Perhaps you know the name of William Tyndale. To be sure, if you had been alive in the middle of the sixteenth century, you would have known it, for this man was labeled as an arch-heretic, an enemy of church and state. He was exiled, impoverished, persecuted, and ultimately, in 1536 strangled to death and his body was burned to powder at the stake. Why? What great heresy had he committed? Simply this: he wanted English-speaking people to have access to the Bible in their own language. At the beginning of the sixteenth century, most Christians could only hear or read the Bible Latin, the official language of the Catholic Church. The Church feared putting the Bible into the vernacular of the people. If only the religious scholars could understand the Scriptures, then they could tell the people that it said whatever they wanted it to. Against tremendous opposition, William Tyndale pioneered the translation of the Bible into the English language. One of his motivating factors was a survey that had been conducted among the English clergy of his day. That survey revealed that most of them did not know who the twelve apostles were. Only a few of them could name more than four or five of them.[1] You might think you could fare no better, and perhaps that is the case, but I would venture to guess that most of you could name at least that many. AND, I remind you, these were the clergy – the pastors, the preachers, the church’s leaders – and they did not know those whom Christ had chosen to establish His church on earth.
We have come to the section of the Gospel of Mark wherein Jesus Christ calls these twelve apostles, though Mark never uses that term for them. He only calls them “The Twelve.” Some of them we have met before on a beach in chapter 1, at a party in chapter 2. But here we are introduced to the rest of them by name. In fact, some of them, we will not ever see the name of again in the Bible. Who could put pen to paper and write the complete biography of Bartholomew or Thaddaeus? But before we look at these individual men, three verses stand in our way which must demand our attention, for in these verses (13-15) we see the circumstances of Christ’s call to the twelve. And this is of more immediate importance to us than to simply know their names, because Christ did not call these twelve and no more. Certainly it is true that these twelve are unique in that they are called to be apostles – a calling extended to no other person except Matthias and Paul. Yet Christ continues to call others. He calls us to salvation, and to everyone who answers that call, He issues a call to service. Some of you have heard these calls and answered. Saved and serving – the description of a healthy Christian life. Others have only answered one of them – the call to salvation. Others have yet to heed that call perhaps. As we look at this passage before us today, let us consider the circumstances of Christ’s call and how it relates to the twelve, and then indirectly how we might apply these truths in our own lives as well.
I. The Initiative of Christ’s Call (v13)
One simple fact is hard to avoid in this verse, and that is that everything about this call of the twelve flows from the sovereign initiative of Christ. “Sovereignty” is one of those words that many use, but which is often misunderstood. By definition, sovereignty means that God’s will is absolute in that it is not subject to the dictates of another.[2] No one forces God’s hand. All that He does, He does on His own initiative. And the sovereignty of the Lord Jesus Christ is seen here as He takes the initiative to call these twelve unto Himself.
You will notice that Jesus did not place a “Help Wanted” ad in the Galilee Gazette. He did not take volunteers or applications. In Mark 5:18-19, we will come across someone who implores Jesus that he might be allowed to accompany Him, and Jesus did not let him, but rather told him to go home.The disciples did not decide on their own to follow Jesus, as if they were doing Him a personal favor. These twelve did not ask to be called, He called them because of His gracious initiative. “He went up on the mountain and summoned those whom He Himself wanted.” Jesus told them in John 15:16, “You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit.”
They didn’t deserve to be called. They weren’t among the religious elite. They were fishermen, tax-collectors, other common folk. No seminarians or “men of the cloth” were found among their number. But there is no mistake here. In calling them, Jesus takes the initiative and the responsibility. We will find them severely lacking as we read about them in the gospels. But where they have defects, it is for Christ to deal with them and remedy them.[3] They lacked spiritual understanding. Sometimes, we might be generous to call their attitudes and actions “thick, dull, stupid and blind.” So Jesus never ceased teaching them up until the day He ascended back into heaven after His resurrection. They lacked humility, often arguing among themselves as to which one was the greatest. So Jesus never failed to model self-sacrifice and humility before them. They often lacked faith. We read scolding rebukes of them from the lips of their Master: “You of little faith!” is a statement Jesus said to them on four separate occasions in the Gospel of Matthew. After the resurrection, Mark says, “He reproached them for their unbelief and hardness of heart.” So Jesus kept on demonstrating Himself to them through miracles, signs and wonders. They occasionally lacked commitment. At the most difficult hour of His betrayal, they all left Him and fled. So Jesus prayed for them. They lacked power, so He gave them authority and empowered them by the Holy Spirit.[4]
Jesus knows what He is doing when He calls fragile human beings to serve Him. And He takes the responsibility to provide all that they lack. But notice that although His call precedes and supersedes their wills, the sovereign call of Christ evokes a volitional response from each one whom He called. “And they came to Him.” We will find as we proceed through the Gospel of Mark that on at least one occasion (10:21), He will call, and the person will walk away from the call grieving.
Perhaps you have ignored Christ’s call to service, thinking that surely He got the wrong guy. No, our Lord does not make mistakes. Perhaps you think that you are unfit for His service. Let their be no doubt – YOU ARE! I AM! Peter was unfit, and John was unfit, and Simon the Zealot was unfit. All twelve of them were unfit. You remember what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1:26 – “For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble….” Not many, Paul says. I have often wondered if there were any! It is all of grace! We don’t deserve the honor of serving the King of Kings! But He has called us. And by responding to His call, we recognize His sovereign choice in the call, and believe that He can and will transform us to do exactly what it is that He has called us to do.
In verse 14, our English Bibles fail to convey the precise wording of the text. He appointed, the NASB and NIV say; the KJV has ordained. The Greek word here is epoiesen, from the root meaning “to do” or “to make.” He made the twelve. Critical scholars probe into the lives of these unlikely and ordinary men trying to find out who made this Jesus that the church proclaims today. But the fact of the matter is that this Jesus took these men and He made them as they responded to His sovereign call. This word, epoiesen, is the same word used by those who translated the Hebrew Bible into the Greek Septuagint at Genesis 1:1. In the beginning, God epoiesen the heavens and the earth. It is related to the word we find in Ephesians 2:10, poiema (from which we get our word poem) – there Paul says, “For we are His workmanship (His poiema), created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” So the issue is not what these twelve, or what you and I can do for Christ in our own strength and of our own accord, but rather, the issue is what He can make of us as He takes the initiative in calling us to His service.
G. Campbell Morgan said, “There is an infinite ease in doing things He gives us to do, when we can say to Him, ‘Lord, we did not choose this. Thou art responsible.’”[5] Now let me tell you why that statement means so much to me. I first read it sometime Thursday afternoon just after talking to Jeri Rowe of News and Record. Some of you probably read his article in News and Record yesterday about the city’s plan to work on the High Point Rd./Lee St. Corridor. Jeri had just interviewed me and asked me about the needs of the area and about how this church could make a difference here. And as we talked, there was an overwhelming sense of ineptitude. “Lord, who am I? I can’t do anything about all these social ills that plague this community! I know Your Word has power, and Your Spirit can transform lives, but Lord, why me? Why would you not bring in an urban ministry strategist to lead this church to transform the community? What do I have to offer here? Why am I the one who is here now when so much needs to be done? Then I read Morgan’s statement: “Lord, I did not choose this. You are responsible.” In our community, in our homes, in our workplaces, around the world, there is a tremendous load of work to be done for Christ. And He has called us to the task. We did not choose Him. We did not choose the task. He chose us and called us. He knows we are unfit, but He has promised to fit us, and to use us. And so He calls, and so we must come to Him in obedient response.
Thus we see the initiative of Christ’s call in the passage. Secondly, notice …
II. The Purpose of Christ’s Call (vv14-15)
The words so that in v14 indicate a purpose for the summons Jesus issued to these twelve. And that purpose is threefold, and I believe the order is of absolute importance.
A. His Call is to a Deeper Association – that they would be with Him
First, and of the utmost importance, we see the level of relationship to which Christ calls. He calls the twelve unto Himself that they might be with Him – that they might go where He goes, watching Him in all that He does; that they might sit at His feet, learning from Him in all that He says. Before they are ever able to do anything for Him, time must be spent with Him in intimate nearness. We have pointed already to that passage in John 15 wherein Jesus said, “You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit.” In that same chapter, Jesus said (Jn 15:4-5), “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in
You have read and heard that solemn warning that Jesus spoke in Matthew 7:22-23, "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles ?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME!’” Where is the priority of Jesus? It is on relationship with Him over and above service to Him. The twelve would be utterly incapable of bearing the fruit that Christ called them to bear apart from relationally abiding in Him. And neither can we. We can do nothing apart from the overflow of our own personal walk with Christ. Churches are typically full of well-intentioned folks who spend themselves with tireless energy in service to the church, but who forsake the feeding of their own souls in private devotion and worship of Christ. These folks are running on empty and it is no wonder we find them burning out and fading away.
Some of you may be like Martha, who worked feverishly to serve Christ. The Bible says in Luke 10:40 that she was distracted by all of her activity, and that she complained to Jesus that her sister Mary was not helping her. But what did Jesus say to her? "Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her." And what was that one necessary thing? The Bible says Mary was seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to His word. Have you spent time with Him? Have you mined the depths of His word in private time alone with Him? Have you bathed regularly in the fountain of prayer and worship? If not, then He is far more interested in you setting these things aright than in you working yourself to exhaustion in service. And so while we would want to urge some of you to get busy in service to your Lord, we would warn others of you to clear some room on your plate! You are too busy! So over committed have you become in serving that you have failed to spend that time with Him which is so vital for your spiritual health. So important is the regular maintenance of our own devotion to Christ that before any active commission is given to the twelve, He prioritizes the simple responsibility of being with Him. This is where He shapes you and prepares you for the task of serving Him. This is the first and foremost purpose of His call.
Now notice secondly …
B. His Call is to Gospel Proclamation – that He could send them out to preach
It is certainly true that we must spend that time with Him before we can serve Him, but it is just as true that there comes a point where we must take action. He did not desire that these twelve would become a monastic community cut off from the world. He desired to send them into the world to proclaim His truth.
This word for preach here is the word used in the Greek language to describe the work of messengers of a king, who went forth heralding the proclamations with royal authority. They were not to go forth declaring their own words in their own strength. They were sent with heavenly authority to proclaim the message of the King. And what would they proclaim? That which He had been proclaiming, stated for us succinctly in Mark 1:14-15 as the Gospel of God, "The time is fulfilled, and the
Like a reservoir before a fountain, they were to be filled up with divine instruction and preparation. But the time must come when the levy breaks and the reservoir becomes a stream that is both fed and feeding. They must take in, but they must give out as well. They must tell others what they have heard and learned and seen in Christ. They must become a channel of His Word and of His grace. What is the opposite of a channel? It is a cess-pool, where fresh water enters, but never leaves, and becomes stagnant, rotten, and foul. God forbid that we sit, soak and sour before the Lord. Spend that necessary time with Him, and then Go and Tell! Being with Him proceeds forth to going for Him. This was true for the twelve, and it for us as well.
Now thirdly notice …
C. His Call is to Powerful Demonstration – and to have authority to cast out the demons
The Twelve are called to be empowered with divine authority to join Christ in His spiritual battle against the demonic principalities and powers that wage a war of evil against God in the world. The popular Judaism of Jesus’ day recognized that the subduing of demonic powers was evidence of the dawn of the Messianic Age. One of their sacred texts, the Testament of Levi, had said, “Beliar (that is, the devil) shall be bound by [the high priest of the Messianic Age] and He shall give power His children to tread upon the evil spirits.”[6] Prior to this verse, only Jesus is said to have this kind of authority, but now He multiplies His efforts by imparting that authority to these twelve.
Immediately we wonder how this notion of expelling the demons applies to us. Certainly we want to be careful here. We may wonder if we have this power to cast out demons. Undoubtedly some of us have tried and been unsuccessful! We need to remember that the twelve were not always successful either as we will see in Mark 9. But if we have not the power to effect miracles in our own day, we need not be ashamed. We have something of equal power. A scholar of a bygone day has said, “We have the living, life-giving Word of God. We have the promise of the Spirit; and by the Word and the Spirit … miracles are being wrought every day. At first the apostles had a smaller gospel (they had not yet got the cross to preach) and a larger power of miracles; afterwards less miracles, but more gospel; but always sufficient equipment. … Christ gives you power for every duty!”[7]
I find this very interesting that Jesus specifically calls them to oppose the forces of evil in the world. So the mission of the twelve is defined by what they stand for, namely relationship to Jesus and proclamation of His word, AND what they stand against. While I applaud the agenda of our friend Dr. Frank Page, whom this church ordained and who has said that he desires his presidency of the Southern Baptist Convention to make the world aware of what Baptists are for, and not just against, I still say, and I think Dr. Page would agree, there are some things we are adamantly and unashamedly against! We are against the satanic destruction of human life that we see all around us in the strongholds of alcoholism, drug addiction, prostitution, gambling, abortion, a whole host of societal evil. And in Christ’s name and under His authority we oppose it, just as the twelve entered the combat with the demonic forces in their day! These signs they had the authority to effect bore witness to the fullness of the gospel which we proclaim – which has been vindicated with ultimate authority by the matchless sign of the resurrection of Christ from the dead. So we need not feel sorry that our demonstrations lack the excitement of theirs. Remember that Jesus said in John 14:12, "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father.” We see these greater works in our own day! God’s word is still going forth in power, and His Spirit is still transforming lives as we serve Him and witness for Him in the world.
Listen to His Spirit calling today. He is calling us unto Himself just as He called these twelve. He has sovereignly chosen you and me to come to Him and to go forth for Him. Some of you today perhaps need to respond to Christ’s call to salvation. You need to receive the promise of the gospel, that by turning from sin and your own efforts to save yourself, and trusting completely in Christ, you can be forgiven and have eternal life. He died on the cross for your sins and mine, and rose from the dead to offer us entrance into His kingdom. If you have never responded to this call, I pray you will today. And others of you have done this, and today He is calling you to be with Him—to make room in the business of life for private devotion and worship, for instruction in His word, for shaping so that He can use you. Some of you have been seated at His feet, soaking in His word and the call today is for you to go forth and proclaim Him in the world, and to barge toward the gates of hell full throttle in His name to rescue the perishing. We have a great work before us here. And each of you is part of it. Listen. Hear Him calling. And respond to Him.
[1] John MacArthur, Twelve Ordinary Men (
[2] Bruce A. Little, Class Notes from “The Problem of Evil,” Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, April 12, 2005.
[3] G. Campbell Morgan, The Gospel According to Mark (Grand Rapids: Revell, 1927), 66-67.
[4] MacArthur, 25-26.
[5] Morgan, 67.
[6] Testament of Levi 18:12, cited in James R. Edwards, The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Gospel According to Mark (
[7] R. Glover, cited in John Henry Burn, The Preachers Homiletic Commentary On the Gospel According to St. Mark [Reprint] (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1996), 103.
No comments:
Post a Comment