Mark 3:13-15 - He appointed twelve

3:13

We now have Jesus choosing the twelve disciples. He went up a mountainside to do this, so He would be away from the crowds. There are times when we need to be away from crowds. “He called those He wanted”. There were no job interviews, you could not apply for this role by submitting your cv. Jesus chose those whom He wanted. In our own lives we need to recognise what Jesus has called us to, and we need not to get upset or frustrated by what He has not called us to, or has not called us to yet. The disciples came to Him. When Jesus does call us to something, we must go to Him.

3:14,15

We now get the purpose of Jesus appointing the twelve. First, they were to be with Jesus, to learn from Him, to experience being with Him. We need to spend time with Jesus. This involves prayer, studying the word, worshipping Him, and doing the work He gives us to do. If we are not with Jesus then we can do nothing good or useful. Jesus also wanted to send them out to preach. So we see again the importance of preaching in Mark’s view of things. It was important in Jesus’ ministry, it was central in the ministry of the apostles as well. They were also to have authority to drive out demons. This, with preaching, were not in conflict or separate, it was all part of the same package.