And he goes up into the mountain, and calls whom he himself would, and they went to him.
The religious leaders have already turned against Jesus, so He leaves the crowds behind. He climbs the high ground and calls the men He wants — which raises the question of where the right to serve God comes from.
The phrase does not point to one famous peak. One writer notes that it means high country, not a named place, and that older English versions blurred this.
In Mark 3:13, as in Matthew 5:1, the Authorised Version wrongly puts "a mountain"; the Revised rightly gives "the." It does not mean any particular mountain. It means the high land, as contrasted with the low ground or plain.
(The ESV likewise reads "the mountain.") Going up there meant leaving something behind. One writer reads the move as deliberate distance from everything crowding Him below.
We are told that Jesus left both of these companies and went up into the mountainous region. It was a place apart from the confusion of the world, the powers of evil, and the passions of sin below. There, in the presence of the Most High, the holy Servant spent the night hours in communion with His Father.
The place He chose says something about where service for God begins. It does not start with the crowd's approval.
Ministry has its source on high, and in no way has its sanction from the multitude. It was an act new and strange to man's eye, but in truth independent of Israel and man. The Lord separates Himself from men to God, and summons in sovereign choice whom He would; and they came.
Another writer sees the same separation in how Mark sets the scene. The call stands clear of the demons, and clear of those who followed only for what they got.
On this view, the Spirit, being jealous for the honour of Christ, shows by this connection that the ministry of the Servant of Jehovah was freed from all apparent association with either time-serving beneficiaries or the spiritual agents of Satan. He, on the contrary, silenced the demons, and, exercising His sovereign right, selected from His disciples "whom He Himself would."
His wish, and nothing else, settled the list. One writer draws out a detail from the names that follow: the order does not match seniority.
He called to Him "whom He would." Here we have divine sovereignty. His will settled all. Neither popular choice nor the ambition of His servants had anything to do with it. So Simon Peter stands at the head of the list, though he was not the earliest of the Lord's disciples. Andrew was his senior in the faith — and indeed the means of his blessing — yet he had to take his place behind his brother in service.
The verse records a call and an answer. One writer sees two movements here. First He draws a wider circle to Himself, then He chooses twelve out of it.
Look at the sovereignty of it; it was "whom He would." I believe there was what we might call a double election. "He called to Him whom He would," and they responded to the call — how could they help it? All that He called answered, and out of those whom His sovereign grace had thus brought around Himself, He chose twelve.
The call falls at a turning point. Open hostility has broken out, and Jesus makes this move away from the public eye.
After the public display of the nation's enmity against Him, the Lord now takes an open, public step, using every proper means for gathering. He calls whom He would, and they came to Him. Such was His power also in this service of ministry — divine power; it was not of man. This was done apart. It was not for the multitude, but done separately, as in communion with the Father. It was entirely between Him and them.
- Height — He goes up to the high ground, away from the crowd. The place itself says ministry comes from above, not from the applause of the people.
- Separation — He calls them apart from the crowds and apart from the demons. His service owes nothing to either.
- Sovereignty — "Whom He desired" means His will alone decided. Not a popular vote. Not personal ambition. Peter heads the list, though Andrew came to Christ first.
- Response — Every one He called came. Grace draws the circle first, then He chooses twelve out of it.
- Timing — The call comes right after the leaders turn against Him. He makes it in private, between Him and them, in communion with the Father.
And he appointed twelve that they might be with him, and that he might send them to preach,
Jesus leaves the crowd and goes up a mountain. There He calls the men He wants and forms a group of twelve. Their first purpose is not work at all. It is to be with Him.
Jesus does not take a vote of the crowd that has been following Him. He climbs away from them and calls the men He chooses.
He goes up into the mountain, for ministry has its source on high, and in no way gets its approval from the crowd. He calls those He Himself wants, and they came to Him. He appointed twelve, so that they might be with Him, and that He might send them out to preach... It was an act new and strange to human eyes. In truth it was independent of Israel and of man, and deeply significant from every point of view.
Some older English versions read "ordained" here. One writer insists on "appointed," and shows that the order of the two purposes matters.
The moral order in this scripture is of the greatest importance. The Lord appointed (not "ordained") twelve. First, that they might be with Him. Then, that He might send them out to preach, and also to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons. So to be with Christ, to be in fellowship with Him, is the one thing needed for all true service. It is needed too if divine power is to win in the fight with the enemy. Someone may object that the twelve were never really like this in their souls. The answer is that whatever their failure, the teaching stands.
The two purposes are not equal in weight. One writer names the greater one, and warns what a busy preacher can lose.
There are two things here — companionship with Jesus, and the ministry of the Word. The first is by far the more important and blessed. It is one of the most marvellous fruits of His grace that men should be called to be the companions of the Son of God... A man might preach with the tongue of an angel, to the great admiration of the crowd, and yet be starved in his own soul.
The twelve were given power as well as a place beside Him. One writer shows on what terms that power is held.
If the Lord authorises for service, He also grants the needed power. But it is granted on one ground only. The power is held as in Him alone, and by us in full dependence on Him... We are in no sense storehouses of power. We may be its channel, but only while we are in His company. Being with Him (in spirit now) and having power go together. The one who stays most in his Lord's blessed company has the most power.
The second purpose is that He might send them. One writer weighs the danger of a man who sends himself.
I do not believe in anyone being self-sent. I do not believe in servants who appoint themselves... I think one of the most miserable beings in this world is a man-made minister. But I think it far worse for a man to hold no commission except from himself. That is the worst of all — it is consecrated self-will... He did give them power to work miracles, and power over demons. But their great service and great work was preaching: He sent them out to preach.
What looks like the recruiting of helpers is the laying of a foundation.
On the mountain we are lifted above man's world. There we learn something of the new ways of God. In the sovereign choice of the Twelve we see the foundation laid for the new order of blessing God was about to bring in. The Church is called out from Jews and Gentiles. It is "built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone" (Eph. 2:20).
- Called — He chose them Himself, on the mountain, away from the crowd. Ministry comes from above, never from popular approval.
- With — the first purpose is companionship, and it is the greater of the two. Whatever the failures of the twelve, that order stands.
- Empowered — no servant is a storehouse of power. He is only a channel, and the one who stays nearest Christ has the most.
- Sent — a man with no commission but his own is worse off than a man-made minister. The great work he is sent to do is preaching.
- Founded — the twelve were not just helpers but a foundation. On it the Church is built, called out from Jews and Gentiles alike.
and to have power [to heal diseases, and] to cast out demons.
Jesus appointed twelve men as apostles for three purposes, and this verse names the third: authority to cast out demons. That raises two questions: why would a man need such authority given to him, and why does Mark mention demons here but not diseases?
Jesus went up a mountain before He appointed anyone. One writer sees the place itself as part of the lesson.
He goes up into the mountain — for ministry has its source on high, and in no way gets its approval from the crowd — and calls the ones He Himself wanted. It was an act that was not only new and strange to human eyes, but truly independent of Israel and of man, and full of meaning from every point of view.
The three purposes are not a flat list. The first purpose carries the other two, and the power named here rests on the preparation that comes before it.
The Lord separated Himself from man and his world, and by His own sovereign choice He calls to Him the ones He wanted. He calls them, He appoints them, He sends them out, and He gives them power. But above all, He chooses them to be with Him. The nearest and dearest desire of His heart is to have His people with Himself. Here, though, this is especially in view of service, and the only true preparation for service is the company of the Lord.
Another writer explains why nearness matters for a messenger.
Being near someone makes you know them, and keeping company with them makes you like them. This is essential if a witness is to be accurate. An ambassador must be let in on the mind of his government, and the servant of Christ must live in the sweet enjoyment of His presence.
Anyone might in theory wield borrowed power. The striking thing here is the source. What Jesus does is not merely use authority over unclean spirits but hand it on.
He sent them into the territory of the prince of this world to announce that the kingdom of the Lord and His anointed was near. In giving them this commission, the Lord showed His divine power and Godhead by handing His followers authority over Satan's demon servants. A mere man could never pass on such power over unclean spirits to others. But Jesus had this authority Himself (Mark 1:27), and He also gave it to the twelve.
Older English versions add the words "to heal sicknesses" here. Commentators differ on whether those words belong in Mark. One writer treats the shorter reading as settled and explains how the longer one arose.
In Matthew and Luke, the power to cure diseases goes together with power over unclean spirits. Copyists, in a misguided eagerness to make the Gospels all alike, seem to have added the phrase here without warrant. It is now agreed that the best manuscripts leave it out in Mark.
What comes later in the chapter explains the emphasis. One writer ties Mark's wording to an accusation the scribes make against Jesus.
So the apostles' power over diseases is not mentioned here, in order to give greater prominence to their power over demons. We can see how fitting this omission is, especially since the chapter goes on to tell how the scribes who came down from Jerusalem charged the Lord with being in league with Satan.
The authority is real, but it never becomes the property of the one who uses it.
If the Lord gives authority for service, He also gives the power that is needed. But only on this ground: the power is held in Him alone, and by us in full dependence on Him. We are in no sense storehouses of power. No — but we may be its channel, and only while we are in the company of the Lord.
- Chosen — The call starts on the mountain, away from the crowd. Ministry has its source on high, not in the approval of the crowd.
- With Him — Being with Christ is the first appointment, not the warm-up. Keeping company with Him makes a person like Him, and only that fits a witness to speak accurately.
- Given — Anyone can use power that someone else gives; only God can give it. The gift itself shows His Godhead.
- Sent — Jesus sends the twelve into Satan's own territory to announce the kingdom. The authority named here is just what that errand needs.
- Dependent — No servant owns power. He is only a channel, and only while he stays in the Lord's company.