Mark 3 :13-19

We believe small groups are the primary way of making disciples. Why? That’s what Jesus did! It’s why we do Sunday School and Connection Groups. 

Jesus chose twelve of His followers to be His disciples. He chose them that He might be with them and that He might send them out (Mark 3:14). They were Jesus’ Connection Group! There are four lists of the twelve disciples in the New Testament (Matthew 10, Mark 3, Luke 6, and Acts 1). We will look at Mark 3. 

Jesus’ Connection group was comprised of ordinary, flawed people whom He gradually transformed into His image (Mark 3:15-16; Acts 4:13). … The first three (Peter, James, and John) were his inner circle and the leadership team of the twelve. He took them places where he didn’t take the others and even gave them nicknames. Peter’s given name was Simon, but Jesus called him Peter, which means “rock”. Yeah, Simon had that nickname long before Dwayne Johnson. Peter though, was not very rock-like. He wavered and was unstable much of the time. Yet, Jesus called him “rock” and Peter would eventually become part of the foundation of the early church. James and John were brothers who had tendencies of being hot-headed. They had tempers. Jesus called the, “Sons of Thunder”. They suggested calling down fire from Heaven to destroy a village. They started an argument about who would sit next to Jesus in Heaven. Yet, later on John would be known as the disciple of love. He went from suggesting that Jesus rain down fire to being known for his love. 

Sometimes people see these ordinary, flawed people messing up and say they don’t want to go to church because of the hypocrites in the church. Mark 3:19 shows us that those hypocrites might be false disciples. They might not be true believers. But verses 15-17 show us that they could just be in the process of becoming more like Jesus. We aren’t perfect and don’t claim to be. 

Jesus’ Connection Group was comprised of people with very different backgrounds whom He molded into one body (Mark 3:18). … Matthew was a tax collector. The tax collectors were hated by the Jews and often lumped together with sinners and prostitutes. They were known for being deceptive and taking more than they needed to. Simon the Zealot would have been on the opposite end of the spectrum. He was all for Jewish freedom and probably would have liked to kill Matthew the tax collector. Jesus brought them together. 

Tommy Tarrants was once a racist and a member of the KKK. He was consumed by hatred for people who were not like him. Through certain life events, he has become a Christian and pastor of a diverse church as well as being in a leadership position with the C.S. Lewis Institute. Read about his story here and here and several other places. Tarrants is a modern day example of how much we can change with the help of Christ.