Jesus chose twelve apostles to be with him and to be sent out by him. In Mark 3:7-19, massive crowds press in to get healed, but Jesus goes up a mountain and calls a small group of ordinary men. The number twelve signaled that he was forming a renewed people of God, like the twelve tribes of Israel. And his first purpose for them wasn’t a task. It was a relationship: “that they might be with him.”
Setting the Scene in Mark 3:7-19
Mark 3:6 ended with a plot to kill Jesus (Mark 2:23-3:6). So Jesus withdrew to the lake with his disciples. But withdrawing didn’t mean disappearing. His popularity exploded.
Mark 3:7-10 Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lake, and a large crowd from Galilee followed. When they heard about all he was doing, many people came to him from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, and the regions across the Jordan and around Tyre and Sidon. Because of the crowd he told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him, to keep the people from crowding him. For he had healed many, so that those with diseases were pushing forward to touch him.
Look at the places Mark lists. Galilee was in the north. Judea and Jerusalem were in the south. Idumea, the region of ancient Edom, was even farther south. The regions across the Jordan lay to the east, and Tyre and Sidon were Gentile cities along the Mediterranean coast to the northwest. People were coming from every direction, covering the entire area of ancient Israel and beyond. Jesus’ fame had spread far beyond Galilee, even to Gentiles.
The crowd was so intense that Jesus asked for a boat to be ready so he could teach from the water without being crushed. The word translated “diseases” literally means “whips” or “scourges,” a vivid picture of how people experienced their suffering. They were pushing forward just to touch him.
Seeking Jesus’ Hand or His Face
Mark also tells us about another group who recognized Jesus.
Mark 3:11-12 Whenever the impure spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.” But he gave them strict orders not to tell others about him.
Once again, the demons knew exactly who Jesus was, and once again, he silenced them. Jesus didn’t want his identity broadcast by evil spirits, and he didn’t want people to misunderstand what kind of Messiah he was. Mark’s readers already know he is the Son of God (Mark 1:1), but throughout the Gospel, Jesus reveals himself carefully, and fully only at the cross.
The crowds teach us something important. Many people wanted what Jesus could do for them, his healing touch, but not necessarily Jesus himself. Someone has described it as seeking his hand instead of his face. It is still easy to treat Jesus like a vending machine, coming to him only when we need something. Jesus welcomes our needs, but he wants so much more than a transactional relationship.
Called to Be With Him
Then Jesus left the crowds and went up on a mountain.
Mark 3:13-15 Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach and to have authority to drive out demons.
The mountain setting may remind us of Moses, who met God on Mount Sinai and received the covenant that formed Israel as a nation. The number twelve is deliberate. Israel was made up of twelve tribes, descended from the twelve sons of Jacob. By choosing twelve, Jesus was signaling that he was forming a renewed people of God around himself. Later, he would tell them they would one day sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes (Matthew 19:28).
Notice that Jesus “called to him those he wanted.” This was his choice, not theirs. And look at the order of his purposes. First, “that they might be with him.” Second, that he might send them out to preach and drive out demons. The word “apostle” means “one who is sent.” But before they were sent, they spent time with Jesus. Being with him came before working for him. That is still the pattern of discipleship. Ministry flows out of relationship, not the other way around.
An Unlikely Group
Mark then lists the twelve by name.
Mark 3:16-19 These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter), James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means “sons of thunder”), Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
Simon received a new name, Peter, which means “rock” (Cephas in Aramaic). It is ironic, since Peter would prove anything but rock-solid at times. But Jesus saw who Peter would become. James and John got the nickname “sons of thunder,” probably because of their fiery personalities. They once wanted to call down fire on a village that rejected Jesus (Luke 9:54).
The group was remarkably diverse. Matthew had been a tax collector, collaborating with the Roman system (see Mark 2:13-17). Simon the Zealot was likely associated with the Zealots, Jewish nationalists who opposed Roman rule and sometimes resorted to violence. In normal life, these two men would have been bitter enemies. In Jesus, they became brothers.
The list ends with a dark note: “Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.” Mark tells us upfront how the story will end for Judas. “Iscariot” may mean “man from Kerioth,” a town in Judea, which would make him the only one of the twelve not from Galilee. Jesus chose him anyway, knowing what he would do. Jesus’ choices weren’t based on anyone’s performance, but on his purposes.
What This Means for Us
Jesus could have focused on the crowds. Instead, he invested deeply in a few people who would eventually turn the world upside down. That is still his strategy. He calls ordinary people to be with him, shapes them over time, and sends them out to make more disciples (Matthew 28:19-20).
So the question for each of us is: Am I part of the crowd, or am I a disciple? The crowd wants Jesus’ benefits. Disciples want Jesus himself. And once we have spent time with him, we are sent out to help others know him too.
The Takeaway
Jesus chose twelve apostles to form a renewed people of God and to multiply his mission. He called ordinary, flawed, and even opposite kinds of people, and his first purpose was simply that they would be with him. Jesus still invites us to step out of the crowd, spend time with him, and then go wherever he sends us.
