This section is similar to 1:14-20 in that it records a general description of Jesus' ministry (vv. 7-12) and His calling of more disciples (vv. 13-19).
This pericope introduces Jesus' continuing ministry in Galilee following the religious leaders' decision to kill Him (cf. 1:14-15; 2:13). It provides much more detail than the parallel account in Matthew.
3:7-8 The sea to which Jesus withdrew was the Sea of Galilee. He went there rather than to the areas farther south were it would have been easier for His enemies to harass Him. Jesus withdrew because of the religious leaders' plot to kill Him (Matt. 12:15).
Mark put the disciples in the emphatic first position in the Greek text. They shared Jesus' breach with the religious leaders. They would be the objects of His preparation for future ministry because of Jesus' coming death.
Mark described many people coming to Jesus from all over Jewish Palestine. Jerusalem was in Judea to the south. Idumea, named only here in the New Testament, was the old Edomite territory south of Judea. People also came from the east side of the Jordan River (Perea and the Decapolis) and from the Mediterranean coast to the northwest. It is interesting that these locations form something of an outline of this Gospel. Jesus first ministered in Galilee (chs. 1-6), then in Tyre, Sidon, and the Decapolis (ch. 7), and finally in Jerusalem (chs. 10-16).91Notably absent were people from Samaria, the land of Jewish iconoclasts who separated from the other Jews.
3:9-10 Jesus addressed the crowds from a little boat (Gr. ploiarion, not a fishing boat) on the lake when the crowds pressed too heavily upon Him. Apparently the disciples kept this little boat handy whenever Jesus spoke to the crowds from the shore. If He needed to step back from them, He would have a place of retreat. Mark probably mentioned this detail to stress the large numbers of people who followed Jesus. It also shows Jesus' willingness to adapt His presentation to the needs of His audience. Perhaps "the big fisherman,"Peter, was responsible for this notation.
The multitudes seemed to have little interest in worshipping Jesus as God, but they were eager to received the physical benefits of His ministry. These benefits Jesus graciously bestowed on them.
3:11-12 As before, Jesus continued to exorcize demons. He also continued to forbid them to reveal His identity. This would have encouraged the people to associate the title "Son of God"with the physical aspects of Jesus' ministry almost exclusively (cf. 1:34). Moreover Jesus thereby retained more control over His self-revelation and the progress of His mission. Perhaps He also did not want the people to associate Him with these demons.
The idea that Jesus silenced the demons because they sought to control Him by using His name and thereby gaining power over Him seems improbable to me.92While conflict with demonic forces is definitely a theme in Mark's Gospel, the demons had no real power over Jesus simply because they knew His name. This was a pagan superstition.
"The earliest confession of the Sonship seems to have come from evil spirits, who knew Jesus better than he was known by His own disciples."93
Jesus' selection of 12 disciples constituted an important advance in His ministry. These men would be the primary beneficiaries of His training for leadership to carry out His mission. The plot to take His life made the training of disciples imperative.
3:13 The exact location of this incident is uncertain. It was probably somewhere in Galilee since this whole section describes Jesus' ministry there (1:14-6:6a). Jesus first called His disciples to join Him. Then from that larger group He selected 12 as apostles (Luke 6:13). Probably Jesus selected 12 for leadership over Israel's 12 tribes during His messianic reign (Matt. 19:28). In view of Israel's rejection of Jesus, they became the nucleus of the church, which the New Testament never refers to as the "new Israel."This is a term that covenant theologians have applied to the church that has created serious confusion in the minds of many Bible students.
". . . from a mountaintop, an imagery reminiscent of Yahweh's summons to Moses on Mount Sinai (Exod 19:20), Jesus sovereignly summons the Twelve into a new community (Mark 3:13-19) and to a mission that is founded on a relationship with himself (in order that they might be with him,' v. 14). He confers his authority on the Twelve and sends them out with dominion over demons (6:7-13) and with freedom from the tradition of the elders (7:5-13)."94
"In Mark's story world, the mountain connotes nearness to God and is therefore a place of divine-human communication and encounter. Atop a mountain, Jesus prays (6:46), is transfigured by God (9:2-8), and foretells the future (13:3-5)."95
Mark stressed that Jesus initiated this appointment, and the Twelve voluntarily responded (cf. Exod. 19:20). Perhaps he did this to remind his readers that God had chosen them as disciples; they had not sought this privilege. The response of these initial disciples provided a good example for all succeeding followers of Jesus.
3:14-15 "The Twelve"became a technical term for this group of disciples. Some early manuscripts add "whom also He named apostles"(cf. NIV). This was probably not in Mark's original Gospel. Probably a scribe inserted it having read Luke 6:13, the parallel passage.
Jesus appointed these disciples for a twofold purpose: to be with Him, and to preach. The order is significant.
"Fellowship with Him must precede preaching about Him."96
Jesus also gave them the ability to cast out demons along with preaching. These miracles would convince many of their hearers that God had sent them as His spokesmen. Mark probably mentioned exorcisms because this was the greatest demonstration of the disciples' authority, not the only one. This Gospel documents Jesus' training of the Twelve in these two basic areas particularly: being with Jesus and preaching.
3:16-19 The following table shows the 12 disciples as they appear in the four lists that the Holy Spirit has given us in Scripture.
All four lists contain three groups of four names each. The same individuals head each group, though there is variation within each group. Probably these groups constituted ministry teams that broke up into pairs when the Twelve preached apart from Jesus (6:7).
Mark never used the double name "Simon Peter."Peter ("Rocky") was Simon's second given name, his nickname. All the lists place Peter first, and they all put Judas Iscariot last, except for the Acts list that omits him. "Boanerges"is a Hebrew word, but why Jesus called James and John "sons of thunder"is unknown. Perhaps they had an impetuous nature (cf. 9:38; Luke 9:54).
Bartholomew is not really a name but a patronym meaning "son of Talmai (Ptolemy)."He may have had another name, but the disciples consistently referred to him as Bartholomew. Matthew's other name was Levi.
James the son of Alphaeus was James the Less (or little, 15:40). Thaddaeus and Judas, the son or brother of James, may have been the same person. Likewise Simon the Cananaean was the same person as Simon the Zealot, "Cananaean"being the Aramaic form of "Zealot."The Zealots were a political party bent on the overthrow of the Roman government. Probably Simon had been a member of this party. A few scholars have thought the name "zealot"referred to Simon's personality, not his political affiliation. "Iscariot"is a name of origin, but the location of Judas' hometown is uncertain.
One marvels that Jesus chose two men with apparently opposite political convictions, a Zealot and a Roman tax collector, for membership in this intimate group. Likewise His choice of the unbelieving and traitorous Judas Iscariot is remarkable. These choices are testimonies to Jesus' ability to control His disciples.
"It was a strange group of men our Lord chose to be his disciples. Four of them were fishermen, one a hated tax collector, another a member of a radical and violent political party. Of six of them we know practically nothing. All were laymen. There was not a preacher or an expert in the Scriptures in the lot. Yet it was with these men that Jesus established his church and disseminated his Good News to the end of the earth."97
