Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. He appointed twelve-designating them apostles that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach and to have authority to drive out demons. These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means Sons of Thunder); Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. NIV

The crowds had been surrounding You all day. Wherever You went they followed, but now was a special time. A time of choosing Your close group of twelve disciples and so You went up into the mountains to call those that You wanted to be Your apostles.

I wonder why the mountain side? It often seems that down the centuries if someone wanted to draw particularly close to Your Father then they would ascend the mountain and wait. I wonder what the disciples thought as they puffed and panted their way up the steep slopes away from the shores of the cool lake and into this dry and dusty place. We read that You chose who You wanted and appointed them as apostles or sent ones. That is such an encouragement, especially when we often think that it is us doing the choosing.

There were a number of close followers that had left everything to follow You. Peter tells us in the book of Acts that they needed to choose a replacement for Judas from among those who had been with You right from the start. So finally twelve are chosen and receive Your anointing and blessing so that they might carry Your ministry onwards. We are not told the criteria but Samuel was told centuries earlier that You look at the heart rather than the outer appearance. But You also chose them as friends to accompany You in the lonely walk towards the cross. There would be times when Your message would fall on closed ears and men would turn away and stop following. But not these twelve. You were shaping them into a group of men who would one day turn the world upside down.

You chose Judas even though You knew he would fail and betray You.

What amazing love.

7 Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lake, and a large crowd from Galilee followed. 8 When they heard all he was doing, many people came to him from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, and the regions across the Jordan and around Tyre and Sidon. 9 Because of the crowd he told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him, to keep the people from crowding him. 10 For he had healed many, so that those with diseases were pushing forward to touch him. 11 Whenever the evil[a] spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, "You are the Son of God." 12 But he gave them strict orders not to tell who he was. NIV

I would imagine that You must have been physically drained. It is often the consequence of being involved in a momentous occasion, a particularly draining moment of conflict. So to gain some space and perhaps to recharge Your batteries You withdrew Your disciples to the peaceful Lake of Galilee. But, amazed by the recent events, there was no way that the crowds were going to let You disappear in the distance. Instead, they thronged after You. Not just those from the synagogue where the man's hand had been miraculously healed, but they also converged on You from all directions. As the crowds pressed forward they hemmed You in with Your back to the lake and so it was sensible to ask Your disciples to prepare a boat in case the crowds surged forward too strongly. I expect the disciples would have been happy to just row off into the distance and into the peace of the lake, but not You. You had compassion. You had compassion in the synagogue and now as the crowds pressed forward full of those who were sick and in need or oppressed by evil, so Your compassion grew.

I can remember years ago watching a film supposedly based on Your life. From memory there was a scene in it where the actor playing You was in a rocky, desert area and from all directions the lepers came crawling reaching out their leprous hands. Instead of compassion, the actor just screamed out at them. But not You here. You had compassion. You healed many with sickness and disease and those oppressed by evil spirits were freed from their oppression as You commanded the spirits to leave. A few verses earlier the Pharisees - the Teachers of the Law- the so called experts - had failed to recognise You. And yet these evil spirits knew exactly who You were. "You are the Son of God" they cried as they were being cast out. But You were having none of it. You might let the stones cry out in praise but You would not allow Your holy name to be uttered on the lips of these unclean spirits.

What an amazing day. But for these disciples their days of watching and learning were about to change.

When did You ever get time to sleep?

Another time he went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. 2 Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. 3 Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, "Stand up in front of everyone." 4 Then Jesus asked them, "Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" But they remained silent. 5 He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. 6 Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus. NIV 

I can imagine Peter, Your disciple, chuckling to himself as he recalled the incident with the grain in the field, but now his thoughts turn more solemn as he shares with Mark a more sobering event. A few grains of corn rubbed in the hand is one thing but to deny a man with a shrivelled hand healing is in a totally different league.

It is Sabbath again, and You and Your disciples have come naturally to the Synagogue to pray and to hear the Scriptures read. It was part of the rhythm of life in Israel: To work, to rest, to worship. And yet all the time in the background are a group of Pharisees determined to catch You out and accuse You of breaking the Law. I'm sure that the man with the shrivelled hand was not there out of habit (he would probably have been shunned by the Synagogue rulers, believing him to have been cursed by God) but I suspect he had been planted prominently in the congregation so that it would be obvious for You to see when You entered.

Mark says that some of them were looking for a reason to accuse You. So some had clearly made up their minds - but others still had their minds open - but were easily led. So the scene is set and the first move is down to You. Either You ignore him and deflate the challenge, or Your compassion draws You to him. It's obvious what's going to happen and You command the man to stand. I wonder what was going through the mind of this poor pawn of the Pharisees. Clearly they had no love or compassion for him - the very last thing they wanted to happen was to see him healed so that it helped him. He was just a pawn in their game. But not in Your eyes. You had compassion. And so with compassion You asked the crowd of onlookers whether it is lawful to do good or evil , to save life or to kill? Here was their chance, an opportunity to lead with their hearts rather than their heads. But not one of them opened their mouths. The silence confirmed their choice. The answer was so obvious yet none of them was prepared to compromise their beliefs for reality. They were just like the people of Israel centuries earlier for whom God had said through the prophet Hosea "For I desire mercy not sacrifice, an acknowledgement of God rather than the burnt offering" (Hosea 6v6)
As You looked at them Your anger rose, but also a deep sense of distress that their hearts were so stubborn that they were prepared to stay silent rather than see You exercise mercy.

It was a defining moment. I sense that if only their eyes could be opened they would see hosts of angels and archangels watching from heaven, and Satan with his demon hosts gathered to see this momentous event. You had healed so many people before and yet this one healing was to be so significant.

"Stretch out your hand" and in response to your command, power and strength and flesh and muscle came flooding into that withered hand and at once it was completely healed.
The seed had been sown. It could either germinate as a healthy plant or a poisonous one. For the Pharisees it produced venom as they went out and began to plot how they might kill You.

It was a momentous event

23 One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grain fields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain. 24 The Pharisees said to him, "Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?" 25 He answered, "Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? 26 In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions." 27 Then he said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath." NIV

I just get the impression that the Pharisees were just following You around waiting to catch You out with some interpretation of the Law. They must have heard Your teaching, seen Your miracles, been aware of lepers healed and the blind seeing and yet totally untouched by it all.

Rules and Regulations were all they were interested in and now something happened that made their eyes light up. Why is it that we are so eager to jump on anything that doesn't seem right and yet remain quiet when things go well? For the Pharisees, their twisted logic had made them think that work was taking place as the disciples picked the ears of grain and rubbed them in their hands to release the goodness. To the Pharisees, this was threshing on an industrial scale and as such it was against the Law on the Sabbath Day. I can imagine their blood pressure rising and their hands rubbing together in glee (which surely according to them would be work) at this opportunity to point out the error of Your ways in letting the disciples break the Law.

It was a test. Obviously they expected You to either agree with them and condemn the disciples or to agree with the disciples and condemn Yourself. It was clear cut; there were no exceptions as far as they were concerned. So I can imagine the shock on their faces when You took their minds back a thousand years to David - King David, who one day entered the house of God (the Tabernacle) and ate some of the consecrated bread, lawful only to the priests. Now David was a ‘Man after Gods own heart', a man that obviously God had anointed and chosen as king. Was David struck down dead? - No. Did God indicate to Abiathar the priest that it was wrong? - No.

The Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.

Of course, that answers one question and opens up an even bigger one.