Apostles

“OUR LORD’S CHOSEN APOSTLES”

(Mark 3:13-19)

After several decades of ministry, as a pastor of a local church, I need to share with you an issue of concern and cultural misunderstanding that pervades the Bible-believing Church in America. That concerns us here at FBC, also. Not only is this issue confusing to Christians who attend churches but it is a reality that repels non-Christians from having any desire to “go to church”. Jesus taught “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34-35) This is a very serious matter to our Lord! Another part of His teaching gave specific instructions to the Church (the only mention of the Church in the gospels) whenever there was a disagreement between Christians. (Matthew 18:15-20) Jesus stressed that disagreement and disunity among His own was so crucially important that it must be resolved quickly! If two people involved in an issue can’t resolve it, they get two or three members of the church to assist them in resolution. If that doesn’t work, the entire Church gathers to solve the difference. The Lord even issued two specific promises that were given for such an important matter to surface between Christian brothers and sisters. Jesus said (in this context!) “Where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.” (Verse 20) Before that He stated, “I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.” (Verses 18-19) Both promises come in the context of Christians not getting along with one another. If they meet to resolve their tension, AND THEY ARE COMMANDED, HERE, TO DO SO, if they agree to specifics so as to bring about reconciliation, these specifics are actually bound in heaven. If they agree not to establish specific rules in order for reconciliation, then rules are not binding in heaven either. I hope you see how very important relationships among born-again believers is to our Lord.

I was given a book written by a Japanese Christian Church leader. It is entitled, “Let’s return to Christian Unity”. This Asian states emphatically that Asians are totally turned off and don’t understand how Westerners are so divisive in their relations with one another in the Church. They see it in the missionaries who come to their countries to win them to Jesus. Well, Jesus was an Asian! He was Jewish and in the Jewish culture the emphasis was always on unity not disunity.

Today, I want to go on record that I am grieved at the ongoing reality I have observed (and still do) in American church life. I have listened to Christians cast innuendoes on brothers and sisters. I have had Christians tell me they don’t like some of their brothers and sisters. I have watched criticism after criticism from one Christian concerning others in the same church. I have even endured some of my brothers and sisters in the Lord using mocking names in referring to believers in the same church. I see Christian after Christian having their own ideas or convictions about what is right in theology, behavior and methods for living their faith. That is good! But, at the same time, they draw lines to divide themselves from other Bible-believing Christians over trivialities. In fact, many churches spend their whole ministry drawing lines of separation from every one else. As an aside, that REALLY turns off non-believers from even wanting to step foot inside such a church. Who wants that kind of stress in order to go to church? Such a reality in a church angers God because He has even given special instructions how to insure such disunity doesn’t surface in His church.

Bear in mind that I begin this message with such sobering, grievous words because the Bible tells us in numerous passages that Christians are “Chosen by God” and “Adopted into the Church”. Every Christian is urged by God to become a part of a local church in order to experience the dynamic, crucial task of growing into a united family. We are told in 1 Corinthians 12 there are two attitudes that cannot be held when it comes to the church. No one can say “I do not belong to the body” (Verses 15-16). So much for thinking it is permissible to be a “Lone Ranger”, independent Christian, huh? No one can say to another Christian, “We don’t need you”. (Verse 21)

Today, we begin a new series of sermons on the 13 Apostles, specifically chosen by the Lord! (We’ll get to the 13^th one in a couple of months.) Not only does the Bible tell us that ALL believers are chosen by God, but we actually see specific ones Jesus chose while ministering in this world. This morning we are giving you an introduction to our new series. And guess what? Just as there is such incredible diversity in the personalities attending First Baptist Church in Cottonwood, so there was the same diversity in the band of Disciples named Apostles by our Lord in Mark 3. the Lord called the 12 men listed in Mark 3 and there was discord among them even up to the resurrection of our Lord. They were chosen and we are chosen. They had hang-ups the Lord required them to grow beyond. We have hang-ups the Lord requires us to grow beyond! They were not to always get their own way. We are not to always get our own way! Let me point out some of the features of these individuals we will be studying individually over the next three months.

There are two men mentioned here who were given a personal “nickname” by the Lord, Himself. James and John, sons of a man named Zebedee are called by the Lord “Boanerges, the Sons of Thunder”. Simply put, Jesus recognized these were two men who would make a fight with anyone at the drop of a hat. They were highly competitive and explosive in their temperament. They were so aggressive that in Mark 10:35-37 they come to the Lord asking Him to grant one to sit on the right hand and one on the left hand when the Lord sets up His Kingdom. Matthew takes it a step further by giving us additional information that at this occasion they recruit their mother to actually make the request for them, probably to add her influence on the Lord. (Matthew 20:20-22). How about having people in church who have the needs to be the favorites? Welcome to the band of disciples Jesus chose.

As we continue our preview we find Jesus calling a man named Simon, the Zealot. This was a different Simon than Simon Peter. This man was literally a terrorist in those days. The Zealots of the first century Israel were committed to actively working to liberate Israel from Roman rule. They ambushed Roman soldiers. The infamous Barabbas who was released in place of Jesus was also a member of the Zealot party in Israel. How many of us would be excited to have a Muslim terrorist present when we gathered for worship. Jesus called one of those while also calling a man by the name of Matthew. His real life given name was Levi, demonstrating that his genealogy came from the Tribe of Levi. He was a Galilean who had the profession of being a tax collector for Herod Antipas, a puppet governor for the Romans. Imagine Matthew and Simon eating together and getting along. Do you think they had issues to work through?

We continue our purview of this list of characters by finding Thomas, the guy who questioned anything and everything. Often referred to as “Doubting Thomas” he never accepted anything just because the group wanted to do it. He could be obstinate and downright provoking. Won’t he ever just accept something at face value?

There is Nathaniel, otherwise named Bartholomew. He is a bigot! He has clear opinions about people according to their lineage, ethnic origin. He finds out from Philip, according to John 1:46, the Messiah was from Nazareth. Nathaniel’s response was “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” this disciple had very clear ideas about who was accepted and who was not.

Another person in this motley crew is Judas Iscariot who we are told questioned Jesus about being anointed with expensive perfume. The Bible tells us “One of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, ‘why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages. He did not say this because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.” (John 12:4-6) Notice that John records this showing that the disciples knew all about Judas’ creative use of the finances.

We’ve just scratched the surface. We will see that these men were chosen. They came into the Lord’s band with baggage. They were chosen so they would be changed. John would change from being a Son of Thunder to the Beloved Disciple. Thomas would change from being a skeptic to recognizing Jesus as his “Lord and His God”. (John 20:28) We will, each of us, discover one of these men to identify with. We, too, have baggage we bring to the Lord and to the Church. It will not be enough to identify with these men but to be willing to grow beyond where we’re at in our individual lives right now. Only when we change will we be open to one another at FBC. Then none of us will have to have our way, but we will be focused on the Biblical reality mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12:25-26, “there should be no division in the body, but its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.”