Lessons 54-55

LESSON 54 – Mark 3:13-20

Mark 3:13-20 And he goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom he would: and they came unto him. 14And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach, 15And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils: 16And Simon he surnamed Peter; 17And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder: 18And Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Canaanite, 19And Judas Iscariot, which also betrayed him: and they went into an house. 20And the multitude cometh together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread.

Luke 6:12-13 And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. 13And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles; ...

The above passage in Luke 6 tells us that before Jesus designated those who would be the leaders of the larger group of His followers and who would be called "apostles" (meaning "sent forth ones"), He spent the whole night in prayer, listening to His Father as to which of His followers to choose to be His closest helpers and leaders among the disciples. Jesus did not rely on His own understanding, but let His Father reveal the choices that should be made.

How many disciples were there from which to choose?

We know there were at least 70 in the group of His followers at one point, because He sends 70 out to preach and heal, after they had been trained (Luke 10:1-17). Whether there were that many at this time, we are not told, as far as I know. (By the time of His resurrection nearly 3 years later, there were 500 followers. (1Cor 15:6)

Notice that not only did the Father include Judas Iscariot as an apostle, but God the Father told Jesus that Judas would be the one who would eventually betray Him. John 6:64 For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him. I think that this inclusion of Judas was an evidence of the great grace of God. He gave Judas every chance and 3-1/2 years to change under the influence and teaching of His Son. Judas had every opportunity to be transformed into a different person, an honest person, a person in control of himself. He heard the teachings of Jesus, was with Him every day, saw the many miracles Jesus did and yet Judas did not change. He was not made a betrayer, he chose to become one. How sad!

Read the Mark 3 passage again and list the 4 parts of an apostle's job description:

Which one was the most important?

The first one: to be with Jesus. This is the one which we all can do. We can make fellowship with the Lord Jesus a priority in our daily lives. We can read His words; we can talk to Him and listen as He talks to us. We can seek His wisdom and guidance. He wants a deeper relationship with us. Do you want a deeper relationship with Him? Spend time with Him, as you would with anyone you wanted to get to know better.

The apostles needed to be with Him and to know Him, so that when He returned to heaven, they could give witness to the Messiah as a result of their own personal conviction, knowledge, understanding and commitment.

Why were there 12 chosen? Why not 8 or 15? The number twelve was established in the Old Testament as a governmental number. Do you remember that there were 12 sons of Jacob, the grandson of Abraham? Each of those sons established a family of descendants called his tribe. There were 12 tribes making up the nation of the children of Israel. Each had a banner (flag) with his tribal ensign on it (Numbers 2:2). Each of these tribes had leaders who governed their family matters Numbers 1:16,4-15).

LESSON 55 – Mark 3:19-21

Mark 3:19-21 ... they (Jesus and the disciples) went into an house. 20And the multitude cometh together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread. 21And when his friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on him: for they said, He is beside himself.

The people were so anxious to get the help and healing that they had heard about from others, that they crowded the house where Jesus was. They wanted His help, even to the point of interrupting His mealtime.

Do you see the contrast between those who needed help and hoped that Jesus was the answer, and those who didn't know they needed help, but instead thought Jesus was the crazy one acting and speaking the way He did?

The "friends" were obviously not very discerning as to the evidence that was being generated by what Jesus was doing and saying. Why didn't they look at what miracles, healings and teachings Jesus had done and see the glory of God in them and, therefore, in Him? Why didn't they realize Who He really was?

Isn't that what we do sometimes by dismissing the good things God has done, calling them happenstances or coincidences? What kind of friends are we to Him, when we don't give Him the credit for the good things He does in our lives? Psalm 107:1-8 O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. 2Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy; 3And gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south. 4They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way; they found no city to dwell in. 5Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them. 6Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses. 7And he led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation. 8Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! 9For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.

Ask the Lord to show you how you can give Him the proper thanks and praise for His goodness to you, and share that with others, as He directs. Many of the psalms (and other passages) can be used as starting points to praise. Read Psalm 138, 139,145, and 146-150 back to the LORD and after each phrase or sentence or verse, restate it in your own words and praise Him some more. Do it out loud if you can, and mean it from your heart. (If you can't quite, then ask Him also to expand your heart to praise Him as He deserves to be praised by all His children and all His subjects.)