Without delay He called them.

 

Saturday, November 25, 2023

Psalms 62; 63

2 Kings 22:12-23:2

Mark 1:14-28

Observances: James Noble, pioneer Aboriginal deacon (d. 1941); Ember Day

Without delay He called them.

Before the world began, the Godhead had prepared the list of names for the Book of Life. In that Book were listed the names of everyone whom the Father was going to give to the Son. All those whom the Father would give to the Son would indeed go to the Son; and the Son will never drive them away. Indeed, the Son will lose none whom the Father has given Him, and we will be raised on the last day.

Now, as we are reading in Mark, the Son has come down from heaven and walks about on earth. His name is Jesus, His deity veiled in His incarnate flesh, and He is searching out everyone whose name is in that Book of Life.

Without delay Jesus begins calling His apostles. These are the men who will be the front line workers of the kingdom. Jesus is here to save people and He is doing His job without delay.

When He calls us, He does so without delay. Some of us are called, like Paul, with a knock-out punch in a flash of light. Others of us are called in the womb, our frame not hidden from Jesus (Psalm 139:13-16). Jesus’ calling is without delay, with immediate urgency and divine punctuality.

Jesus never sits back and thinks that His job can be put off until tomorrow. His job is the salvation of the world, of rulership of the entire creation, of the building of His kingdom. Jesus’ job is to bless and to love, to seek and to save, and He does so without delay.