Jesus Builds His Team

JESUS BUILDS HIS TEAM

An Exposition of Mark 3:7-21

By Pastor Brian Wilbur

Date:   January 19, 2020

Series: Mark: Knowing and Following God’s Son

Note:   Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard   Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

SCRIPTURE PASSAGE

Holy Scripture says:

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, ¹⁹ and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

²⁰ Then he went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat. ²¹ And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.” (Mark 3:7-21)

INTRODUCTION: THE PRESSURE OF CROWDS AND OPPOSITION

Jesus builds His team.

Jesus builds His team, but not in a world of comfort and ease.

Jesus builds His team amid the pressure of crowds and opposition.

Surrounded by excited crowds, pressing needs, and unclean spirits, Jesus deliberately gets away from the noise in order to form a team that will work with Him to change the world.

It is possible to look at a passage like Mark 3:13-19, which tells us about Jesus’ mountain retreat with the twelve apostles, and naively assume that it took place in a world of peace and quiet. But verses 7-12 (which come before the mountain retreat) and verses 20-21 (which come after the mountain retreat), show us that Jesus’ team-building trip to the mountain was a short break from a demanding and difficult ministry.

The Pressure of Opposition

Even before we get to our passage, it has become clear that Jesus is facing opposition. The combined effect of Jesus claiming to have the authority to forgive sins, of Jesus sitting down and eating with tax collectors and sinners, and of Jesus healing on the Sabbath Day, got the Pharisees all worked up. Mark 3:6 tells us that the Pharisees began to conspire about “how to destroy him.” What would it be like to have influential cultural leaders like the Pharisees totally opposed to you and eager to bring about your demise?

The Pressure of Crowds and Pressing Needs

As we get into verses 7-12, we see the crowds descending upon Jesus: “a great crowd followed” (v. 7); “When the great crowd heard all that he was doing, they came to him” (v. 8); “all who had diseases pressed around him to touch him “ (v. 10). The size and determination of the crowd actually made the situation dangerous: “And he told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, lest they crush him” (v. 9, italics added). Do you have any idea what that would be like? Like me, you have probably been part of a crowd – for example, a crowd on its way to the indoor arena for a sporting event or a concert. Even that can be stressful. But what would it be like to be the one who is sought after and chased down by the crowd? The crowd doesn’t want a go-between figure like Peter or John – the crowd wants you. And if they are sick, they are pressing around you and attempting to touch you. Wouldn’t that be overwhelming and exhausting? I appreciate this quote from James Edwards:

“… folksy stereotypes of Jesus by lambs and children are skewed caricatures of Mark’s description of Jesus’ early ministry in Galilee. The arrival of a popular leader jostled by crowds and hassled by reporters is more appropriate.”[1]

Do you remember the passages from Hebrews 2 and Hebrews 3 that tell us that Jesus experienced a full range of temptations that are common to mankind? Have you ever thought about the fact that one of His temptations had to do with His widespread popularity? He was enormously popular among the masses: Mark 3:7-8 tell us that people from all over the place sought Him – people “from Galilee” (that is the region He was in), from “Judea and Jerusalem and Idumea” (which all lay to the south), “and from beyond the Jordan” (the land to the east across the Jordan River), “and from around Tyre and Sidon” (the region to the northwest, which would have included Gentiles). These people eagerly listened to Him, and they expected Him to make the diseases and the demons go away. We understand that Jesus had to endure the painful realities of betrayal, desertion, and rejection. But do we understand that He also had to endure what for many others would have to be called the reality-distorting experience of popularity and success and the pressure to meet popular expectations? Unlike how others have responded, Jesus did not let the size of the crowd go to His head. He didn’t find His identity in numbers. And He didn’t ‘cash in’ His popular success for money or earthly power (e.g., John 6:15). Jesus loved every face in the crowd, but He wasn’t captive to the crowd. And there were times when He had to step away from the crowd in order to do other important work.

Conflict with the Unclean Spirits

In addition to the religious critics and the swelling crowds, Jesus also had to deal with unclean spirits: “And whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fellow down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.”” And he strictly ordered them not to make him known.” (v. 11-12) When I commented on a similar passage back in Chapter 1 (see Mark 1:34 and also Mark 1:43-44), I said that Jesus is in charge of His own publicity. Jesus has the authority to proclaim the gospel and reveal Himself to the world, and Jesus has the authority to authorize others to do so – and we’re going to see this authorization process in action in verses 13-19. But Jesus has no interest in having unholy spirits obnoxiously and hastily reveal His identity – it isn’t fitting, and it isn’t helpful.

Demons are unruly, and it is not their right or privilege to reveal Jesus’ divine identity to the world. To have the phrase “You are the Son of God” spoken in dramatic fashion from unstable people who are in a frenzy because they are possessed by demons is not good publicity – it is bad publicity and draws unwelcome attention. So Jesus ordered them to hold their wicked tongue.  

Ongoing Pressure

So we see that whatever Jesus does, He must do it amid the pressure of crowds and opposition. There is this pressure of crowds and opposition before the retreat to the mountain, and there is the pressure of crowds and opposition after the retreat to the mountain. After the team-building event on the mountain, Jesus simply goes home (v. 20). But of course it ended up being anything but simple: “and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat.” (v. 20) There was the danger of being crushed in verse 9, now there is the inability to eat in verse 20. Then after the overwhelming crowd (in v. 20) there is more opposition (in v. 21). This time, the opposition is not from the Pharisees (as in v. 7) or from the unclean spirits (as in v. 11), but from Jesus’ very own earthly family: “And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.”” (v. 21) At this point, Jesus’ family did not believe that He is the Messiah who had come to bring the riches of God’s kingdom to our poor world. Instead they thought He was nuts, and if they had gotten their way they would rescued Him from the chaos that was swirling around Him and from the craziness that they thought was swirling in Him.

JESUS DIDN’T LIVE BY POLLS

As you can see, the crowds and opposition are found on both sides of verses 13-19. But verses 13-19 tell us that Jesus took the time to build His team amid these very pressures.             

Although Jesus loved every person in every crowd in every situation, He didn’t determine the next course of action by taking a poll. If Jesus had taken a poll in Mark 1:37, He would have stayed in Capernaum. In that passage, after a long evening of ministry, Jesus had arisen early the next morning had “gone out to a desolate place” in order to pray (Mark 1:35). Eventually Jesus’ disciples found Him and told Him, “Everyone is looking for you.” (Mark 1:37) If Jesus had done what everyone who was looking for Him wanted Him to do, then He would have returned to Capernaum. Instead He said, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.” (Mark 1:38) Jesus knew that His calling required Him and His disciples to “go on to the next towns.”

Now there is a similar situation in Mark 3. If Jesus had taken a poll in Mark 3:8-10, He would have stayed put in order to satisfy “the great crowd” (v. 8) that had drawn near to Him. But Jesus had important business to conduct with His disciples. Verse 7 itself might be a hint that Jesus wanted a brief time of retreat with His disciples: “Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the sea.” The rest of verse 7 through verse 12 then describes an interruption: the ‘disciples’ lakeside retreat’ is impeded by the gathering of “a great crowd” (v. 7) that presses toward Jesus with their curiosity and their illnesses. Jesus was certainly gracious in His response to the crowd, but He still had to get away with His disciples.

JESUS BUILDS HIS TEAM

Finally, after the busyness and noise and stress of verses 7-12, verses 13-19 tell us about Jesus leading a retreat for His disciples “on the mountain” (v. 13). Here we see Jesus building His team. The fact that He did so on a mountain communicates the special importance of what took place. And what did take place was the formation of Jesus’ twelve-man team: the twelve, the twelve disciples, the twelve apostles.

The Significance of Twelve

The number twelve, of course, is full of symbolic meaning. Israel – God’s covenant people in the Old Testament – consisted of twelve tribes, stemming from the twelve sons of Jacob. Because of Israel’s persistent disobedience, God removed Israel from the place of blessing and consequently Israel had to suffer exile and affliction. Even so, God promised through the Old Testament prophets that one day He would restore His people – and that future day of blessing would involve not only the salvation of Israelites who turn to the Lord but also the salvation of Gentiles who turn to the Lord. When Jesus appointed twelve disciples, He was making it clear that He is at the center of God’s redeeming work for His people – He was making it clear that God’s people are now defined by their relationship to Himself. The ‘old Israel’ was defined by their relationship to such things as the temple, the law, the land, and the Sabbath. The ‘new and true Israel’ – the church of the living God – is defined by their relationship to Jesus.

In the Old Testament, God built the ‘old Israel’. In the New Testament, Jesus – God’s Son – builds the ‘new and true Israel’. It is so evident in our passage that Jesus is Lord and therefore He gets to call the shots. Jesus takes the lead: “And he went up on the mountain” (v. 13). Jesus issues the invitation for others to join Him: “he… called to him those whom he desired” (v. 13). Jesus appoints others to positions of responsibility: “And he appointed twelve” (v. 14). Jesus is clearly in charge as the initiator, creator, and builder of His team.     

A Few Things about the Twelve

Regarding the twelve men who are the building blocks of this ‘new and true Israel’, it is no surprise that “Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter)” (v. 16) is mentioned first, for Simon Peter was the first among equals and the frequent spokesman of the twelve. It is also no surprise that James and John (v. 17) are mentioned next, for the trio of Peter, James, and John was the ‘inner circle’ who had a number of private interactions with Jesus that the other nine didn’t get to have. Finally, it is no surprise that Judas is mentioned last, since he is the one and only member of the twelve who proved himself untrue to the calling. Judas shall always and tragically be remembered as the one “who betrayed him.” (v. 19)

Three Valid Ways of Thinking about the Twelve: Apostles, apostles, and disciples

More could be said about the twelve men who are listed in verses 16-19, but we need to look closely at verses 13-16 in order to draw out some important lessons for us as we think about what it means to follow Jesus. This raises an important question: Are we supposed to identify with the twelve? And if so, how? Are the twelve apostles ‘like us’ or ‘not like us’?

Well, we need to understand that there are three valid ways of thinking about the twelve.

In the first sense, the twelve are unique – they are Apostles with a capital-A. Jesus trained them personally and directly; Jesus made them the very first leaders and teachers of the church; and Jesus made them the special stewards of His mission to take the gospel to the whole world. They had a unique authority over the entire church; and some of them had the privilege of serving as writers of holy Scripture. As Apostles with a capital-A, their role is unrepeatable. In this sense, we ought to be genuinely thankful to the Lord Jesus Christ for so caring for the church that He trained men to continue His work on earth after He returned to heaven. Moreover, we ought to recognize our indebtedness to the twelve: under God the Father, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, we owe everything to the capital-A Apostles: they were eyewitnesses of the Lord Jesus Christ and of the salvation that He brought, and they proclaimed and wrote down what they saw and heard. If we are Christians, we stand on their giant shoulders!

In the second sense, the twelve are a pattern for all of the Christian missionaries and preachers that would follow them in due course (e.g., see 1 Peter 5:1). In this sense, they are apostles with a lowercase-a. As you can see in verse 14, the word “apostles” shows up in our passage: the twelve were “also named apostles” (see also Mark 6:30). The word ‘apostle’ means ‘one who is sent’. An apostle is an ambassador, an envoy, a messenger. An apostle’s responsibility is to fulfill the mission that was entrusted to him: whoever sends the apostle has the authority to define the apostle’s mission, and the apostle’s most basic responsibility is to be faithful to the one who sent him. All ministers of the word, whether missionaries, evangelists, and church planters, or preachers, teachers, and ministry leaders in the local church, should be able to see in the twelve a faithful example to emulate.

In the third sense – and this is the sense that I’m going to focus on – the twelve are a pattern for all disciples. In this sense the twelve are model disciples. As we read through Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, we realize that these twelve men are learning what it means to be members of Jesus’ family; they are learning what it means to be citizens of God’s kingdom; they are learning what humility and love and prayer look like in action. Simply put, they are learning what it means to trust and follow Jesus. What they learned are the very things that we ourselves must learn and continue to learn. Like the original twelve, it is our most fundamental responsibility to follow Jesus – “to walk in the same way in which he walked” (1 John 2:6). The twelve are our teachers and examples. They would say to us the very thing that Paul said to the Corinthian Church: “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 11:1)

Not every Christian is a capital-A Apostle. Not every Christian is a lowercase-a apostle. But every genuine Christian is a disciple – and we have much to learn from the twelve!

While it is certainly legitimate to emphasize any one of these three valid ways of thinking about the twelve, I’m going to be emphasizing the fact that the twelve are model disciples – and thus we can learn some important lessons on discipleship from their experience with Jesus.

FOUR LESSONS ON DISCIPLESHIP

With this in mind, let me set forth four important lessons on discipleship from verses 13-16.  

Lesson 1: Disciples Respond to the Lord’s Call (v. 13)

Here is the first lesson: disciples respond to the Lord’s call, not to general information, events, or trends. Notice that attendance at this team-building event is by invitation only. Jesus did not issue a general invitation to many; He issued a specific invitation to small number. ‘Invitation’ isn’t even the best word to describe what is going on here; it is rather a call, a summons, a command. The basis of this call is not in the quality of the one who is called, but in the desire and determination of the one who calls: Jesus “called to him those whom he desired.” (v. 13) The Lord’s desire and will to call a person is foundational. Which means that a person’s desire to be called, or a person’s response to His call, is secondary.

Isn’t it remarkable that Jesus would desire to have people like us with Him on a retreat in the mountains? After all, the thing that always puts a damper on retreats is that sinners are there. If you take away sinners and sinful attitudes and the effects that sin has on relationships, then you would have a truly peaceful retreat experience – except no one but Jesus would be there to enjoy it, because “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). So be sure to appreciate the indication of grace in this passage: “he… called to him those whom he desired” (italics added), which shows us that the Lord Jesus Christ actually desired to have fellowship with some sinful human beings – not because of their sin but in spite of their sin. Jesus wanted them to enter into fellowship with Him on the mountain. Marvel that anyone at all would get invited to this ‘invitation only event’!

Disciples respond to Jesus’ invitation, not to general information about Jesus. This brings us to an important contrast between the large crowd (in v. 7-10) and the small group of disciples (in v. 13-19). In fact, we are going to see this vital truth again and again: not everyone who is in the thronging crowd is a true disciple; not everyone who is responding to Jesus is responding to Him with genuine faith. We will see this in the next passage in Chapter 3 as well as the first passage in Chapter 4. It is an important lesson to learn.

We see this contrast between the large crowd and the small group of disciples very clearly in verses 8 and 13. The end of verse 8 tells us, “When the great crowd heard all that he was doing, they came to him.” Now contrast that with verse 13: “And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him.” Do you see the difference? The great crowd of verse 8 “came to him” because they heard about Him. But the small group of verse 13 “came to him” because they heard from Him. The many people of verse 8 came to Jesus out of general curiosity, interest, and felt need. But the small group of verse 13 came to Jesus out of a specific call that they received from Him.

This reality that Jesus initiates and calls people to Himself reminds us of earlier situations in The Gospel of Mark. Jesus “called [James and John]” (Mark 1:20). He spoke personally and specifically to Simon and Andrew and Levi, saying to them, “Follow me” (Mark 1:17, 2:14). Then regarding His decision to eat with the religious underclass – the spiritual nobodies! – Jesus said, “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Mark 2:17)

So as Mark is writing about two different groups of people who came to Jesus, we ought to pause for a moment and ask ourselves, ‘Have I come to Jesus only because of general interest, only because of what I have heard about Him, only because He can supposedly do useful things for me (useful things like healing my sick body), only because everyone else hit the proverbial ‘like’ button on Facebook so I should probably get on the ‘like’ bandwagon too? Or have I come to Jesus because of a personal call from Jesus, because He has directed me out of the darkness of my sin into the light of His gracious presence, because He has prevailed upon me to leave behind the lesser things of this passing world in order to participate with Him in the greater things of His Father’s kingdom?’

Are you a disciple? Or are you still a part of the crowd?

Lesson 2: Disciples Are Made by Jesus (v. 14, 16)

Now to the second lesson: disciples are made by Jesus; they are not self-made. Verse 14 says, “And he appointed twelve.” Then verse 16 says, “He appointed the twelve.” Authentic disciples of Jesus are not self-appointed; they are appointed by Jesus.

That said, there seems to be more going on here than just the idea of appointment. One of the things I learned as I preparing this sermon is that the Greek word that is translated “appointed” actually means ‘to make’ or ‘do’.[2] This is instructive: Jesus made twelve; the twelve are His doing, His construction, His workmanship. What is true of the twelve is true of the church in general (e.g., Ephesians 2:14-16) and of all disciples in particular: “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works” (Ephesians 2:10). The idea of a self-made person or a self-made Christian or a self-made servant of the Lord is totally contrary to how genuine discipleship works. Jesus makes disciples.

What about you? Do you fear that what you have become is exactly what you have made yourself into? Or – if you are a Christian – do you realize that what you are is what the Lord has made you?

Lesson 3: Disciples Are Focused on Jesus (v. 13-14)

Here is the third lesson: disciples are focused on Jesus. At Jesus’ call, they come to Him (v. 13). And in keeping with His purpose, they remain with Him (v. 14).

This team-building event is evidently focused on fellowship with Jesus. Just as in the earlier call of “[follow] me,” so here Jesus’ call is a call unto Himself: “he… called to him.” Jesus initiates this team-building event on the mountain by calling people “to him” – by calling people to be with Him, by calling people to be at His side. Jesus’ team-building event, like every other aspect of His kingdom-building work, is fundamentally personal and relational. Everything else ­– whether we are talking about discipleship programs, Bible studies, mentoring or training strategies, systems of learning and growth, leadership retreats –  everything else must be centered in a genuinely personal relationship of love and loyalty to Jesus Himself. Anything that is not truly centered in close fellowship with Jesus is ultimately a waste of time.

Once you have come to Jesus, the primary calling upon you is to remain with Jesus: “And he appointed twelve… so that they might be with him.” (v. 14)

How important it is to stay close to Jesus in this world of pressing needs and spiritual conflict! Although Jesus is now physically absent – for He has ascended into heaven and is seated at the Father’s right hand – He is spiritually present through the Holy Spirit. We have need for Jesus’ words to fill our hearts (John 15:7). We have need to “[pray] in the Holy Spirit” (Jude 20). We have need to be closely connected to other people who are closely connected to Jesus: “Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.” (Ephesians 4:15-16)

Are you staying close to Jesus?

Lesson 4: Disciples Participate in Jesus’ Mission (v. 14-15)

The first responsibility of a disciple is relational: stay near to the Lord, always watching Him and always learning from Him. The second responsibility, which flows out of the first, is to participate in His mission. This is the fourth lesson: disciples participate in Jesus’ mission.

The capital-A Apostles have a certain kind of participation. The lowercase-a apostles, missionaries, and preachers have a certain kind of participation. And yet, all disciples have a genuine kind of participation in Jesus’ mission.

Do you remember the world in which this team-building event took place? It was a world filled with the pressure of crowds and opposition, a world filled with the heartache of so many tangible needs as well as the havoc stirred up by unclean spirits, not to mention all the sin that everyone brings to the table. Understand this: that broken world is the world to which Jesus sends His disciples!

Jesus’ vision for the twelve was not only “that they might be with him” (v. 14) but also that “he might send them out to preach and have authority to cast out demons” (v. 14-15).

Do you see what Jesus is doing here?

Jesus is so deeply committed to His mission that He draws His disciples into His mission and plans for the continuation of His mission after His departure. He is drawing others into His life and work. He is expanding the reach of His ministry. He is sharing His authority – He is authorizing others to do what He does.

Jesus’ vision is for others to do what He does. Mark 1:39 tells us that Jesus “went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.” Now Mark 3:14-15 tells us that the twelve will do these very same things – “to preach and have authority to cast out demons.”

Jesus’ vision is for His people to proclaim His word to the world, and thereby make more disciples.

Jesus’ vision is for His people to push back the kingdom of darkness, and thereby bring more and more people into “the peace of God which surpasses all understanding” (Philippians 4:7).

But we cannot do any of this unless we stay close to Jesus, unless we understand that it is He who made us and continues to make us, unless we understand that the whole thing is His idea in the first place and that we are only heeding His call to come.

Are you a true disciple? Or are you only a spectator in the crowd?  

ENDNOTES

[1] James R. Edwards, The Gospel according to Mark (The Pillar New Testament Commentary). Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2002: p. 103-104.

[2] See “4160. poieó” at Bible Hub. Available online: https://biblehub.com/greek/4160.htm.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Victor Babajide Cole, “Mark.” In Africa Bible Commentary: A One-Volume Commentary Written by 70 African Scholars. Tokunboh Adeyemo, General Editor. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006.

James R. Edwards, The Gospel according to Mark (The Pillar New Testament Commentary). Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2002.

Abraham Kuruvilla, Mark: A Theological Commentary for Preachers. Eugene: Cascade Books, 2012.

William L. Lane, The Gospel of Mark (The New International Commentary on the New Testament). Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1974.

Eckhard J. Schnabel, Mark (Tyndale New Testament Commentaries Vol. 2). Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2017.

Ben Witherington III, The Gospel of Mark: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2001.