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Unity in Diversity, October 9
Mark 3:13-19
And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might
send them forth to preach.
Mark 3:14
.
In these first disciples was presented a marked diversity. They were to be the
world’s teachers, and they represented widely varied types of character. There
were Levi Matthew the publican, called from a life of business activity, and
subservience to Rome; the zealot Simon, the uncompromising foe of the imperial
authority; the impulsive, self-sufficient, warm-hearted Peter, with Andrew his
brother; Judas the Judean, polished, capable, and mean-spirited; Philip and
Thomas, faithful and earnest, yet slow of heart to believe; James the less and
Jude, of less prominence among the brethren, but men of force, positive both in
their faults and in their virtues; Nathanael, a child in sincerity and trust; and the
ambitious, loving-hearted sons of Zebedee....
Of the twelve disciples, four were to act a leading part, each in a distinct
line. In preparation for this, Christ taught them, foreseeing all. James, destined
to swift-coming death by the sword; John, longest of the brethren to follow
his Master in labor and persecution; Peter, the pioneer in breaking through the
barriers of ages, and teaching the heathen world; and Judas, in service capable
of pre-eminence above his brethren, yet brooding in his soul purposes of whose
ripening he little dreamed
In order successfully to carry forward the work to which they had been called,
these disciples, differing so widely in natural characteristics, in training, and in
habits of life, needed to come into unity of feeling, thought, and action. This
unity it was Christ’s object to secure.... The burden of His labor for them is
expressed in His prayer to the Father, “that they all may be one; as thou, Father,
art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us” (
John 17:21
)
In the apostles of our Lord there was nothing to bring glory to themselves. It
was evident that the success of their labors was due only to God. The lives of
these men, the characters they developed, and the mighty work that God wrought
through them, are a testimony to what He will do for all who are teachable and
obedient
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15
Education, 85, 86
.
16
Ibid., 86
.
17
The Desire of Ages, 250
.
300