Lk 6:12-19
12[Jesus] departed to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God. 13When day came, he called his disciples to himself, and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named apostles: 14Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, 15Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called a Zealot, 16and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
17And he came down with them and stood on a stretch of level ground. A great crowd of his disciples and a large number of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon 18came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and even those who were tormented by unclean spirits were cured. 19Everyone in the crowd sought to touch him because power came forth from him and healed them all.
He Chose Twelve: By choosing the Twelve (apostles), Jesus does not only share his authority and his mission but also prepares an “administrative structure” that will make possible the continuity of the “movement” he has started. “Twelve” alludes to the twelve tribes of Israel that constitute the people of God. In the choice of the Twelve we have the inauguration of the new Israel.
Before the choice, Jesus spends the night in prayer to God. In the future, prayer will always be important for the community of believers. They pray while they await the coming of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:14), when they choose a successor for Judas Iscariot (Acts 1:24), and when they send off Barnabas and Saul to a missionary journey (Acts 13:3).
The Twelve are a closer circle of disciples. As Jesus prepares for his “Sermon on the Plain,” Luke provides us with a “sitting arrangement” of the audience. Closest to him are the Twelve, followed by a great crowd of his disciples. The third group is composed of people coming from the different regions of Palestine and even of Phoenicia. The faithful companions of Jesus will be the pillars of the post-Easter Christian community, while the “great crowds” anticipate the expansion of the Church (Acts 6:1).
The Twelve are an important group who, because of their close association with Jesus, provide the continuity between the historical Jesus and the early Christians. As the original witnesses, they guarantee the fidelity of the community’s beliefs and practices to the teachings of Jesus (Lk 1:1-4).