An enthusiastic preacher but lacked faith! That was the description of John Wesley’s ministry before he got saved. He was an Anglican priest and was excited to go on a mission trip to bring the gospel to the newly found America in the 18th century. One day he reluctantly attended a Christian meeting where they read Martin Luther’s introduction to Romans.
While it was being read, he put his faith in Jesus and his whole life turned around. Now we know that the Lord used him mightily to being about a revival in England. Don’t you find it interesting that he was around Christian people all the time? He was an Anglican priest! He was well versed with the Bible – he studied theology in college! He even went on a mission trip to a country which was newly discovered! Yet he didn’t know what it meant to be a follower of Jesus. He loved the idea of Christianity but didn’t know what it meant to be a Christian. How do we know that we are followers of Christ? What makes us a follower of Christ? I believe today’s passage will help us identify what it means to be a true follower of Christ. Please turn with me to Mark 3:7-19.
As you a church we are going through a series in the Gospel of Mark. Last week we saw how the Pharisees got really hostile toward Jesus to the point that they conspired with the Herodians on how they can kill him!
[7] Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the sea, and a great crowd followed, from Galilee and Judea [8] and Jerusalem and Idumea and from beyond the Jordan and from around Tyre and Sidon. When the great crowd heard all that he was doing, they came to him. [9] And he told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, lest they crush him, [10] for he had healed many, so that all who had diseases pressed around him to touch him. [11] And whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.” [12] And he strictly ordered them not to make him known.
[13] And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him. [14] And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach [15] and have authority to cast out demons. [16] He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); [17] James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder); [18] Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Zealot,[b] [19] and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
There are three things that this passage tells us about being a follower of Jesus Christ.
1. We follow Christ by making him our satisfaction
[7] Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the sea, and a great crowd followed, from Galilee and Judea [8] and Jerusalem and Idumea and from beyond the Jordan and from around Tyre and Sidon. When the great crowd heard all that he was doing, they came to him. [9] And he told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, lest they crush him, [10] for he had healed many, so that all who had diseases pressed around him to touch him. [11] And whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.” [12] And he strictly ordered them not to make him known. (v7-12)
These verses tell us how Jesus drew a great crowd. And the crowd was so diverse that they came from all different parts of Israel. V8 tells us that this huge crowd came to him because they heard all that he was doing. They heard about the amazing miracles and healings that he did. Now they wanted to see it themselves! Not only did this crowd come to him, but the people with diseases kept pressing themselves against Jesus so that they could touch him and get healed. It was so bad that Jesus asked his disciples to have a boat ready so that the crowd wouldn’t crush him. Not only does this indicate the humanity of Jesus but also reveals how the people had a greater concern to receive physical healing than knowing and believing in Jesus.
The demonic spirits knew who Jesus was. In fact they correctly identified Jesus as the Son of God because they were aware of his authority. But why would Jesus tell them to be quiet? Why should he stop them from telling the crowd who he truly is? Now they’ll finally recognize him correctly, right? No, let’s understand what the Jews were expecting that time. They were expecting a Messiah who would be a political ruler who would remove the Romans and become their King. And becoming a political ruler isn’t why Jesus came to the earth. Jesus came to the earth to reign over our hearts and minds so that our greatest loyalty and obedience would be toward him only. Jesus came not to satisfy some of our needs but to become our complete satisfaction forever. Jesus came not to fulfill our personal goals but to become our only goal in life!
If I went to my wife and told her “Angie, I love being married to you because you cook for me, help me with my laundry & do the dishes”, she would actually feel more insulted than loved. Why? Because I’ve reduced her to just someone who does a few things for me. Instead if I told her “Angie, I love being married to you because I see you as God’s gift for me. I appreciate everything you do for me and I’m honored to be your husband”. What does that communicate? How precious and valuable she is.
If the only reason we pray is so that we ask God to give us a job, a life partner, house, money, position then we are not making Him our satisfaction. I’m not saying we shouldn’t pray about these things but is that the only reason why we pray? If the only reason we read our Bible is so that we don’t feel guilty or condemned then we aren’t delighting in Him. If the only reason why we come to God is so that we receive healing or to deliver us from trouble then we aren’t loving him. And this is the test: if God takes everything away from you…just like Job would you love him? Would you honor him? Would you say “God, I am going through the deepest time of trial, but I will still trust in you. I will still call onto you. I will still praise You because You never change”. That can only happen if we make Christ our satisfaction. That means studying the Bible with a desire to love Jesus. Praying to grow closer to Him.
2. We follow Christ by responding to His invitation
[13] And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him.
You see here how Jesus Christ Himself called people to himself. Christ chooses His disciples. He chooses those who would follow Him. Not just does He call them, but they come to Him. That’s the part I want to focus on. The great mystery and truth of the Christian life is that we first become believers and then after sometime we realize how God already chose us in Christ before the foundations of the world to be holy and blameless before Him (Eph 1:3)
We then realize that those whom God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son. Those whom He predestined, He called, those He called He justified, and those He justified, He also glorified (Rom 8:29, 30)
But we can only understand that once we have responded to His invitation. It’s like an invitation to an event that has been given to you. But you can only know what all planning and arrangements have been made once you enter the venue. Once you enter, you look around and then you realize the amount of time and effort it may have taken the organizer to set it up. So it’s not like from the outside we can judge “Oh, I’m not sure Christ has chosen me so I can’t trust Him as my Lord and Savior”. No, in fact Jesus invites everyone to the good news of the gospel.
[28] Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. [29] Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. [30] For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matt 11:28)
[37] On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. (John 7:37)
The Lord chooses, He grants us faith to believe in Him and the Spirit transforms our hearts! No doubt but these are things we only understand in retrospect. Not before we come to Christ. How can this apply to a believer? You may have been a believer in Christ but you are struggling right now with guilt and shame. You may be thinking “there’s no way God can accept a person like me. I’ve messed up the zillionth time again”.
[12] As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. (Psalm 103:12)
Our sins are removed so far from us because of what Christ did for us on the cross. He paid it in full. Hold on to this promise, come to Jesus, repent and respond to His invitation. And then spend the rest of your life remembering and retelling how amazing our God is! When we stumble in sin, repent and grieve over the sin, hold on to the precious promises of Christ and come back to Jesus. Don’t be like the person who doesn’t go for the event because he thinks he doesn’t have a personal invitation. No, Christ Himself gave you the invitation through His blood He shed on the cross and through His resurrection. Jesus Christ has removed every single barrier. Nothing stops you from coming openly and gladly running towards God. Do you believe?
3. We follow Christ by participating in His mission
[14] And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach [15] and have authority to cast out demons. [16] He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); [17] James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder); [18] Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Zealot,[b] [19] and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
It says Christ appointed 12 people so that they might be with Jesus and that they might be sent out. What an encouraging verse! All of Christian life is described in just that: being with Jesus and then being sent out as His representatives. So we spend time every day with Jesus in the morning, and then are sent out as His representatives in our families, neighborhoods, colleges and workplaces. We spend time every week in Gospel community and Sunday Gathering and then are sent out to “Gather More”. Are there stressful times while we are on mission? Yes, maybe stress at work, financial difficulty, anxiety, family pressure, relational conflict. What do we do? Go and be with Jesus Christ and His people and then again be sent out. I remember when I just became a believer, someone at my youth group called time in community as “being recharged”. Such a great way of telling it. Let’s get recharged everyday as we spend one on one time with God and then let’s get recharged when we connect with other believers during the week.
What were the two things these apostles did? They preached the gospel and they were given the authority to cast out demons. Now we know that all believers aren’t given the same gifts of miracles and casting out demons but the idea here is go out and serve people with your gifts and then find opportunities to tell the gospel to them as you are serving them.
For example, if someone has the gifting of compassion, go and serve the people in your community in such a way that it creates opportunities for you to share the good news of Jesus with them. If someone has the gifting of faith, go and pray with your colleagues for their needs in such a way that you tell them about the Lord to whom you are praying to.
One last point, I’m sure it may have crossed your mind. What about Judas Iscariot? How come Christ appointed him even though he knew that he would eventually betray him?
Now I know one of the reason was to fulfill the Scriptures and prophecy that spoke about a close partner and friend who would betray the Messiah. But I also think it was to serve as an example for us reminding us that you can be so close to Christianity and yet love something else more than Jesus. You can be attracted by the Bible, Church and mission and yet be willing to give everything up if your expectations are affected. What makes us think that we are believers? How do we truly know that we aren’t just fascinated by Church and Christianity? The only way is by seeing biblically if we are following Christ.
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