Discipleship of Jesus
Chapter 1: They could not even eat bread

Previous Chapter: Lessons of Jesus


At the beginning of the ministry, Jesus appointed 12 of his followers as an apostles, though they all are called by Jesus in different situation, they all were appointed as an apostles on the same day, so that they can be with him for next three years and study the Godly principles - 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: 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 - Mark 3:13-19

Does the 12 know the meaning of "apostle"? No. Do they know the value of apostolic ministry? No, not at all. 

A bishop used to work hard to become as an arch-bishop, then only he will know how hard is to become an archbishop, it starts with years of experiences, personal testimony, higher education, background check etc., but the disciples of Jesus Christ become an apostle just like that, and no one knew the value of that position, neither aspired to achieve that position. 

that's because, the disciples does not know that Jesus Christ is God Almighty, furthermore, the Lord lived as an ordinary man by wearing ordinary clothes just like any other person, so, even if someone tells that Jesus is Almighty God, no one would believe it, that's how the God of Heaven humbled himself and lived in this earth.

But the pictures in the churches, depict Jesus with special identity, easily recognizable, and wearing shiny clothes, which is completely against Bible. If the Lord is easily recognizable from others, then why should the Jews have to pay Judas to betray Jesus Christ? They could have simply described Jesus's identity to arrest him.

so, the disciples did not know they were chosen by God of Heaven, and going to learn under His direct guidance for next three years, and this situation was told metaphorically - 20.Then he went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat bread - Mark 3:20

Here the Bread is referring to Jesus Christ, and "Crowd" is referring to the power of darkness, they are numerous in number, works against us in the form of lust, worldly desires, hiding the truth which became an obstacle for disciples to enjoy the moment with Jesus, so it was told metaphorically "the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat bread".

First Lesson of Jesus Christ

When the disciples are appointed, the first practical class session is that, they had to hear people criticizing and mocking their Master Jesus Christ - 21.And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.” 22.And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.” 23.And he called them to him and said to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? 24.If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25.And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. 26.And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. 27.But no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house. 28.“Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, 29.but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin” 30.for they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.” - Mark 3:21-30

A son of the ruler would take his friends to the place where he will be honored, A son of the rich man would take his friends to his royal palace to show his richness, but the Son of God did it entirely different, his disciples heard people criticizing and mocking him, In essence, the first lesson the Lord taught His disciples is, the world will not recognize us, our relatives will speak against us, and the people of this world will say that we have an unclean spirit, this is the first lesson that the Lord taught his disciples

Second Lesson of Jesus Christ

After that, Christ taught his disciples that our extended relatives are not our true family, and then He introduced our new spiritual family, and the new family members are those who love the Lord Jesus Christ - 31.And his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called him. 32.And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, seeking you.” 33.And he answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” 34.And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35.For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.” - Mark 3:31-35

This is the second important lesson Christ taught his disciples that we must follow, and If we continue to focus on our extended relatives and say, these are our blood relatives or these are our community people, it would lead only into bitterness and destruction.


Next Chapter: How will you understand other parables?