Called, Sent, and Chosen: What Jesus’s Disciples Teach Us About Our Own Calling
Jesus did not choose the most qualified, the most educated, or the most religious people to carry out His mission. He chose twelve ordinary men and changed the world through them. That same pattern of calling, staying, and going still applies to followers of Jesus today.
Why Did Jesus Withdraw From the Crowds?
After the Pharisees formed an alliance with the Herodians and began plotting to kill Him, Jesus withdrew. He first went to the sea, and then up to a mountain. These two scenes, one by the water and one on the mountaintop, reveal something important about how Jesus responded to opposition and how He moved forward with His mission.
By the sea, massive crowds gathered from every direction. North, south, east, and west. People came from Galilee, Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, and beyond the Jordan. They came from Tyre and Sidon. The crowd was enormous and increasingly aggressive.
What Were the Crowds Really Looking For?
Not everyone in the crowd had the same motive. Some came to hear Jesus teach. Others came because they had heard about miracles and wanted something for themselves. The crowd grew so large and so pressing that Jesus had a boat prepared nearby, not as a pulpit, but for His own protection. The Greek word used in the text literally means they were crushing in on Him.
In that crowd were people Jesus had already healed. The former paralytic. The man with the withered hand. The cleansed leper. The formerly demon-possessed man. But also present were the Pharisees, watching and waiting to accuse Him. And the demons, who ironically fell before Jesus and cried out, “You are the Son of God,” even before He commanded them to be silent.
The demons knew who Jesus was. Much of the crowd did not. And Jesus silenced the demons, refusing to let them speak.
What Happened on the Mountain?
Jesus left the crowd and went up to the mountain. Luke tells us He prayed through the entire night before making this decision. Then, in the morning, He called to Himself those whom He wanted.
This is the moment Jesus appointed His twelve disciples.
Three things stand out in how Mark describes this moment.
He Called Them
The disciples did not volunteer. They were summoned. Jesus chose them. As He said in John 15:16, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, He may give it to you.” The call came first. Their response was obedience.
He Appointed Them
The Greek word Mark uses for “appointed” means to make, to put together, to assemble. Jesus built a team. He handpicked these twelve and assembled them with purpose. None of them were seminary trained. None were religious leaders. None were scribes or Pharisees. They were ordinary people given extraordinary authority.
He Gave Them Authority
Jesus gave the twelve authority to preach, to heal, and to cast out demons. The same things He had been doing. He transferred that authority to them because they would carry the mission forward. As He said, they would do even greater things than He had done.
What Were the Disciples Actually Called to Do?
Mark gives us two clear purposes for why Jesus called the twelve.
First, to Be With Him
Before they were sent anywhere, they were called to stay. To be present with Jesus. To learn from Him. To sit at His feet. This was their training. For roughly three years, these twelve men walked with Jesus, watched Him, listened to Him, and were shaped by Him.
In Acts 4:13, after Jesus had ascended, people observed Peter and John doing miraculous things and recognized something different about them. The text says they “took note that these men had been with Jesus.” That was the explanation. Not their talent. Not their background. They had been with Jesus.
Before anyone can effectively represent Jesus to the world, they must first spend time with Him. There is no shortcut to that.
Second, to Be Sent Out
The call to come eventually became a commission to go. After being with Jesus, the disciples were sent out to do the very work He had been doing. They were no longer just learners. They became practitioners, carrying the message and the authority of Jesus into the world.
Come. Stay. Go. That is the pattern.
Who Were the Twelve Disciples?
Mark pauses to name each one, because most people in that day would not have recognized them. They were not famous. They were not impressive by the world’s standards. Here is a brief look at each of them.
- Simon (Peter): The spokesman and leader. Jesus gave Him the name Peter, meaning rock, after His declaration in Matthew 16 that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
- James and John: Brothers, sons of Zebedee, nicknamed Boanerges, meaning “Sons of Thunder.” Likely referring to their bold and sometimes fiery temperament.
- Andrew: Peter’s brother and probably a former disciple of John the Baptist. Every time Andrew appears in Scripture, he is bringing someone to Jesus.
- Philip: Also likely a former disciple of John the Baptist. He brought Bartholomew to Jesus.
- Bartholomew (Nathaniel): The man Jesus described as one “in whom there is no guile.” When Jesus told him He had seen Him under the fig tree, Nathaniel responded, “You are my Lord and my God.”
- Matthew (Levi): A former tax collector who worked for Rome and was despised by his own people. He later wrote the first book of the New Testament.
- Thomas (Didymus): His nickname means “twin,” not doubter. Often unfairly reduced to one moment of uncertainty.
- James, son of Alphaeus: Sometimes called “James the Less,” likely referring to his stature. Far less prominent than James, son of Zebedee.
- Thaddeus: Sometimes listed as Judas in other Gospel accounts. He likely preferred Thaddeus after the crucifixion gave the name Judas a very different meaning.
- Simon the Zealot: A former member of a movement working to overthrow Roman rule. Sitting at the same table as Matthew, who had worked for Rome.
- Judas Iscariot: Always listed last. Always identified as the one who betrayed Jesus. Jesus knew from the beginning what Judas would do. As Luke 22:22 records, “For the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed.” Jesus washed His feet anyway.
Why Would God Choose Such Ordinary People?
Paul addressed this directly in 1 Corinthians 1:26-27: “For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong.”
The twelve had no distinguishing features that made them worthy of being chosen. Their only qualification was that Jesus wanted them. And yet, Acts 17:6 records that these same ordinary men “turned the world upside down.”
That is the point. God does not need impressive people. He needs available people who will come, stay, and go.
What Does This Mean for Us Today?
The calling of the twelve does not end with them. Their mission became our mission. What Jesus commissioned them to do, He now commissions us to do. We have inherited the responsibility to carry the gospel to a world that desperately needs to hear it.
If God could use twelve ordinary, flawed, untrained men to change the entire world, He can use us in our generation. The question is not whether we are qualified. The question is whether we will respond.
Life Application
This week, take one intentional step in each part of the pattern Jesus established with His disciples. Come to Him in prayer or Scripture reading with no agenda other than to be with Him. Stay long enough to actually listen. Then look for one person in your life who needs to hear the gospel and take a step toward them.
Ask yourself these questions as you go through your week:
- Am I spending time with Jesus before I try to do things for Jesus?
- If someone watched my life this week, would they be able to tell I have been with Him?
- Is there someone in my life I have been called to bring to Jesus, the way Andrew brought Peter and Philip brought Nathaniel?
- Am I responding to God’s call with obedience, or am I waiting until I feel more qualified?
The call has already gone out. He is summoning those whom He wants. The only question left is whether you will come.
