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Mark 3:7-19 Twelve Nobodies October 4, 2018

READ Mark 3:7-19 KIDS What three things did the disciples have in common?

I’ve heard/read some derivation of this from several sources

throughout the years. Had Jesus supplied a list of His disciples and their resumés to a business consulting firm, this would most likely be their reply:

Thank you for submitting the resumés of the twelve men you have selected for management positions in your new organization.

All of them have now taken our battery of tests and we have run the results through our computer. It is our staff’s opinion that most of

your nominees are lacking in background, education, and vocational aptitude for the type of work you are undertaking.

Simon Peter is emotionally unstable and given to an offensive temper. Andrew has absolutely no qualities of leadership. Brothers

James and John, sons of Zebedee, place personal interest above company loyalty. Frankly, they’re “Mama’ s boys”. Thomas

demonstrates a questioning attitude that would tend to undermine morale. We feel it is our duty to tell you that Matthew has been

Corey M. Minter Page of 1 12

www.newhopefwbc.com 1285 New Hope Road J o e l t o n , T N 3 7 0 8 0 6 1 5 . 7 4 6 . 6 4 0 3


blacklisted by our greater Jerusalem Better Business Bureau for illegal dealings. James, the son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot and

Thaddaeus have definite leanings toward the radical and register high on the manic depressive scale.

One of the candidates does, however, show great potential. He is a man of ability and resourcefulness. He has a keen business

mind. He’s highly motivated, as well as ambitious and responsible. We recommend Judas Iscariot as your controller and right- hand

man. There is no greater evidence that God loves to use the weak to

confound the strong than His choosing from His disciples these 12 men. I am positive that were it not for Christ, every single one of these twelve

nobodies would have lived and died without ever even leaving a smudge on history’s pages. They may have been found on a tax registry or two.

Some may have made it onto a most-wanted list. They may have been known as great fishermen, but by and large, they would have been born

into insignificant families, lived a common/ordinary life and died an anonymous death at an old age. But Jesus…

In an effort to summarize all of Jesus’s ministry, Mark opens 3:7 by making sure that we know Jesus had a great following.

7 But Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea. And a great multitude from Galilee followed Him, and from Judea

8 and Jerusalem and Idumea and beyond the Jordan; and those from Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they heard how many

things He was doing, came to Him.



In just those two verses, we are told that Jesus is being followed by multitudes across six different regions, from each one a multitude. Some

scholars have placed the group anywhere from 10,000-15,000 people who left everything familiar for a time to follow Jesus. They had been told of His

healings. They had heard His teaching, and their response was to follow Him as He traveled throughout Israel.

9 So He told His disciples that a small boat should be kept ready for Him because of the multitude, lest they should crush Him.

10 For He healed many, so that as many as had afflictions pressed about Him to touch Him.

So great was the press around Him and so needy the people that had He let them, they would have accidentally killed Him to get their

healing. He is stifled by the multitude, and that is why the few hours apart from them, on the boat or on the mountainside were so refreshing.

However, most times, His followers would either get in other boats, or they would travel the circumference of the sea in order to get to the other side

by the time He got there. He was incredibly popular, and that popularity often times hindered and endangered Him.

11 And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried out, saying, “You are the Son of God.”

12 But He sternly warned them that they should not make Him known.

I’ve told you this before, but I believe that during the time of Jesus there was an intense demonic oppression over all that region as Satan

began to see God’s plan to redeem mankind unfurl. Since Jesus was on a



Divine timetable where I believe everything was laid out for Him to make His way to the cross, Satan would do everything that he could to disrupt

that plan, even if it meant making scenes like verse eleven’s. That is the summary of Jesus’s earthly ministry: preaching, teaching,

healing and battling. He does all of this with suffocating crowds and oppressive demonic activity. For a ministry like this, you would think that

Jesus would enlist the best of the best: the most skilled, faith-filled, charismatic, discerning, biggest platform, learned orators, apologists,

thinkers and minds of His day. You could not be more wrong. In fact, He chooses twelve ordinary men…nobodies…who are unlearned, unskilled,

faithless, backwards and foolish to all the world’s eyes. The parallel passage in Luke 6 makes me believe that Jesus went

across the sea in that small boat that was mentioned in verse 9, walked up a lonely mountain, and there spent the entire evening praying. Rising the

next morning, He calls all of His followers: the multitudes from the six regions all around Him.

13 And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted. And they came to Him.

14 Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach,

15 and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons: Now before we get into the specifics of these men, let’s talk about

this calling. Jesus is not turning people away, here. He is calling out those He knows will be the most responsive to His ministry, even Judas…if that



tells you anything about this group. He is calling for disciples: learners; and He will be sending out apostles: sent ones, to do His will.

There are four listings of the apostles in Scripture: Matthew, Mark, Luke and Acts. While there might be some differences in these lists, there

are more similarities: 1. Simon Peter is always named first

That does not make him more important, but it does seem to include the fact that he was the leader. After Jesus’s burial, the

other disciples take their cues from Peter. 2. There seem to be groupings within these lists

Again, it is not that one group is more important than the other, but instead, Jesus is setting up a healthy leadership system

where He pours into four men intensely: Peter, Andrew, James and John, and they, in turn, pour into others. There are three

groupings of four, and the further we go down on the list, the least we know about that particular disciple.

3. These lists include some information about these men 16 Simon, to whom He gave the name Peter;

17 James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, “Sons of Thunder”;

18 Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Cananite;

19 and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him. And they went into a house.



As quirky as it might seem, a few of these men were given nicknames. Honestly, I’ve never been a nickname kind of guy and

relearning some of these names has affirmed that. Most of these nicknames are jokes, some kind of harsh, even, but it does round out the

humanity of a bunch of guys who lived together 24/7 for over three years. Whether by those names or other titles, we know some things about these

men that you might not have realized at first glance. Three Similarities among the Disciples

1. The only thing they had in common was that they had almost nothing in common.

Aside from some of the more obvious similarities (some were related, some worked together), this really was a group whose

backgrounds and demeanors could not have been more different. We can’t through a lot of details about each of them this morning,

but let’s point out a few. Simon (Peter)—He was a fisherman by trade, and he was

usually one of the first ones to speak up. That may be because as the supposed leader of the group he felt it was his responsibility or

it very well could have been in his nature. We do not know which one comes first, but we do know that Simon and Jesus shared the

most intimate relationship. They were so close that on some occasions, Simon thought it was necessary to correct Jesus. That

never went well for him. Jesus nicknamed him Peter (rock), and He uses that nickname most often when Peter has done or said



something right or good. Transversely, usually when Jesus calls him Simon, it is because he is acting likes his old self.

Andrew—Like his brother Peter, Andrew was also a fisherman by trade. He had no need of a nickname because his name meant

“Manly.” However, compared to his first-to-speak brother, apparently, Andrew was the silent type. We have very few words of

his recorded in Scripture, but one thing is the most encouraging about him: every time he is mentioned in the Bible (outside of the

listings), he is bringing someone to Jesus. It may be Greeks seeking Jesus, a little boy and his lunch to feed the multitudes or

his own brother Peter, Andrew was dedicated to take everyone to Christ.

James and John (Sons of Thunder; Boanerges)—These two brothers were also fishermen, but they had a view to so much more

in their life. Jesus called them Sons of Thunder not really as a compliment. It really means pretty close to our “hot head.” They

were brash and ready to judge. When Jesus was rejected by a town of Samaritans, James and John quickly ask Jesus if He

wanted them to call down fire and destruction from Heaven to judge them. (It’s not in the Bible, but I’m pretty sure Jesus said,

“Calm down.”) Their brashness was probably tied to their eagerness for power. Several occasions these two sparked debate

as to who would be the greatest in Jesus’s future kingdom. They even insight their mother to ask Jesus if the two could be his right

and left hand men.



Philip seems to be the leader of the second group, but apart from his very small role in the feeding of the 5,000 and his sharing

his faith with the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts, we really do not know much about him.

Nathanael (here called Bartholomew)—We know very little other than that he often went by the title Bartholomew which means

“Son of Tolmai,” a reference to his father. Matthew (Levi)—We have already talked at length about him a

few weeks ago. He was a tax collector for the Roman government by trade, and as such, he would have been seen by all Jews as a

traitor to Israel. He got his money from the occupying enemy army (Rome) by stealing from his own kinsmen (Jews). I can imagine

there were probably some tense conversations about that around the campfire some nights.

Thomas (Didymus; twin)—Sadly, we do not know much about Thomas other than that episode of his doubting Jesus’s

resurrection. When Jesus showed Himself to His disciples after resurrecting, Thomas was inexplicably not there. When they told

him about what had happened (Jesus walking right through the locked door), he did not believe them unless he could “put his

fingers in the nail prints.” We know him as Doubting Thomas, but I think had any of the other disciples been absent or had I been in

Thomas’s shoes, we would have all been called Doubting _______. It is an unfortunate title that does not exemplify the rest of his life.



James (the son of Alpheus)—All we know about him was that he had a believing mother (Mary) and that he goes by another

nickname a little later in the book of Mark: James the Less. Literally in the Greek, Micro-James, so it is possible that he was shorter.

Thaddaeus—Well that’s what we know him best as, but his real name is Judas, and you can imagine why he would not want to go

by that name. Whenever he is called Judas, it is quickly followed up by “Son of James” or my favorite “Judas…not Iscariot.” I feel the

worst about Thaddaeus’s names because if he goes by Judas then he is automatically lumped with…not Iscariot. If he goes by

Thaddaeus, it sounds good and strong, and I won’t give you the literal translation because that would be embarrassing, but it pretty

much means “Mamma’s Boy.” So Matthew tells us that he has another nickname Lebbaeus, and it’s not much better…”Heart

Child.” Simon the Cananite—He is otherwise called in Scripture Simon

the Zealot. The Zealots were a radical group of Israelis that sought to overthrow the Roman Empire and reinstate Jewish rule. Some of

the most radicalized of their group were called Sicarii or “Dagger Men.” They got that name because it was their common practice to

hide a dagger within the billowing fold of their clothes, and when they were pushed up against a Roman soldier in a crowd, they

would slice him. All Zealots held a deep contempt for Rome and Roman rule; so you can imagine that there would have been some

very tense moments between Simon the Zealot and Matthew the



Tax Collector. One was affiliated with hatred and killing off as many Roman-lovers, and the other one was depicted by greed, selling off

his own birthright of Jewish birth for a buck. Finally, Judas Iscariot—In every listing, the Gospel writers

dispense with the ominous foreshadowing, and they tell you straight up, “This man betrayed Jesus.” Judas Iscariot is an

enigma to me. He spent years with Jesus. He shared meals with Him, traveled with Him, preached with Him, and probably even did

some miracles in Jesus’s name, but when it came down to it, he walked away from Jesus with still damp feet where Jesus had just

washed him. He traded a relationship with the King of Glory for all eternity for a handful of coins.

These twelve are very different. Talents, abilities, political leanings, besetting sins, education all of that melted away because they had a

common denominator: Jesus. What a beautiful picture of our church. We are made up of very different people. Varying backgrounds: churched,

unchurched, other religions. Different education: very little schooling, diploma, college, doctors. Professions are as varied as you can guess. Yet

we have one common denominator: we confess Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God, sent, crucified, buried, risen, ascended and soon coming.

2. They all share the same fate. Except for Judas Iscariot, each of these men were tortured for

their faith. With the exception of John, each of these men would die a martyr’s death (and John was only Divinely spared long enough to

finish his Scripture writing while exiled in a Patmos prison).



Early church traditions passed down to us claim that: Peter—crucified upside down moments after watching his wife

crucified Andrew—crucified; instead of nails they used ropes to prolong his

death by asphyxiation James—the only Biblical account of apostolic martyrdom; executed

by Herod Philip—one of the most successful evangelists of all time; stoned in

Asia Minor Nathanael—thrown into the sea bound by ropes

Matthew—burned alive Thomas—run through with a spear

James the Lesser—stoned Simon the Zealot—Either crucified or cut in two (possibly both: cut

after crucifixion) Thaddaeus—clubbed to death

I wonder if they had any idea what they were signing up for that day on the mountainside when Jesus chose them. I am sure their hearts

swelled with pride that Jesus had chosen them, but I am sure Jesus wept because He knew their true earthly calling was not a position of

ruling but of suffering. That’s what Jesus called them to: to follow Him.

3. Jesus prayed for them. John 17:15 I do not pray that You should take them out of the world,

but that You should keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of



the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify[g] them by Your truth. Your word is truth. 18 As You sent Me into the world, I also

have sent them into the world. 19 And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.

Jesus Prays for All Believers 20 “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who [h]will

believe in Me through their word; 21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us,

that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We

are one: 23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and

have loved them as You have loved Me. 24 “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with

Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. 25 O

righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me. 26 And I have

declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”


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