And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted

 

 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.  And they went into a house.

 

- Mark 3:7-19 

 

Yesterday we read that it happened that Jesus 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 here 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.  Let us note that at this time, although it is still early in Mark's Gospel, a great multitude follows Jesus not just from Galilee, but also from the other regions of Israel, and even from Tyre and Sidon, which are Gentile regions.   His fame is similar to what we might call a rock or movie star today, which we read in the description that He must have a small boat ready, lest they should crush Him.  People with afflictions crowd around Him to touch Him, because He is known for the healings He has done.  Note also that the unclean spirits continue to identify Christ as the Son of God, for they know His power.  He warns them they should not make Him known, as it is not the appropriate time for His revelation as Son in His ministry, for all kinds of reasons.  He has sought to withdraw because of the increasing hostility of the religious leaders, who have now gone even to the Herodians to plot against Him in Galilee.  People popularly expect a political Messiah to deliver them from Roman rule, and He desires a kind of faith that does not come solely from the signs He does.

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.  And they went into a house.  My study Bible comments that disciples and apostles are often used interchangeably for these twelve.   The Greek word for disciple literally means "learner" (those who will be with Him), and apostle means "one sent out" (He will send them out to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons).  We are told that Jesus gave the name Peter to Simon, and also that James and John Zebedee He has given the name Boanerges, meaning "Sons of Thunder."   If we look closely, we also observe that Levi the tax collector, the son of Alphaeus (Mark 2:14) is now called Matthew in this list.  My study Bible notes that the names of the Twelve are not the same in all lists, as many people had more than one name.   In Matthew 10:2-4, the names are given in pairs, suggesting who may have traveled together on their first missionary journey, as Mark will report they were sent out two by two (Mark 6:7).  

In today's reading, we begin to understand how Jesus prepares His ministry, how it unfolds in seeming succession, and step by step.  Now that multitudes are following Him,  He chooses the apostles who will be sent out; they are the Twelve who will also "be with Him," especially to learn from Him and be prepared for their future roles in the Church.  In Matthew's Gospel, Jesus tells them that they are not to go to the Gentiles, but to the "lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Matthew 10:5-6), and so we may also assume these multitudes who follow Him from all around the region of Israel and even Tyre and Sidon are Jews from all of these places.  This is the foundation He must lay for what is to come, for the proper understanding of who He is and what His ministry must be about.  As He went up on the mountain to appoint these Twelve, we are also to understand the significance that this plan for an unfolding ministry, for creating a foundation for the future, is not made by Jesus "alone" as human being, but that everything is done in cooperation with God the Father.  This place of the mountaintop we can thereby associate with the change in the disciples.  Their new names given by Jesus may indicate for us the transformation happening so that they may now become apostles, and be prepared as those who will be sent out and become the pillars of the future Church.  In the renaming and transformation of these disciples, and on this "mountaintop" occasion, we also must by extension apply this understanding to all that is connected with our faith and our lives as those who are called "faithful."  As Jesus shows by His example at each turning point in His ministry, in the times when He is up on the mountain such as in today's reading, or departing to a solitary place to pray (Mark 1:35), we find that nothing happens without the involvement of reaching out to God and the communion of faith.  Even in appointing the Twelve, we don't know what considerations went into choosing them, but we do know that nothing happens without the involvement of faith and communion with God.  The names Christ gives to them express the change in them due the power of God.  This would even apply to choosing Judas (John 6:70).  Everything relies on a communion which does not simply include our fellow members in the Church, or our loved ones, but a whole communion of saints defined by all who live to God, with this divine reality at its center and acting as that which draws us together and gives shape to our lives.  This is true, also, of negotiating the evil in our world, and our own temptations and desires and needs for change.  So let us consider all things together and not leave out what we need to guide us, as we are shaped by our faith in Christ.