Setting the Wheels in Motion

Do you ever think that Jesus' plan was not to be the leader of this movement?

Jesus departed with his disciples to the sea, and a great multitude from Galilee followed him; hearing all that he was doing, they came to him in great numbers from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, beyond the Jordan, and the region around Tyre and Sidon. He told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, so that they would not crush him; for he had cured many, so that all who had diseases pressed upon him to touch him. Whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and shouted, "You are the Son of God!" But he sternly ordered them not to make him known. He went up the mountain and called to him those whom he wanted, and they came to him. And he appointed twelve, whom he also named apostles, to be with him, and to be sent out to proclaim the message, and to have authority to cast out demons. So he appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); James son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder); and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. Then he went home; - Mark 3:7-19a

Here we have a clue. Jesus collects the people from all around and has them come to see that he is handing over the movement to the twelve.

They will be the leaders of this movement back to God. They will heal and preach and be bearers of the good news.

But we remain in awe of Jesus. And his apostles are so in awe of him that they fail to do what they should have been doing. Go and make believers of all people.

What did Jesus do wrong? 

I don't think it was Jesus's fault. I believe the fault lies with the Gospel writers, especially John, who so idolized Jesus for the signs that he is the Messiah that they lost sight of the goal.

Jesus came as an example of how we should live our lives. God, as a human, to show us we can be like him. Instead, we worship him as God and forget to be him for others.

I am sure to get some pushback on this, but I can't help but think we are like sheep adoring the shepherd.

Yes, Jesus called us sheep, but he also called a dozen men to be leaders, not shepherds. Ironically, the ones who did the better job of evangelizing and spreading the good news were the women, like the one at the well.

Jesus set the wheels in motion when he chose twelve apostles to be the ones to go out into the world on his behalf. Their job was to spread the news that God loves us, forgives us, redeems us through Christ, and wants us to come to Him.

How did they do?

Do you feel equipped to go out and spread that word for Jesus? 

Why not? What are we doing wrong? Have the wheels stopped turning?

More to come...