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Then Jesus went up on the mountain and called for those He wanted, and they came to Him.
Mark 3:13 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB He went up into the mountain, and called to himself those whom he wanted, and they went to him.
  • KJV And he goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom he would: and they came unto him.
  • NKJV And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted. And they came to Him.
  • NASB And He *went up on the mountain and *summoned those whom He Himself wanted, and they came to Him.
  • NLT Afterward Jesus went up on a mountain and called out the ones he wanted to go with him. And they came to him.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Jesus goes up the mountain and calls to himself those he wants. It matters because it shows that discipleship begins with Christ's sovereign initiative.

Overview

The mountain setting echoes places of divine revelation, and Jesus' calling 'those whom he wanted' stresses his deliberate, gracious choice. The disciples come not by their own merit but by his summons. This grounds the church's existence in Christ's calling, a pattern of grace where the Lord chooses and his people respond.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 5

  • Luke 9:1Then Jesus called the Twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and power to cure diseases.
  • Luke 6:12–16In those days Jesus went out to the mountain to pray, and He spent the night in prayer to God.
  • Matt 5:1When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain and sat down. His disciples came to Him,
  • Matt 10:1–4And calling His twelve disciples to Him, Jesus gave them authority over unclean spirits, so that they could drive them out and heal every disease and sickness.
  • Mark 6:7Then Jesus called the Twelve to Him and began to send them out two by two, giving them authority over unclean spirits.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Mark videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Mark 3:13YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on MarkMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Mark drives urgently to the cross, showing Jesus the Son of God as the suffering Servant who 'came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'

How Mark 3:13 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.