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
