"Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach..."
Mark 3:14The Gospels do not merely record that Jesus gathered a group of followers. Mark states that He appointed twelve. Luke records that after spending the night in prayer, Jesus called His disciples and chose twelve of them, whom He also named apostles.
This gives us an explicit New Testament occurrence of twelve at a major turning point in the biblical story.
Mark's wording is significant. Before the Twelve were sent, they were appointed "that they might be with Him."
They heard His teaching, witnessed His works, observed His compassion, asked questions and learned directly from Jesus. Their mission grew out of relationship with Him.
Jesus gave the Twelve authority and sent them to proclaim the Kingdom. Matthew 10 records their names and commission, while Luke records that they were sent to preach the Kingdom of God and to heal.
The word "apostle" carries the idea of one who is sent. The Twelve were therefore not merely students; they became commissioned witnesses.
Our investigation began with the twelve sons of Jacob and followed the number through Israel's covenant history. Now, as Jesus begins forming and commissioning His apostolic witnesses, twelve appears prominently again.
We can confidently observe the recurrence. The larger question of why Jesus chose precisely twelve invites us to continue following Scripture itself.
Here the investigation reaches one of its most important transitions. The number that repeatedly represented Israel's twelve tribes now appears in the group Jesus deliberately appoints around Himself. Rather than jumping immediately to a conclusion, follow the passages in sequence.
Jacob's twelve sons become the tribal foundation of Israel.
Genesis 49:28Jesus selects twelve disciples and names them apostles.
Luke 6:12-16Mark says they were appointed first so that they might be with Him.
Mark 3:13-15In their initial commission, Jesus sends the Twelve to "the lost sheep of the house of Israel."
Matthew 10:5-6Jesus later explicitly connects the Twelve with twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
Matthew 19:28Matthew 19:28 is especially important. Jesus Himself places the Twelve and the twelve tribes of Israel in the same statement: the apostles are promised twelve thrones from which they will judge the twelve tribes of Israel.
That does not answer every question in the Mystery of Twelve, but it gives us an explicit biblical connection that deserves careful attention as the investigation moves toward Revelation.
We have moved from twelve sons, twelve tribes, twelve covenant pillars, twelve stones on the high priest's breastplate, twelve loaves before the LORD, twelve representatives, twelve memorial stones and Elijah's twelve-stone altar to Jesus deliberately appointing twelve apostles.
Most importantly, Jesus later speaks of twelve thrones and twelve tribes together. That gives our investigation an explicit bridge between the Twelve apostles and Israel's twelve-tribe structure.
Knowledge begins with seeing what is written. Understanding grows as we search the Scriptures. Wisdom comes from God.