THE FIRST ORGANIZED EFFORT TO GET THE GOSPEL OUT

Mark 3:13-15

Morning Meditation 3/2/17

Verse 13-15 says, “And he goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom he would: and they came unto him. And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach, And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils:”

Jesus had healed the man with the withered hand. His opponents watched to see if He would do it on the sabbath day. It is hard to understand the wilful blindness of the opponents of Jesus. They were so concerned that everything be done right according to their perception of the law that they were ready to stone anyone who violated what they perceived the law to teach. Jesus defended His actions in verse four when He said, “And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? To save life, or to kill? But they held their peace.” He had gone so far in chapter 2 and verse 28 to say, “Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.” It was like waving a red flag in front of these Jews to make such a claim. They believed God was the Lord of the sabbath and Jesus (who to them was an everyday Jew) is claiming to be Lord of the sabbath. They are like a TV cabinet with the insides absent. Because they were unsaved members of the Nation of Israel they could not receive truths like this. There are some who believe if you were born a Jew under the Abrahamic covenant that you were automatically in a right relationship with God. This is no more true than having Christian parents makes you a christian. Romans 2:29 says, “But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.”

The Jewish leaders rejected Jesus. As much as He loves them and wants to save them, they made a choice to reject Him. In our text we have the first organized effort of Jesus to move out through the nation and make His claims known. He will do this through His church. I want to mention four evident truths revealed in this text. First,

HE SELECTED THE APOSTLES

This is a sovereign choice. Verse 13 says, “And he goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom He would . . .” The word “calleth” translates “proskaleomai” and means, “to bid to come to one’s self.” The lexicon describes the use of this word: “Christ and the Holy Sprit are said to call to themselves those preachers of the gospel to whom they have decided to intrust a service having reference to the extension of the gospel.” —Strongs.

As the leaders of the Nation watched Him in His ministry, and observed the ones He chose to be His ambassadors, it probably struck a nerve of jealousy. Man would like to fix God where He will act like he wants Him to! It is no different today. God does not behave like some people want. He is completely sovereign in His choices. 1 Cor. 1:26-29 says, “For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence.”

This passage has been a great encouragement to me. The first time I read this passage in the light of being called to the ministry, I rejoiced that I was qualified. Amen. God is sovereign in the choices He makes. He does not ask our opinion. We are not even invited to discuss the issue with Him. Then next, He not only selected the original twelve from the others,

HE INSTALLED THE TWELVE IN OFFICE

Our text says, “And he ordained twelve . . .” The word “ordained” translates “poieo” and means, “to make a thing out of something.” It is an aorist active indicative verb. It means that at that point of time, He made these whom He names, Apostles. This is an office created in the first church that would die with their death. There is no such thing as Apostolic succession. The office existed in the early church until their death. They had powers and authority that no one since has had.

1 Cor. 12:27-28 says, “Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.” The local church is here called “the body.” The members are referred to as “members in particular.” The idea is that each member is a part of the same body but not all members are the same (see 12:14-18). Then He says in verse 28 that the first Spiritual gift to the church are the “apostles.” It says, “God hath set some (Spiritual gifts) in the church, first apostles . . ..” (Parenthesis mine for clarity) Is not our text in Mark identifying the time and place where Jesus established the office of apostle and chose and installed the men of His choice to fill that office? And if this is true, did not the church exist at the time of this installation which is during His personal ministry and before Pentecost? Then next we observe that,

HE SENT THEM BEFORE HIM

The words, “that they should be with him, that He might send them forth to preach” tell us the reason for this ordination. It is two-fold. First, “that they should be with him” means that these were to be full time associates. They were to be His constant companions. He will give them on-the-job-training. He will answer their questions and will spoon feed them on kingdom truths for the remainder of His ministry. Second hand information is ok if it is the truth. But someone needs to have first hand information. There needs to be someone around who can say, “I was taught by Him, I was personally instructed by Him.” There needs to be someone present when a question arises about something who can stand to his feet and say, “That same question came up one time when were traveling with Jesus and this is the way He answered it.” Jesus ordained these men to be with Him. Men of God still need to spend time with Him. He is not dead. He is very much alive and enjoys fellowship with His sovereignly chosen men. Many churches have their preachers so busy doing things that are not the purpose of their calling that there is no chance for them to spend anytime with the Lord. Men who spend time with the Lord are going to have to make it a priority and it cannot be rushed. Imagine a preacher entering a time of fellowship with the Lord and informing Him that they only have thirty minutes!

Then our text says, “that He might send them forth to preach.” Preachers are to be Christ-sent men. This is the reason they are called “men of God.” Men of God are men of like passions as everyone else. But they are sovereignly chosen to represent Him to the churches and to the world. They have a special relationship with Him. And I might add, you can tell if they have been with Jesus. They are preachers preaching His message. They do not choose the calling or the message. They are simply instruments in His hands. But what if no one listens? That is the listeners problem. Every man will stand and give an account of himself in that great day. I must preach. That is the calling to which I have been called. To God be the glory. Then next we see,

HE GAVE THEM AUTHENTICATING GIFTS

Our text says, “And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils.” Jesus worked miracles and gave His disciples power to work miracles to authenticate the message. Heb. 2: 4 says, “God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?” It is called “God also bearing them witness . . .” here. It is God saying by means of signs and wonders, “You need to listen to what these are telling you.” The New Testament was not written at that time. How were the people to know that what they were hearing was the truth? Well, if the preacher raised the dead or cleansed a leper you would get the idea that God was with him, right? God had a way of authenticating the message. This was it. The fact that the spirit world was also subject to these early preachers meant that the ONE these preachers represented was GREATER than the Satanic and demonic world. Acts 2:22 says, “Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, A MAN APPROVED OF GOD AMONG YOU BY MIRACLES AND WONDERS AND SIGNS, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:” (Caps mine for emphasis).

We have here the first known organized effort of the Lord to preach the gospel to the nation of Israel. It was a limited commission, i.e., limited at this time to the nation. We need an organized effort today to get the gospel out and New Testament Churches planted all over the world. It is called soul winning at home and missions abroad. Everyone is either called to go or to send. There is no one excused.

May the Lord bless these words to your heart.

In Christ

Bro. White