Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons

 

 But Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea.  And a great multitude from Galilee followed Him, and from Judea and Jerusalem and Idumea and beyond the Jordan; and those from Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they heard how many things He was doing, came to Him.  So He told His disciples that a small boat should be kept ready for Him because of the multitude, lest they should crush Him.  For He healed many, so that as many as had afflictions pressed about Him to touch Him.  And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried out, saying, "You are the Son of God."  But He sternly warned them that they should not make Him known.

And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted.  And they came to Him.  Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons:  Simon, to whom He gave the name Peter; James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, "Sons of Thunder"; Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Cananite; and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him. 

 

- Mark 3:7–19a 

 

Now it happened that He went through the grainfields on the Sabbath; and as they went His disciples began to pluck the heads of grain.  And the Pharisees said to Him, "Look, why do they do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?"  But He said to them, "Have you never read what David did when he was in need and hungry, he and those with him:  how he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the showbread, which is not lawful to eat except for the priests, and also gave some to those who were with him?"  And He said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.  Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath."   And He entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand.  So they watched Him closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him.  And He said to the man who had the withered hand, "Step forward."  Then He said to them, "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?"  But they kept silent.  And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand."  And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.  Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him.

 

But Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea.  And a great multitude from Galilee followed Him, and from Judea and Jerusalem and Idumea and beyond the Jordan; and those from Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they heard how many things He was doing, came to Him.  So He told His disciples that a small boat should be kept ready for Him because of the multitude, lest they should crush Him.  For He healed many, so that as many as had afflictions pressed about Him to touch Him.  And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried out, saying, "You are the Son of God."  But He sternly warned them that they should not make Him known.  My study Bible comments that Jesus withdrew both because the Pharisees were planning to destroy Him (although it was not time for Him to die) and also in order to preach in other places.  As we can see, Christ's fame has grown, and now a multitude of people -- not only from Galilee -- but also from Judea and Jerusalem and Idumea beyond the Jordan (closer to the center of the religious establishment in Jerusalem), but also from the Gentile regions of Tyre and Sidon.   This multitude is so great now that a small boat must be kept ready for Him at the shore, in case they might crush Him.  We can imagine how this draws the attention of the religious authorities.  Christ healed many, and those with afflictions pressed about Him and try to touch Him; at the same time the unclean spirits fall down in obeisance to Him, and call out His identity as the Son of God.   Let us note yet again that Jesus sternly warned the unclean spirits that they should not make Him known.   We have gone over the meany reasons for this in recent readings:  that He wants those who come to Him to do so in faith; that the people expect a political earthly Messiah; and, especially relevant to the things we're told in these verses, the growing hostility of the religious leadership to Him.

 

And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted.  And they came to Him.  Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons:  Simon, to whom He gave the name Peter; James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, "Sons of Thunder"; Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Cananite; and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.   With the growing attention that is coming to Jesus, and the multitudes from every region of Israel now coming to Him as well, Jesus now does something that marks another milestone in His ministry.  He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted:  it is now time to appoint the Twelve who will be with Him and sent out to preach, and have power to heal sicknesses and cast out demons.  Let us note that to "be with Him" is to learn from Him; in other words to be a disciple (a "learner" in the original Greek).  To be "sent out" is to be an apostle, from the word ἀπόστολος/apostolos in the Greek, literally meaning to be sent out (on a mission).   These words, "disciples" and "apostles," are frequently used interchangeably for these appointed twelve.  My study Bible comments that Jesus gave them power to perform miracles, while He performed them by His own power.  The names of the Twelve are not all the same on all lists; many people had more than one name (such as Matthew/Levi, for example).  Mark's Gospel will tell us that they were sent out two by two on their first missionary journey (Mark 6:7), while in Matthew's Gospel their names are given in pairs, possibly suggesting who traveled with whom (Matthew 10:1-4).  

In today's reading we see the expansion of Jesus' ministry.  His fame has gone far beyond Galilee, and now reaches into the corners of Jewish life in all the regions of Israel and the immediately surrounding areas.  Importantly, now there are those from Jerusalem and Judea who come to Him, leaving no doubt the scrutiny of the authorities will become more focused upon His ministry, while He has already had confrontations with scribes and Pharisees.  It is frequently commented on in Scripture that events which take place on a mountain signify spiritual importance.  Mountains, or other "high places" were widely considered throughout the ancient world to be the habitations of God (or gods), a place where divine encounters take place.  Let us note that in this case it is not the people who go up to the divine being to ask for favors or to sacrifice.  Rather, in this case, it is God who calls those to Him whom He Himself wanted.  This is an expansion of God's power, an elevation of human beings to the work of the divine, that comes expressly through the desire of God Himself, and not through human request.  Moreover, in pagan religions it was traditional for sacrifice or other appeasements to be given in order to plead for some kind of power or gift, or to ask for a high position or honor.  Here it is God who takes the initiative because He wants them to be with Him and that He might send them out to preach; and moreover, it is God who gives them power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons.  So, just as Christ has already shown Himself (and thereby the Father and the Holy Spirit) to be a God of compassion and mercy and love through healing, so now He does so through this act of appointing the Twelve and investing them with the power to preach, to heal, and to cast out demons.  Let's note that it is also a kind of foreshadowing of the coming of the Holy Spirit to all who will be baptized in faith; that is, a type of holy priesthood extended to the faithful.  But it all points to a generous, bountiful, and loving nature of the God we worship, in total contrast to pagan religion.  Human beings are elevated by Christ, prepared and meant for something higher, to share in and to spread what is divine through the gifts of God.  This is a communion of love established in God's power shared with human beings, who will live with Him and go out and preach and heal -- all in the distinctive call to become more "like Him."  And this is, in a very important sense, the crux of Christianity.  It is what St. Peter calls a "royal priesthood" to which we are called (1 Peter 2:9).  In the words of a prayer to the Holy Spirit which begins every Orthodox service, the Holy Spirit is named "Treasury of Blessings" -- and these shared gifts naming the Twelve disciples and apostles are surely blessings, and they are blessing which reflect on the whole of humanity in the eyes of God.  Let us consider this expansion to us as human beings as the enormous blessing it truly is in this perspective.  These realities are the gift of a loving God, who has made us to be and to grow in God's image and likeness, and fulfills this promise through this act of naming the Twelve.  Let us be grateful and give glory to God for the abundance of good things with which humankind is blessed through our Lord.