Jesus departed with his disciples to the sea, and a great multitude from Galilee followed him; hearing all that he was doing, they came to him in great numbers from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, beyond the Jordan, and the region around Tyre and Sidon. He told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, so that they would not crush him; for he had cured many, so that all who had diseases pressed upon him to touch him. Whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and shouted, 'You are the Son of God!' But he sternly ordered them not to make him known. He went up the mountain and called to him those whom he wanted, and they came to him. And he appointed twelve, whom he also named apostles, to be with him, and to be sent out to proclaim the message, and to have authority to cast out demons.
So he appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); James son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder); and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
The presence of the boat stands out. What's the boat for? Jesus led his disciples to the sea and wanted a boat ready. However, there is no mention of the use of the boat. Mark moves along at his usual steady pace and tells us just enough to get the story.
Jesus is on the move. The way Mark tells it, he seems to be running from the great multitude following him. They are coming from everywhere. He has been healing and casting out demons everywhere he goes, so people try to touch him. The demons are even afraid of him. He went up a mountain (the mountain's presence is as strange as the boat) and took a select few with him. There he appoints the twelve.
This is definitely an account that was written after the fact. This is the first time we hear the word Apostles and about one of the twelve betraying Jesus. In fact, it almost seems that this is Mark's narrative attempt at foreshadowing, but it isn't very creative and leaves us with a bunch of questions.
I once had an issue in my ministry, and I will never forget the advice from my bishop. He said, "Ken, make disciples." He meant for me to share the load with trusted advisories to be more productive in ministry and the proclamation of the good news. So, I feel that the call today is to make disciples. Like Jesus, we need to share the load to reach the most for good. If I have twelve and my twelve each have twelve, it quickly becomes a highly manageable arrangement. However, it becomes harrowing if I try to lead all 144+ by myself.
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