Today’s passage: Mark 3:7-21
Helpful thoughts:
- Jesus was becoming a spectacle. He had come to preach the Kingdom. They wanted physical healing and the casting out of demons.
- The demons were not permitted to proclaim who Jesus is. Their intent was evil, their reputation was not trusted or respected, and they would not be given that privilege.
- From the crowd of people who had become followers of Jesus, twelve were called out. They were selected to (1) Be with him and (2) to be sent out.
- There would be a time of discipleship where Jesus would pour into these men.
- There would be a time of commission and sending where the men would go out and do what they were taught.
- Jesus’ earthly family did not believe in Him at this time. They thought He was insane.
Questions to consider:
- Some Christians can imagine better than others…but what if the people in your community, officials and prominent authorities, and even your own family were against you and thought you were going crazy for what you believed? Jesus experienced this. He knows what it’s like. How can our relationship with Him and knowing what He suffered help us when the world would call us crazy for believing as we do?
- Why do you think Mark let’s the reader know right away that Judas would betray Jesus? What does this knowledge, right up front, teach us about the purposes of God?
- Who are some people who have discipled you? Who are you discipling? Knowing that this is part of what Jesus has sent us out to do (Matthew 28:18-20), who might you be able to reach out to for this kind of relationship?