Mark 3: 13-21, The Twelve Apostles

13 And he went up on the mountain [where God historically speaks to his people and initiates new ministries/”the mountain” can also mean the “hill country” in Galilee away from the Sea] and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him. [Luke 6:12 records Jesus spent a whole night in prayer on the mountain before calling these men.] 14 And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles [“sent ones”]) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach 15 and have authority to cast out demons. [They are to do what Jesus does.] 16 He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); 17 James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder); 18 Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Zealot, 19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. [Mark tells us to look out for Judas, but we do not hear from him again until the end of the Gospel.]

20 Then he went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat. 21 And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.” [Jesus’ family has decided to save him from his own vocation. He has become so popular that family life was disrupted by the crowd. Mark does not record that his family thought Jesus’ teachings and healings were off, but that his ministry was out of control.]