The Privilege of Being with Jesus
It is an amazing thought to consider that people can be with Jesus and live life with Jesus! This is precisely the call that Mark gives in chapter 3 of his gospel when speaking of Jesus’ call of the Twelve as His appointed apostles. He writes:
Mark 3:14-15 14 And He appointed twelve, so that they would be with Him and that He could send them out to preach, 15 and to have authority to cast out the demons.
The three noteworthy points to mention in these verses consist of:
1. The apostles of Jesus Christ were with Jesus. What an amazing thought! They were appointed to live with Him, to be with Him, to watch Him, to learn from Him, to be His ambassadors and His witnesses. By way of application, how imperative it is for us—His servants—to be those who are with Jesus on a daily basis as we spend time in the Christian disciplines of Bible reading and prayer.
2. The apostles of Jesus Christ were preachers of the Gospel. Again, Jesus appointed twelve men to be those who would be His heralds—His proclaimers! They were to permeate the land—yes, even the world!—with the gospel of Jesus Christ! The good news that Jesus has come offering salvation and complete and total forgiveness of sins to sinners deserving hell who believe and place their saving faith in Him was the theme of their message! What a fitting reminder for us! We are also to be preachers of the gospel! We have a message that we are to bear and hold high as we live life wherever God places us.
3. The apostles of Jesus Christ were able to cast out demons. The authority of God here is so clearly revealed that one could hardly overlook this simple truth. God has absolute authority over Satan and his minions. Jesus Christ entrusted this same authority to His twelve apostles so that they could also cast out demons to heal and to verify the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Though Jesus may not have specifically entrusted all of His followers with this same call and responsibility, we as God’s witnesses today are mandated to pray when hardships come; we are commanded to trust God and let our requests be made known to Him; we are to surrender to and submit to the all-powerful authority of God over everything—even Satan and demons. Therefore, let us as God’s servants take courage and take heart: God has absolute authority and nothing can thwart His perfect will!
May we learn from these concise phrases as we endeavor to be better servants of Christ and better witnesses of the gospel as we live our lives to please our commanding Officer!
