Twelve Appointed

Observe. Jesus goes up on a mountainside and calls to him those he wants, and they come. He appoints twelve, whom he also designates apostles. Mark gives the purpose in two parts: that they might be with him, and that he might send them out to preach and to have authority to drive out demons. Then the names follow, with small notes: Simon called Peter, James and John called Sons of Thunder, and at the end Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Interpret. The number twelve is not accidental; it echoes the twelve tribes of Israel, and signals that Jesus is forming a renewed people of God around himself. The order of purpose matters. Before they preach, before they exercise authority, they are to be with him. Being precedes doing. The list is also unflattering in places. Two hot-tempered brothers, a tax collector, a political zealot, and a traitor. Jesus chose them knowing what they were.

Apply. This passage is a corrective for a faith that measures itself by activity. What might it look like for you to be with Jesus this week, before anything is asked of you? Where has your service become detached from your presence with him? And how does it change your view of your own church, with all its mixed company, to know that Jesus chose these twelve?