When US presidents leave office, it is very common today to hear news commentators remark about what that president’s legacy will be. And the presidents themselves seem to be very concerned about it. So they go out of their way to enact certain legislation or reforms or do certain things in order to establish a legacy that will be viewed favorably by future generations. Before the engines have cooled on Air Force One, they usually have written a book or two, a biography and spent millions preparing their library.
In contrast to the self aggrandizing actions by the most powerful people in our country, it might seem strange to us today to consider that Jesus Christ, the greatest figure in human history, had nothing tangible to leave to the world as His monument. He wrote no books, He never built a church building, never founded a university nor did he build a hospital. What He left was simply a band of twelve ordinary men, called apostles, in whom He had invested the greater part of his time, and a few hundred followers called disciples. His legacy was His ministry to others and the transforming effect that He had upon their lives.
We live in an age when it seems, as Andy Warhol prophesied, that everyone has their 15 minutes of fame. Most people perceive being popular as the greatest achievement. And popular opinion pursues one new trend after another, discarding each fad or personality as easily as they are attracted to the next. People today become millionaires based on their popularity. But popularity is fickle and fleeting at best. Public opinion changes horses in the middle of the race as a matter of course. It’s a transitory thing to pursue popularity, whether in the realm of human endeavor, or in the realm of the church.
Though at times Jesus was immensely popular, yet He never sought popularity. In the three short years of Jesus’s ministry, we see Him rise out of obscurity to the very height of popularity, so that it was impossible for Him to be seen in public without creating a disturbance. But Jesus did not seek such popularity, nor did He exploit it or try to use it for His advantage. In fact, when the crowds got too large, too clamoring, Jesus often disappeared into the wilderness or to a mountain to be alone. Usually in those situations, He chose a few faithful followers to be with Him, and that is where He taught them more intimately of His truth.
That seems to be the case in this next section we are looking at. After the healing in the synagogue in Capernaum, Jesus withdrew to the seashore. And while at the seashore, word gets out that He is there, and so the crowds come from all the regions not only around Galilee, but also Judea, Idumea, even Tyre and Sidon. And remember, this was long before modern methods of news reporting, or social media. The fame of Christ had to be great for news to travel so far and so fast.
Of course, one of the main reasons for this popularity was that people were being healed of every kind of disease. In contrast to the so called faith healers of today, these healings were verified by so many witnesses that the news of them spread like wildfire to the thousands of people who were sick or suffering who were living in a time before modern medicine, when even most common illnesses could be deadly. It was obviously great news. And so thousands of people were flocking to where ever the last place they heard Jesus was.
Mark says that so many were coming to Him that they were in danger of crushing one another. They were like the mob scenes at perhaps some big venue, where people start pushing and struggling trying to touch someone, who in this case is Christ. They wanted to touch Him so that they might be healed. So Jesus asked for a boat to be ready, so that they could avoid being crushed, and perhaps help others not to get hurt by the thousands who were trying to reach Him.
It’s obvious that most of these people were attracted to Christ because of His miraculous works. Not necessarily because they appreciated His message. And there is a lesson in that for us today. The idea that we need to create a spectacle at church in order to attract a crowd is not consistent with the example Jesus and the Apostles gave us in ministry. Jesus never orchestrated events in order to get a huge crowd. In fact, we see that crowds often hindered the ministry. And we also see that those who came for the bread and fish, or to see some miracle, were not usually the ones to stay with Him in the long run.
Though Jesus preached to crowds, and though He worked miracles in some of those situations because of His compassion, yet the most effective method He employed in ministry was to make disciples by intimate, daily fellowship with a small band of followers.. And that was usually accomplished most efficiently when He drew them apart from the crowds and spent time with them.
There is one other aspect to His public ministry though that bears consideration. And that we see in vs. 11, 12. “Whenever the unclean spirits saw Him, they would fall down before Him and shout, "You are the Son of God!" And He earnestly warned them not to tell who He was.” Now that bears some explanation. First of all, it seems that there were a lot more cases of unclean spirits, or demon possession or influence in Jesus’s day than there appears to be in ours. I would say though it may appear that way, that may not actually be the case. I think the difference is that spirits recognize spirits. You and I can not always recognize an unclean spirit. But Jesus could recognize it immediately. And of course, the unclean spirit could recognize Jesus immediately. So once they knew that He recognized them, they called out in some sort of defense, hoping that they would not be cast out of their human host. Jesus though always had more compassion on the person than upon the demon. In chapter 5 we will be looking at the demoniac who lived in the tombs. And you may remember that the demons in this man did not want to be cast out without a host body and so they asked to be cast into the pigs. And Jesus accommodated them, and the pigs ran into the sea and committed suicide. Demons don’t want to be recognized, and they don’t want to be without a host. They actually prefer to work in secret rather than in the open.
But Jesus recognized them, and they recognized Jesus. So Jesus told them not to announce who He was. Why? Because Jesus doesn’t want the testimony of demons. Jesus didn’t want demon testimony to be the proclamation of who He was. And neither did He need their testimony. Jesus wants His representatives to be the apostles and HIs disciples to bear witness of Him. it is our job, not the job of demons, to proclaim the truth of Christ.
But let me be quick to add that though we may not recognize them, there are still demons working in the world today. There number and activity is not diminished. In fact, the Bible tells us that at the end of the age, the devil knowing that he has but a little time left, will redouble his efforts and activities. And so we can expect more demonic activity as time goes on, not less. In fact, Ephesians 6:12 tells us [that] “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” It’s hard for us to comprehend, but our struggle is not with your wife, or your husband, or your mother in law or neighbor, but it’s demonic forces that are working in the sons and daughters of disobedience. Those that are still held in the dominion of darkness are unwitting pawns in the devil’s schemes. And we need to remember that it’s not the person that we see that is the enemy, but the demonic force working through that person. The problem is that we don’t recognize it as demonic. We just see someone in the flesh acting like a jerk, or being nasty towards us, and so we want to retaliate in the flesh. And that’s exactly what the devil wants us to do. So we need to be wise to his schemes and learn to recognize the enemy.
I’ll tell you something else. The greatest evidence of sin’s dominion in Jesus day was the number of people controlled by unclean spirits. When we read the gospels we can’t help but be struck by the vast number of people under the influence of unclean spirits. And I would say that the greatest evidence of sin’s dominion in our day is rampant sexual immorality and drug use. We don’t see the unclean spirits exposing themselves usually in those cases. But the Bible teaches us that such sins are evidence of demonic control. In the final days prophesied in Revelation 19, the scripture talks about people who worship demons and the sins which characterize them, and how though God uses plagues to try to get them to repent, they will not repent of their sins because they love them so much. Rev. 9:20-21 “The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so as not to worship demons, and the idols of gold and of silver and of brass and of stone and of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk; and they did not repent of their murders nor of their sorceries nor of their immorality nor of their thefts.” So two of the defining sins are sorceries and immoralities. The Greek word for sorceries is pharmakeia, which means the use or administering of drugs. Sex and drugs are two of the most endemic sins we have in our culture today. And yet the way the culture is trying to deal with them is to say that they aren’t sin. Legalize them. But from our perspective, we know that only the truth will set you free. We know the truth, but we need to tell it to them. And perhaps if we understand the true nature of their sin we might approach them a little differently.
Well, as I said, Jesus retired from the seaside to the mountains to get away from the crowds, and to spend time alone with His disciples. Jesus often did this. And Luke 6:12 tells us that He spent the night in prayer. Jesus often did that as well. You know, Jesus, probably more so than any other person that’s ever lived, didn’t need to spend time in prayer. I think He was in perpetual communication with the Father. But yet He spends the entire night in prayer on many occasions. In spite of how busy He was, how tired He was, in spite of the fact He only had 3 years to get the job done that He came to do, He spends much time alone in prayer to God. Makes you think doesn’t it? It should make you consider how many nights have you spent in prayer? Are we more spiritual than Jesus, that we don’t need to spend time in prayer?
I was reading Daniel the other night, and I was struck by Daniel saying that he spent 3 weeks fasting and in prayer. Three weeks fasting? I don’t think he was talking about not having ice cream for three weeks either. Daniel 10:2-3 “In those days, I, Daniel, had been mourning for three entire weeks. I did not eat any tasty food, nor did meat or wine enter my mouth, nor did I use any ointment at all until the entire three weeks were completed.” There you go, try that fast. Especially the ointment part. Try no deodorant for three weeks. That will get you noticed.
Look, I don’t want to make light of Daniel’s prayer. By the way, have you heard of the Daniel Plan? It’s a meal program popular in Christian bookstores today which is marketed for Christians who want to lose weight. I’m not so sure about it’s validity though. However, this is the real Daniel Plan. Fast for 21 days, pray in sackcloth and ashes for 3 weeks. It will do wonders for your spiritual fitness. And Daniel got results, didn’t he? He heard from God in a spectacular way.
Well, let’s get back to our text. Notice that first Jesus called those that He wanted. And then that they came to Him when He called. (vs.13) Listen, I believe in the election of God. I believe in the foreknowledge of God. But I confess I do not understand how they work to my satisfaction. Nevertheless I believe in them. I don’t have to understand it to believe it. I don’t understand how my cell phone can receive video and pictures through the airwaves either. But I don’t have to understand it to use it. But I do know that God calls people to Himself. Jesus said in John 6:44 "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.” So there is an effectual call of God which is the origin of our salvation. Nevertheless, though we don’t understand how God calls, we know that we have been given the responsibility to come to Him when He calls. And so the disciples came to Him. Jesus issues the call to come away from the world unto Him. I pray that you come.
So Jesus called them away because He wanted them to be with Him, to walk with Him, to live with Him. It’s clear from this that communion with Christ was the primary reason for the call of the disciples. Communion means fellowship. Personal intimacy or spiritual communion with Christ is the best of teachers. And it’s by this fellowship that Christ leaves the stamp of His own image upon us. That is the goal of our fellowship; that we begin to take on the characteristics of our teacher.
Have you ever noticed how older married couples start to look alike the longer they are married? They certainly begin to think alike. They begin to take on one another’s characteristics. That’s the goal of our salvation, that we have fellowship with God, and start to take on His character and nature. That’s important to understand. Because if we are going to have an effective spiritual ministry, then it has to be patterned after the way God does ministry. And we see that in the way Jesus did ministry. When Jesus taught that we are to turn the other cheek when attacked, that is the characteristic of God. When He said if someone asks for you to go a mile with them, you should go two miles; that’s a characteristic of God. That’s the way we are supposed to treat those who are in opposition to the gospel. When Jesus told Peter to forgive someone 70 times 7 times, that’s the character of God, the way God forgives us. But we say, "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.” But that’s not God’s way. He says the kindness of God brings you to repentance. He says God causes it to rain on the just and the unjust (rain being considered a blessing). So we need to have fellowship with God; talk with God, listen to God through His word, and walk with Him in obedience that we might have fellowship with Him and become like Him. Then we can have an effective ministry.
Secondly, He called them to preach the gospel. To preach means to proclaim His word. For three years He gave them His word, the truth, the gospel of God. And they in turn were to preach it to the world. I started off by saying that Jesus did not write a book. But what He did was write His word upon these men’s hearts. They became living testaments to the gospel of Jesus Christ. And they in turn wrote down His words so that they are still preaching to us today through the scriptures. They did not follow cleverly devised tales, Peter said, but they were eyewitnesses of His majesty. Listen, not all of us are called to be pastors. But all of us are called to be proclaimers. Jesus said to go into all the world and preach the gospel, making disciples. That’s everyone’s commission. To proclaim God’s truth to the world.
Thirdly, He gave them authority to cast out demons. Once again we see the enemy of the faith identified and exposed by the ambassadors of the gospel. As Christ had authority over demons, so He gave them authority as well. 1John 3:8 says, “The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.” And I think He must have given them the ability to identify such evil spirits, if they had the authority to cast them out.
I think today we need to approach the aspect of casting out demons very carefully and prayerfully. I don’t think it’s something we should approach cavalierly. Jude says in vs 8-10 “Yet in the same way these men(certain ungodly persons in the church), also by dreaming, defile the flesh, and reject authority, and revile angelic majesties. But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a railing judgment, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!" But these men revile the things which they do not understand; and the things which they know by instinct, like unreasoning animals, by these things they are destroyed.” Though Jude’s warning may be difficult to understand, we can be sure he is emphasizing caution in the matter of reviling angelic, or demonic forces which are greater in might and power than we can comprehend.
But though I may not have the authority to cast out demons by my word, I do believe we can participate in destroying the works of the devil. And we do so by preaching the truth. The truth trumps a lie every time. Satan goes about deceiving the world and holds it captive through his lie. We preach the truth and the gospel of salvation sets men and women free from the trap of the devil. Greater is He that is in us, than he that is in the world. When we free people from death through salvation, we defeat the works of the devil, by freeing them from the fear of death to which they were enslaved.
Well, let’s look finally and briefly at the men that Jesus called to be His apostles. First of all, they were men. Jesus had 12 chances to pick a woman to be an apostle. I’m sure there were a lot of good women that were His followers. In fact the scriptures tell us that many women supported His ministry. But Jesus chose all men.
The late S. Louis Johnson said, and I quote; “To say that He did so for cultural reasons, namely that women apostles would have had no acceptance by that culture, is a gratuitous assumption. Our Lord does not accommodate truth to human culture that rests under sin. God has committed the responsibility of the ministry of the word of God to Spirit appointed men.”
Now we find that principle enumerated in the gospel’s repeatedly. But I think one passage will suffice for today. 1Timothy 2:11-14 “A woman must quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness. But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet. For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve. And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression.”
So regardless of what the culture may say, regardless of what the law of the land might say, this is what God had to say. It’s not what Roy Harrell had to say. It’s what the Bible says. If you don’t like it, tear it out that page and throw it away. But don’t stop there. There is a lot of other offensive stuff in there as well. No, I think we obey God even when we don’t understand it. Don’t shoot me, I’m just the messenger boy.
But I will try to explain something. The reason Paul inserts that bit about Eve being deceived is not just to further denigrate women. What he is alluding to, was Eve was deceived, but Adam fell with both eyes wide open. And the reason Adam fell was because He loved Eve more than God. So for the protection of the human race, God has not given authority to women in the church because man would more likely prefer to please them rather than God. So God gave the responsibility of authority in the church to man. It’s a matter of divine appointed roles, rather than a matter of equality or intellect.
You know, it’s God’s gospel, it’s God’s church. He has the right to choose HIs methods for building His church. We don’t get to vote on it. We don’t have to understand it, just believe He is good, and that He is just, and that He knows what He is doing.
Then as you look specifically at these 12 men, there are a lot of things that can be noted. John McArthur wrote an entire book about the 12. I have about five minutes left. There is much more that I could say than what I will say. But let me say first why there is 12. Twelve patriarchs were the founders of the 12 tribes of Israel. And in Christ’s new covenant there are twelve apostles as the foundation of the church, according to Ephesians 2:20.
Four of the apostles were fishermen that we know of. They were business partners in fishing; Peter, Andrew, James and John. Peter and Andrew were brothers, and James and John were brothers. James was the first martyr among the apostles, John was the only one of the 12 who did not die a martyr’s death.
All were Galileans except for Judas who was from Judea. That means all were uneducated, more like working class men except for Judas who was from a wealthier, more educated area. One was a former tax collector, one was a former Zealot who hated tax collectors. There were none of royal blood. None of them were priests or scribes or professional religionists of any sort. There were no rock stars, no former football players. They were just a diverse group of average sort of ordinary guys without any sort of professional experience in becoming world changers. Yet they would turn the world upside down. And one other side note; they were probably all in their 20’s. John might even have been a teenager. Jesus Himself was only 31 years old. It was a youth movement. And as I said, all of them would die a martyr’s death except for John.
I am reminded of 1Cor. 1:26-29 which says, “For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God.”
I could say a lot more about the disciples, but perhaps we will hit on a few more things in upcoming messages. But what I would like to leave with you is that Christ took these ordinary, average young men, without any seminary training, without pedigree, without any special abilities, and He transformed them in three years into champions of the faith. Hero’s of the faith in every sense of the word. We talked last week about the need for heroes in the church today. God wants to make you into a champion of the gospel. In fact, I know that He wants to do just that. It starts with the call of God upon your life to come to Him and have fellowship with Him. To walk with Him in obedience on a daily basis. To leave behind the agenda of this world for the sake of knowing Him better. If you will do that, if you are willing to do that, then God will do the rest. As you spend time with Him, as you draw close to Him, He will draw close to you and teach you and lead you in the way that you should go. And in the process you will begin to take on the characteristics of Jesus Christ. So that as you are sent by Him to proclaim His gospel, you will bear testimony to Him. May He write His word upon your heart that you might bear the image of Jesus Christ to the world.
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