title="English

A New Name

Mark 3:13-19

Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. ¹⁴ He appointed twelve—designating them apostles—that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach ¹⁵ and to have authority to drive out demons. ¹⁶ These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); ¹⁷ James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means Sons of Thunder); ¹⁸ Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot ¹⁹ and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him (Mark 3:13-19).

Last year, Pastor Bill Mead and I had a wonderful meeting with the head of LAC’s Beyond Barriers ministry, Pam Swanson. I learned a lot from Pam that day. One of the most lasting lessons I gained has direct relevance to today’s service. Pam told me that when people have noticeable disabilities, the correct language is not to label them as disabled. Instead, we should use language like “a person who has a disability.” I’ve been thinking about Pam’s words ever since that meeting. She was not just talking about trivial words or semantics. Pam was helping me to see something about who we are as people. It is enormous difference between identifying a person by saying, “He is disabled” or saying, “He is a person with a disability.” The important thing in that second way of describing is that the person we encounter is in first respect a person, i.e., a human being – one made in the image of God.

We’ve been learning from Mark’s Gospel this fall at LAC. Today, I want to take just a few moments to show you something from Mark 3:13-19 that helps us to see how, when we make the decision to follow Jesus, we begin to identify others and ourselves in a new way. We may still have some of the old ways of identifying people, e.g., we may say we are young or older, a USC or UCLA fan, a brunette or blond… Those identities may still be true of us but none of them are at the heart of who we are. When we follow Jesus, we gain a new core identity that is the key to all other identities we possess.

Let me ask you: If someone asks you to identify yourself by more than just your family name, what do you say? Who are you? Are you a young adult? A teacher? An Asian woman? A father? An engineer? Who are you? I want to show you how Jesus teaches us that, while all those identities may be true of us, there is one that is central to them all, i.e., our relationship to him!

Look at vv. 13-19 to see what it says to us:

• Jesus created a new people with a new identity. He appointed Twelve (vv. 14 & 16) – the word for “appointed” is epoiessen – meaning to create a work of art. Jesus was calling into being a new people. Just as the OT people of God started with 12 tribes, Jesus is recreating a people beginning with these 12 men.
• Jesus named the people. He designated them apostles (v. 14b). The word is “onomasen” and refers to naming – or identifying. You see, in the Bible, names matter. Parents gave names to identify what a child was like. Names changed as people changed. Jesus is naming – identifying something new is beginning to happen to those who follow him.
• Jesus renamed people according to his call upon them (vv. 16-17). Simon became Peter, the rock, because Peter would be the foundational apostle for the church. James and John would become “sons of thunder” for reasons Jesus knew but that are not disclosed in the Bible.

You need to know that much of what Jesus says in vv. 13-19 is specifically for these original twelve apostles. But, the main point is for us all: Jesus gives us a new central identity. Paul would put it this way in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

I will come back to this text someday so we can spend more time with it. But, I want you to consider several parts of what Jesus says about the apostles’ identity that I think is true of all believers. Who are we? We are people:

• Wanted by Jesus – He “called those he wanted”. This is true of every human being. Jesus says, “Whosoever will may come!” “While we were sinners Christ loved us and died for us.” Who are you? You are a person loved by Jesus with an everlasting love. He wants to give you a new life.
• Being recreated by Jesus – We too are God’s “poiema” (as in Mk. 3:14,16). When we trust Jesus, we become God’s work of art created in Christ Jesus to do good (Eph. 2:10). When you trust Jesus and follow him he will begin to remake you until you have life to the full.
• Walking daily with Jesus – Jesus called a new people into being so that we could be “with him” (v. 14). We have the privilege of living daily in his presence. Jesus promises to be with us always even to the end of the world. In the rest of the NT, the main way of thinking about all Jesus-followers is that we are “in Christ” or “with Christ.” That’s who you are, i.e., one with whom Jesus walks.
• Sent to further God’s good news about Jesus in the world (Mk 3:15). Jesus called the Twelve 1) to be with him and 2) to be sent… And, he still does the same. You and I are not just saved – we are sent. We are sent to serve God’s mission to our schools, neighborhood, and occupations. Count on it: when you say yes to Jesus, you will find he sends you to serve.
• Belonging in the new unexpected family Jesus came to establish (3:20-35). In the rest of Mk 3, we read that the two former places of “belonging” in Jesus days, the family and the religious community, rejected Jesus. Jesus made the point that even when we feel rejected in the world, we have a place of belonging. We belong to his eternal family – ultimately made up of people from every tribe, language, people group, and nation. We know God as “Abba” and Jesus as our greater brother.

Who are we? We have many identities but Jesus is saying he gives us a new name. We belong to Jesus. We find our identity through Jesus. And, when we embrace that identity, everything else changes.

I thought of this in new ways when I recently spoke at Ann Hilton’s memorial service. This is a part of what I said:

Ann Hilton could be identified as so many things: a devoted wife, a great Mom, a new and proud grandmother, a tremendous teacher in the LA School District, a wonderful singer, a corny joke teller, a beautiful friend, and a person who brought joy and beauty to each person whose path crossed hers… But, there was another identity that was central to Ann’s other identities. We dare not leave a service that remembers her without remembering that core identity. In fact, Ann’s central identity changes everything about this memorial service. Who was Ann? Ann was a genuine follower of Jesus. Not just a churchgoer or religious person – but a person who loves and is loved by Jesus.

Jesus calls you too. Who are you at your inner core? Are you ready to find your identity in him?

Now, I want you to hear from Jen Barrick. Jen is a person who is all these things I’ve mentioned: She is wanted by Jesus, in process of being recreated by Jesus, walking with Jesus, sent to further the gospel of Jesus, and belonging as a sister in God’s unexpected and eternal family. You may also notice that Jen is a follower of Jesus who has some disabilities. But, soon, you will recognize that this is a secondary and temporary reality because Jen’s main identity is that she is a genuine follower of Jesus, the one who has come to make all things new.

To His glory,

Dr. Greg Waybright
Senior Pastor