Daily Devotions
Mark
1 Peter 2:19 "For this is commendable, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully."
Day 71 – Mark 3
“For this is commendable, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully.” 1 Peter 2:19
A LIST OF TWELVE NAMES
All the synoptic Gospels recorded the names of the Twelve apostles.
“Simon, to whom He gave the name Peter;
James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James,
to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is,
‘Sons of Thunder’;
Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas,
James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Cananite;
and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.
And they went into a house.”
MARK 3:16-19
1. Rationale for choosing this set of Twelve Men to be apostles
a) This was never disclosed.
b) It is not wise to speculate on what has not been revealed to us.
2. Appreciation of the Choice of these Twelve men
a) Jesus knew all of them well
i) Some were given nicknames, namely, Simon, James and John.
ii) The giving of nicknames suggests closeness of relationship.
b) A very mixed-bag
i) Even a cursory look at the list would reveal an important fact- we have a mixed bag in the list of people named as apostles.
ii) Nevertheless, Jesus must be given credit for His choice of apostles.
3. The choosing of Judas Iscariot
a) A most surprising choice
We know next to nothing about this man called Judas Iscariot. The Gospels do not record the time when Jesus called him to become His disciple.
b) “Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him”
This note was written after the fact. The Gospel of Mark was written a few decades after the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.