New Testament Studies

The Gospel of St. Mark

By Robert C. Crowder

Lesson Seventeen

Mark 3:13-19  And he goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom he would: and they came unto him. And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach, And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils: And Simon he surnamed Peter; And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder: And Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Canaanite, And Judas Iscariot, which also betrayed him: and they went into an house.

 Previously Mark identified Jesus’ calling of Simon, Andrew, James, John and Levi as His followers.   We know there were many following and pressing about Him as we described in previous studies.  For example we were introduced to “Jesus’ disciples that were accused of breaking the Law by gathering corn on the Sabbath.  In this instance we do not know which disciples Mark was alluding to.  It very likely was not only the “five”, but others also that followed Him of their own volition.

In the last study “Jesus withdrew Himself with His disciples to the sea.”  We now understand that there were many in Jesus’ company.  Not only did this consist of the “five”, but must have included others that He was preparing to call. 

"And he goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom he would: "

Our study today begins with Jesus and His followers now on land walking up into a mountain.  I was thinking this week about those incidents in our lives that at the time seem to be small, but looking back at the path or decision’s made were actually major changes in our life.  I am sure if you consider it you could think when the direction in your life was changed with a seemingly insignificant act.  One such act for me was getting a call from a friend to go with him to our church on a Saturday morning to “mess around.”  We would go cut grass, haul trash, and clean the building, whatever we could do.  It was a spring day and I had no idea that during the next few minutes I would meet the woman who was going to be my wife.

Just such a life-changing event was about to happen to this collection of men that came from different walks of life.  These men, it appears, had very little in common, other than their desire to be around Jesus.  The previous day they left with Jesus in the boat, not knowing where they were going only that they would be with Jesus.

On this day they accompanied Him on a walk up the mountain.  They had no idea that their lives were going to be changed with a simple calling of Jesus.  This was one of those days that they, as well as us would look back on.  This day became historical for all readers of the New Testament because the writers of the Gospel’s included it.  We read the passage in Mark and understand that the calling of the twelve was a life-changing event on this day.

Luke’s Gospel informed us, “And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.” (Luke 6:12)  We can draw that Jesus did not take the choosing of the “twelve” lightly.  He “continued all night in prayer to God.”  What an example Jesus gives us concerning prayer.  We read in other passages about His example in teaching His disciples to pray.  He is “showing us by example” that not only how to pray and what words to use but that praying takes time.  (Matthew 6:9 and Luke 11:2)

We live in a world of “instant” everything.  We don’t want to wait for anything so there are fast food restaurants, microwave ovens, “10 items or less” express check-out lines and advanced studies for the gifted.

In this situation, Jesus prayed all night.  How often have we said a prayer then looked for God to immediately answer our request.  The Bible contains many lessons regarding people praying and pleading with God for years before their prayers were answered.  (Remember the children of Israel in bondage to the Egyptians prayed for generations for a deliverer, to name only one).  Do you remember that old saying, “Our time is not God’s time?”  God has a plan for each of us.  Our job is finding his will and staying in the center of it.

A big decision takes concerted prayer.  When considering big decisions looking for God’s direction, know that sometimes the time spent in prayer may turn out to be made with tired knees and weeping eyes.  Perseverance and dedication in lifting our voice to heaven is what Jesus is teaching us.  There are no shortcuts when defining what His will is for us in our lives.  One other thought, don’t only look for God’s answer to your prayers in actions and signs, but search the scriptures for his direction in your life.

“and they came unto him. And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach, And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils:”

Mark defines why Jesus was calling these followers

They were to:

·        Accompany Jesus in the journey.

·        Preach the Gospel

·        Heal Sicknesses

·        Cast out Devils

·        To be Apostles (Luke adds that “He chose twelve, whom also He named apostles.”  Strong’s defines the word Apostle as apostolos which means a delegate; specially, an ambassador of the Gospel; officially a commissioner of Christ ("apostle") (with miraculous powers):--apostle, messenger, he that is sent.”)

“And Simon he surnamed Peter; And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder: And Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Canaanite, And Judas Iscariot, which also betrayed him:”

Once the group was assembled, Jesus looked at the band of men gathered and told these men that were going to be called what their job description would be and the demands of the position were.  Once stated He began to select the men He was separating for service.  As Jesus spoke each name out loud, you can almost sense the anticipation and excitement as each of them heard their names called.  We don’t know what actions were taking place.  Did the men stand and walk over to Jesus?  Did they remain where they were seated around Jesus?  Were there others that did not get called?

We don’t know the answers to these and other questions, but we do know that the “synoptic”¹ gospels and the book of Acts contain a list of the men.

The following chart lists the men as they were listed in each of the four books.

Matthew	Mark	Luke	Acts
Matthew 10:2-4  Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter,  and Andrew his brother;  James the son of Zebedee, and  John his brother;  Philip, and  Bartholomew;  Thomas, and  Matthew the publican;  James the son of Alphaeus, and  Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus;  Simon the Canaanite,  and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.	Mark 3:16-19  And Simon he surnamed Peter; And James the son of Zebedee, and  John the brother of James; and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder: And  Andrew, and  Philip, and  Bartholomew, and  Matthew, and  Thomas, and  James the son of Alphaeus, and  Thaddaeus, and  Simon the Canaanite, And  Judas Iscariot, which also betrayed him: and they went into an house.	Luke 6:14-16  Simon, (whom he also named Peter,) and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew, Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called Zelotes, And Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor.	Acts 1:13  And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and  Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James.

  As you look at this chart you see that there are some apparent discrepancies.  For example the first three columns have twelve disciples listed and the book of Acts only lists eleven.  This is easy to explain, Judas was no longer living and therefore would not be listed as the list of the disciples at that time.

When looking at each of lists we see that Peter (Simon) is always listed first.  In the synoptic gospels Judas Iscariot is always last for obvious reasons.  The remaining men are not in the exact order but interestingly enough, Philip is fifth in each of the lists.

We also see that the lists show three Simon’s.  Simon Peter, Simon the Canaanite and Simon Zelotes.  We are very aware of Simon Peter but who are these other two Simon’s?

We also see that Matthew and Mark list Thaddaeus but John and Acts list Judas the brother of James and no Thaddaeus

Wow!  You might ask, “That seems like a lot of discrepancies doesn’t it?”  Well on the surface it might, but let’s look closer.

First let us address the fact that the order in each of the lists is different.  The truth is that the order in and of itself is of no consequence since there are twelve names listed.  So let’s tackle the “Simon” issue.

Simon the Canaanite and/or Simon Zelotes?

This Simon is different than “Simon who is called Peter.”  Simon the Canaanite and Simon Zelotes is one in the same man.  This Simon was a Canaanite according to Matthew and Mark.  Luke and Acts list the disciple Simon Zelotes.  The word Zelotes means “a Zealot, i.e. (specially) partisan for Jewish political independence.  “The Zealots were wild and even fanatical nationalists, pledged to harry the Romans by even murder an assassination and by any means, however savage.”²

So there is no discrepancy, Simon the Canaanite and Simon Zelotes are one in the same.  A Zealot from Canaan.

So far, so good.  Now let’s look at Thaddaeus and Judas.

Thaddaeus or Judas the brother of James.

Ok, hang in there with me for a moment.  In the time of Jesus, it was not uncommon for a man to have three names, especially in this land that had seen so many conquerors.  Many nationalities and different ruling countries inhabited the land.  Jewish people therefore could have a Hebrew, Aramaic, Syriac or Roman name. We can see this in a couple of incidents.  Look in your Bible to Acts 1:23.  We read “Joseph, called Barsabas, who was surname Justus.” 

The first disciple in each list is Simon (Hebrew) and he was surnamed Peter (Aramaic).  Jesus “ beheld him, He said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas (Syriac), which is by interpretation, a stone.” (John 1:42)

Thaddaeus may very well have had Judas as another of his names, and when Judas become a name of shame he may well have dropped it and have become known only as Thaddaeus.”³

Wait a minute – What about the other disciple that Jesus called?  Why don’t I see his name in the list?

I am glad you asked.  I knew that there would be someone who would ask about Nathanael.  John’s Gospel includes Nathanael in chapter 1:43-51 and 21:2.  So Jesus knew Nathanael and he was with the disciples when they decided to go fishing all night and caught nothing.  His association with the disciples is clear so shouldn’t he be among those on the list?

This is a very interesting study within itself.  John never mentions Bartholomew.  The Synoptic Gospels never mention Nathanael.  When looking at Bartholomew, the addition of “bar” to the beginning of a name means “son of” so in this case it means “son of Tolmai.”  So Bartholomew is not a “first” name.

In the Gospel of John, he showed us how that Philip found Nathanael and brought him to Jesus.  John also always connects Philip and Nathanael.  Matthew Mark and Luke always put Philip and Bartholomew together.      So historically Bible scholars have consistently stated that Bartholomew and Nathanael are one in the same person.

 

Twelve men that changed the world. 

These twelve men made such an impact.  They wrote most of the New Testament, started many churches and became missionaries outside of their own land.  The last words of Jesus to the eleven before He went back to heaven were:

“Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.”(Emphasis mine)  Mark 16:15-20)

Twelve Men.  That is all, just twelve everyday men from different walks of life that answered the call of Jesus to follow Him.  You know what?  They did and the whole world was changed. 

 

ã 2002 bobsbiblestudies