Companions with a Purpose

 

Companions with a Purpose (Mark 3:13-18)

“Then he selected twelve of them to be his regular companions and to go out to preach and to cast out demons.” (Mark 3:14-15)

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Ever since Jesus came back from his forty days in the wilderness, people have flocked to him. He has been surrounded by people who want something from him – people who need help that only he can offer, people who need to be healed in body and in spirit. I get it. I’m one of them. I’m walking with Jesus out of more than a sense of mere curiosity. I’m walking with him because, even if I can’t put my finger on it, I know that Jesus has something that I need, and I won’t find it in anybody else.

Today, Jesus shifted his focus on the people who were flocking to him. Today he invited twelve people to share in the work he is doing. He called them “apostles.” This is something I haven’t seen from the other religious figures; they have people who are their students, often called “disciples.” But apostles are people who are sent out with a commission from their leader.

One of the things I noticed about the twelve people Jesus named as his apostles was that they didn’t seem to come from prominent families. Quite the opposite, in fact. There were a few fishermen, a tax collector, and a few others whose only striking characteristics were that they were pretty ordinary. 

Actually, I find that somewhat refreshing. This man Jesus, who is doing and saying some incredible things and who clearly is on a mission from God, is willing to use ordinary people who will share in his work. I mean, he could have gone out and called some big names and people with authority – it doesn’t hurt to have important and powerful people on your side, after all. But Jesus specifically called regular, everyday people to be his apostles. And that is something that encourages me. 

I think back to the stories that I heard in the synagogue – stories of people that God chose to accomplish God’s purposes. People like Abraham, who had trust issues and often took matters into his own hands; or like Moses, a fugitive who had run away from Egypt because he killed a man; or like David, who was a shepherd. The heroes of our faith were people who were pretty ordinary, but in the hands of God they were used to accomplish extraordinary things.

It’s looking more and more like Jesus, by appointing ordinary people to be his apostles, is following the example of the One who called him “my Son, whom I love.”

As I walk with Jesus, I realize that my own focus is also shifting. I’m not walking with him just to get from him whatever benefit he can offer to me. No, I am now walking with him because I want to serve him; I want to be able to do something for Jesus.

Dear Jesus, as I walk with you, I offer myself into your service. You took twelve rag-tag, ordinary people, and you appointed them to be apostles who would proclaim your word and to have authority over the demons. Take me, too, and send me to do work that represents you in all your grace, mercy, compassion, and love. Amen.