An offer you can’t refuse

In Mark 3 there is a little verse tucked away in the middle of the chapter that speaks of Jesus, “And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him.” (Verse 13)

The context of this passage in Mark 3 is a frame of hostility. In verse 6, “The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.” It is a shocking verse – the two groups mentioned had no time for one another, it is an extraordinary unholy alliance. The Pharisees were the religious authorities who viciously held on to their own authority in Israel and the Herodians who were collaborators with their oppressors the Romans. Both unite together to destroy Jesus: the enemy of my enemy is my friend!

Mark is showing us that both the religious and political establishment have rejected Jesus. Then in verse 21 his own family arrive on the scene, “and when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, ‘He is out of his mind’.” Here there are those whom we would think would be most likely to believe, rejecting him.

In the middle of this frame of hostility we also see Jesus’ such incredible popularity where so many come to hear him, that he needs to have a speed boat ready to make a quick getaway (verse 9) and in verse 20 there is so large a crowd, he hasn’t got time to eat. The evil spirits, who are the finest theologians in Mark’s gospel so far, have a clear understanding in their opposition to Jesus as they note, “You are the Son of God”.

Immediately after verse 13 we have the calling of the 12 who would become the apostles, the foundation of the church. The fulfilment of the people of Israel, the people of God are being reconstituted. But before the 12 is this remarkable verse where Jesus is calling out his disciples. It speaks of the irresistible drawing power of the Lord Jesus and we are taken into something of the mystery of election and irresistible grace. He calls whom he desires and they come to him just like he calls and they come today.

That is my story, and it is yours if you are a follower of Jesus. He makes an offer you can’t refuse. You are not forcing yourself to believe, your arm is not twisted. We were drawn willingly by Jesus Christ. He calls us to believe by his Word and his Spirit. “He speaks, and listening to his voice new life the dead receive”. He illuminates our minds so we understand him, he renews our affections to love him, liberating our wills to move towards him. The simple little verse speaks of what he does for us but also wonderfully reveal the heart of our saviour.

Those whom he calls are those whom he desires. We must not think of Jesus as being reluctant in calling his people – he draws us with chords of lovingkindness.  He does not coerce, brutalise or dehumanise. The Lord Jesus is no bully. We love because he first loved us. He desires the undesirable, he wants the unwantable. And those whom he desires come to him will come. His is no unmet desire, it is effectual.

The truth is expressed in different ways in the New Testament, “No one comes to me unless the father draws him” John 6:43-44 and “the Lord opened Lydia’s heart” (Acts 16:14)

Sometimes in evangelism people talk about opening the door of your heart to Jesus. We know what they mean and it is certainly said out of good intentions, but the truth is that the handle is on the outside. The Lord opens it, our hearts are locked tight against the gospel. It is not just that we don’t want to, we could not have, even if we wanted to.

Spurgeon makes this point beautifully in his sermon Feathers for Arrows: 

“When we see a casket wrenched open, the hinges torn away, or the clasp destroyed, we mark at once the hand of the Spoiler; but when we observe another casket deftly opened with a master-key, and the sparkling contents revealed, we note the hand of the Owner. Conversion is not, as some suppose, a violent opening of the heart by grace, in which will, reason, and judgment are all ignored or crushed. This is too barbarous a method for him who comes not as a plunderer to his prey, but as a possessor to his treasure. In conversion, the Lord who made the human heart deals with it according to its nature and constitution. His key insinuates itself into the wards; the will is not enslaved but enfranchised; the reason is not blinded but enlightened, and the whole man is made to act with a glorious liberty which it never knew till it fell under the restraints of grace.”

The grace of God is irresistible and invincible, the calling of the Lord Jesus irrevocable. Rejoice that he calls those whom he desires and they come to him.