The Chosen Twelve

Jesus chose for Himself them that were well pleasing: the good whom His Father in Heaven has given Him. This is the story of the carriers of the Gospel. They were twelve in number to correspond to the twelve tribes of Israel.

“And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted. And they came to Him. Then He appointed twelve (whom He also named apostles), that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach” (Mark 3:13-14).

Jesus chose those whom He simply wanted. He had determined them as fit to carry out His teachings to the farther parts of Judea. He had gone up to the mountain the same way as Moses had gone up to speak with God. The disciples were sent off from the mountain: hence they were apostles, the "sent out."

The mountain has always been a special place for Jesus: it is there that He delivered His Sermon on the Mount, it was on a mountain that He fed the vast multitudes, taught the people; He was also transfigured on a mountain, and delivered His Olivet Discourse. It was also a scene of His temptations. I could go on and on. The fact is that Jesus always stands atop a great mountain, dispensing His love and His divine powers on His saints for all times.

“I thank You Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and the prudent, and revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight” (Luke 10:21).

The scribes and the Pharisees have taken and hidden the key of knowledge. But what was once hidden, Jesus had made manifest; what was once buried, Jesus had uncovered. It was to them that the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven was given, whereas only in parables would Jesus speak to the crowds. Jesus chose them at the most unexpected of places: the beach or the toll booth. Jesus revealed to them knowledge; Jesus commissioned them to preach His Gospel; Jesus appeared to them alive after being buried in the tomb; Jesus breathes on them the Holy Spirit; and blesses them as He parts from them in His glorious ascension. 

“I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word” (John 17:6).

The disciples had been energized by the ecstatic effervescence of God's mystical presence on earth. They had gained knowledge and now they were shouting it from the rooftops. They were the ones who had gazed on the glory of the Son of Man at the Mount of Transfiguration. They have heard and seen things such as never been heard and seen from the creation of the world till now. How blessed and felicitous were the disciples of Christ!

The twelve disciples are as colossal and titanic as the astrological zodiacs in the night sky. Their glory and their immortality far exceeds the stars. They were the first to see and hear and touch and taste of the Word of Life.