March

Jesus Chooses His Disciples — March 1 ^{[Description]Overview of the Passages:
Mark 3:7-12 — Jesus’ popularity is exploding. Huge crowds are following Him—not just from nearby Galilee but from distant regions—because they’ve heard about His miracles. The crush of people is so intense that He has a boat ready in case He needs to escape the pressure. Evil spirits recognize Him and call Him the Son of God, but Jesus silences them.
Mark 3:13-19 & Luke 6:12-16 — Jesus intentionally chooses twelve men. Luke tells us He prays all night before doing this. These twelve are not famous religious leaders—they’re fishermen, tax collectors, and everyday guys. Jesus calls them not just to follow Him but to be with Him and to be sent out to preach and have authority. He’s not just healing crowds—He’s building a core team who will carry the mission forward.
This passage recounts the setting and significance of Jesus’ calling of the twelve disciples. Rather than gathering them in a temple or city center, Jesus chose the quiet, natural beauty of a mountainside near the Sea of Galilee—a setting rich in symbolism and spiritual intimacy. Nature, from Eden to the Exodus, had always been a meeting place between God and humanity, and Jesus continued this tradition to teach, commune, and prepare His followers.
Jesus selected twelve flawed but willing men, with full awareness of their weaknesses, and spent an entire night in prayer before ordaining them to be His witnesses. Among them were believers with both deep faith (like Nathanael) and ongoing doubt (like Philip), yet all were called into a divine purpose. Even Judas, though uninvited, sought a place for his own self-serving reasons.
The outdoor setting symbolized Jesus’ intention to turn hearts from rigid systems toward living truths found in both nature and grace. The apostles, chosen in the open air, were to bring the gospel to the whole world—learning from the Master not just by His words, but through His communion with creation and His heart of patience, love, and mission.}

Bible discovery

Mark 3:7-12 365D 60.1

7 But Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea. And a great multitude from Galilee followed Him, and from Judea 365D 60.2

8 and Jerusalem and Idumea and beyond the Jordan; and those from Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they heard how many things He was doing, came to Him. 365D 60.3

9 So He told His disciples that a small boat should be kept ready for Him because of the multitude, lest they should crush Him. 365D 60.4

10 For He healed many, so that as many as had afflictions pressed about Him to touch Him. 365D 60.5

11 And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried out, saying, “You are the Son of God.” 365D 60.6

12 But He sternly warned them that they should not make Him known. 365D 60.7

Mark 3:13-19 365D 60.8

13 And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted. And they came to Him. 365D 60.9

14 Then He appointed twelve, ^{[d]NU adds whom He also named apostles} that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, 365D 60.10

15 and to have ^[e]authority power ^{[f]NU omits to heal sicknesses and} to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons: 365D 60.11

16 ^{[g]NU and He appointed the twelve: Simon . . .} Simon, to whom He gave the name Peter; 365D 60.12

17 James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, “Sons of Thunder”; 365D 60.13

18 Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Cananite; 365D 60.14

19 and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him. And they went into a house. 365D 60.15

Luke 6:12-16 365D 60.16

12 Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. 365D 60.17

13 And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles: 365D 60.18

14 Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; 365D 60.19

15 Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot; 365D 60.20

16 Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot who also became a traitor. 365D 60.21

Spirit of Prophecy Reading

The Desire of Ages pp.290-293: 365D 60.22

This chapter is based on Mark 3:13-19; Luke 6:12-16. 365D 60.23

“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.” 365D 60.24

It was beneath the sheltering trees of the mountainside, but a little distance from the Sea of Galilee, that the twelve were called to the apostolate, and the Sermon on the Mount was given. The fields and hills were the favorite resorts of Jesus, and much of His teaching was given under the open sky, rather than in the temple or the synagogues. No synagogue could have received the throngs that followed Him; but not for this reason only did He choose to teach in the fields and groves. Jesus loved the scenes of nature. To Him each quiet retreat was a sacred temple. 365D 60.25

It was under the trees of Eden that the first dwellers on earth had chosen their sanctuary. There Christ had communed with the father of mankind. When banished from Paradise, our first parents still worshiped in the fields and groves, and there Christ met them with the gospel of His grace. It was Christ who spoke with Abraham under the oaks at Mamre; with Isaac as he went out to pray in the fields at the eventide; with Jacob on the hillside at Bethel; with Moses among the mountains of Midian; and with the boy David as he watched his flocks. It was at Christ's direction that for fifteen centuries the Hebrew people had left their homes for one week every year, and had dwelt in booths formed from the green branches “of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook.” Leviticus 23:40. 365D 60.26

In happy contrast to Philip's unbelief was the childlike trust of Nathanael. He was a man of intensely earnest nature, one whose faith took hold upon unseen realities. Yet Philip was a student in the school of Christ, and the divine Teacher bore patiently with his unbelief and dullness. When the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the disciples, Philip became a teacher after the divine order. He knew whereof he spoke, and he taught with an assurance that carried conviction to the hearers. 365D 60.27

While Jesus was preparing the disciples for their ordination, one who had not been summoned urged his presence among them. It was Judas Iscariot, a man who professed to be a follower of Christ. He now came forward, soliciting a place in this inner circle of disciples. With great earnestness and apparent sincerity he declared, “Master, I will follow Thee whithersoever Thou goest.” Jesus neither repulsed nor welcomed him, but uttered only the mournful words: “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay His head.” Matthew 8:19, 20. Judas believed Jesus to be the Messiah; and by joining the apostles, he hoped to secure a high position in the new kingdom. This hope Jesus designed to cut off by the statement of His poverty. 365D 60.28