Mark 3:13  And he goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom he would: and they came unto him.
14  And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach,
15  And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils:
16  And Simon he surnamed Peter;
17  And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The 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 Canaanite,
19  And Judas Iscariot, which also betrayed him: and they went into an house.
20  And the multitude cometh together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread.
21  And when his friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on him: for they said, He is beside himself.

In this passage we learn another important lesson from God. Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God/Son of Man. He is all powerful and Almighty. He is all wisdom as well. He spent many precious hours up in the mountains of Israel. He went there to commune with His Father often. He could get away from the busyness of life and be alone there with His Father. That was needed for Him while He was on this earth. Think of how necessary that is for those who are born again now.
On this particular occasion, Jesus called unto Him whom He would. God has a purpose for every born again Christian. He has a purpose for all people, but most people refuse to turn to Him and thus they miss out on that plan for them. The Lord is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
In our text, we are told that Jesus called whom He would and they came unto Him. That is the key. God is calling all to repentance. After that He is calling each saved person to a specific calling. Generally speaking, other true, faithful Christians will see how other Christians are being prepared by God for service in His great Work of preaching the Gospel to the lost. Some will do so as farmers, others as mechanics, others as nurses and others as doctors and so on. God will never call any of His children to be bar tenders or dancers or other vices like that. God calls His children to a life of purity and blessing.
In our text, Jesus called twelve men. He called them to be with Him. A Christian cannot learn how to walk as a Christian unless he/she spends quality time with the Lord, daily. In our text, God called men, because men are to be the leaders in the home, society, and church. Women can have a ministry as helpers, but men are called to lead.
Jesus called twelve men to be leaders, apostles. One of these men was a devil. Jesus knew that. Obviously Judas Iscariot would not be a spiritual leader. He would be removed after being given all the opportunity he needed to repent and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as his Saviour and Lord. He rejected that offer. Money was his god, and that is a ruthless god that led him to commit suicide and be plunged into hell.
Judas was sent out to preach with the others during their time of training. We can see that even a lost person can preach the truth. We do not follow the ungodly example. We follow the Word of God. If a lost person takes the Word of God and preaches that, others can believe the Word. The problem is, that the lost preacher will face the wrath of God; not a good choice. As we see, Jesus did not leave Judas in that position for long.
In our text we read that these twelve men were given power to heal sicknesses and to cast out devils. We must understand that this power was specific to these twelve men. It was not a general statement that all saved people have the power to heal sicknesses and to cast out devils. The disciples/apostles were given this power to set them apart from others. Some of the apostles would be tasked with completing the Scriptures as directed by the Holy Spirit. Most of the people did not have the ability to examine these men because they did not have easy access to the Word of God at that time. In Acts 17 we read that the Bereans had access to some of the Scriptures and they took advantage of that privilege and they searched the Scriptures daily to be sure that what the apostles were preaching to them was true.
The apostles would do signs and wonders to prove they were God’s chosen men. There were imposters then and there are far more imposters today. We have already noted that Jesus did not allow the devils to proclaim Who He was. God put limits on who He would allow to make true claims about Him.
In our text, the twelve disciples were given these special powers to help the people to see the importance of listening to these men.
John 16 tells us that after Jesus would leave the earth, the “Comforter”, the Holy Ghost, would convince the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment. The Holy Spirit is busy today, working in the heart of every lost person to help them to see their need of salvation. Those who are saved, are to go and teach all nations. As we teach and preach, the Holy Spirit is busy working in the heart of the lost to help the Word to bear down upon their hearts. Many people avoid the truth like the plague. They do not want to hear the Truth because the Holy Spirit is convincing them of sin and of righteousness and of judgment. They know they are guilty before God and they choose to run away from that rather than repent and be saved. The problem with that is that at death no one runs any further. Without trusting in Christ, there is no hope at death. All is lost and hell is there. If you are lost and reading this, you have another opportunity right now to stop running and humble yourself and trust in the true God for your salvation. There is no substitute for God’s peace.
Our text listed the names of the twelve disciples. Most of them were not highly educated men. They were not sophisticated men. They were simple men who learned the importance of trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ. Of course this would be all but Judas. Jesus would replace him later.
We read that Jesus took these twelve men and entered into a house. The people knew of this and they came and crowded into that house so that there was not even room for Jesus and the disciples to eat. The people were hungry for something much more precious than material food. Most of them never realized that which was lacking in their hearts. They needed the Truth. They needed Jesus Christ as their Saviour and Lord.
Most people today are also running for help. As we follow the campaigning right now. we see large crowds being drawn to Mr. Poilievre’s meetings. People in Canada are hungry. They know they have been cheated for the past ten years. The sad thing is that they will be cheated no matter which party they vote for. The hope of man is not in a politician. Even if a politician wanted to truly help the people, the system is so corrupt now that the person would be restricted in their actions. We know that God used Daniel and before that, Joseph and others to influence wicked governments. Those men were bold and humble. They were not afraid to speak the truth plainly and honestly. We do not see anyone in our current system that is even saved, never mind willing to speak the truth plainly and honestly. If there were such a person, they could never join any one of the political parties. They would need to run as an independent. It certainly appears that Canada has run out of time with God. It seems as though God is winding things down to the next phase of His plan. We do not know the time, but there does not seem to be any place for a ‘great awakening’ in our country or any country. That does not mean that Christians give up and stop preaching and teaching. It means we keep serving God faithfully and reaching the lost. It is rather obvious that most people are not interested in the truth these days. We work with those few that God gives us and pray for others to humble themselves and turn to God.
In our text we read that Jesus’ friends — his close associates — came to where He was and they wanted to interrupt what was happening. They wanted to take Jesus by force because they believed He was beside Himself. They thought He had a mental breakdown or some other ailment. We know His own brothers and sisters did not believe in Him at this time.
We are not told how God stopped them from interfering, but we know that they did not get to fulfil their wish to stop Jesus.
The important fact we need to note in this passage is that Jesus chose twelve men. The number would remain the same, but one would be replaced. Those twelve men would be used to turn their world upside down.
In the Old Testament, God chose Gideon to lead a few men in a battle against a massive Midianite army. Gideon and his men needed to learn that it was not their might that would win the battle. They needed to learn that it was God Who gave them the victory. The entire nation needed to learn that.
Today as well, it is not our feeble efforts that will win the battle for souls. It is God Who is working through humble, willing vessels to bring men and women, boys and girls to repentance. We need to know Him and submit to His will.
John the Baptist understood that the glory belonged to Jesus Christ. We need to learn that and know that as well. God calls His children to follow Him humbly and exalt Him before men. He is still working to break hard hearts. When He breaks a hard heart true salvation takes place. When men try to interfere and corrupt the Gospel for a quick roll call, it does not result in lasting results. It makes a mockery of the truth.
It is important to submit to God and follow His leading. His way works. Man’s ways lead to destruction. Those who are truly saved, want to see others set free from bondage. They do not want to see them flop from one bondage to another.
Pastor Bartel