‘You are the Son of God.’ 12 But he gave them strict orders not to tell others about him.
Jesus appoints the Twelve
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.
Explore
To be a part of this kingdom of God that Jesus is announcing and is breaking into this world, as we have seen, it is not enough to passively observe tradition and rules. The kingdom of God demands action from us which is simply this – to follow Jesus (1:17,18).
Jesus doesn’t pick his team the way we might, however. Have you ever assembled a team for a project? You probably look for the brightest, the most competent, the best at following instructions and the team players. Not Jesus! He chooses traitors to Israel (Matthew the tax collector), xenophobes (Bartholomew, aka Nathanael*), political activists (Simon the Zealot), doubters (Thomas), deniers (Peter), hotheads (James and John) and even betrayers (Judas).
Thank God that Jesus doesn’t choose the brightest and best! The only qualification seems to be a willingness to follow him wherever he goes. In his kingdom, Jesus doesn’t assemble crack squads to storm the enemy; he simply invites anyone, even the most unqualified, on the adventure of following him. Will you follow him today?
*See John 1:43–50. Bartholomew and Nathanael are probably the same person
Respond
What has Jesus been asking you to do recently? Have you done it? Ask Jesus as you come to him today to help you to trust him and obey what he’s asking you to do.
Deeper Bible study
List ten things you can thank God for and praise him.
Despite the Pharisees’ hostility to Jesus, his popularity with ordinary folk continued to grow and he was surrounded by a large number of people. Many of them had journeyed considerable distances to be healed. Others appear to have regularly travelled around with him.1 It was from this group of followers that Jesus selected the twelve.
Despite having many people around him to choose from, those he called as apostles were not obvious choices. Simon Peter was impulsive and would go on to deny Jesus not long after promising him his undying loyalty. John and James were nicknamed ‘sons of thunder’ (v 17), possibly because they wanted to send down fire to burn a non-receptive village!2 Matthew is probably another name for the tax collector Levi, who was in a profession renowned for its corruption. Simon was nicknamed ‘the Zealot’ (v 18), suggesting that he may have been part of a political group wedded to violence. Thomas would famously go on to doubt Jesus’ resurrection; and, of course, Judas would betray him.
Why did Jesus pick these men? The only clue Mark gives us is their full-blown commitment. Peter and Andrew left their fishing business ‘at once’ to follow Christ and similarly John and James appear to respond straightaway and leave their father and their nets behind.3 Levi, too, forfeits his livelihood at the tax booth to follow Jesus without any apparent hesitation.4 In today’s passage we are simply told that Jesus ‘called to him those he wanted, and they came to him’ (v 13). When we select people for church roles, how important is a candidate’s love for and commitment to Christ? How can we assess that? What encouragement can we take personally from Jesus’ choice of the twelve?
Pray for anyone who struggles to believe God can work through them, that their confidence in Christ may increase.
1 Eg Jesus’ appointment of 72 for his mission, Luke 10:1 2 Luke 9:54 3 See Mark 1:18–20 4 Mark 2:14
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Isaiah 41,42; Hebrews 5
Pray for Scripture Union
Pray for Sports Ministry Consultant Mark Oliver as he develops and rolls out an accredited sports ministry and coaching course, asking that this will help many to use sports as a way of sharing the love of Jesus.
