Daily Thoughts from Mark: The Twelve and Us (Mark 3:13-21)

And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him. And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach and have authority to cast out demons. He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder); 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.

 

Then he went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat. And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.” (Mark 3:13-21, ESV)

 

Jesus has been training his disciples to carry his message but he now selects 12 of these disciples to be apostles.  They particularly then will be his emissaries (an apostle is one who is sent with his master’s authority) who share his authority to cast out demons and to preach this message.  They will be responsible for maintaining the integrity of the message.  Others will be able to look to them as the authentic representatives of Jesus.  Jesus is preparing for when he will be gone.

 

The number 12 is significant.  Just as there are 12 tribes within Israel, so Jesus has 12 representatives through whom the promise made to Abraham will be fulfilled.  And just like the sons of Jacob who became the heads of these tribes, this is a ragtag bunch.  Peter and Andrew are brothers, as are James and John, and they are fishermen.  Philip and Bartholomew (also known as Nathaniel) are brothers.  Matthew is a tax-collector.  Simon is part of a group called the Zealots who are eager to overthrow Roman rule.  And we are told in advance that Judas Iscariot is going to betray Jesus.

 

But from all outward appearances this band of men are strictly loyal to Jesus and have devoted their lives to him.  In contrast to that, when Jesus and his group return home to Capernaum and are thronged by those desiring ministry, Jesus’ family thinks he has lost his mind and try to snatch him away and lock him away from this craziness.

 

Our faith is one that must be passed down to faithful others who will pass it down to faithful others and so on from generation to generation.  That is the process Jesus has anointed by his own example.  But there will be opposition of all kinds.  People will mistake our zeal for lunacy.  Others will hate us because we make them feel guilty or we threaten their power.  What else would we expect?  We are followers of Jesus and it happened to him.