How Jesus Made Disciples (Mark 3:13-15)

Children's Lesson 

I. From Called to Commissioned

The church's vocation in this world is, in large part, what the Apostle Paul called, “the work of ministry”. As we continue to think about this “work of ministry”, having last time considered Jesus' calling of the first disciples in Mark 1:17, the question before us this morning is fairly straightforward: “After calling them, by what methods and means did Jesus turn those fishermen into 'fishers of men'?” Did he try to organize as many large-scale training events as he could, all over the Roman world, and then pass along a seven-step method to as many people as he could? Did he establish a training institute in Jerusalem through which people could earn a 'fishing for men' degree? Maybe he gave them a scroll containing his key principles and practices for kingdom life, then encouraged them to master the content and pass it along. Just how did Jesus actually take fisherman and make them “fishers of men”? Or to use language from the Great Commission in Matthew 28, how did Jesus make disciples who would themselves make disciples? Keep that question in mind and let's return to Mark's Gospel; this time, to chapter 3. We'll begin this morning in vs. 13-15.

II. The Passage: “That They Might Be With Him” (3:13-15)

After a couple chapters' worth of details about Jesus' ministry of preaching, healing, and casting out demons, this is what we read in v. 13 about Jesus and the group that was following him...

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.

Now, the first thing I hope you'll notice here is that the same pattern is present from the calling of Mark 1: lordship, discipleship, and partnership. First, the Lord Jesus issues another calling to a select group (twelve men, to be exact) from among all his disciples, and appoints them as “apostles” (i.e., that is, 'those who are sent' as authorized delegates or official messengers). Second, these men are “appointed” to “be with” Jesus. Now many people were with Jesus (some spectators, some followers) throughout his ministry; so this “with” must mean something else (an issue we'll revisit in a moment). Third, these men are also “appointed” so that Jesus (v. 14) “might send them out” to preach and heal; that is, to do the very same things he's been doing up to this point in Mark. So again, a pattern: lordship, discipleship, and partnership.

Now, though these men are appointed here in chapter 3, in this Gospel account, they are not actually sent out until Mark 6, verse 7. So remember the invitation of Mark 1:17... “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men”. Think about this: if Mark 6:7 is a clear place where we see these fishermen actually 'fishing for men', what do we discover between 1:17 and 6:7 about our main question; about how Jesus made them become 'fishers of men'? To answer that question, let me suggest that we look at two aspects of the kingdom work, “the work of ministry”, in which Jesus was engaged: first, let's think about where the work of ministry takes place, and second, let's think about how this work of ministry takes place.

So FIRST, what does Mark tell us about WHERE this work took place in terms of Jesus' ministry? The first context that's obvious from this Gospel is a large circle of public ministry.

Again, if we narrow the search range between 1:17 and 6:7, Mark mentions Jesus ministering among the “crowd” fifteen times (2:4, 14; 3:7-9, 20, 32; 4:1, 36; 5:21, 24, 27, 30, 31). He is teaching in that context. He is healing in that context. He is casting out demons. He's also described as teaching and healing “in the synagogue” on a regular basis (1:21; 1:39; 3:1; 6:2).

But our main text is a good example of how Jesus was also shrinking his focus to a not-as-large context, to a mid-sized circle, of which these twelve men were a part. You see, not only were new disciple drawn from that larger circle of public ministry, but oftentimes, this not-as-large group was also instructed through that crowd or synagogue ministry. But look at what 4:10 reveals about this instruction. It says that “when he was alone [i.e., away from the crowd], those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables”. So in addition to the others mentioned here with the twelve, notice a new layer of instruction taking place here.

Finally, in terms of where this work took place, there are clues in this section (even in our main context) that Jesus also regularly ministered to an even smaller circle. If you look over the list in 3:16-19, the list of men appointed as apostles, you'll notice that only three of these men have nicknames given to them by Jesus: (v. 16) “...Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter), James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder)...” Now that might be nothing more than a curiosity until you read in 5:37 that when he went to raise up the dead daughter of the synagogue leader, “he allowed no one to follow him except Peter and James and John the brother of James.” An in chapter 9, only these three men will witness his transfiguration. And in 14:33, only these three men are taken deeper into Gethsemane to pray near him. Moreover, the book of Acts reveals that these three men are the only original apostles (i.e., of the Twelve) who are mentioned again after chp. 1 of that book.

Okay. So why might it be important to point out these different contexts, these circles? I think we can answer that by, SECOND, thinking through what Mark tell us about HOW the work of ministry actually took place. As I've mentioned, unsurprisingly, we regularly read in this section that Jesus was preaching and teaching wherever he went (1:14, 21; 2:13; 4:1; 6:2). Of course, teaching is always central to the work of making or training disciples, right? But the statement from 4:10 highlights the difference between His public and private instruction. 4:34 confirms this: “He did not speak to them [i.e., the crowd] without a parable, but privately to his own disciples [in that no-as-large circle] he explained everything.” So again, he was shrinking his focus.

But why? Well remember that small phrase from our main text. 3:14... these twelve men were appointed, “so that they might be with him”. Like the apprentice of a plumber or electrician understands, there is only so much you can learn from a book or training video. Such apprentices must learn that work as that work is done; in the field, as they are with the skilled and experienced technician who's training them. These disciples learned “the work of ministry” as they walked with Jesus, and watched Jesus doing “the work of ministry” (and then, as our main text sets up, they were atually involved in “the work of ministry”, under Christ's super-vision). Think about these ideas as you listen to the words of Jesus from yet another Gospel...

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. [35] By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:34-35)

These men could demonstrate their discipleship to Jesus through Christ-like love because they spent over three years experiencing the ways he loved them. They knew what it would mean to follow his example in this way. In light of our context, those verses from John confirm the highly relational nature of the process by which Jesus made fishermen into “fishers of men”.

Not highly academic. Not highly programmatic. Not highly conceptual or expedited or even skills based. But highly... relational... a process that required an investment of time. Jesus spelled out the truth and lived out the truth among them on a daily basis. As the Apostle Paul would later express this same heart: “...being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves...” (1 Thess. 2:8). Do you see why the ministry circles had to also get smaller? This relational aspect of discipleship can only go deeper as the ministry context gets smaller. So where and how did this “work of ministry” take place? In different-sized circles, circles that ultimately served the relational nature of discipleship.

III. Learning from the Master

So what might this mean for you? Well, if you believe the Christian life begins with the call of Christ on your life, a call concerning lordship, discipleship, and partnership (the very idea we explored in the last message), and... you have responded to that call in faith, then you should be eager to be trained (or discipled) in this same way. Why? So that you too can become like Jesus; so that you too can participate in this fishing/kingdom work of loving others like Christ.

Why use the same approach as Jesus? Because we're disciples of Jesus. Think about it: what would have come to mind for those first disciples when they heard the commissioning of Matthew 28:19, “Go... and make disciples”? How could they not think of the way Jesus had made disciples of them? Though we recognize there are important differences between their discipleship to Jesus and our discipleship to Jesus, between what he accomplished and what we can accomplish, shouldn't we still strive to carry out “the work of ministry” according to his principles; according to his example with those first disciples?

So I'd challenge you to first ask, “Am I, today, being conformed to Jesus and prepared by Jesus in the same kinds of diverse and relational circles as those first disciples?” But also ask a second question: “Am I, today, seeking to partner with Jesus in 'the work of ministry', in those very same circles?”

You see, in all this we should not and cannot drift from that powerful and precious phrase in 3:14, “so that they might be with him”. Brother, sister, doesn't this apply to us as well? Though none of us were invited to physically approach Jesus and be appointed as apostles, though we are no longer able to physically travel with him and witness his kingdom work with these eyes and ears, Jesus Christ did something stunning, something staggering, for his people... “so that they might be with him”:

For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. (1 Thessalonians 5:9–10)

Did you hear the gospel in those verses? Brothers and sisters, the gospel of grace ensures that we too will be with Jesus. But those verses point to the future. What about today? Well just as Jesus reassured those first disciples in light of the cross and empty tomb, he also reassures every disciple who gives himself or herself to “the work of ministry”. Let's cling to the final words of his commission in Matthew 28... And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (28:20b) Most apprenticeships end with a knowledge and/or skills transfer. But we must never forget that the lordship, discipleship, and partnership we've studied are not ultimately about “the work of ministry”, but about the One who works in our ministry; about the goal of this ministry... which is simply to be “with him”. Amen? Amen! Let's pray in light of his calling, his example, and this reassurance: “...I am with you always, to the end of the age.”