EXPLORE
THE CALLED ONES
Jesus' ministry is filled with scenes and this one moves from the lakeside to a mountain. The time has come to reach beyond and for that he will solicit the assistance of twelve men. One can see Him passing through the crowd that seems always with him and putting his hand on Simeon's shoulder then James and John, Andrew and Philip. He speaks to the other six and says with a smile, "Come with me."
They begin to follow Jesus to the top of a nearby mountain. The climb is long and there is no talking. Each man is pondering his own thoughts wondering what is going to happen now.
These twelve all coming from different backgrounds were wanted! The Master had selected them, not for any particular reason other than He simply wanted them. I can think of no greater honor than to be told by Jesus, "I want you."
So they followed Him up into the foggy midst of the summit. This would be their classroom. There would be no chalkboards or notes taken, just twelve men sitting at the feet of this extraordinary man.
It is striking that they all had little preparation for what lay ahead. They had only observed and listened during the past several days but Jesus knows well that this is enough groundwork. Now there would come an endowment of authority and power and with that authority would come a new name, Apostle!
Their call was distinct in its scope. They would be the ones who would be with Him wherever He went. They were called to lay down their lives, all their future ambitions and follow Him. But this would not be a little club of a select few with certain privileges, their call also included a mission.
They would on occasion go out and preach what they had heard and cast out demons with the legal right of their master. Now they would not just be observers but also co-participants in changing the world. Stories would be told by wild eyed Apostles of how the demons shrieked and the lame walked, and even during the moments of such celebration Jesus would remind them its not what you do, its what you are, to not rejoice in the conquest of darkness but to rejoice that their individual names had been written in the eternal book!
Things have not changed much since that brief time on the mountain. Jesus still calls those He desires to abide with Him and to shake the world with His authority. They come from various backgrounds and speak different languages but they have been selected to come alongside the greatest being in the universe, the One we call Jesus!