Jesus Gathers His Israel

Rev. James Preus, pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Ottumwa, IA, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Mark 3:7-19.

Jesus gathers the lost sheep of the house of Israel to Himself as He preaches and teaches throughout Israel. As the crowd surrounds Him at the Sea of Galilee again, He has His disciples bring a boat so that He can continue His ministry of teaching. He continues to heal and cast out demons. He will not let the demons speak the truth of who He is; instead, He appoints twelve apostles for this task. These were men of His choosing. They were first disciples, those who were with Jesus to learn from Him. They were second apostles, men commissioned by Jesus to extend His preaching into the world. These twelve men, named by St. Mark, are those through whom the Lord has given us His Word through which His teaching comes to us still today.

“The Gospel in Action” is a mini-series on Sharper Iron that goes through the Gospel according to St. Mark. The Evangelist hits the ground running with the very first verse of his Gospel account, and he never lets up the pace. As one deed of Jesus comes right after another, always paired with His authoritative Word, St. Mark proclaims the good news that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, revealed conclusively by His death on the cross.