The Way
Appointing the Twelve
Names called after a night of prayer
Story
In those days Jesus went up onto a mountain to pray. From sunset, through the rising of the stars, until dawn broke again, he prayed to God all night long. The hillside overlooking the Sea of Galilee was still, and only the sound of the wind brushed through the grass.
When day came, Jesus called his disciples. He called those he wanted, and one by one they came to him. From among them he chose twelve and named them apostles, so that they might be with him, so that he might send them out to proclaim the message, and so that they might have authority to drive out demons.
The names were called one at a time. Simon, who was given the new name Peter, and his brother Andrew. James and John, called the sons of thunder. Philip and Bartholomew, Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who would one day become the betrayer. Fishermen, a tax collector, a Zealot, people so very different from one another, became one company.
Walk this scene on the map →His Words
Jesus went out to the mountain to pray and spent the whole night in prayer to God. When day came, he called his disciples and chose twelve of them.
Jesus called those he wanted, and they came to him. He appointed twelve to be with him and to be sent out to proclaim the message.
The sayings are fresh renderings of the original meaning in today's language. Text: Mt 10:1–4 · Mk 3:13–19 · Lk 6:12–16
Background
The number twelve recalls the twelve tribes of Israel. Among the four lists of apostles in the New Testament, Thaddaeus and Judas son of James trade places, and many see them as two names for the same man.
Pause and Reflect
Before I try to get things done, do I first stay close to the Lord?