Give Me Jesus: Jesus Pressured Jesus: Mark 3:7-19

I. Jesus’ Pressure vs. 7-12

A. Jesus had people from all over the place following Him. Not only were the locals following which would have numbered in the tens of thousands, but hundreds of outsiders as well.

B. The reason these people wanted Jesus, wasn’t because of the gospel message, but to be heated or relieved from demonic possession. Many are still like that today.

C. The word for pressed, is the word often used for crushed. There were so many people that they were on the verge of crushing Jesus!

D. The demon possessed weren’t being saved necessary, but were vainly trying to defeat Jesus. “ This was in accordance with the ancient belief ‘that knowledge of the precise name or quality of a person confers mastery over him.’ In response, Jesus forbade them to speak, and cast them out. There is tragic irony here, for the demons knew that Jesus was the Son of God, but the multitudes thought of him only as a miracle-worker whom they could use for their selfish ends”- R. Kent Hughes.

E. Jesus had a boat waiting for Him so He could escape. (The Beatles and rock stars ex)

II. Jesus’ Peaceful Getaway vs. 13a

A. Jesus’ response to the pressure of life, is one that we need to take heed to. Jesus got away, and would get some quite r and r. We all need to get away from time to time. We also need to get by ourselves in the quite. “You need to come apart or you will come apart”- Bob Pitman.

B. We need to pray. If Jesus needed to get away and pray about the pressures of life, how much more do we?

Luke 6:12 NASB95

It was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God.

C. We will see that the result of Jesus’ praying will dramatically change His ministry.

III. Jesus’ Picks vs. 13b-19

A. Jesus is picking these apostles so that they will know Him. Jesus is always inviting us to know Him more intimately. This will precede every ministry that you will do. Ministry begins with intimacy with God.

B. Jesus would send them to preach and cast out demons. All of them including Judas Iscariot would do this.

C. Simon the wishy washy would be named Peter and eventually be rock solid as his new name hints at. Mark the writer of this gospel who is taking Peter’s sermons, had been wishy washy too. But Jesus never leaves us where we are.

Philippians 1:6 NASB95

For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

D. The legalistic and dogmatic James and John are given the funny nickname “sons of thunder”. Later they will be bold, but loving. James will be the first believing disciple to die (the first disciple to be martyred), and John the last to die (the only one to die of natural causes).

E. Andrew, Phillip, and Bartholomew are relatively unknown, but Andrew would be known as a patron saint of 3 nations.

F. Matthew’s story we just saw. Thomas was a skeptic and went to the most skeptical nations… India.

G. Simon the Zealot was a terrorist turned peaceful preacher. (Isis and Paul ex).

H. Judas got to know Jesus, without ever really knowing Jesus.

Matthew 7:21–23 NASB95

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’

I. Every disciple would be a picture of every type of believer and chameleon nonbeliever, but Jesus did a radical work in their lives, all while being an example of how to deal with the pressure of life. Jesus worked in their life, He wants to work in yours too!