Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Mark 3:14
And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach,
14. ordained twelve ] Hitherto they had been His friends and disciples in a wider sense, now He formally called them, and joined them in a united band, that (i) they “might be with Him” (comp. Act 1:21), (ii) that He might “send them forth” as heralds to preach, and (iii) that they “might have power to cast out demons,” for the words “ to heal sicknesses ” are omitted in some of the best MSS.
(i) The number of the Apostles. The number selected, answering to the twelve sons of Jacob, was small indeed as compared with the hundreds who enrolled themselves as disciples of a Hillel or a Gamaliel, and their position in life was humble and obscure, but “ the weak things of the world were to confound the things which are mighty ” (1Co 1:27), and these Twelve were to be the Twelve Pillars of the Church.
(ii) Their calling and training. Observe that the calling and training of the Twelve was a most important part of our Lord’s ministerial work. ( a) Immediately after His Baptism and Temptation He began to prepare some of them for their future vocation (Joh 1:35-51); ( b) to their training He devoted the greater part of His time and strength; ( c) after His resurrection He continued for forty days His personal efforts for their improvement, and ( d) at last He bestowed upon them His promised gift of the Holy Ghost.
(iii) Their title. The name also which He gave to them deserves attention. He named them Apostles (Luk 6:13). The word thus rendered means (i) as an adjective, despatched or sent forth, (ii) as a substantive, the actual delegate of the person who sends him.
( a) In Classical Greek the word was almost entirely restricted to the meaning of a “naval expedition,” a “fleet despatched on foreign service,” and this meaning entirely superseded any other.
( b) In the Septuagint the word occurs only once, namely, in 1Ki 14:6, in the sense of “a messenger,” “one who has a commission from God,” where Abijah says to the wife of Jeroboam, “I am a messenger unto thee of heavy tidings.”
( c) With the later Jews the word was in common use, and was the title of those, who were sent from the mother city on any foreign mission, especially the collection of the tribute for the Temple service.
( d) Thus when He employed it to designate His immediate and most favoured disciples, “our Lord was not introducing a new term, but adopting one which from its current usage would suggest to His hearers the idea of a highly responsible mission.” In Heb 3:1 He Himself is styled “The Apostle and high priest of our profession,” with which compare Joh 17:18. Canon Lightfoot on the Epistle to the Galatians, p. 94.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 14. He ordained twelve] , he made twelve. Here is nothing of what we call ordaining. Christ simply appointed them to be with him; and that he might send them occasionally to preach, &c.
To preach] The Codex Bezae, Saxon, and all the Itala, except one, add , the Gospel.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
And he ordained twelve,…. Or made, constituted, and appointed twelve men, out of those he called to him. The Arabic version adds, “and called them apostles”; which seems to be taken out of Lu 6:13.
That they should be with him; constantly, in private and in public; be taken into his family, and reckoned such; be his familiars, and privy to all his affairs; hear all his discourses, and see his miracles; that so they might be trained up and fitted for the great work he designed them for:
and that he might send them forth to preach; the Gospel in Judea first, and then in all the world: for he did not at this time send them to preach, only chose; called, and appointed them; and after they had been with him some time, and were better qualified for such service, he sent them forth, as in Mt 10:1, for this constitution of them was before that mission, and was in order to it.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
He appointed twelve ( ). This was a second selection out of those invited to the hills and after the night of prayer and after day came (Lu 6:13). Why he chose twelve we are not told, probably because there were twelve tribes in Israel. It was a good round number at any rate. They were to be princes in the new Israel (cf. Matt 19:28; Luke 22:30; Rev 21:14; Rev 21:15). Luke (Lu 6:13-16) also gives the list of the twelve at this point while Matthew (Mt 10:1-4) postpones giving the names till they are sent out in Galilee. There is a fourth list in Ac 1:13. See discussion of the names of the apostles on Mt 10:1-4 and pp. 271-3 of my Harmony of the Gospels for Students of the Life of Christ. The three groups of four begin alike (Simon, Philip, James). There are some difficulties.
Whom he also named apostles ( ). Margin of Revised Version, the text of Westcott and Hort after Aleph, B, C, etc. Genuine in Lu 6:13 and probably so here. The meaning is that Jesus himself gave the name apostle or missionary (, to send) to this group of twelve. The word is applied in the New Testament to others besides as delegates or messengers of churches (2Cor 8:23; Phil 2:25), and messenger (Joh 13:16). It is applied also to Paul on a par with the twelve (Gal 1:1; Gal 1:11, etc.) and also to Barnabas (Ac 14:14), and perhaps also to Timothy and Silas (1Ti 2:6f.). Two purposes of Jesus are mentioned by Mark in the choice of these twelve,
that they might be with him ( ‘ ),
and that he might send them forth ( ). They were not ready to be sent forth till they had been with Jesus for some time. This is one of the chief tasks of Christ to train this group of men. See Bruce’s The Training of the Twelve. The very word is from . There were two purposes in sending them forth expressed by two infinitives, one to preach (, from , herald), the other to have power to cast out demons ( ). This double ministry of preaching and healing was to mark their work. The two things are, however, different, and one does not necessarily involve the other.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Ordained [] . Lit., made. Rev., appointed.
Might send them forth [] . As apostles. Compare the kindred noun ajpostoloi, apostles.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “And He ordained twelve,” (kai epoiesen dodeka) “And He made twelve,” of His own will, selection, or solemn ordination, from among the company of His disciples, His church, as the first church officers, 1Co 12:28. The calling of the Twelve was a second calling, this time to become a compact group, called Apostles.
2) “That they should be with Him,” (hina hosin met’ autou) “in order that they might be constantly with Him,” associated with Him, in a special service, Act 1:20-22. The apostles were to have been with Him, companied, or congregated with Him, from the beginning, from the baptism of John from Galilee, Joh 15:16; Act 10:37.
3) “And that He might send them forth to preach.” (kai hina apostelle autous krussein) “And in order that (for the purpose that) He might send them out (commission them) to herald,” or to preach, Mat 10:5-8; Luk 6:12-13. They became His special friends, companions, witnesses and scholars, prepared for larger service to Him and His church after He was gone.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
14. And he ordained twelve It appears by Luk 6:12-19, that the regular selection of the twelve from the number of his disciples was made, and their ordination performed, just before his pronunciation of his sermon on the mount.
Several were called previous to that. Mat 28:19-20. Their full qualification they received at the day of Pentecost. Acts 2.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Mar 3:14. And he ordained twelve, See Luk 6:12; Luk 6:49. Our Saviour ordained the twelve to be always with him, that they might learn from his mouth the doctrine which they were in due time to preach to the world;that they might see his glory, Joh 1:14 the transcendent glory of the virtues which adorned his human life, and might be witnesses to all the wonderful works which he should perform, (Act 10:39-41.) and by which his mission from God was to be clearly demonstrated. The twelve were thus to be qualified for supplying the people with that spiritual food which their teachers neglected to give them;and that before and after their Master’s death. Accordingly, when they had continued with Jesus as long as was necessary for this end, he sent them out by two and two into Judea on the important work of preparing the people for his reception, who was the true Shepherd. Hence he named them Apostles, that is, “Persons sent out.” But their name was more particularly applicable to them, and their office was raised to its perfection, after Christ’s ascension, when he sent them out into all the world with the doctrine of the Gospel, which he enabled them to preach by inspiration; givingthem power at the same time to confirm it by the most astonishing miracles. That this was the natureof the new dignity which Jesus now conferred on the twelve disciples, is evident from Joh 20:21 where we find him confirming them in the apostolical office; as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. “I send you upon the same errand, and with the same authority: I send you to reveal the will of God for the salvation of men; and I bestow on you both the gift of tongues, and the power of working miracles, that you may be able to preach the doctrine of salvation in every country, and to confirm it as divine, in opposition to all gain-sayers.”After their election, the twelve accompanied Jesus constantly, lived with him on one common stock as his family, and never departed from him, unless by his express appointment.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
14 And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach,
Ver. 14. That they should be with him ] As his household servants, more happy therein than those of Solomon. Christ hath many retainers, few fast and faithful servants that follow him in the regeneration. There are those that will wear his livery, but serve themselves.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
14. ] nominated, set apart: see reff. We have here the most distinct intimation of any, of the reason of this appointment.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Mar 3:14 . He is now on the hill top, surrounded by a body of disciples, perhaps some scores, picked out from the great mass of followers. : and He made, constituted as a compact body, Twelve , by a second selection. For use of in this sense vide 1Sa 12:6 , Act 2:36 , Heb 3:2 . God “made” Jesus as Jesus “made” the Twelve. What the process of “making” in the case of the Twelve consisted in we do not know. It might take place after days of close intercourse on the hill. , that they might be (constantly) with Him; first and very important aim of the making, mentioned only by Mk training contemplated. : to send them out on a preaching and healing mission, also in view, but only after a while. This verb frequent in Mk. Note the absence of before and (Mar 3:15 ).
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
ordained = made, or appointed. In the sense of Hebrew. dsah, in 1Sa 12:6 (“advanced”).
that = in order that.
be with Him. This is the first great qualification for any thus called and sent. (1) Like Abel, to have “peace with God”; then (2) like Enoch, to walk with God”, and (3) like Noah, to witness for God (Heb 11:4-7).
might = should.
send them forth = Greek. apostello. This is the second great qualification here. For the others, see above and Act 1:22.
preach. App-121.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
14. ] nominated,-set apart: see reff. We have here the most distinct intimation of any, of the reason of this appointment.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Mar 3:14. , twelve) The characteristic notes of an apostle were, an immediate and direct call, a continuous intercourse with Christ, the being an eye-witness, the right of preaching universally [and not merely restricted to one locality], the gift of miracles.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
he ordained: Joh 15:16, Act 1:24, Act 1:25, Gal 1:1, Gal 1:15-20
and: Luk 9:1-6, Luk 10:1-11, Luk 24:47, Act 1:8
Reciprocal: Jos 4:4 – prepared Mat 10:1 – called Mar 6:7 – the twelve Act 14:23 – they had
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
THE MINISTRY OF PREACHING
He ordained twelve, that they should be with Him, and that He might send them forth to preach.
Mar 3:14
Such is the Evangelists brief account of the origin and purpose of the Apostolate.
I. The decay of preaching.Does the preaching of the message of Christ, does the preaching of Christ, hold anything like its proper place at present among us of the Church of England? If I see things at all as they are, it is far otherwise. A certain slight of the sermon is in fashion, and the preacher himself is not in love with his workhe allows himself to deal scantly and perfunctorily with his sermon. Perhaps it is not only brief (a merit, in the modern fashion) but thin. Perhaps it is but a glib essay, clever or otherwise, and sometimes all the colder and weaker to the soul for being that poor thing, clever. It is a discussion, a suggestion, an appreciation, a sketch, or what not; anything rather than a message; totally other than that delivery of Divine truth through human personality which Phillips Brooks finely tells us is the idea of the sermon.
II. The scriptural valuation of it.Turn from such unworthy estimates of this great and sacred thing to the scriptural valuation of it, and to the reverent honour set upon it by the Church of England. Think of the sermon not as it can be travestied, but as the utterance by a man commissioned by the Lord and the Church, and who comes forth to his duty from converse with the Lord, of that Word of God which liveth and abideth for ever, that engrafted Word which is able to save the soul, yea, by which man can be begotten again to a lively hope. In the name of the Bible, in the name of the Ordinal, in the name of prophets and apostles, and of an innumerable company of witnesses, are we not right in making all the appeal we can to the Church, and all the prayer we can to God, for a great revival of the pulpit?
III. The preacher and his sermon.The man goes forth to preach, because his Master sends him. To go at his own bidding would be intolerable. What is not the rest and power of that thought, He hath sent us forth? And then, coming from that presence, from that Divine and human companionship, from the feet of that King, from the Cross of that Redeemer, what shall we go forth to preach? Not our ideas, but His Word. Not our guesses at a thousand things, but His revelation of the one thing needful; and the one thing needful is our Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
IV. A remedy for our divisions.In the revival of the preaching of ChristChrist in His glorious Person, His finished work, His never-finished working, Him first, midst, last, and without endthere may lie, by the mercy of God, one great means, perhaps the greatest means, of deliverance at last from the distresses of our divisions.
Bishop H. C. G. Moule.
Illustrations
(1) A few nights ago, once said Bishop Moule, it was my privilege to address one of those great congregations of our Durham mining people whose listening, when they listen, is indeed an inspiration to the preacher, an appeal to him to give out his whole self for their service, mind and soul. My theme was Jesus Christ, and I could not but tell them that I could take no other. I used long ago, I said, to preach of many things; but as life runs around and age draws near, I can preach of only one thing, it is Jesus Christ.
(2) Well and nobly does Dr. Arthur Mason write (Faith of the Gospel, ix. 2): First among the appointed means of grace comes the preaching of the Word of God. There is a truly sacramental grace and power in preaching. The words are not mere words, but vehicles of something beyond words. If preaching is not reckoned among the Sacraments, but parallel with them, it is because it is more, not less, than a Sacrament. The gift conveyed through it indeed may not be greater, but it more immediately influences the springs of thought and will.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
4
This is the appointment of the twelve apostles. They were expected to be with him continuously ex-cept as he would send them out on missions.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Mar 3:14. Appointed. Literally, made, nominated, set apart. The word ordained may mislead. The addition whom also He named apostles, found in some authorities, is probably taken from Luke.
That they might be with him. This hints that they were first to be trained for their work. The best preparation for doing Christs work is being with Christ.
Send them forth. This took place afterwards. The word Mark uses implies that they were Apostles, a title now given them (Luk 6:13), yet rarely applied by the other Evangelists. The discipleship was the main point while Christ lived, and only through the direct choice of the Master to the most intimate discipleship, did they become Apostles.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Mar 3:14-16. He ordained, Gr. , he made, constituted, or appointed, twelve The word is elsewhere used for appointing to an office. See 1Sa 12:6 Greek; Heb 3:2. Henry thinks our Lord appointed them by imposition of hands, but of this there is no proof. Indeed, this appointment seems to have been made some time before they were sent out to preach, or entered properly on their office. They were now called and appointed merely to be with him, that is, not only to attend on his public ministry, but to enjoy the benefit of his private conversation and daily instructions, that they might thereby be better fitted for the great work in which they were to be employed. If, as is generally supposed, our Lord, in appointing twelve, had a reference to the twelve patriarchs, and twelve tribes of Israel, and therefore, on the death of Judas, another was chosen to make up the number, this was only a piece of respect paid to that people, previous to the grand offer of the gospel to them. For, when they had generally rejected it, two more, Paul and Barnabas, were added, without any regard to the particular number of twelve. That he might send them forth to preach His gospel, and thereby make way for his own visits to some places where he had not been; and to have power to heal sicknesses, &c. And thereby to show that they were sent of God, and that he approved and confirmed their doctrine. After their election, these twelve accompanied Jesus constantly, lived with him on one common stock as his family, and never departed from him unless by his express appointment.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
3:14 {3} And he {k} ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach,
(3) The twelve apostles are set apart to be trained for the office of the apostleship.
(k) Chose and appointed twelve to be familiar and well acquainted with him.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
"The Twelve" became a technical term for this group of disciples. Some early manuscripts add "whom also He named apostles" (cf. NIV). This was probably not in Mark’s original Gospel. Probably a scribe inserted it having read Luk 6:13, the parallel passage, though some disagree. [Note: E.g., Christopher W. Skinner, "’Whom He Also Named Apostles’: A Textual Problem in Mark 3:14," Bibliotheca Sacra 161:643 (July-September 2004):322-29.]
Jesus appointed these disciples for a twofold purpose: to be with Him, and to preach. The order is significant.
"Fellowship with Him must precede preaching about Him." [Note: George Williams, The Student’s Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, p. 734.]
Jesus also gave these disciples the ability to cast out demons along with preaching. The miracles would convince many of their hearers that God had sent them as His spokesmen. Mark probably mentioned exorcisms because this was the greatest demonstration of the disciples’ authority, not the only one. This Gospel documents Jesus’ training of the Twelve in these two basic areas particularly: being with Jesus and preaching.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
CHAPTER 3:14-19 (Mar 3:14-19)
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TWELVE
“And He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him, and that He might send them forth to preach, and to have authority to cast out devils: and Simon He surnamed Peter; and James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and them He surnamed Boanerges, which is, Sons of thunder; and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeaus, and Simon the Cananean, and Judas Iscariot which also betrayed Him.” Mar 3:14-19 (R.V.)
THE pictures of the Twelve, then, are drawn from a living group. And when they are examined in detail, this appearance of vitality is strengthened, by the richest and most vivid indications of individual character, such indeed as in several cases to throw light upon the choice of Jesus. To invent such touches is the last attainment of dramatic genius, and the artist rarely succeeds except by deliberate and palpable character-painting. The whole story of Hamlet and of Lear is constructed with this end in view, but no one has ever conjectured that the Gospels were psychological studies. If, them, we can discover several well-defined characters, harmoniously drawn by various writers, as natural as the central figure is supernatural, and to be recognized equally in the common and the miraculous narratives, this will be an evidence of the utmost value.
We are all familiar with the impetuous vigor of St. Peter, a quality which betrayed him into grave and well-nigh fatal errors, but when chastened by suffering made him a noble and formidable leader of the Twelve. We recognize it when he says, “Thou shalt never wash my feet,” “Though all men should deny Thee, yet will I never deny Thee,” “Lord, to whom should we go? Thou hast the words of everlasting life,” “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God,” and in his rebuke of Jesus for self-sacrifice, and in his rash blow in the garden. Does this, the best established mental quality of any apostle, fail or grow faint in the miraculous stories which are condemned as the accretions of a later time? In such stories he is related to have cried out, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord,” he would walk upon the sea to Jesus, he proposed to shelter Moses and Elijah from the night air in booths (a notion so natural to a bewildered man, so exquisite in its officious well-meaning absurdity as to prove itself, for who could have invented it?), he ventured into the empty sepulcher while John stood awe-stricken at the portal, he plunged into the lake to seek his risen Master on the shore, and he was presently the first to draw the net to land. Observe the restless curiosity which beckoned to John to ask who was the traitor, and compare it with his question, “Lord, and what shall this man do?” But the second of these was after the resurrection, and in answer to a prophecy. Everywhere we find a real person and the same, and the vehemence is everywhere that of a warm heart, which could fail signally but could weep bitterly as well, which could learn not to claim, though twice invited, greater love than that of others, but when asked “Lovest thou Me” at all, broke out into the passionate appeal, “Lord, Thou knowest all things, Thou knowest that I love Thee.” Dull is the ear of the critic which fails to recognize here the voice of Simon. Yet the story implies the resurrection.
The mind of Jesus was too lofty and grave for epigram; but He put the willful self-reliance which Peter had to subdue even to crucifixion, into one delicate and subtle phrase: “When thou wast young, thou girdest thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest.” That self-willed stride, with the loins girded, is the natural gait of Peter, when he was young.
St. James, the first apostolic martyr, seems to have over-topped for a while his greater brother St. John, before whom he is usually named, and who is once distinguished as “the brother of James.” He shares with him the title of a Son of Thunder (Mar 3:17). They were together in desiring to rival the fiery and avenging miracle of Elijah, and to partake of the profound baptism and bitter cup of Christ. It is an undesigned coincidence in character, that while the latter of these events is recorded by St. Matthew and St. Mark, the former, which, it will be observed implies perfect confidence in the supernatural power of Christ, is found in St. Luke alone, who has not mentioned the title it justifies so curiously (Mat 20:20; Mar 10:35; Luk 9:54). It is more remarkable that he whom Christ bade to share his distinctive title with another, should not once be named as having acted or spoken by himself. With a fire like that of Peter, but no such power of initiative and of chieftainship, how natural it is that his appointed task was martyrdom. Is it objected that his brother also, the great apostle St. John, received only a share in that divided title? But the family trait is quite as palpable in him. The deeds of John were seldom wrought upon his own responsibility, never if we except the bringing of Peter into the palace of the high priest. He is a keen observer and a deep thinker. But he cannot, like his Master, combine the quality of leader with those of student and sage. In company with Andrew he found the Messiah. We have seen James leading him for a time. It was in obedience to a sign from Peter that he asked who was the traitor. With Peter, when Jesus was arrested, he followed afar off. It is very characteristic that he shrank from entering the sepulcher until Peter, coming up behind, when in first, although it was John who thereupon “saw and believed.” [5]
With like discernment, he was the first to recognize Jesus beside the lake, but then it was equally natural that he should tell Peter, and follow in the ship, dragging the net to land, as that Peter should gird himself and plunge into the lake. Peter, when Jesus drew him aside, turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, with the same silent, gentle, and sociable affection, which had so recently joined him with the saddest and tenderest of all companions underneath the cross. At this point there is a delicate and suggestive turn of phrase. By what incident would any pen except his own have chosen to describe the beloved disciple as Peter then beheld him? Assuredly we should have written, The disciple whom Jesus loved, who also followed Him to Calvary, and to whom He confided His mother. But from St. John himself there would have been a trace of boastfulness in such a phrase. Now the author of the Fourth Gospel, choosing rather to speak of privilege than service, wrote “The disciple whom Jesus loved, which also leaned back on His breast at the supper, and said, Lord, who is he that betrayeth Thee?”
St. John was again with St. Peter at the Beautiful Gate, and although it was not he who healed the cripple, yet his cooperation is implied in the words, “Peter, fastening his eyes on him, with John.” And when the Council would fain have silence them, the boldness which spoke in Peter’s reply was “the boldness of Peter and John.”
Could any series of events justify more perfectly a title which implied much zeal, yet zeal that did not demand a specific unshared epithet? But these events are interwoven with the miraculous narratives.
Add to this the keenness and deliberation which so much of his story exhibits, which at the beginning tendered no hasty homage, but followed Jesus to examine and to learn, which saw the meaning of the orderly arrangement of the grave clothes in the empty tomb, which was first to recognize the Lord upon the beach, which before this had felt something in Christ’s regard for the least and weakest, inconsistent with the forbidding of any one to cast out devils, and we have the very qualities required to supplement those of Peter, without being discordant or uncongenial. And therefore it is with Peter, even more than with his brother, that we have seen John associated. In fact Christ, who sent out His apostles by two and two, joins these in such small matters as the tracking a man with a pitcher into the house where He would keep the Passover. And so, when Mary of Magdala would announce the resurrection, she found the penitent Simon in company with this loving John, comforted, and ready to seek the tomb where he met the Lord of all Pardons.
All this is not only coherent, and full of vital force, but it also strengthens powerfully the evidence for his authorship of the Gospel, written the last, looking deepest into sacred mysteries, and comparatively unconcerned for the mere flow of narrative, but tender with private and loving discourse, with thoughts of the protecting Shepherd, the sustaining Vine, the Friend Who wept by a grave, Who loved John, Who provided amid tortures for His mother, Who knew that Peter loved Him, and bade him feed the lambs — and yet thunderous as becomes a Boanerges, with indignation half suppressed against “the Jews” (so called as if he had renounced his murderous nation), against the selfish high-priest of “that same year,” and against the son of perdition, for whom certain astute worldlings have surmised that his wrath was such as they best understand, personal, and perhaps a little spiteful. The temperament of John revealed throughout, was that of August, brooding and warm and hushed and fruitful, with low rumblings of tempest in the night.
It is remarkable that such another family resemblance as between James and John exists between Peter and Andrew. The directness and self-sacrifice of his greater brother may be discovered in the few incidents recorded of Andrew also. At the beginning, and after one interview with Jesus, when he finds his brother, and becomes the first of the Twelve to spread the gospel, he utters the short unhesitating announcement, “We have found the Messiah.” When Philip is uncertain about introducing the Greeks who would see Jesus, he consults Andrew, and there is no more hesitation, Andrew and Philip tell Jesus. And in just the same way, when Philip argues that two hundred pennyworth of bread are not enough for the multitude, Andrew intervenes with practical information about the five barley loaves and the two small fishes, insufficient although they seem. A man prompt and ready, and not blind to the resources that exist because they appear scanty.
Twice we have found Philip mentioned in conjunction with him. It was Philip, apparently accosted by the Greeks because of his Gentile name, who could not take upon himself the responsibility of telling Jesus of their wish. And it was he, when consulted about the feeding of the five thousand, who went off into a calculation of the price of the food required — two hundred pennyworth, he says, would not suffice. Is it not highly consistent with this slow deliberation, that he should have accosted Nathanael with a statement so measured and explicit: “We have found Him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of Joseph.” What a contrast to Andrew’s terse announcement, “We have found the Messiah.” And how natural that Philip should answer the objection, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” with the passionless reasonable invitation, “Come and see.” It was in the same unimaginative prosaic way that he said long after, “Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us.” To this comparatively sluggish temperament, therefore, Jesus Himself had to address the first demand He made on any. “Follow me, He said, and was obeyed. It would not be easy to compress into such brief and incidental notices a more graphic indication of character.
Of the others we know little except the names. The choice of Matthew, the man of business, is chiefly explained by the nature of his Gospel, so explicit, orderly, and methodical, and until it approaches the crucifixion, so devoid of fire.
But when we come to Thomas, we are once more aware of a defined and vivid personality, somewhat perplexed and melancholy, of little hope but settled loyalty.
All three saying reported of him belong to a dejected temperament: “Let us also go, that we may died with Him” — as if there could be no brighter meaning than death in Christ’s proposal to interrupt a dead man’s sleep. “Lord, we know not whither Thou goest, and how can we know the way?” — these words express exactly the same despondent failure to apprehend. And so it comes to pass that nothing short of tangible experience will convince him of the resurrection. And yet there is a warm and devoted heart to be recognized in the proposal to share Christ’s death, in the yearning to know whither He went, and even in that agony of unbelief, which dwelt upon the cruel details of suffering, until it gave way to one glad cry of recognition and of worship; therefore his demand was granted, although a richer blessing was reserved for those who, not having seen, believed.
[5] It is also very natural that, in telling the story, he should remember how, while hesitating to enter, he “stooped down” to gaze, in the wild dawn of his new hope.