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But Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea. And a great multitude from Galilee followed Him, and from Judea 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. So He told His disciples that a small boat should be kept ready for Him because of the multitude, lest they should crush Him. For He healed many, so that as many as had afflictions pressed about Him to touch Him. And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried out, saying, "You are the Son of God." But He sternly warned them that they should not make Him known.
And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted. And they came to Him. Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons: Simon, to whom He gave the name Peter; James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, "Sons of Thunder"; Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Cananite; and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.
- Mark 3:7-19a
On Saturday, we read that Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath; and as they went His disciples began to pluck the heads of grain. And the Pharisees said to Him, "Look, why do they do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?" But He said to them, "Have you never read what David did when he was in need and hungry, he and those with him: how he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the showbread, which is not lawful to eat except for the priests, and also gave some to those who were with him?" And He said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath." And He entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand. So they watched Him closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him. And He said to the man who had the withered hand, "Step forward." Then He said to them, "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or do evil, to save life or to kill?" But they kept silent. And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other. Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him.
But Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea. And a great multitude from Galilee followed Him, and from Judea 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. So He told His disciples that a small boat should be kept ready for Him because of the multitude, lest they should crush Him. For He healed many, so that as many as had afflictions pressed about Him to touch Him. And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried out, saying, "You are the Son of God." But He sternly warned them that they should not make Him known. Jesus withdrew, my study bible says, "both because the Pharisees were planning to destroy Him (though it was not time for Him to die) and in order to preach in other places. Here we're given a sense of all those other places: He's not just in Galilee anymore, but also in the "heart" of Israel and the places central to religious institutions. He's also in Gentile territory (Tyre and Sidon). Great multitudes come to Him. He must preach by the sea, standing in a boat to avoid being crushed by the crowds. His healing draws them. But we also learn about His power, and of that there is no doubt. He even commands the "unclean spirits" and they know who He is. What even the unruly members of this spiritual realm recognize is for now kept secret from human society, and will go unrecognized by the religious leadership. A note in my study bible refers us to Isaiah 42:1-4 and suggests there are three reasons for this secrecy at this stage: (1) the growing hostility of the Jewish leaders; (2) the people's misunderstanding of the Messiah as an earthly, political leader; and (3) our Lord's desire to evoke genuine faith not based solely on marvelous signs."
And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted. And they came to Him. Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons: Simon, to whom He gave the name Peter; James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, "Sons of Thunder"; Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Cananite; and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him. Jesus appoints the Twelve; the time has come in His ministry for this step, given its great expanse. (We note that it has even gone into Gentile territory.) My study bible tells us that "disciple" and "apostle" are used interchangeably for the twelve. From the Greek, disciple means "learner" and apostle means "one sent out." It says, "Jesus gave them power to perform miracles, while He performed them by His own power. The names of the Twelve are not the same in all lists, as many people had more than one name."
It's interesting to consider the notion of power, here in the context of the spiritual life, and specifically in Christian life. Jesus doesn't use power in the same ways that we think of earthly power. He is first of all a king from a different realm, as He has said to Pilate, "My kingdom is not of this world." We also understand this to mean that His power isn't used in "worldly" ways. Contained in today's lectionary reading is also a section from 1 Corinthians 4. St. Paul writes, "I think that God has displayed us, the apostles, last, as men condemned to death; for we have been made a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men. We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are distinguished, but we are dishonored! To the present hour we both hunger and thirst, and we are poorly clothed, and beaten, and homeless. And we labor; working with our own hands. Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure; being defamed, we entreat. We have been made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things until now" (vv. 9-13). And yet, a few verses later on, St. Paul tells them, "I will come to you shortly, if the Lord wills, and I will know, not the word of those who are puffed up, but the power. For the kingdom of God is not in word but in power" (vv. 19-20). So there is indeed a power at work here. It is the power of Christ; He uses it Himself, and He also confers it upon or shares it with others. When we pray, when we seek to intercede for others, it is this power to which we appeal. When we pray for others, it is this power, via relationship, we request. It is His power that commands the spirits to "be quiet" or to "come out of him" or her -- even those spirits which do not want to follow. And yet, despite this power and what it does that we can see, the apostles are "last" of all, fools for Christ's sake, dishonored and not distinguished, poor by all the world's standards, beaten and homeless. Their power is perhaps displayed in endurance, in entreating, in blessing: but they are "made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things until now," says St. Paul. So, how are we to think about this power? How are we to understand it? There's a great hint to it in the lists of the Twelve who were first chosen: they all end with Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him. This is a power that may be betrayed by our free will. It's not a power that compels, but one that works in a different way, and this is perhaps the great secret of the "not-worldly" way of this power. Ultimately, it is a power that is rooted in love. Its commands are for love, just as the Law was given for love (as we read in Saturday's reading), even if it is poorly used by human beings for different purposes. Does love concern itself with justice? Most assuredly, it must. But it also concerns itself with mercy. It goes to the limit for the beloved, enduring all things: as He did on the Cross, as St. Paul writes of himself and his fellow apostles who are "last" of all. It endures. It blesses. It entreats. But, it is also power. And this we may not forget. It wants us voluntarily, and it is our hearts that are involved here. There is a great phrase that the Orthodox use about a particular type of contemplative prayer (also called the Jesus Prayer, or Prayer of the Heart). We are to pray with "the mind in the heart." How we relate to Christ tells us all about this power rooted in love, this strength to endure, to be last, and to triumph, His way. But, as St. Paul says, it is all about power. Let us think about his words, and think about the power conveyed on the Twelve.
