12 Apostles as the New Israel

Mark 3 : 13 - 19

This is a simple story with many names mentioned. At first glance, we may ask what we can learn from this pericope. Yet when I study the commentary, I am a bit surprised that there are many things we can learn from this short passage.

Let’s start with verse 13. It is written that Jesus went up on the mountain. The Greek word for mountain is oros. If you are familiar with the Old Testament, this reminds us about the story of Moses’s ascent to Mount Sinai. The people of Israel were reminded of Moses ascending Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments. This story is a kind of prophetic story, to be fulfilled in the life of Jesus Christ.

People yearn for true knowledge, and yet it is God who reveals himself. Without God’s revelation, without Jesus as God’s very revelation, we will not be able to know the true God. The verse continues, “… and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him.” This means it depends on God’s sovereignty, Jesus’s sovereignty. Jesus is the one who determined the call, not the human being. This is important, especially in our Reformed tradition, to understand the sovereignty of God, also with regard to our theology or philosophy of ministry.

We want to internalize this principle in our church ministry. Sometimes we are quite desperate: How can we reach more people? With what kind of strategy? With what topics? Of course, it is important for us to be aware of our responsibility. Belief in God’s sovereignty does not mean that we do nothing. But sometimes, or perhaps even many times, we forget that the real struggle is to win the heart of God.

If we read the stories of true revivals, we will clearly see this principle. They sought to win the heart of God. This is like the story of Jacob, who struggled with God himself, not to win the heart of Esau, but to win the heart of God. Sometimes we lose this focus. We think the real struggle is to win the heart of people, as if, from God’s perspective, he wants everybody to come and follow him, and the decision is up to the human being. But that is not biblical teaching, and certainly not the Reformed theology.

We cannot overemphasize the importance of prayer. In prayer we struggle to win the heart of God. Perhaps in this process we are the ones who are being prepared by God. We are not teaching that we want to change the heart of God. Rather, we are the ones who will be changed by God.

When we read the story, the disciples were not the ones who decided to follow Jesus. It is Jesus who summoned them. The disciples did not pity Jesus or try to do him a favor by following him. That is not biblical teaching. In the story of the rich young ruler, he decided not to follow Jesus because he loved his money and treasure. But isn’t it interesting that Jesus invited him to follow him? Did Jesus not know that he would reject him? Why did Jesus still invite him, even though he knew he would be rejected? In John 5, a certain paralyzed man at the pool of Bethesda was healed by Jesus, yet he also did not follow him. On the other hand, we read of people who seemed to want to follow Jesus but found excuses to do other things first, and Jesus rebuked and rejected them. In the Gospel of John, it is also written that some believed in Jesus, and yet Jesus did not entrust himself to them. Isn’t it terrifying the more we contemplate this divine sovereignty?

It is ironic if we think that Christianity is a pitiful religion, that the church is somehow miserable and in need of favors from the world. We try all kinds of approaches to win the hearts of as many people as possible. How much time do we invest to win the heart of God? Read again the story of Jacob, who struggled with God, not Jacob who struggled with Esau. He did try to appease Esau, but that is not the main point. The main point is his relation with God. After he won the heart of God, after he prevailed in that struggle, the problem with Esau disappeared.

Let us keep this in mind every time we pray for revival. We should pray for revival in Europe. I just read a few articles that brought consolation. The articles reported that there are signs of revival throughout Europe. Every time we pray for revival, we should act according to this principle of divine sovereignty. In the book of Isaiah, we read that the prophet Isaiah, in his desperation, also sought to win the heart of God. He knew the real struggle is not to win the hearts of people, for they are stubborn. The hardness of their hearts is, so to speak, beyond redemption. Only God can change hearts, and this is the point of divine sovereignty.

But perhaps we do not really understand what divine sovereignty means. We think that God is sovereign and already wants every person to be saved, hence we do not need to plead with God. If so, I think we do not understand the point of divine sovereignty. We assume God’s sovereignty is something static and unchangeable, already settled and not to be appealed to, while we are the ones who must struggle against all the challenges. We forget that we are to struggle with God himself.

We can read the stories of revivals in the past. We see those who had been used by God to prepare a revival; they had deep anguish and agony of soul. John Knox, for instance. He studied in Geneva. He was trained under Calvin and Beza. When he returned to Scotland, he lamented over the spiritual condition of the nation. He prayed, “Lord, give me Scotland or I die.” Is that a threat to God? I think we misunderstand if we interpret it as such. Here we see the deep anguish of Knox’s soul as he pleaded with God. He struggled with God because the real business is with God and not with human beings. And God indeed gave him Scotland, as we read of the awakening in Scotland afterward.

People often say that Europe, especially Western Europe, is in a state of post-Christianity. But again, in the articles I just read, it is stated that this is not post-Christianity, but pre-revival. Not a post-Christian era, but a pre-revival era. So let us not lose hope or be discouraged. We should pray again and seek to win the heart of God.

It is not to be taken for granted that Jesus, in this story, chose the disciples. Compare this with the usual practice among the Jewish rabbis. In Jesus’s time, disciples chose the teacher with whom they wanted to study. Sometimes even in the church people like to choose whom they want to listen to. So teachers and rabbis are, in effect, like a restaurant or a supermarket. There are many options; we have the sovereignty to choose. But that is not the case with God. That is not the case with Jesus. Jesus is the one who chooses you; it is not you who choose him among many religious founders or leaders.

And Jesus himself is the very content of this discipleship. The rabbis and the great teachers of the past, when they made disciples and taught, were themselves submissive to the content they taught. They tried to live out that content. But Jesus brings people to himself, because he is the content of the teaching. That is why, in verse 14 we read, “And he appointed twelve so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach.” They are to be with Jesus first, before being sent. Being with Jesus precedes being sent to preach.

If we contemplate in the context of our outreach, the great question is, are we with Jesus? This is a simple yet a great question. To be with Jesus requires time. It is not one minute with Jesus, a one-minute prayer, and then two hours to think about outreach strategy and church projects. Read the Gospel and see how long the disciples spent with Jesus. Their ministry was the overflowing result of their abundant fellowship, their union with Christ. I am afraid that our ministry is not an overflow of what we receive from God. That is why we face the problem of burnout and we become spiritually exhausted.

We have already shared some interesting reflections on beauty in our past seminar. When we experience beauty, when we have beauty in our hearts and in our lives, we long to share it. We cannot contain beauty. We do not put a beautiful painting in the basement. We do not place a vase of flowers in an inappropriate corner of your house. We will put them in the living room for everyone to enjoy. It would be unfounded if we are accused of trying to boast by doing that. This has nothing to do with boasting. We simply want to share the beauty, because it is natural to do that. The real question is, do we experience beauty? Do we have beauty in our hearts? Do we see the beauty of Jesus in our lives? If we do not, then there is nothing we can share, and it will be very burdensome for us to share, evangelize, and preach the gospel. That is why we see the importance of being with Jesus before being sent.

Christianity is always about personal relationship with God, with Jesus, with the Triune God. It is not about moralistic teaching. It is not about cultural inspiration. It is not a certain luxurious engagement in which we still worship God, even though we have succeeded in our study, business, and family. It is not a luxury. It is essential to being human. And here we see that the ‘who’ precedes the ‘what’. The ‘who’, being with Jesus, precedes the ‘what’, what to do, what to act.

In verse 14, we read that Jesus appointed twelve. It can also be translated as he ‘made’ twelve because the original Greek verb epoiēsen is the same as the one used in Genesis 1:1 in the Septuagint. That is precisely the same verb used here. So Jesus made the twelve. This points to creation, more precisely to new creation. Christianity is not about what we can do for Jesus or for God, but about God’s own making in our lives. It is God, it is Christ, who makes our discipleship. The real struggle, again, is to be with Jesus, to be created and transformed by him, before we can do anything. Therefore, spiritual growth and character building are important things that we cannot belittle.

In verse 16 onwards, we read a list of the names of the disciples. It is interesting that it is not just listing their given birth name, but Jesus actually gave them names as well. He designates them apostles. In the book of Genesis, Adam also gave names to the animals. In Scripture, to give a name is to confer meaning and purpose in accordance with that name. Many Old Testament names carry meaning. For instance, Elijah (Eliyahu) is from El (God) and Yahu (Yahweh), meaning “Yahweh is my God.” It is not merely a beautiful name; it is a calling, a purpose for his life. So too, without Jesus’s designation, there is no purpose in the life of the disciples.

Name has to do with identity. How do we build or shape our identity? Is it formed by God, or by the world? In the story of the Tower of Babel, they built a high tower to make a name for themselves, to confirm their identity. But this is not the Christian story. The Christian story is that Abraham was named by God. The meaning and purpose of his life were given by God. This is the true constitution of his identity.

‘Apostle’ is a high title. Not everyone is an apostle. Yet it is interesting that in the Gospel of Mark the word ‘apostles’ appears rarely, only once or twice. In contrast, the word ‘disciples’ appears forty over times. What do we learn from this? An apostle is no other than a disciple. So the title is not what matters most. In the modern era, there are certain churches who crave the high title and thus self-designate themselves as the ’new apostles’. The heart of the matter is being discipled in God, being discipled by Jesus.

What is the difference between discipleship and the teaching that happens in the lecture hall? At the university, a professor will teach you about the subjects, but afterward you are left alone. You must do your own assignments and your own research. A philosopher may teach about suffering. He can perhaps offer insight into how to deal with suffering, but he will not be there for you in your personal suffering. This is not Christianity; Christianity is about discipleship, not about lecturing.

Last week I heard sad news that a few pastors passed away, and one of them was relatively young. I was not really close to him, but I remember him as one who always opened his home to his congregation. That is a beautiful thing, because he wanted to practice discipleship. Discipleship is not merely teaching others or giving beautiful ideas; it is also opening one’s house and sharing life together. My house is open as well. You are welcome to come, though please call first, as sometimes I may be in Indonesia. And I hope this church is also an open community where everyone can feel at home with all their struggles, vulnerabilities, questions, doubts, worries, anxieties, and so on.

Without opening our house, it is hard to speak about discipleship. Look at the very life of Jesus. Jesus lived with them. That is discipleship. How could the disciples learn from Jesus if he was not with them? So let us pray that discipleship in our church becomes manifest. We can learn together and share what we learn from God. We are tired of a life filled with lecturing and, on the other hand, with excessive privacy. Let us learn together from the very life of Jesus. (T.F.L.)