And he goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom he would: and they came unto him.
Parallel translations
- WEB He went up into the mountain, and called to himself those whom he wanted, and they went to him.
- BSB Then Jesus went up on the mountain and called for those He wanted, and they came to 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 he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases.
- Luke 6:12–16And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.
- Matt 5:1And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:
- Matt 10:1–4And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.
- Mark 6:7And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits;
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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.