Mk. 3:13-19 “Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. 14 He appointed twelve-designating them apostles-that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach 15 and to have authority to drive out demons. 16 These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); 17 James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means Sons of Thunder); 18 Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot 19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.”
Jesus is always watching! Imagine this setting. Jesus has been laboring to minister to the multitudes and to introduce the kingdom of God. Many have been following Him as disciples and now it is time to set a group apart to a new appointed task. Consider the heart of God reflected here in this passage. Jesus withdraws to the mountainside. Lu. 6:12 makes it clear that He spent the whole night in prayer, thoughtfully considering the many disciples who had committed their lives to Him. When morning comes He selects from this group twelve men whom He will commission to a higher purpose. Twelve men who will be sent out before Him to prepare the way in each of the cities that He will visit and who will walk in the authority and power of the Holy Spirit on a different level than the rest, twelve men who will “be with Him” in a way that no one else enjoys.
Does God play favorites no! Does God set apart some men and women for a greater public or private purpose than others and for different times and seasons; absolutely! Why does the Lord call one man to Himself and pass by another? Why does the Lord invite Peter and John to follow and yet send the Gadarene demoniac home to his family even though he asks intensely to be allowed to follow as a disciple? The Lord knows the purpose for which He created each person and He knows the heart and its capacity to follow. Why was Mark a failure in one season of his life; running away in a difficult season, and yet later of such value to Paul that Paul calls for Him in 2 Ti. 4:11, saying that he is useful to Paul? The answer is grace.
John the Baptist understands this principle and states it very directly in response to the inquiry of his disciples and their concerns over the growing popularity of Jesus. John states in John 3:27 "A man can receive only what is given him from heaven.” At the end of the story there is grace. For different times and seasons it is grace. For different callings and ministries the answer is grace! What has been given to us from heaven? Paul writes about the gifts and callings of God and states in 1 Cor 12:11 “All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.” God has determined the gifts and the measure that each one of us receives for His own purposes.
So what is our part? The answer to this question is clear and simple as well: desire and surrender. Paul ends I Co. 12 by clarifying that not all will have all gifts but that we should still eagerly desire the greater gifts! A few verses later in I Co. 14:1 he even restates his exhortation that we should earnestly desire spiritual gifts, “especially the gift of prophecy.” We pursue with a hungry heart and surrender to the will of the Lord in regard to the outcome as He directs our steps. If He has called you to a public ministry, lean on grace. If He has called you to a family or a career, lean on grace. Where there is a call, there is grace! Where there is grace, there is power for success! Seek Him hard for the greatest measure that He will give you do accomplish His will but surrender to the fact that it is His will that will be done, not your own!
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