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Christ Ordains Twelve Apostles
This chapter is based on Mark 3:13-35; Luke 6:12-16.
“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.”
Beneath the sheltering trees of the mountainside, a little distance
from the Sea of Galilee, Jesus called the Twelve to be His apostles,
and He gave the Sermon on the Mount. In training His disciples,
Jesus chose to leave the confusion of the city for the quiet of the
fields and hills, which was more in harmony with the lessons of
self-denial He wanted to teach. And during His ministry, He loved
to gather the people around Him under the blue heavens, on some
grassy hillside, or on the beach beside the lake. Here He could turn
His hearers from the artificial things to the natural. In the growth and
development of nature, they could learn precious lessons of divine
truth.
Jesus was about to take the first step in organizing the church that
was to be His representative on earth after His departure. They had
no costly sanctuary, but the Savior led His disciples to the secluded
place He loved, and in their minds the sacred experiences of that day
were linked forever with the beauty of mountain, valley, and sea.
Jesus had called His disciples so that He could send them out to
tell the world what they had seen and heard from Him. Their task,
the most important to which human beings had ever been called,
was second only to that of Christ Himself. They were to work with
God for the saving of the world.
The Savior knew the character of the men He had chosen. Their
weaknesses and errors were open before Him. He knew the dangers
that they must pass through, and His heart went out to these chosen
ones. Alone on a mountain, He spent the entire night in prayer for
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