Kingdom Disciples

One day, after teaching the multitude, Jesus set out to cross the Sea of Galilee. But a violent storm descended suddenly, frightening the disciples. Storms were common enough on that body of water, and several of the men were fishermen familiar with its moods. Their terror indicated this was an especially severe storm.

The  Gospel of Mark  provides only a few examples of the many parables taught by Jesus (“ Apart from a parable he did not speak to the crowds ”). In them, the dominant theme is the Kingdom of God that invaded the Earth in the ministry of Jesus and continues to grow and produce fruit wherever the Gospel is preached. The “ Son of Man ” taught the Jewish people in parables, but only as they “ were able to hear ,” and this clause stresses the responsibility of the listener to hear and heed his words.

The  Parable of the Sower  provides the key to understanding the parables of Jesus. The story’s point is that the Kingdom of God began to invade the present age starting with the proclamation of the Gospel by the “ Son of Man .” That process commenced with his announcement of the Good News when he was in “ Galilee of the Nations .” Ever since then, the Kingdom has been advancing across the Earth though largely unnoticed by humanity and even by many of his followers.

A line is crossed when the activities of God’s Spirit in the words and deeds of Jesus are attributed to Satan – Mark 3:22-35 .  Christ’s statement about the “ unpardonable sin ” was in response to the scribes from Jerusalem who came to examine his conduct and teachings. In the preceding paragraph, his “ friends ” had concluded that he was “ beside himself .” In the present story, the representatives from the Temple accused him of being in league with “ Beelzebul ,” the Devil.

Jesus chose his Twelve Apostles from among a larger group of followers, including two surprising candidates  -  Mark 3:13-21 .  After preaching to the crowds near Capernaum, Jesus departed to a “ mountain ” and summoned his disciples, where he chose twelve men from among a larger group. The resultant company corresponded to the twelve tribes of Israel; effectively, he was reconstituting the covenant people of Yahweh, only now, around himself and not the  Torah  or Temple.