"Chosen for a Mission!" (Mark 3:13-19)

"Chosen for a Mission!"

Falling in Love with Jesus…all over again! An epic journey through the Gospel of Mark (message #19)

Pastor Jerry Ingalls

June 5, 2011

We are on an epic journey through the Gospel of Mark. Last week, we discussed how Jesus Christ knew that after five direct confrontations with the religious leaders of the Jewish Synagogue (Mark 2:1 – 3:6) it was time to withdraw from Capernaum (Mark 3:7). He withdrew because He had to fulfill the entire will of God for His life. Not part way; all the way! Before the final confrontation with evil through the Cross of Calvary, Jesus needed to call the twelve apostles and prepare them to advance the Kingdom of God for which Jesus Christ came to usher in through His life, death, and resurrection.

Our study today is from Mark 3:13-19 (NAU), "And He went up on the mountain and summoned those whom He Himself wanted, and they came to Him. ¹⁴ And He appointed twelve, so that they would be with Him and that He could send them out to preach, ¹⁵ and to have authority to cast out the demons. ¹⁶ And He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom He gave the name Peter), ¹⁷ and James, the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James (to them He gave the name Boanerges, which means, 'Sons of Thunder'); ¹⁸ and 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." [Prayer]

Let's learn from this story how Jesus called the Twelve nearly 2000 years ago and how He continues to call today. First, JESUS CHRIST SUMMONS YOU TO BE WITH HIM!

Mark 3:13 describes, "And He went up on the mountain and summoned those whom He Himself wanted, and they came [aperchomai] to Him." We learn from the immediate context of our passage that a huge crowd from all over the region followed Jesus to the sea (Mark 3:7-8). Now, Jesus selects and summons twelve men to break away from the multitudes to be with Him. Jesus withdrew on purpose and this is that purpose!

Jesus summoned those whom He Himself wanted. What is a summons? A summons is a call by an authority to appear, come, or do something. When we hear the word summons, we commonly think of a legal summons, like you have been summoned to appear before a judge. When Jesus Christ summons you to be with Him, you have the Judge of all humanity calling you to be with Him. This is an opportunity of a lifetime and the consequences are real on whether or not you accept this summons. To accept or deny has implications when Judgment comes!

From what authority did Jesus summon these men to Himself? This is a key question because anyone can ask us to do something or to be somewhere, but not everyone has the authority to summon us. Jesus' authority rests in who He is! In the Gospel of John 17:6 Jesus prays, "I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word."

Our Scripture lesson says that Jesus summoned those He Himself wanted and when we put that in harmony with John 17:6 we do not find a contradiction of who called who, but rather we see that God the Father and God the Son are one in heart and purpose.

The Good News is that Jesus Christ takes full responsibility for who He summons because who He calls to Himself is from within His own sovereign will (from within the heart of God). In other words, Jesus does not make mistakes in who He summons! God does not make junk and He wants all of His children to come to Him when He calls, just like any loving parent would expect his/her children to come to him/her when they call for them. When you are summoned, your response is to yield to the call. Are you yielding? Listen to the response of the twelve. When Jesus called, 'they departed to Him'; the Greek word is aperchomai and it means "to go away in order to follow; to depart from one way in order to go another" This words implies a change of allegiance; they departed from their former allegiances to follow the authority of the One who called them. Have you departed from the old life to answer Jesus' summons to be with Him?

Jesus explains in the Gospel of John 15:16a, "You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain."

Remember, that it is not you who chooses God; it is God who has summoned you to be with Him.

This is more than a Facebook friend request. To refuse to answer the summons has judicial implications on your eternity. This is a legally binding reality according to the established covenant between God and humanity. Just as a citizen of a sovereign nation must submit to the laws of the legally established authorities, so we, as men and women created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27) must submit to the covenant between the sovereign authority of the Creator and us, His creation.

The second teaching point, JESUS CHRIST APPOINTS YOU FOR A MISSION!

Jesus summoned the Twelve and they departed from their former allegiances to follow the authority of the One who called them. The story doesn't end there for the Twelve nor does it end there for us today. Mark 3:14-15 continues to tell the story, "And He appointed [poieō] twelve, so that they would be with Him and that He could send [apostellō] them out to preach, and to have authority [exousia] to cast out the demons."

We are summoned according to God's sovereign will and when we respond to this invitation we are appointed with a purpose—for a mission!

What is the mission we are appointed to? These two verses answer this question for us. It's a two-part mission:

1. To be with Him in a special relationship!

2. To be sent out in a special service!

The key word of verse 14 is poieō which is translated "He appointed", but more literally means to make, to create, to form something. We saw this word used when Jesus Christ called the fisherman to follow Him in Mark 1:17, "And Jesus said to them, 'Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.'"

In this verse too we see the call to the two-part mission of being a disciple of Jesus Christ. First, we follow Jesus. We are with Him in a special relationship! Second, He will make us become (poieō) fishers of men. We are sent out in a special service! Jesus appointed the twelve as apostles, which comes from the original Greek word apostellō, which means "ones sent out" as heralds (messengers, envoys) of the Kingdom of God. From this two-part mission, we realize that Jesus is calling us to the abiding life (John 15) that requires of us to remain in Him as we are sent out as messengers of the Good News.

That is why Jesus appoints them to both preach and have the authority to cast out demons. As official heralds or envoys (ambassadors!) of the Kingdom of God, the twelve are sent out in a special service which comes with the authority of the Master, the One who has the legal authority to summons and appoint. We see the same Greek word for authority, exousia, again in the commission given to the disciples of Jesus Christ. We are each called out to be sent out ones in Matthew 28:18-20, "And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, 'All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.'"

You can here the two-part mission of the abiding life again in this commission upon all followers of Jesus Christ. Jesus has not stopped appointing apostles—sent out ones who have the authority of the King to be heralds of the Kingdom of God. When you answer the summons to be with Jesus, He appoints you! You have been appointed by God for a two-part mission! 1) Are you spending time with Jesus in a special relationship? 2) Are you responding to His appointment to be sent out as His ambassador to the world?

You are called with a mission—to be with Jesus and to be sent out for Jesus. This is not an impersonal call. We learn from the Bible that when God calls you JESUS CHRIST PERSONALLY CALLS YOU BY NAME!

Listen to Mark 3:16-19, "And He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom He gave the name Peter), and James, the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James (to them He gave the name Boanerges, which means, 'Sons of Thunder'); and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Zealot; and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Him."

When God summon and appoints, He calls you by name! What an amazing reality; the God who is Creator and Redeemer knows you by name! This is the way that God has always worked when He summons people to be in relationship with Him and appoints them do a special service for Him. Listen to Exodus 3:4-6a, "When the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, 'Moses, Moses!' And he said, 'Here I am.' Then He said, 'Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.' He said also, 'I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.'"

God is the same yesterday and today and forever (Hebrews 13:8) and He is still calling people by name today. Listen to the words of Jesus Christ from Revelation 3:20, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me."

Jesus is at the door of His church and at the door of your life knocking. The Bible says "if anyone hears My voice" and this implies He is speaking, possibly even calling out. What is He saying? Could it be that our Lord Jesus Christ is standing at the door, knocking, and calling out your name?

God is personally pursuing you by calling you by name! Will you open the door to a relationship with Jesus Christ?

Let us pray together and listen for the voice of God calling us to be with Him by name.