Disciples And Detractors
Everybody Has an Opinion About Jesus
I love the Alpha program, and one of its sessions begins with a simple “man on the street” question: What do you think about Jesus? The answers are all over the map. Some admire him. Some are skeptical. Some are fascinated. Some are dismissive.
As we’ve made our way through Mark’s Gospel, we’ve discovered that almost nobody is neutral about Jesus. He teaches with authority, heals the sick, forgives sins, challenges religious assumptions and calls ordinary people to follow him. The crowds are growing, and so is the controversy.
By Mark 3, everyone seems to be responding to Jesus—but not everyone is responding in the same way.
There are crowds, disciples, religious leaders, and even Jesus’ own family. They are all looking at the same Jesus, but they are drawing very different conclusions.
And Mark invites us to ask a difficult question: Where do we stand when it comes to Jesus?
From the Crowd to the Community
Mark tells us that people are coming from everywhere because they have heard what Jesus is doing. They are desperate, curious and hopeful. They want healing. They want answers. They want Jesus to do something in their lives.
There is nothing wrong with bringing our needs to Jesus. But there is a difference between coming to Jesus because we want something from him and following Jesus because we have entrusted ourselves to him.
Jesus then calls twelve people to be with him and sends them out to share his mission. They are fishermen, a tax collector, a political zealot and others from very different backgrounds. They aren’t particularly impressive on paper, and they certainly aren’t perfect.
But Jesus forms them into a community.
That matters because following Jesus was never intended to be a solo project. Jesus doesn’t simply gather individuals who believe the same things. He forms people into a community that learns how to live together, serve together and become more like him together.
The disciples misunderstand Jesus. They argue. They fail. One will eventually betray him. Yet they keep following.
Perhaps discipleship isn’t about having everything figured out. Perhaps it is simply being willing to stay close enough to Jesus to be changed by him.
The Detractors
Then Mark introduces us to the religious leaders. They have seen what Jesus is doing, but instead of asking, “What is God doing here?” they decide that Jesus’ power must come from Satan.
Jesus responds with a simple image: “If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.”
But there is a deeper warning here. These religious leaders have become so convinced of their own conclusions that they are no longer open to what God might be doing in front of them.
You can know Scripture and still miss Jesus. You can be deeply religious and still resist him. You can spend your life talking about God while refusing to let God change your assumptions.
Following Jesus requires humility—the willingness to say, “Maybe I need to rethink what I thought I knew.”
A New Kind of Family
Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrive, looking for him. When someone tells Jesus they are outside, he responds:
“Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”
Jesus isn’t dismissing biological family. He’s expanding our understanding of family. A new community is being formed around the kingdom of God.
And notice what Jesus emphasizes: doing God’s will.
Discipleship isn’t merely about what we know. Eventually, what we believe becomes visible in the way we live—in our relationships, our generosity, our priorities, our forgiveness and our willingness to serve.
Following Jesus gets into our hands, our calendars, our bank accounts and our everyday choices.
What About Us?
Mark gives us several different responses to Jesus.
Some people want something from him. Some want to follow him. Some want to control the narrative around him. Some don’t understand him.
And if we’re honest, there are moments when we can find ourselves in every one of those groups.
Sometimes we’re the crowd, coming to Jesus because we need something. Sometimes we’re the detractors, deciding we already know what God should be doing. Sometimes we’re like Jesus’ family, loving him but struggling to understand him.
And sometimes we’re the disciples: still confused, still learning, but still following.
That may be one of the most encouraging things about the disciples. They didn’t understand everything. They simply stayed close to Jesus.
And when you stay close to Jesus long enough, something happens.
You begin to become more patient. More generous. More compassionate. More willing to forgive. Less concerned with being right. More willing to serve. More attentive to people who are overlooked.
You begin to look a little more like Jesus.
That’s what it means to be marked by the Messiah.
Who Is Jesus to You?
Everyone has an opinion about Jesus. You probably do too.
But eventually, the question isn’t simply what do you think about Jesus? The question is what will you do with him?
Will Jesus simply be someone you turn to when you need help? Someone you admire from a distance? Someone you’ve already decided doesn’t fit your understanding?
Or will you become his disciple—someone willing to stay close, to listen, to learn and to allow him to reshape your life?
The crowds came because they wanted something from Jesus. The religious leaders wanted to control what Jesus was doing. The disciples stayed because they were beginning to understand who Jesus was.
He was the Messiah.
And those who followed him would never be quite the same again.
They were—and we are invited to be—Marked by the Messiah.