Mark 3: 13 19 Calling The Twelve

Target year level: Year One, Year Ten

Scripture text

World behind the text

The authorship of the Gospel which bears the name of Mark is unknown. According to tradition, the Gospel was written in Rome; however, some believe it was written in a more rural location because of the lack of urban imagery. The Gospel of Mark was predominately written for a gentilecommunity. It seems he is writing for people who knew and used Latin. (See the Wikipedia entry on Composition of Mark’s Gospel for some of the literary evidence behind these conclusions.)

Jesus leaves the sea and goes to the mountain, to the place of prayer and revelation. He responds in a powerfully symbolic way to his rejection by the religious leaders by publicly selecting and commissioning a group of twelve, to carry on his universal mission of renewing the twelve tribes of the covenant community of Israel (compare the symbolic action of Moses in Exodus 24:4). He has already said that new wine needs new skins (Mk 2:22). Since the old Israel will not accept the gospel, he must establish a renewed Israel that will.

When Jesus chose his twelve, Jesus was at a critical point in his ministry. He had offended the traditions of the religious leadership, and they plotted his destruction. Responding to the opposition, he spent a whole night in prayer and then went out to choose his flowers. He spent here the whole night in prayer to teach us that we must undertake nothing without previous thought and asking for help and guidance in humble and fervent prayer.

There are many interesting connections with the group. There are brothers (James and John, Peter and Andrew); business associates (Peter, James, and John were all fishermen); political opponents (Matthew, the Roman-collaborating tax collector, and Simon, the Roman-hating zealot); and one who would betray Jesus (Judas Iscariot).

World of the text

The number Twelve – The nation of Israel was comprised of twelve tribes, and represented a physical type of God’s government on earth. The twelve apostles were chosen by Christ to serve as the foundation for his Church (Mt 10:1-7), as well as the kingdom of God (Lk 22:29-30).

‘Cananaean' means ‘man of zeal'. By the time Mark is writing, the Zealots were a leading faction in the resistance to Roman occupation. Presumably Simon had similar ideas.

A disciple was a student. A disciple learned by being with and hearing from his master. A disciple was an apprentice and learned from the master firsthand.

Mountain: By Jesus preaching on the mountains and coming down from on the mountain is making a parallel between Jesus and the descent of Moses from Mt. Sinai.

The names of the Apostles; Simon, to whom he gave the name of Peter, in Greek, Petron, which signifies a rock. James, son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder) is to express their great zeal. ‘Iscariot' may be a transliteration of the Aramaic yaskar yothê, meaning ‘he who betrays'.